SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS January 2008 Obviously, any city that adopts "metronatural" as its campaign is not afraid of sophistication, trendsetting, and a little bit of adventure. This month's PCMA attendees will discover a sleek, compact urban center, bristling with arts and culture; a coffee stand on every corner; and strong opinions about everything.
Outside Seattle, the Suncadia Resort Community is set to debut its Lodge and Spa. Imagine: 254 guest rooms and 14 treatment rooms, surrounded by 6,400 acres.
Essential Tool Box
Convention Facilities:
SEATTLE Washington State Convention & Trade Center, 305,700 sf of dedicated exhibit space; 61 meeting rooms, largest holds 4,000 theater-style.
TACOMA Greater Tacoma Convention & Trade Center, 227,000 sf of total space, 14 meeting rooms, largest holds 450 theater-style.
Average Daily Business Travel Costs*, Seattle:
Hotel $160.69 F&B $82.10 Car Rental $84.48
For More Information:
Seattle's CVB
www.visitseattle.org
Tacoma Regiona
www.traveltacoma.com
For complete facilities listings visit Facility Quick Search at www.mimegasite.com
*Business Travel News 2007 Corporate Travel Index
Play It again, Sam
Seattle loves culture, and nobody knows that like the Seattle Art Museum (SAM), which is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year. The two newest sites (there are four) are the SAM downtown expansion, which recently opened 118,000 sf of additional space, featuring new galleries, public spaces, a new restaurant, an expanded museum store, and a spacious entryway and lobby; and the nine-acre Olympic Sculpture Park, which opened last year, featuring the works of Richard Serra, Alexander Calder, and Mark di Suvero, as well as the PACCAR Pavilion, a glass-and-steel structure that houses event space. At SAM's other sites, one showcases Asian art, and the other is an unusual gallery, where members can rent (and nonmembers buy) works by contemporary, regional artists.
You May Notice
IN TOWN: The 91-room Heathman Hotel, Kirkland (sister property to the Heathman Hotel in Portland, OR) recently debuted with 2,500 sf of meeting space and a 5,000-sf spa. The "Built Green" property offers high-speed wired and wireless connectivity and a fitness center that's complimentary to guests.
* The 1,258-room Sheraton Seattle is now the largest property in the city, having added a 420-room second tower in June that features 16 new meeting rooms, adding 12,000 sf new function space to the property. Existing function space also received a makeover: The grand ballroom was enlarged from 14,200 sf to 18,300 sf, with banquet seating for 1,400 people; and the formerly 4,700-sf Metropolitan ballroom is now 9,440 sf, with seating for 800.
* The 237-room Silver Cloud Hotel Stadium opened in Jan 2007, with 3,300 sf of conference space and an open-air rooftop lap pool and sundeck.
* The 120-room Arctic Club Hotel Seattle opens this month, with 5,800 sf of meeting space, a full restaurant and lounge, and fitness center.
* The 149-room, $120-million Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Seattle is expected to open this year, with a ballroom and an outdoor infinity pool overlooking Elliott Bay.
TACOMA: The former Sheraton Tacoma will transform into the 319-room Hotel Murano in Nov, following a $20 million renovation.
* The Working Waterfront Maritime Museum has begun a $21.5 million expansion, which is expected to add 4,000 sf of meeting and event space when complete.
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AREA: This spring, the Suncadia Resort in Roslyn, WA, is set to debut its 254-room Lodge, featuring 5,000 sf of meeting space, and a 9,000-sf spa.
QUIL CEDA VILLAGE: Early this year, the Tulalip Casino is expected to debut the luxury 370-room Tulalip Resort & Spa to augment its 30,000 sf of meeting space.
Great Places for Good Times
The restaurants below have group facilities and were selected from the Zagat Survey of Seattle. The list was determined by Zagat's food and service ratings of 24 and above and a price of up to $65 per person (without alcohol):
NAME, Location,Type of Food
The Georgian, Downtown, French/Regional
El Gaucho. Belltown, Steakhouse
Cascadia, Belltown, American
Daniel's Broiler, various, Steakhouse
Six Seven, Waterfront, Regional
Waterfront Seafood Grill, Waterfront, Seafood
For more information on these and other restaurants in the Seattle area, please click on www.zagat.com
Party Like You Mean It
This year, the Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) is holding its 15th "Party with a Purpose" at the Experience Music Project (EMP). The EMP, which was essentially built around Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen's collection of Jimi Hendrix memorabilia, is a 140,000-sf virtual "purple haze" of Frank Gehry-designed, passionate-hued, brushed stainless steel. (EMP has since augmented its fascinating Jimi Hendrix exhibit (pictured) with artifacts of Bob Dylan, Bo Diddley, and Muddy Waters as well as other Seattle area phenomenons, such as Kurt Cobain, Heart, and Sleater-Kinney.) EMP can host events of between 20 to 3,000 attendees. "EMP is a really different, unique venue," says Sarah Corradino, PCMA's meetings and events manager, who planned the event, "because it offers something for everybody. "Party with a Purpose" is traditionally a dancing and networking party, but if you're not into those activities, EMP is highly interactive and has lots of exhibits." The only drawback, she adds, is that you're not allowed to take food and beverages near the galleries. "You'll have to leave those back in the hall. But most people will probably be dancing and staying near the band."
Of the destination, Corradino says, "I don't think many of our members have spent a significant amount of time in Seattle so there's increased excitement about the destination and a lot of talk about extended stays." Peter Huggins, planner for the D.C.-based American Chemical Society, has never been to Seattle; he says, "It seems like a pleasant, low-key city, and I'm excited to learn more about it." A 13-year veteran of Seattle's CVB Joan Cahill, director, special projects, worked with PCMA on its site inspections, and notes, "They thought the ease in which we work here was refreshing. Although we're not a right-to-work state, we have a lot of leverage and flexibility with the convention center, the hotels, and the food quality." While she was not privy to PCMA's negotiations with EMP ("As Seattle's CVB is a member organization, we do not recommend any hotels or venues; with the exception of the Washington State Convention and Trade Center"), she adds, "Seattle is a very unique and fantastic destination. Everything PCMA has seen has reinforced that this is a great destination that is excited to have this meeting."