Surprising Meeting and Event Venues Across the West
February 26, 2009
By John Anderson
(Original Article Sponsored by Stratosphere)
Every meeting can seem the same—the same four walls in the same hotel with the same beverage service and tray of pastries as the last meeting. Everyone knows the drill: get sufficiently caffeinated to see the day through to 5 p.m., or that half-day off, and be rewarded with a spa treatment or a round of golf. As the great Yogi Berra says, it’s like déjà vu all over again.
And while hotels and convention centers are ideally set up to manage and produce the best possible meetings and events, with knowledgeable staff, the latest in audiovisual equipment, multiple food and beverage options and support for everything from drayage services to happy hour karaoke, sometimes you just need to get away. And often a change of scenery to a nontraditional venue can add a much needed spark to a meeting, create memories and have attendees lauding your superior planning skills for years to come.
CONSIDER THIS
The great thing for planners is that many unique venues are just as capable as traditional meeting halls at hosting a successful meeting and providing all the necessary support. Though typically best suited for small to mid-size groups, and sometimes not as easily accessible as most city hotels, the benefits can outweigh any extra effort in getting there. And it allows planners to stretch themselves creatively, matching the type of meeting and attendees to just the right unique venue appropriate to the topic at hand, knowing the venue will inspire the attendees in just the right way.
“Some of the things I’m looking for: I really want to have a space no one has been in before. I want to think of something different,” says Serena Leung, CMP and principal planner at A Different Event. “I want a surrounding that is stimulating, so [attendees] have something to see and look at. And that helps people remember things. So I’m always looking for something a little bit different.”
Depending on the needs of the group, Leung looks for things as basic as whether there’s a prep kitchen, or carpet versus wood floors, downtown areas where attendees can go out for lunch and meeting spaces not normally rented to groups, such as the yoga studios she books for a group that teaches rhythm meditation classes.
“I also run an art gallery in the Berkeley [Calif.] area, so we do events there regularly. I always like to do galleries and museums. Wineries are very popular now too,” Leung says.
She’s booked the Lawrence Hall of Science in Berkeley, a children’s museum, for a group of upper management professionals. The circus exhibit allowed the group to enjoy a hands-on experience of tightrope walking and jumping on a trampoline. “Those are the type of things I look for,” Leung says. “More and more with meeting planning, people are looking for something little more relaxing than the standard hotel room. And natural light is becoming very important.”
While Leung’s business specializes in unique events, other planners are under tight constraints that make it nearly impossible to book in nontraditional venues. For Reba Anderson, meeting planner with the Emergency Medical Services Authority in Sacramento, Calif., her events are state mandated and so are almost always located at hotels or conference centers, though she says that an EMS directors meeting was held at the San Diego Zoo. “They had a really big dinner for them, with free admission to parts of the zoo,” she says. “They really enjoyed it.”
Similar constraints are in place for Pamala Corona, CMP, CGMP and manager for the California Meeting Management Program, a unit established in 2008 to assist those state agencies without their own planners on staff . Her challenge is working with all the different types of agencies and their own particular meetings needs. “For spending government dollars, we’re not going for the major splash those other venues might create,” she says. “We look at convention halls, civic auditoriums, libraries, fraternal halls—Elks, American Legions—and community centers.”
And while Corona has planned events and meetings from state parks and fairgrounds to the theater at Universal Studios, she always keeps in mind factors like parking, access for attendees and distance of the venue from the hotel room block. “Working with a professional staff to help set everything up is a lot easier than working with community centers who have volunteer staff, or part-time or student staff ,” she says. “Those things make a big difference.”
MUSEUMS
Can there be any venue more inspiring than a room full of Rembrants, Picassos or ancient Greek statuary? Museums are the storehouse of a culture’s creative heights, beautifully and meticulously presented, and are often architecturally grand or striking buildings in their own right. With all that art and culture, they’re perfect venues to set a tone of creativity, inspiration or high-mindedness.
The California Museum in downtown Sacramento is dedicated to the history, culture and outstanding people that have helped shape California into what it is today. The California Hall of Fame exhibit honors those Californians that have achieved greatness, and helped propel California to that same status. Cesar Chavez, Walt Disney and Clint Eastwood, John Steinbeck and John Wayne, Tiger Woods and Frank Gehry are a few of the names that have been added to the list over the years.
An upcoming show, “With Malice Toward None: Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Exhibit,” will feature articles from the Library of Congress, such as documents from the Civil War, political cartoons from the era and items such as the contents of Lincoln’s pocket at the time of his assassination. The museum’s facilities are available for meetings and events, with on-site catering provided, as well as group tours. Located just minutes from Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport, and a short metro ride from the Phoenix Convention Center, the Heard Museum of Native Cultures and Art offers insight into the heritage, culture and arts of Native Americans, particularly from the Southwest. Current exhibits include “Underworlderness,” large-format paintings by Navajo painter Tony Abeyta. The museum is available for both day and evening meetings and events with space for up to 1,000 people.
Master glass sculptor Dale Chihuly and his fantastical creations would naturally be featured in his hometown of Tacoma, Washington’s Museum of Glass. Opened in 2002, the state-of-the-art museum features 13,000 sq. ft. of exhibition space, a 180-seat theater and a 140-seat Hot Shop Amphitheater (for live glass-blowing demonstrations), all of which can be reserved for meetings and special events.
The High Desert Museum in Oregon’ s central plains city of Bend hosts exhibits of unique high desert flora and fauna, as well as cultural history of the region. A current photography exhibit, “Faces of the High Desert Heartland,” shows rural Oregon from 1895 through 1955. The museum has more than 14,000 sq. ft. of meeting space available as well as full catering service.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS
While some museums offer exhibits on nature, both past and present, you can just as easily take your meeting outside to experience that nature firsthand. Many state and national parks have facilities available for group rental; and though amenities may be low, much of it comes at bargain government rates. There’s also plenty of other ways for groups to experience naturewithout skimping on the service, through zoos, eco-tourism and remote lodges. One of the more organized facilities around for meetings is the San Diego Zoo and its Wild Animal Park. Whether it’s the Elephant Mesa or the Mombasa Island Pavilion, the zoo has a number of venue options available for groups up to 3,000 and special packages for business meetings, with an experienced support staff and full catering.
For a more hands-on experience, Eco-ring in the Russian River region north of San Francisco, offers a directory of resources to outdoor experiences, such as horseback riding through redwood forests, balloon rides over Sonoma County and sailing or kayaking in Bodega Bay. Th e organization promotes green businesses in the area, and supports groups that embrace eco-practices. In the same region just outside Santa Rosa is Safari West, a private wild animal preserve with tents and cottages, as well as space for small meetings among the cheetahs and giraffes.
To really get away, you won’t have to worry about noisy neighbors at the Furnace Creek Inn & Ranch Resort in the heart of Death Valley National Park in eastern California. Opened in 1927, the inn and resort make a perfect base for excursions around the park, and offer 66 rooms, 3,800 sq. ft. of meeting space, a star-gazers deck and professional group coordinators.
JUST FOR FUN
Like kids at school, sometimes even meeting attendees can’t wait for recess. And what better way to access their sense of fun, and reward them for a job well done, than by sending them to the kinds of playgrounds that kids of any age can enjoy. Th eme parks, water slides and the nongambling parts of Las Vegas are tailor-made for the lighter side of group events.
A popular option with tech companies from Silicon Valley is the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk. The boardwalk can cater picnics and events for groups, along with its amusement park rides, while offering the services of its own event planner to coordinate your day of fun.
Las Vegas actually offers visitors more than slot machines and blackjack, including rides at the faux ancient/modern Egypt within the world’s largest atrium at Luxor Las Vegas. And of course with a name like Circus Circus Las Vegas, you can expect to find thrilling rides inside the property’s Adventuredome, carnival games in the Midway and high-wire circus acts flying overhead. Both hotels have roughly 20,000 sq. ft. of meeting space.
The Buckskin Joe Frontier Town in Canon City, Colo., comes complete with Old West saloons and gun fights at high noon. And the nearby Royal Gorge Bridge & Park offers a spectacular setting in the Colorado Rockies, with lodge facilities for groups up to 70, cable car rides and a picnic facility for 250.
IN THE VINES
Most visitors to the wine country, whether California, Washington, Oregon or Texas (yes, Texas), make a beeline for one tasting room after another. But there’s plenty of rewards for those who linger, especially for meetings and events, in a surprising array of venues you may never have realized were there.
Wine caves can be used for more than aging cabernet and merlot, and the ambience in such places can heighten any meeting experience. Clos Pegase in Napa Valley hosts numerous musical performances and group events in its 2,800-square-foot Cave Theatre, with seating up to 350. Also offering its Estate Cave, for groups up to 240, is The Meritage Resort.
While some wineries may have antique touches about them, not many have embraced the past like Castello di Amorosa in northern Napa Valley. A complete re-creation of a 15th century Tuscan castle down to each carefully selected brick, the property’s 2,200-square-foot great hall can accommodate 190, while the courtyard is large enough for 300. “You think you’re in another world out here,” says owner Darryl Sattui. “It’s a slice of Italy brought to California.”
What goes best with great wine if not fine food? One of the top culinary schools in the country— the Culinary Institute of America at Greystone in St. Helena, Calif.—has been producing top chefs from its wine country locale since 1995. The institute also offers a variety of meeting facilities with state-of-the-art media capabilities. From the Ecolab Theatre (up to 125) to the classically grand Vintner’s Hall of Fame (up to 300), the CIA can make sure your event gets cooking.
Vineyards can thrive in more places than Napa and Sonoma Counties. Just ask the 20-plus vintners who make up the Texas Hill Country Wineries to the west of Austin. Like their California cousins, Texas wineries also off er space for meetings and events. Driftwood Estate Winery can accommodate groups up to 50, while Flat Creek Estate offers indoor seating for 100 and a fullservice catering kitchen.
ISLANDS
There’s a curious effect islands can have on a hurried life. Merely stepping from boat deck to shore seems to bring on a sigh of relief and an easier pace. For groups, no matter what the venue, islands are a great way to escape from daily distractions and focus on the meeting in a relaxed environment. And with so much coastline from Texas to the Pacific shore, there’s plenty of islands to choose from for your next event.
Just off the coast of Southern California, Catalina Island has regular ferry service from Long Beach, Dana Point and Marina del Rey at under 90 minutes each way. Once there, the main town of Avalon offers numerous options for group events, such as the Zane Grey Pueblo Hotel, former home of the famed author, with 16 rooms, a small meeting space and amazing views. A classic icon of the island, the Catalina Casino can accommodate up to 1,200 in its Casino Ballroom with full catering and kitchen capabilities.
A 30-minute puddle jump from Seattle, but seemingly a world away, the San Juan Islands offer an opportunity for groups to find solitude in the rustic charms of the Northwest, with unique venues to match. The Westcott Bay Sculpture Park has more than 100 sculptures in its 19 acres, and can serve up to 200 in four pavilion tents. The Odyssey yacht, docked in Friday Harbor, is a former U.S. Navy search and rescue vessel that can accommodate
up to 97.
For a subtropical experience on the Gulf of Mexico, South Padre Island off the coast of Texas has more to offer than your typical small island, with a 45,000-square-foot convention center and four full-service convention hotels, though the Sheraton South Padre Island is recovering from last year’s Hurricane Dolly and will reopen in March. But South Padre still offers plenty of island life, with sandcastle team-building exercises and fishing boat charters for groups of various sizes. “It’s illegal to wear a tie on this island,” jokes Dan Quandt, CAE and executive director of the South Padre Island Convention and Visitors Bureau. “It’s not the real world here, but we have all the real-world amenities.”
THE SPORTING LIFE
You never know what a little friendly competition will bring out of people. But moving attendees from the traditional meeting room to a venue where games reign supreme may have them showing their true (team) colors. Such places not only offer a relaxed environment for people to unwind, they can also energize attendees in unexpected ways.
It’s surprising what rolling a ball down a lane can do for a group, but bowling has long been a simple way to delight its participants and have attendees happily enjoying themselves, even without the beer. Strike Holdings in Cupertino and Tustin, Calif., has all the amenities of an ultra-modern site, but with the playful designs of a retro 50s bowling alley. From product launches and corporate events to meetings and presentations, Strike Holdings has the facilities and on-staff coordinators to roll out a successful event.
Another option, especially for a younger group raised on video, are the plethora of games at the ESPN Zone in Anaheim, Denver, Las Vegas and the just-opened site at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles. Like a video arcade for adults, game rooms feature massive video screens for playing Madden NFL Football, a Wii-like golf and boxing game, a Formula One race car simulation and a traditional bowling alley.
Boating is always a crowd pleaser, especially with the stunning scenery of the San Francisco Bay as a backdrop. The Red and White Fleet has been cruising the bay since 1892 and today has several private cruises available for groups of 50−150, with options for live jazz, casino-type gaming or sunset viewing as you sail past Alcatraz Island and under the Golden Gate Bridge.
“Work hard, play hard” is a mantra many modern professionals live by, and nowhere is that easier than at one of Dave & Buster’s cavernous restaurant and game emporiums. With locations in Denver, Honolulu, Scottsdale and Tempe, Ariz., and throughout Texas and California, attendees can simply walk from the designated meeting room (up to 100) to rooms of billiards, bowling, video arcades and carnival games. Buyouts of the entire 70,000-square-foot facility (varies by location) can be arranged and multiple team-building exercises are available.
Whether you choose an island getaway, wine country retreat or a museum’s cultural ambience, unique meeting venues can surprise, delight and ultimately have attendees more relaxed and focused during meetings, no caffeine required. And after what will no doubt be a memorable event, they may just be singing the praises of your creative planning ability.
Source: smartmeetings.com (February 2009)
Fighting Back: Hollywood Venue Declares War on Recession
February 3, 2009
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| Music Box co-owner Thaddeus Smith at the militarized |
As the bad news about the economy kept piling up, Thaddeus Smith got mad – and then he got even.He runs the party-booking business at Music Box at Fonda Theater in Hollywood, and when times get tough, the kinds of celebrations held at the Music Box are among the first casualties. His sales in the summer were down $100,000 compared with the previous summer.
Instead of bemoaning his fate, he declared war on the recession. Since then, he’s been winning battles.
Early in the morning Oct. 1, Smith converted the sales office he oversees at the Music Box, which he co-owns with Burt Nelson and Marco Roy, into a “War Room.” He spray-painted the name in red letters on the door to the sales office. He brought in a female mannequin dressed in army gear and gave her a mock assault rifle from an event he hosted for the film “Starship Troopers.” He also gave military caps and dog tags engraved with their names to Sarah Quigley and Brian Sayers, the two event managers who do the Music Box’s bookings.
“When I walked in, I thought the place had been tagged,” Quigley said.
“I’ve known Thad for 15 years and knew he was crazy enough to do it,” Sayers said.
But that was all just symbolic. There was substance behind the style, and the substance was about adapting to a new environment. The rules: be flexible with clients, listen to what they can work with realistically and don’t think anyone’s business is beneath you.
While Music Box has some cushion – it caters to the entertainment industry, which is sometimes more resilient in the face of economic pressure than other business segments – Smith saw an opportunity to jazz things up.
“I think that now can be a time for customer service to make a true comeback,” Smith said. “This recession is bringing service back to the people. They’ve become fed up with automation and impersonal business.”
There was also a concrete goal: He and his two event managers had to book $400,000 worth of new business from Oct. 1 through January. They booked $450,000.
That not only exceeded the goal, it’s twice what they booked the same time the previous year. They have set an identical goal for the first part of 2009.
Exclusive clubs
When Smith and his partners started running the Music Box almost six years ago, Hollywood was in the middle of its renaissance. Exclusive clubs, expensive lofts, high-priced events and celebrity sightings –along with an elitist attitude – were becoming prominent on the landscape.
But then the economy took a turn for the worse in 2008, leaving Hollywood business owners like Smith and his partners looking for a creative way to deal with the downturn when others around them wallowed in self-defeatist attitudes.
“This is the first time that the newer Hollywood businesses have had to adapt to a major decline in the economy and humble themselves,” said Kerry Morrison, executive director of the Hollywood Entertainment Business Improvement District.
When a business or organization is forced to cut its budget, Morrison said, entertainment, such as holiday company parties or an annual awards banquet, usually goes first.
Beyond that, companies believe it looks tacky to host an extravagant party during a recession, she said. So the parties they do book often are less profitable for the venue.
“People still want to go out,” she added, “but they are not going to be able to pay for the extravagance or frills as in the past.”
Music Box was at a slight advantage because some of its clients are in show biz, said Nelson Gayton, executive director of the Entertainment and Media Management Institute at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
“The entertainment industry has always been about relationships, so networking at parties and mixers are part of making those connections,” Gayton said. “Even though the economic downturn is curbing a lot of special events across the board, it’s probably not as much in the entertainment industry, as it is almost regarded as a necessity.”
Simple plan
Smith had a simple plan: go through all the Music Box’s files and contact every client who had booked an event over the past five years. That would be a minimum of 500 phone calls.
Smith’s instructions: ask how the client was doing, if there were any special events being planned and what the budget was. Smith, Sayers and Quigley would make 30 to 40 calls each a day.If a client couldn’t afford to rent out the whole venue, Music Box offered a smaller room at the theater. They also offered discounts for in-house services, such as table centerpieces. Another option was a buffet instead of a sit-down dinner.
“You just never say no,” Smith said. “I said to the sales team, ‘Come to me before you say no to someone.’”
Through the sales calls, as well as networking and referrals, they booked bar mitzvahs, parties, fundraisers, weddings and mixers at rates as low as $1,000 all the way up to $100,000.
Every time a deal closed, the trio would celebrate with a war-room cheer and declare a battle had been won, listing each on a white board. In the first months of its war on recession, the Music Box won 23 battles and generated about twice the money compared with the same time the previous year.
One of those battles that Quigley won: the wedding of Anadel Baughn and Christopher Barbour, who had attended rock concerts together at the Music Box during their five-year courtship, falling in love with the venue as they fell in love with each other.
Barbour, a script coordinator for “CSI: Las Vegas,: and Baughn, a TV and film actress, dreamed of having their wedding in a charming Hollywood venue. But the couple, who describe themselves as lower middle class by L.A. standards, knew their total wedding budget of about $15,000 wouldn’t get much, considering they wanted 100 guests.
So when Barbour called up Music Box and Quigley said they would be able to work with their amount for the wedding and reception, he said he was shocked.
A Saturday wedding would have been out of their price range, but Sunday was cheaper because the hall wasn’t in demand.
Barbour said Quigley didn’t want to book his wedding in a small room and force him to share the venue. So she arranged the Sunday alternative for April 5.
“I appreciate their honesty,” Barbour said. “They are trying to make a profit and are not concealing that, but there is a real human touch to how considerate they were in negotiations.”
Quigley and Sayers said their success has been driven by Smith’s encouragement and war-room antics.
“If one of us is down, the others bring each other up,” Smith said. “We try to remember that in the larger scheme of the world, even with the recession, our worst is many people’s best. We’re still pretty fortunate.”
It’s important for any successful war to have an exit strategy, Smith said. It may be a better economy in his case, but he said the war-room technique will be abandoned once it stops working or when he gets bored. “If I get bored in life, I’m losing. The same with sales.”
Source: labusinessjournal.com
Controversial Signs Offer Increased Premiums
February 3, 2009
People who live across from electronic billboards or supergraphics may not like the view of bright lights or oversized images from their windows, but the advertisements make big money for outdoor media companies and building owners.
A digital billboard in Los Angeles can generate three to five times more dollars than a regular billboard, according to media buyers.
The standard unit of outdoor advertising is the 14-foot-by-48-foot billboard, the size usually seen along freeways or major thoroughfares. In Los Angeles, a four-week agreement to rent such a board ranges from about $6,000 to $30,000, said Megan Weiss, senior media strategist at the Phelps Group ad agency in Santa Monica. Lea Benavidez, a buyer at Media Solutions in Sacramento, puts the average cost at around $18,000.
The price of a specific board depends on the estimated number of passers-by, the demographics of the neighborhood and the board’s prominence, said Kim Ramser, former marketing director at the Outdoor Advertising Association of America and current business development director at DOMedia.com, a Web site where advertisers can scout and rent billboards.
In Los Angeles, major freeway billboards are near the $30,000-per-month mark, said Weiss, while those on surface streets in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys go for less. Boards on busy Westside streets such as Sunset or Olympic boulevards are priced at about the top level of $30,000.
In recent years, improving technology for manufacturing low-cost light-emitting diode displays has led outdoor companies to convert regular billboards to so-called digital billboards.
These giant glowing screens allow multiple advertisers to appear in rotation on the same board. Normally, eight advertisers run their ads for eight seconds each in a continuous 64-second loop. Each advertiser’s message will appear about a thousand times during the 21 hours the board operates every day.
There are eight time slots for sale on a digital board, with each costing between $8,500 and $12,000 for four weeks. With eight advertisers, the billboard’s revenue multiplies to a sum between $68,000 and $96,000 for the sign owner. That’s about three to five times the revenue of a regular billboard.
‘More eyeballs’
Ad agencies like the digital option because they can buy a time slot on one billboard for $8,500 to $12,000 instead of the normal $18,000, and their message will probably be seen by more people.
Advertisers also like how they can change their message with digital boards. Ramser said that fast-food restaurants, for example, can advertise breakfast in the morning, lunch in the afternoon and dinner at night. Radio stations can display pictures of musicians and song titles of what’s playing on the air.
Supergraphics, the custom images that wrap around large buildings, can cost the advertiser as much as $112,000 for four weeks, said Benavidez of Media Solutions. The sign companies pay building owners for use of their walls.
The city of Los Angeles gets about 65 percent of advertising revenue from supergraphics put on the Convention Center; other cities receive a similar cut from use of public buildings.Typical prices for supergraphics on smaller buildings are “comparable to a prominent billboard,” said Ramser. “You might have a $25,000 billboard and a $25,000 wallscape, assuming the traffic is similar.”
The growing popularity of supergraphics has been driven by technology, as digital printing and new kinds of materials allow the creation of large images.
For local advertisers who want to rent one special billboard near their business, Weiss noted that now is a good time, since automotive and bank advertisers have cut back on media spending. As a result, billboards that are usually locked up in long-term contracts are available.
But Weiss advised that if the billboard company knows an entrepreneur wants a specific location, it puts the billboard owner in a strong negotiating position.
Even so, “right now, they will look at anybody who has money,” she said.
Source: labusinessjournal.com
