It’s time to start planning your annual meeting, but where to start? Planning an event can be a complicated process involving multiple aspects, from choosing just the right venue to arranging accommodations, catering, and orchestrating activities that keep attendees engaged. Unfamiliarity with the destination adds another layer of uncertainty to working out the logistics. Contracting with a one-stop shop—whether a convention center, destination marketing organization, destination management company, or full-service event planner—simplifies the process, as it offers the convenience of one contact and one contract for multitier services. Not only will it save you time on research and planning as you tap into local expertise, but it will also alleviate the stress that comes with making multiple phone calls to iron out details.
Whether planners need a 1,000-person venue for a weeklong convention or a more intimate setting for a weekend corporate retreat, they will find the Northeast region has all the components for a successful meeting: affordability, accessibility, and a variety of one-stop-shop resources for event-planning assistance that will help guide your choices and turn your vision of a perfect meeting or event into a not-too-distant reality.
Prime Meeting Space
If considering a major Northeast city for your event, a convention center might already be on your list as a possible site. These venues often offer more than just event space that can handle high-capacity audiences. Think on-site catering, audiovisual and tech assistance, and help with arranging everything from entertainment to equipment rental and shipping. Many convention centers have a dedicated staff that will take care of all details, large or small, from start to finish.
Planners are spoiled for choice when it comes to booking a convention center in this part of the country. Boston, Massachusetts; Hartford, Connecticut; and New York City, among others, all have convention centers with cutting-edge facilities that can accommodate large gatherings. So does Providence, Rhode Island, which was the site of the North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT) meeting last April.
“We like to rotate our show to all of our regional chapter areas,” NASTT Conference Services Director Michelle Hill notes. “We struggled in the past finding a location in the Northeast, as larger markets like New York and Boston weren’t financially viable for our organization. When we looked into Providence, we realized it was a great convention town conveniently located between those larger markets we were trying to target. Our event fit perfectly into the Rhode Island Convention Center (RICC), and it was such a benefit to not compete with other shows in the building. The available hotel properties were all convenient to the venue, so it gave our attendees the opportunity to stay at their favorite brands.”
NASTT used the 564-room Omni Providence Hotel, which is connected to the convention center by skywalk, as its host hotel, although it also had blocks of rooms booked at the Graduate by Hilton Providence, Hilton Providence, and Courtyard Providence Downtown hotels.
The convention center has a 100,000-square-foot exhibition hall, 23 meeting rooms, and 30,000 square feet of pre-function space, and it can accommodate groups up to 10,000 attendees. For NASTT, the convention center’s downtown location and flexible meeting space made it an attractive location for the organization’s meeting.
To ensure a smoothly run event, the RICC event services team works in tandem with the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau (GoProvidence) convention services team, explains Tom Riel, senior vice president of GoProvidence.
He notes, “The RICC team coordinates all activities occurring within the building, while the GoProvidence services team assists with attendance-building (destination marketing), off-site event coordination, the sourcing of local vendors, and other ad hoc requirements to ensure success in the destination.”
He adds, “Our one-team approach makes us easy to do business with. Planners seeking availability and accommodations will work with an experienced GoProvidence sales executive who has access to the convention center’s availability, pricing, and terms. One point of contact has been our business model since 2022 and has given us a competitive edge. We developed this process in order to make us more competitive with larger hotels, which can oftentimes accommodate our preferred business size and scope.”
Leveraging Local Connections
As Hill discovered when booking the NASTT meeting, a connection to a destination marketing organization, such as a convention and visitors bureau, is a valuable strategy, as convention centers often work hand-in-hand with the visitors bureau. Given their extensive local knowledge, destination marketing organizations are well positioned to answer all questions.
Wondering which venue will best suit your group’s size and requirements? Do you want a headquarters hotel within walking distance of your venue or one with enough event space so everything from rooms to meals and sessions can be held all under one roof? Do your attendees need suggestions for attractions or restaurants to visit in their free time?
Destination marketing organizations can help you sort out logistics at no cost to your group or organization. With their insider knowledge, staff can suggest activities and share lesser-known options to enhance your attendees’ overall experience. Destination marketing organizations also provide marketing materials and offer site visits to help planners make a final decision on where to meet.
“We host regular Buffalo, New York, familiarization tours to showcase the city [to planners],” says Patrick Kaler, Visit Buffalo Niagara’s president and CEO. “Increasing convention center business is a major focus of the convention and visitors bureau. Twenty of the 30 convention planners who visited in 2024 chose Buffalo for their upcoming meetings.”
While nearby Niagara Falls might be a more well-known locale, Buffalo’s investment in downtown revitalization projects, new hotels, and timely renovations to its convention center make this an attractive destination for meetings. Its location is another asset. Buffalo is easily accessible from several interstate highways and from major Northeastern airports via most airlines.
The Buffalo Convention Center recently underwent a $6 million upgrade of its facade, lobby, and meeting rooms. Its 110,000 square feet of flexible meeting and event space can accommodate groups from 50 to 5,000 with full in-house catering and other essential services.
The adjacent 396-room Hyatt Regency Buffalo provides an additional 23,479 square feet of meeting and banquet space, making it a convenient host hotel for groups meeting at the convention center. Planners interested in booking less-traditional venues for off-site events, such as dinners and receptions, have many choices, including Shea’s Buffalo Theatre, the Buffalo AKG Art Museum, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s Martin House.
“We want planners to know that Buffalo is a great place to be, visit, and meet as it is a big city with a small-town feel,” Kaler points out. “It is affordable, easy to get around, and downright neighborly. Our dedicated sales team is ready to assist with everything from coordinating arrangements with the convention center to providing information on hotels, attractions, and other components for a memorable meeting.”
The Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau in Pennsylvania goes all out when it comes to working with planners, providing assets and tools to help make event planning easy. It offers everything from venue search tools and city resource guides to a business directory of nearly 700 regional partners.
This one-stop shop has three specialized business divisions—PHL Diversity, PHL Life Sciences, and PHL Sports—all excellent partners for meeting professionals and event strategists, connecting them with area thought leaders and industry experts who can assist with obtaining resources from the community and in building event attendance.
“Philadelphia also boasts a strong hotel package with more than 14,000 hotel rooms within walking distance of the Pennsylvania Convention Center and its 679,000 square feet of exhibit space,” says Gregg Caren, the bureau’s president and CEO. “Plus, there’s no shortage of unique venues that incorporates the city’s rich history, arts, and culture, giving attendees a truly Philadelphia experience.”
Getting to Philadelphia is easy. The airport is a 25-minute drive from downtown. Visitors taking Amtrak will arrive at 30th Street Station, located in the heart of the city.
Once there, getting around on foot is also simple. Philadelphia has five public squares full of greenery and was designed with a compact grid, making for scenic, yet short walks for attendees traveling from place to place. The convention center and many of the hotels are downtown, making it easy for attendees to access restaurants, attractions, and museums, and affordable for planners, who can forego shuttles.
“From the initial bid process to the final post-event follow-up, the Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau is with its customers every step of the way,” Caren says.
Beyond the Ballroom
While destination marketing organizations have extensive, specialized knowledge about a city or region, destination management companies are another helpful institution and can take planning assistance one step further. Staff at such companies can curate a customized experience tailored to your meeting requirements, vision, and budget, taking care of every detail and bringing new ideas and considerations to your attention. Another advantage of working with a destination management company is that it can secure preferential rates at hotels and venues, and arrange exclusive bookings for experiences that might otherwise be out of reach.
“It’s all about expertise and knowledge,” says Jack Hartley, president of the Event Connections Group in Severna Park, Maryland. “Destination management companies have experience operating programs. They have worked with the vendors and they know the venues, so they can save you time.”
Although the Event Connections Group, a full-service agency with a global reach, can arrange meetings at both U.S. and international destinations, its home base near Baltimore, Maryland, allows it to also use its planning expertise closer to home. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the company created Event Connections Maryland, a destination management company focusing on meeting options in the Annapolis-Baltimore-Philadephia-Washington, D.C., area.
“We do everything,” Hartley says, “from searching for the right hotel, developing themes and agendas, program registration, air ticketing, airport transportation, and on-site management. We have access to keynote speakers and entertainment, and we can do program swag and plan off-site activities such as dine-arounds.”
Helping groups decide where to meet also falls within their purview, although Hartley admits that it doesn’t take much to sell people on meeting in the Greater Chesapeake Bay area. “Annapolis is a gem of a city for small programs, such as executive retreats and sales meetings. It’s walkable, with great hotels close to major airports. Baltimore is a great-value destination with high-end hotels as well as a variety of chain and boutique hotels and a convention center. Washington, D.C., is a huge mecca for events with every hotel chain and a slew of great on-site venues, parks, and major attractions, like the Smithsonian, International Spy Museum, and Lincoln Memorial.”
Seamless Event Management
If you are not sold on working with a destination marketing organization or destination management company, then a planning company might be the best option for your needs, regardless of the size of your group.
“As a full-service event agency, we see ourselves as an extension of your staff, handling everything from conception to completion,” says Sherry Awbrey, senior vice president of sales for EMC Meetings and Events, headquartered in Sea Girt, New Jersey. “We will design the event, do the sourcing, build the requests for proposal, and gather all the details, so you can make decisions. We also will be on-site throughout the event to take your meeting experience to the next level.”
yoga for retreats. || Photo by Palm Portraits
The company works with corporations 70% of the time and with associations for the other 30%. It serves all major sectors, including food and beverage, technical, and financial, booking events in the Northeast and around the globe. Many of EMC Meetings and Events’ clients find it through word of mouth, while others are repeat customers seeking new destinations or experiences to elevate a meeting.
“Ideally, we first need to understand your objective, so we can uncover your needs for rates, states, and spaces,” Awbrey says. “We look at all the touch points of the attendees’ journey.”
She adds that the team tries to incorporate memorable experiences in every event, with the possibilities limited only by budget. It could be a signature evening showcase event or a special “taste of” culinary kickoff session. For previous clients, the agency has woven in special experiences, such as arrival by float plane and hot-air ballooning.
While planning a meeting can be challenging, fortunately, planners have a number of one-stop-shop options for assistance to handle everything, from soup to nuts. All it takes is one phone call to book a meeting and add a few helping hands to your team.
buffaloconvention.com
discoverphl.com
ecmaryland-dmc.com
emcme.com
eventconnectionsgroup.com
goprovidence.com
nastt.org
omnihotels.com
riconvention.com
visitbuffaloniagara.com
