Convention Center

More than 100 years after its original opening, The Edison still shines brightly. Conveniently located near the LA convention center, it is set in one of the first private power plants in California. The historic Edison is truly one of the most unique venues in Los Angeles.

A tribute to the sultry bygone era of industry, science and innovation, this LA party venue explodes with provocative history and tantalizing treats. Depression-inspired comfort food, decadent nostalgic design, and glamorous live entertainment are what makes this locale a top LA attraction and "one of the best new bars in America," according to Esquire magazine.

If you are looking for electrifying entertainment, this LA restaurant is sure to spark your interest. It has a lofty open floor plan, making it perfect for accommodating intimate groups of 10 people to grand gatherings of 300 guests.

Cvent Planner Insider Tip: Receive glowing reviews from your clients this holiday season by booking this rare Los Angeles corporate event space.

View more information about The Edison on the Cvent Supplier Network

Chicago is known as the city to accommodate most large meetings and events for associations and corporations. In fact, the meetings industry brings thousands of guests to Chicago for annual events and product launches every year. With McCormick Place listed as the nation's top facility for meetings and conventions, Chicago has built the resources to accommodate these groups with some of the best brands of hotels in the world.

These large hotels are now not only housing guests who attend these meetings, but also hosting them in their own top-notch Chicago meeting facilities. Check out some of the premier hotels in Chicago that have meeting space to welcome thousands of convention guests:

Hyatt Regency Chicago

In addition to being the on-site hotel brand stationed at Chicago's convention center, Hyatt Regency is no stranger to large meetings of its own. With 228,000 square feet of contemporary and flexible function space, Hyatt is equipped much like any other large convention center. The Hyatt is home to four ballrooms, 63 meeting rooms and 70,000 square feet of exhibition space.

This Chicago hotel's impeccable service is monitored by a Meeting Concierge. This friendly aide is by your side from start to finish, ensuring that everything runs flawlessly.

Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers

The Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers has over 120,000 square feet of meeting space. This property can host up to 4,600 people for an event or conference. With four above-ground levels of meeting space, 34 breakout meeting rooms, and a 40,000-square-foot ballroom—standing as the largest hotel ballroom in the Midwest—the Sheraton Chicago has all of the amenities to host large groups.

Situated  the heart of downtown Chicago, the Sheraton is near the city's most popular attractions, making it easy for guests to venture out and explore the city. From their 35,000 square feet of exhibition space to their convention registration area, the Sheraton Chicago is sure to cater to your every need!

To find out more about Chicago convention hotels, please visit the Cvent Supplier Network.

Sheraton has been in the midst of a multibillion dollar global revitalization effort, renovating almost half of its North American profile. One of the newest on the scene is the Sheraton Dallas.

Following a $90 million transformation, the downtown Dallas hotel boasts 1,840 redesigned guest rooms and over 230,000 square feet of flexible meeting rooms and banquet spaces—some of the largest in the state of Texas. Whether in the 40,800-square-foot Lone Star Ballroom or 750-square-foot Executive Boardroom, Dallas events at the hotel enjoy expert in-house catering, audio-visual, floral and convention service departments.

Outside the boardroom, the Sheraton Dallas' new dining options, The Kitchen Table restaurant and Draft Media Sports Lounge, provide a place to kick back with a drink or dinner. The new lobby, complete with complimentary work stations and flat-screen televisions, is also a chic spot to rest after a day of work.

Located in the Arts and Financial District, the Sheraton Dallas hotel is extremely convenient for out-of-town meeting guests. The hotel itself is a stop on Dallas' light rail system and connected to the shopping complex Plaza of the Americas. Booking these Dallas accommodations also places attendees just minutes from the Dallas Convention Center, American Airlines Center and historic 6th Floor Museum.

View more information about Sheraton Dallas on the Cvent Supplier Network

Orlando is sitting on a treasure that many people overlook: a mass quantity of private and public vent spaces. One such Orlando event venue warrants its own spotlight: the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC), a versatile and successful option for any private event.

The space, located in the heart of the Orlando tourism area, is comprised of more than two million square feet of event space. In other words, Orlando's convention center has a floor plan and appropriate space for every event imaginable. In fact, it's home to most tradeshows and events in the Orlando area, from the Home and Garden to the Surf Expo every year.

If you're wondering how much such an event space could cost you, you'll be relieved to know this is a government owned and operated facility. So even though you are getting state-of-the-art services, the rental prices aren't exorbitant. Also, if you are looking for an event to either market with or be a part of, the Orange County Convention Center has a list of all of the events for the upcoming year, as well as a list of the companies slated to participate.

All in all, the Orange County Convention Center is a fantastic option for hosting your next Orlando event. If you need a location to showcase your event amidst other industry professionals, this location is a great spot!

View more information about the Orange County Convention Center on the Cvent Supplier Network

Back in July we blogged about big changes coming to downtown Indianapolis, including the construction of a new JW Marriott hotel that will be the brand's largest property in the world. Set to open in 2011, event planners can now get a first look at the 1,005-room property at the JW Indy website.

At 34 stories, the new Indianapolis hotel will be connected via skybridge to the newly expanded Indiana Convention Center and will be just minutes from the newly constructed $1 billion Indianapolis International Airport. The hotel will also offer 104,000 square feet of its own meeting, banquet and exhibit space, including 23,000 square feet of breakout space and the 40,500-square-foot Grand Ballroom, the largest ballroom in the Midwest.

Expecting to change the face of Indianapolis, the convention hotel will join the four other Marriott hotels of the Marriott Place Indianapolis complex, which will offer a total of 145,000 square feet of meeting space.

Outside of the boardroom, overnight meeting guests will enjoy 37-inch high-definition LG plasma-screen televisions, well-lit, spacious work stations and high-speed Internet access in its amenity-laden rooms. The hotel will also have three different dining options: High Velocity, a high-tech sports bar; Tuscan Bistro, for fine Italian dining; and a gourmet, European-style coffee bar.

Planners interested in booking the JW Marriott Indy can take advantage of its special Indianapolis meeting promotion. Submit and RFP and receive a special pre-opening offer. Or, submit an RFP for 500 or more rooms for 2011 or 2012 and receive a complimentary site visit.

Visit the hotel website to learn more about the offer, and check out the JW Marriott Indianapolis Downtown on the Cvent Supplier Network today!

The lively city of Miami is about to shake things up. The Miami Downtown Development Authority recently approved the 2025 Downtown Miami Master Plan, designed to transform the area into the "Epicenter of the Americas."

Plans include the development of its convention center, facilitating waterway and road transport, and assimilating its waterfront into burgeoning districts, according to the South Florida Business Journal. Among the other main goals of the district are to leverage the city’s beautiful and iconic tropical waterfront; elevate downtown’s grand boulevards to prominence; and create great streets and community spaces throughout the district.

The Miami Convention Center was last updated in 1989. Though it opened as the nation's fourth-largest center in the 1950s, it is now the 28th largest. According to Miami Today, a recent convention center study has suggested that expanded exhibit space, a ballroom, 25,000 square feet of new meeting space, an alternative outdoor rooftop venue, and another convention center hotel be added to the center.

Have you ever found yourself searching multiple metropolitan areas trying to decide where your next meeting will be held? Those searches can be time-consuming and inefficient. Sometimes you end up right back where you started, unsure of exactly where you’re going to hold your next event. Cvent has the solution for this problem: the Cvent Destination Guide.

The Cvent Destination Guide is an informative resource designed especially for meeting and event planners. It's a one-stop guide where planners can focus site selection and event sourcing efforts by comparing meeting-specific details across cities worldwide.

The Destination Guide has so many great features to explore. Browse cities by U.S. region or state, or view one of the more than 20 cities profiled internationally. City profiles offer a comprehensive overview of things to do, convention center information, transportation options and more. Also included is a key statistics page, where event planners can find useful data such as population, hotel room inventory, mileage to nearby cities and weather-related statistics. Plus, we know that budgets are tight, so there’s even a promotions page in each city for planners in need of a deal!

Beyond the city profiles themselves, the Cvent Destination Guide also offers a wealth of additional resources such as the Event Planning Comparison Chart, where you can quickly find and compare meeting details such as average taxi fare and the number of restaurants for cities across the globe. Or, browse the Convention Center Directory, Conference Center Directory, and CVB directory, or view venues that fall into Beach Destinations, Golf Destinations, and Mountain Destinations.

Here at Cvent we try to make your meeting planning process as smooth as possible. The Destination Guide is just one of the many things we have to offer to help make your meeting planning easier and more efficient.

The Cvent Supplier Network offers a number of features that benefit both planners and suppliers as they source and book event business. Take, for example, a supplier's ability to include local attractions or "Places of Interest" to its profile. Cvent offers a Places of Interest page within each complimentary supplier listing on the Cvent Supplier Network. This addition not only adds an extra page to the supplier profile, it also provides some valuable information to Cvent meeting planners.

Did you ever get an RFP and under the "decision factors" section see "location"? The placement of a property can have a big impact on event venue selection. So why shouldn't suppliers go ahead and market a great locale from the beginning? Are you close to the convention center or airport? Maybe you have great shopping close by or even a theater district. These attractions can sometimes be the tipping point for winning big business. Take some time and talk about the convenience that the location of your property can offer to a planner.

Suppliers can also use this page to promote the area in general. When planners consider several meeting destinations, the local attractions advertised by each venue can really help in the decision-making process. Is the area a beach or a golf destination? Are there any historic or national sites close by? These descriptions can help planners make an informed decision.

Create a Places of Interest page on your supplier profile! It will help to enhance your offering, and provide much-needed details to planners.

Once a major hub and Dallas meeting place for farming and industrial goods, leisure and business travel, and one of the largest points of exchange in the Southwest, Union Station is still a thriving center of activity in the heart of downtown Dallas. This working train station boasts not only a convergence of different train lines (DART Rail, Amtrak, Trinity Railway Express), but also allows underground access to half of downtown, including the Hyatt Regency Dallas hotel, Reunion Tower (or that famously lit ball in the Dallas skyline), the Dallas Convention Center, and some of the city's most famous sites such as the Sixth Floor Museum and the grassy knoll.

Built in 1916 in the acclaimed Beaux Arts Classicism style, Union Station underwent a massive $23 million renovation in 2008 and has since been painstakingly restored to its former glory. Beginning with colossal 48-foot ceilings in the Grand Hall, Union Station affords visitors the chance to admire a variety of downtown architecture thanks to its huge arched windows that span an entire wall.

A Dallas event planner favorite for large, lavish affairs such as weddings, launch parties, and political events, Union Station offers versatile floor plans for gatherings of 10 to 850 guests, not to mention an awesome backdrop to any photo op.

Internationally renowned Wolfgang Puck Catering is the exclusive Dallas caterer for Union Station. Whether your event requires elegant cuisine for 10 or 2,000 diners, Puck's trained chefs prepare all items "a la minute" with fresh, high quality ingredients. Incidentally, Wolfgang's newest Dallas restaurant, Five Sixty, is located at the top of Reunion Tower, which offers a rotating 360-degree view of Dallas and is only a quick walk from Union Station via the climate-controlled tunnel.

Don't forget—you can find more special event facilities in Dallas for your events at Cvent's Dallas venue directory.

Starwood Hotels & Resorts is on a mission to open its 1000th hotel and resort, and throughout 2009 the North American Division made contributions. Starwood recently announced that it executed 25 new deals and opened more than 40 hotels in the North American Division this year, with an additional 20 properties expected to open before 2010.

"These 40 plus hotel openings and 25 new signings further extend our leadership as the world’s largest upper-upscale and luxury hotel company, while also strengthening our place as the industry innovator in the select service segment," said Paul Sacco, senior vice president of development for Starwood's North American Division, in a statement.

Among the properties opened this year:

• The St. Regis Atlanta, the 500th hotel in North America
• W Fort Lauderdale, the 30th W Hotel worldwide
• Aloft Tallahassee Downtown, the 30th Aloft Hotel worldwide

Expected among the 2009 hotel openings include the Sheraton Puerto Rico Convention Center & Casino, Le Meridien Philadelphia, and The St. Regis Resort & Residents, Deer Crest. Recent signings have included an Aloft property in Atlanta, an Element property in Ontario, a St. Regis property in Bermuda, and a Westin property in New Jersey.

Sarah’s recent post about haunted hotels discussed some pretty scary spots for a Halloween event!  But if you’re looking for a not-so-scary trick-or-treating spot this year, check out the Rosen Plaza Hotel in Orlando. In tandem with Universal Studio’s Halloween Horror Nights® celebration, this Orlando meeting hotel is offering special room rates as low as $69 per night.  On Halloween night, the hotel will also invite guests to partake in their “Life After Death” party.  This music-inspired event will summon top recording artists who have passed to the great beyond, including Michael Jackson, Jam-Master Jay, Stevie Ray Vaughan, TLC, John Lennon, James Morrison, the Beatles, Tupac Shakur, Aaliyah, Elvis Presley, Notorious B.I.G., James Brown, Jimi Hendrix, and more. Even if your group can’t make it to Orlando this month, the Rosen Plaza offers a clever theme idea for your own Halloween party!

The Rosen Plaza Hotel is located on International Drive, adjacent to the Orange County Convention Center, making it an ideal meeting location—Halloween or not. This Orlando venue is sandwiched in between Florida’s world-famous theme parks and the Orlando International Airport, making travel time to both just a few minutes’ drive. With 800 guest rooms and 60,000 square feet of meeting space, this Orlando meeting hotel has ample facilities available, whatever your occasion!

View more information about the Rosen Plaza Hotel on the Cvent Supplier Network

The Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center near Washington DC is the largest hotel and convention center on the Eastern Seaboard. It has over 470,000 square feet of flexible meeting room space including a 180,000 square foot exhibition hall. Located on the National Harbor, this DC luxury hotel has stunning views of the Potomac River and an incredible 18-story glass atrium.

One of the many luxuries that the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center offers is a “Hotel within a Hotel” program. The program is perfect for all your events in Washington DC because it provides exclusive meeting environments for executive meetings. Guests of executive meetings can stay in the National Bay, which is a collection of 300 upgraded guest rooms with direct elevator access from guestrooms to dedicated meeting space. There is also a dedicated Meeting Manager assigned to each executive meeting to cover all aspects of the planning process. 65,000 square feet of outdoor event space, including a full-service pier and marina.

View more information about the Gaylord National Hotel and Convention Center on the Cvent Supplier Network.

More news on the Nashville convention hotel project. According to The Tennessean, financing for the $300 million, Marriott property may need public financing, eliciting concerns some local hotel owners.

"That would be a major, major sea change from the market for private lodging properties right now," Mark Bloom, senior vice president for tax-free bonds with UBS Financial Services, Inc., and a minority owner of the Hilton Downtown Nashville, told the paper.

Though private financing is ideal, it may not be possible for such a large project to find private funding in today's marketplace. Nashville would pay off the debt on a publicly-financed hotel using revenue from the hotel itself.

Though some are concerned that a government-owned hotel could drive down room rates with no repercussions, Walt Baker, CEO of the Tennessee Hospitality Association, said Marriott would have control over sales.

"We wouldn't want to get into a pricing war with Metro [Council]," Baker told The Tennessean. "It doesn't matter as long as the management is independent and has control over pricing."

Reducing costs is a top priority for both meeting planners and their attendees. One big area of concern is always transportation, especially when you have guests traveling in from distances that are just too far of a drive.

Though planes are the most frequent option, do you ever consider Amtrak service? Whether your are paying for event transportation for your attendees, or just need to recommend a mode of travel, riding the train can be a great experience. Why? Consider the following 5 benefits of Amtrak travel:

1. Schedule flexibility. The standard "Arrive two hours before your flight" can really put a dent into your day when traveling by plane. When taking a train, you usually don't need to arrive at the station until about 30 minutes before it is scheduled to depart (although risk takers could probably even show up right before.)

2. No packing restrictions or fees. One of the worst parts of plane travel in my opinion are the liquid restrictions and the new baggage fees. While most business travelers attending your two- or three-day conference won't need more than the one carry-on, I think it's really tough—and annoying—to stuff a small plastic bag full of shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste and all your other toiletries. And while we're on airport restrictions, let's just add that having to walk barefoot through security is another downside to flying.

3. Convenient access. Amtrak stations are generally in the heart of a city's downtown area. This makes them a much more convenient starting point for your guests to access convention centers and hotels, as opposed to airports, which are often 20 to 30 minutes outside the city. Take Chicago, for example. Its Amtrak Union Station is located 3.6 miles (or 12 minutes) from its convention center, McCormick Place. O'Hare International Airport is 20.7 miles (or 28 minutes) from the Chicago convention center.

4. Affordability. As another example, a one-way Amtrak ticket from St. Louis to Chicago starts at $23. A one-way plane ticket for the same trip starts at $60. Though such differences are variable, it's generally a safe bet that a train ticket will offer good deal.

5. Comfort. Often times airplanes can be cramped, crowded and overall uncomfortable. Trains offer roomier seats with plenty of legroom. Plus, guests can easily get up and walk throughout the train to stretch their legs.

And finally, one bonus benefit of taking Amtrak: it's green! As our eco-consciousness grows, business travelers and event organizers can rest assured that train travel is environmentally friendly, using less energy and producing less pollutants than car or air travel.

There's a new Dallas hotel on the scene. InterContinental Hotels Group has announced the Crowne Plaza Dallas Downtown hotel will open within the month.

"We’re pleased to bring our fifth Crowne Plaza to the Dallas area, especially in such a convenient location for business travelers," said Gina LaBarre, vice president, Brand Delivery, the Americas, IHG, in a statement.  "There are several major employers in the area that will benefit from the meetings-savvy products and services that only a Crowne Plaza can provide."

The Dallas hotel, which underwent a $14 million hotel renovation from the former Hampton Inn Dallas-West End-Convention Center, will feature 300 guest rooms and suites and 22 meeting rooms. Together, it offers over 22,000 square feet of Dallas meeting space that can accommodate up to 2,000 attendees.

After a long day of breakout sessions and presentations, meeting guests can unwind at the hotel's new Ten15 Elm restaurant or THRIVE nightclub. Here, patrons kick back to the sounds of local and celebrity DJs while enjoying hand-crafted cocktails. The hotel will also feature a fitness center and ninth-floor roof top pool with panoramic views of the Dallas skyline.

Located in the heart of downtown Dallas, the Crowne Plaza is convenient to the historic West End District and thriving Uptown area. Guests can easily walk to major Dallas attractions, including the Dallas Convention Center, House of Blues and Dallas Aquarium.

View more information about the Crowne Plaza Dallas Downtown on the Cvent Supplier Network

Berlin has been a popular meeting destination for years, ranking among the top 5 meeting destinations on the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) list for the past three years. This year, it continues to run the convention industry in Germany, attracting 3.97 professionals between January and June 2009. These visitors attended 50,850 events.

According to the Berlin Convention Office and Berlin Tourismus Marketing GmbH, the proportion of national meetings and conventions rose by two percent to 81 percent this year. Additionally, guests are staying longer in Berlin. The average length of stay rose from 1.6 days to 1.7 days.

"Association congresses in Berlin attracted the most participants from around the globe in 2008," said Heike Mahmoud, director of conventions of BCO, in a statement. "Not only are more professional visitors coming to Berlin, they are also staying longer. This can be attributed more particularly to the excellent offerings of the German capital as a convention destination: six convention centers and halls, the most up-to-date hotel landscape in Europe, 1,500 cultural events every day and excellent value for money—this combination has proved to be extremely popular with both event organizers and participants."

To find out more about these Berlin hotels, venues and more to start planning your events, visit the Cvent Destination Guide.

Next week, Chicago will be hosting IT&ME 2009, commonly referred to as The Motivation Show. Thousands of meeting and event planners, travel incentive coordinators, hoteliers and suppliers will be attending the show to scope out what is coming up in the hospitality industry!

This show, which will be held at Chicago's convention center McCormick Place, has plenty in store for attendees. The exhibit hall houses booths that are creatively designed to "wow" industry professionals. (Cvent will be one of them—visit us at booth #2941!)

This year, the Motivation Show is themed around enhancing your company performance and increasing your return on investment. This topic is sure to be a hot subject for the numerous industry professionals who have been affected by the recession. Networking receptions, luncheons, new product launches and more than 70 informative sessions are just some of the activities planned for the Chicago event.

Event planners have another New York luxury hotel to add to their lists. Ink48, a Kimpton Hotel, is currently open for its "rough draft phase" with 222 guest rooms and suites. In addition to the great views of the Manhattan skyline, rooms feature an elegant color scheme of snow whites, ruby reds and chocolate browns, and come equipped with numerous amenities to immerse guests in the utmost of luxury. French-press coffee upon request, high-speed wired and wireless Internet access, flat-screen HDTVs, complimentary morning newspapers, and L'Occitane spa and bath amenities are among the posh extras guests can enjoy.

For New York meetings and social events, Ink48 is a great venue option. With 5,000 square feet of space, the NYC hotel can accommodate everything from a corporate board meeting of 12 people to an elegant New York wedding reception of 100 guests. Ink48's catering services add a special touch, crafting seasonal menus that incorporate local produce, meats and fish from the New York area.

Ink48 is a perfect urban retreat for New York meeting guests and business travelers. Its eco-friendly spa includes the signature "Ultimate Urban Facial" and "Jet Lag Recovery" treatments, while the its rooftop restaurant and lounge is the perfect place to kick back with a glass of Champagne. And of course, for guests who want to get right in the action, the hotel is located just blocks from the New York convention center and attractions such as the Intrepid Air and Space Museum, Central Park South, and the American Museum of Natural History.

View more information about Ink48 on the Cvent Supplier Network

Want to host an event worthy of the stars, but don't exactly have a celebrity's budget? The Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport hotel can help. For a limited time, Los Angeles meeting planners can take advantage of a special group rate starting at $99.

And that's not all. The special group offering also includes a five percent rebate to your master bill, complimentary meeting room rental, complimentary upgrade for VIP guests, complimentary coffee break, and triple Marriott Rewarding Event points. This great Los Angeles meeting promotion is good for meetings with 25 or more peak room nights booked by December 31, 2009, to be used by December 31, 2010.

With the amenities of a resort, resources of a convention center, and convenience of being less than a mile from the Burbank Airport, the Marriott Burbank Airport hotel is an ideal Los Angeles event venue. Among its 46,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, the hotel features a stand-alone convention center and a grand ballroom for over 1,300 Los Angeles banquet guests.

Outside of the boardroom, the Los Angeles hotel has 395 rooms and 93 suites, as well as an on-site restaurant, fitness center and high-speed Internet access. It's also ideally located near top LA attractions such as Knotts Berry Farm, Disneyland and Universal Studios Theme Park & Citywalk.

View more information about the Los Angeles Marriott Burbank Airport hotel on the Cvent Supplier Network. For more information about this LA hotel deal, call 1-818-840-6487.

Blues festivals, auto shows, wine tastings, NCA championships, high school graduations...the list goes on and on. Where am I? The Dallas Convention Center of course.

This massive facility has been a staple in the heart of downtown Dallas since its construction in 1957. Over the years, it has been home to professional sports teams, annual cheerleading competitions and auto shows, in addition to hosting Texas-sized events such as the Texas Bridal Show (the end all, be all of Texas Bridal shows!) and the annual Mary Kay convention.

The convention center itself is over two million square feet and boasts more than one million square feet of exhibit space and a 203,000-square-foot, column-free space, making it an attractive spot for concerts, large-scale conferences, and sporting events. The complex also has a 1,740-person theater, more than 100 meeting rooms, two gigantic Dallas ballrooms, and what is rumored to be the world’s largest heliport. Pretty impressive!

With the impending addition of the 1,000-room convention center hotel, run by Irving-based Omni Hotels, the center's "hot" factor is set to skyrocket when hotel doors open in 2012. After all, the Dallas hotel's plans for connecting atriums and walkways will allow for better access to events, dining, and nightlife in the immediate area.

View more information about the Dallas Convention Center on the Cvent Supplier Network