Why Here?
Several California cities -- San Francisco, Los Angeles and San Diego -- have plans to invest heavily in their convention facilities. San Jose already has added 125,000 square feet to its convention center, while Long Beach recently unveiled a $10 million event venue (above) in the Long Beach Arena.
Did You Know?
San Francisco's Presidio served as a military base from 1776 to 1994 and is now a National Park Site complete with its own inn. The site offers several unique meeting spaces with breathtaking views of the iconic Golden Gate Bridge.
Scenic Space
San Diego's Town and Country Resort and Conference Center (towncountry.com) has more than 200,000 square feet of function space and can host up to 5,000 people in its 41,000-square-foot exhibit hall.
SAN FRANCISCO
Local Update
• Last fall, the Grand Hyatt San Francisco completed a $70 million renovation with the unveiling of a new top-floor meeting and event space. The 4,817-square-foot area on the 36th floor presents 360-degree views of the Bay Area, including Alcatraz, the Golden Gate bridge and bustling Union Square directly below. The property features 660 guest rooms and a total of 32,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 7,000-square-foot grand ballroom adjacent to an additional 10,000 square feet of flexible space for exhibits or dining for up to 350 attendees.
• The Galleria Park Hotel, part of the Joie de Vivre collection, completed a multimillion-dollar, 18-month renovation last summer. The project included a redesign of the property's 177 guest rooms, new landscaping and décor on the hotel's outdoor terrace, a remodel of its 2,000-square-foot meeting space and a new French restaurant.
• The 116-room Hotel Zetta opened last February with 2,760 square feet of event space divided among three meeting rooms and a chic lobby lounge. The property, originally built in 1913, is a few blocks from Moscone Center and features an on-site restaurant and complimentary Wi-Fi.
Meeting Hotels: Among properties in the Union Square area are the 1,908-room Hilton San Francisco Union Square, 1,496-room Marriott Marquis San Francisco, 1,195-room Westin St. Francis, 1,010-room Parc 55 Wyndham San Francisco-Union Square and 532-room Hotel Nikko San Francisco.
To find and compare these and other hotels in the area, and to send RFPs, go to mcvenues.com.
Convention Centers: Moscone Center; exhibit space, approximately 442,000 square feet in Moscone North and South; number of meeting rooms, 68. Moscone West; exhibit space, 3,000 square feet; number of meeting rooms, 38. (415) 974-4000; moscone.com
Fort Mason Center; exhibit space, 130,000 square feet; number of meeting rooms, 11. (415) 441-3400; fortmason.org
Concourse Exhibition Center at the San Francisco Design Center; exhibit space, 125,000 square feet; no meeting rooms. (415) 490-5800; sfvenues.com
Airport Transit: San Francisco International Airport, about 13 miles south of San Francisco's downtown district. Transfer cost by taxi, $45 to downtown
Taxes: Room tax, 14%; Tourism Improvements District Assessment, .75% or 1%; Moscone Expansion District, .3125% or 1.25%; total tax on hotel rooms, 15.0625% or 16.25%
Group Venue: Meeting planners can rent several intriguing spaces on the 25th floor of the 532-room Hotel Nikko, including a 1,560-square-foot area with unobstructed views of the Golden Gate Bridge. Additional gathering spots on the same floor include a 1,058-square-foot room overlooking the peninsula and Silicon Valley, a 990-square-foot room with views of San Francisco Bay and four boardrooms. (415) 394-1111; hotelnikkosf.com
Contact: San Francisco Travel Association, (415) 974-6900; sanfrancisco.travel
Napa Valley
Here are some noteworthy developments in this colorful region of Northern California.
The boutique Chanric Inn (thechanric.com) in Calistoga has reopened under new ownership following a makeover. The seven-room property has an outdoor pool, a whirlpool, spa services and all-day food service.
The Napa River Inn (napariverinn.com) recently opened its spa, offering a range of organic, wild-harvested and local spa products. The Inn has 66 guest rooms, approximately 2,000 square feet of indoor meeting space and 7,300 square feet of outdoor function space.
The 141-room Andaz Napa (andaznapa.com) recently opened the Mercantile Terrace, a new public space offering communal tables, outdoor fire pits and a varied selection of artisanal wines, craft beers and small plates. The property also has nearly 9,000 square feet of function space and complimentary evening wine tastings.
ANAHEIM
• Five new hotel projects comprising a total of nearly 1,000 guest rooms currently are under construction in Anaheim. Properties include two SpringHill Suites and the Hyatt Place Anaheim Resort (all expected to open by this summer), a Hyatt House, to open in 2015, and the Homewood Suites by Hilton-Anaheim Convention Center/Disneyland Main Gate, to debut in late 2015.
Meeting Hotels: Properties include the 1,576-room Hilton Anaheim, 1,100-room Disney's Grand Californian Hotel & Spa, 1,030-room Marriott Anaheim, 990-room Disneyland Hotel, 499-room Sheraton Park Hotel, 489-room Disney's Paradise Pier Hotel and 286-room Clarion Hotel Anaheim Resort.
In Huntington Beach are the 517-room Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort, 290-room Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort and 220-room Hotel Huntington Beach.
Costa Mesa has the 486-room Hilton Costa Mesa, 390-room Westin South Coast Plaza, 238-room Wyndham Orange County Costa Mesa and 228-room Hotel Hanford.
In Newport Beach: the 403-room Hyatt Regency Newport Beach, 335-room Radisson Hotel Newport Beach and 250-room Marriott Suites.
For more, go to mcvenues.com.
Convention Center: Anaheim/Orange County Convention Center; exhibit space, approximately 1.6 million square feet; number of meeting rooms, 51; (408) 792-4194; anaheimconventioncenter.com
Airport Transit: John Wayne Airport, about 15 miles south of downtown Anaheim. Transfer cost by taxi, approximately $32
Taxes: Transit occupancy tax, 15%; total tax on hotel rooms, 15%
Group Venue: Cars Land, which opened in Disney's California Adventure Park in June 2012, can host up to 2,000 attendees and features attractions based on the Disney-Pixar film Cars, including the Radiator Springs Racers, which takes riders on a high-speed mountain journey. (714) 520-7025; bit.ly/XVH1YQ
Contact: Anaheim/Orange County Visitor and Convention Bureau, (714) 765-8888; anaheimoc.org
Long Beach
The long-awaited, $7 million Pacific Ballroom at the
Long Beach Arena celebrated its grand opening this past November.
The new venue, which is attached to the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center, uses curtains that drop down to hide its seating areas, creating an enclosed 46,000-square-foot ballroom setting on the arena floor. "It's designed to be a blank canvas," says Charlie Beirne, general manager of the facility.
But this blank canvas comes with some hefty bells and whistles, including a $1.6 million steel-truss grid system, similar to those found on traditional theatrical stages. The grid is suspended above the space and rigged with state-of-the-art audiovisual, allowing event designers ultimate flexibility when setting lighting schemes.
Additional curtains enable the space to be divided into smaller sections. To see the arena in action, visit mcmag.com/videos.
SAN JOSE
• The San Jose McEnery Convention Center celebrated the completion of a $130 million renovation and expansion project last October. The center added 125,000 square feet of flexible ballroom and meeting room space, increasing the total usable area for functions to 550,000 square feet. Team San Jose, which promotes the city as a destination and manages the convention center, reported 178 new meetings and events on the books for the newly revamped facility.
• Karolyn Kirchgesler began her role as the new CEO of Team San Jose last September. Kirchgesler formerly served as president and CEO of Visit Saint Paul (Minn.), which operated under a similar model. She has more than 25 years of industry experience.
• In June, La Quinta Inn & Suites San Jose Airport reopened following a $3 million renovation. The 145-room property offers a pool, a business center, free Wi-Fi and a fitness facility.
Meeting Hotels: Major properties include the 805-room Fairmont San Jose, 512-room San Jose Airport Garden Hotel, 506-room San Jose Marriott, 505-room DoubleTree by Hilton San Jose, 355-room Wyndham San Jose, 353-room Hilton San Jose, 239-room Hyatt Place San Jose Downtown and 145-room La Quinta Inn & Suites San Jose Airport.
To find and compare hotels, and send RFPs, go to mcvenues.com.
Convention Center: San Jose Convention Center; exhibit space, 165,000 square feet; number of meeting rooms, 43; (408) 792-4194; sanjose.org
Airport Transit: Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport, about three miles from the center of the city. Transfer cost by taxi, $15-$20
Taxes: Room tax, 10%; sales tax, 9.25%; total tax on hotel rooms, 10%, plus Convention Center Funding District Tax of 2% to 4% and a $0.75 to $2 per-night hotel business/improvement fee (per location)
Group Venues: Meet among rare, classic muscle cars on display at Club Auto Sport, which offers 10,000 square feet of function space, including an 800-square-foot conference room. The venue also has a 25-foot-long bar and an outdoor patio with covered barbecue area. (408) 770-1202; clubautosport.net
The 214-room Dolce Hayes Mansion was built in 1905 and became a hotel/conference center in 2002. The property has 35,000 square feet of meeting space, along with 20,000 square feet of outdoor event space. Minutes away are the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens. (877) 507-9949; hayesmansion.com
Contact: Team San Jose, (800) 726-5673; sanjose.org