This vibrant Northwestern jewel of a city on the shores of Puget Sound is so multifaceted that Seattle’s Convention and Visitors Bureau (SCVB) had to coin a new word to describe it. The term they came up with, metronatural, reflects the city’s high-energy urban environment that is surrounded by a landscape of a much different kind, one filled with scenic waterways, mountains and forests. And, like a breath of fresh mountain air, many hotel meeting spaces let in both natural light and incomparable vistas of the Sound and the city.

Stacy Weber, CMP, is event and meeting manager for the accounting firm Moss Adams LLP, which is headquartered in Seattle. Having also spent eight years on the hotel side of the business, she’s well-aware of the strengths Seattle brings to the table as a meeting destination.

“Downtown Seattle is about half an hour away from the airport at the most,” she said. “You have the big chain hotels and many, many boutique hotels. Everything in downtown Seattle is walkable. You’ve got the waterfront, downtown shopping, restaurants, bars and businesses. There are a lot of parks downtown.”

She also explained that there’s much more to Seattle than just the downtown area. “The mountains are within an hour, you can be at the beach within an hour, and we’ve got lakes that have all kinds of activities on them. We have a lot of Native American history, and we’re kind of a technology town, too.”

Weber dispelled myths about Seattle being an exceptionally rainy city. “One thing I always like to point out is that we are the 44th rainiest city in the nation,” she said. “We get less annual rainfall than New York City. We may have a few more gray days in the wintertime, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s raining, and summertime in Seattle is absolutely beautiful.”

Mark Frye, senior consultant to the events and exhibits group at Texas Instruments in Dallas, also cited the convenience of the downtown area and its close proximity to the airport as some of the advantages of

Sheraton Seattle General Manager Matthieu Van Der Peet accepts the AAA Four Diamond Award from AAA Communications Director Jennifer Cook. This year marked the 25th year in a row that the hotel has achieved Four Diamond status. Photo courtesy of Sheraton Seattle Hotel

meeting in Seattle. Then he added another one. “The pricing structure they offer is very competitive.”

Frye recently planned a major conference in Seattle that had a series of smaller meetings leading up to it. The largest event was held at the Washington State Convention & Trade Center (WSCTC) and attracted 1,500 K-12 and college teachers from throughout the U.S. and Canada. “They were coming to learn how to use the technology that Texas Instruments manufactures, to use it more effectively in the classroom,” he noted.

“The convention center was great,” he said. “We require about 35 breakout rooms at one time, and we have almost 400 sessions that take place over 2½ days, so we require a venue that can accommodate our meeting room requirements. Theirs was really perfect. The way the convention center is structured inside made it convenient for people to get from one room to another. They had hosts who worked on the floors that would help our guests if they got lost, so there was a lot of good customer service.”

Sustainability Leader

The WSCTC is the largest meeting and event facility in the state of Washington with 205,700 square feet of exhibit space and 105,000 square feet of meeting space. An additional 138,610 square feet of meeting and exhibit space will become available in 2010 when a newly acquired building next door is renovated and connected to the center. WSCTC is a leader in sustainability: Last year alone, the center recycled 174 tons of cardboard; 186 tons of mixed paper, plastic and glass; 2,460 pounds of aluminum cans; and 12 tons of scrap metal. The center is also taking the steps necessary to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification for an existing building.

In December, the WSCTC became the first convention facility to introduce completely biodegradable water bottles. They’re made with plastics that allow the entire bottle, cap, label and contents to biodegrade completely through a two-step process. By comparison, a traditional water bottle can take up to 5,000 years to decompose. Groups meeting at the center also can request coffee and drinking cups that are 100 percent compostable as well as bamboo plates and cutlery made of birch or bamboo.

The Texas Instruments events required a significant number of hotel rooms as well as hotel meeting space. “We involved three major hotels downtown, the Sheraton Seattle Hotel, the Grand Hyatt Seattle and their new Hyatt at Olive 8 hotel,” Frye explained.

“What’s nice about it is that all three of them are very close to each other, so from a meeting planner’s perspective, having meetings in multiple properties was pretty much a breeze for us. They’re only a block away from each other,” he said.

“The Grand Hyatt is a lovely property,” he continued. “We enjoyed it. It has just the perfect kind of meeting space. It had a sufficient number of breakout rooms. They were conveniently located within the hotel so our guests who were staying there could quickly access their sleeping rooms and then get back to

The downtown Seattle Art Museum offers a variety of meeting and event venues including boardrooms, a lecture hall, an auditorium with theater seating, and the Grand Stairway and lobby for after-hours receptions. Photo by Lara Swimmer Photography

their meeting room by the elevator.

“The design of the hotel is beautiful,” Frye added. “It kind of gives the folks a sense of the Northwest with the architecture and materials. It’s so conveniently located to the big convention center and so many other nice locations within the city.”

The 425-room Grand Hyatt offers 25,000 square feet of meeting space.

The Hyatt at Olive 8, which opened in late January, is located one block north of the Grand Hyatt. Along with its 346 hotel rooms, 231 condominiums and 11,000 square feet of meeting space, the property is a model of modern sustainability. The property, which is currently pursuing LEED certification, features one of the largest green roofs in the city. The rooftop is covered with native and adapted plants, which provide a vital habitat for birds and insects. Other environmentally responsible features include a green housekeeping program, reuse and recycling programs, room keycard light switches and dual-flush toilets. The hotel’s amenities include an eco-friendly spa and the restaurant Urbane, which uses locally sourced foods.

“The Olive 8 we just used for sleeping rooms,” Frye explained. “It’s more contemporary, a little more modern. We actually put most of our TI staff over there and our instructors, which have a little younger demographic, and they loved it there. The service was great. You wouldn’t think it had only been in operation for a month.

“We did have quite a few meetings at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel,” Frye continued. We used a lot of their meeting space for smaller groups. It worked out great. They did a superb job.”

Thanks to a hotel tower addition in 2007, the AAA Four Diamond Sheraton Seattle Hotel can now lay claim to being the largest hotel in the city with 1,253 guest rooms and 75,000 square feet of meeting space. Renovations in the existing hotel included the Grand Ballroom, which now accommodates 1,400 people, and the Metropolitan Ballroom, which seats 800. Most recently, the hotel completed a $2 million remodel and expansion of their 35th floor bi-level fitness center, which features panoramic views of Seattle and state-of-the-art fitness equipment. The hotel achieves a sense of place with one of the largest public Pacific Northwest art collections on display.

More Property News And Notes

Four Seasons Returns. After what the company refers to as a “five-year hiatus,” Four Seasons returned to the city in November with the opening of the Four Seasons Hotel and Private Residences Seattle. Located in the heart of downtown adjacent to Pike Place Market and the Seattle Art Museum, the property has 134 guest rooms, more than 10,500 square feet of meeting space, a spa and a signature waterfront restaurant and lounge named ART.

W Stands for Whimsical. Another downtown property, the W Seattle, adds a spirit of fun and whimsy to its meetings. Breaks aren’t called breaks, they’re called “recess,” and planners can choose from several fun options. There’s the “Grey’s Anatomy” recess that features McSteamy coffee, the board game “Operation,” and clips from the TV show. The “Sleepless in Seattle” recess includes Starbucks chocolate-covered

Groups can enjoy a real a taste of Seattle via Savor Seattle Food Tours. The Pike Place Tour allows attendeees to sample delicacies from the famous market, and the Downtown Seattle Tour offers local wines, microbrews, organic chocolates and more. Photo by Barbie Hull of Barbie Hull Photography

espresso beans and movie clips. The third option is the “Camp W” recess where guests enjoy s’mores in front of a fireplace DVD and are given flashlights for reading scary stories.

Arctic Club Hotel warms to new ownership. The downtown Arctic Club Hotel, located in the historic Arctic Building, officially becomes a Doubletree Hotel this month. The hotel group has managed the 120-room property since it opened in July 2008. The newly named Doubletree Arctic Club Hotel Seattle Downtown has preserved the landmark Arctic Building’s early 20th century architecture, including the 23 molded walrus heads on the exterior, the Alaskan marble foyer and stairwells, and the stunningly ornate Northern Lights Dome Room with its Rococo gilt ceiling, ornamental cornices and stained glass dome. This renowned ballroom, considered one of Seattle’s grandest function facilities, can hold banquets for up to 350 in its 6,400 square feet of elegant space.

Nearby gaming option. Tulalip Resort Casino added a new hotel and spa last August. The 370-room resort, which is located approximately 40 minutes north of Seattle, offers 30,000 square feet of function space along with a spa, fitness center and 24-hour business center. The property is located on the Tulalip Indian Reservation and is operated by the Tulalip Tribes.

Stacy Weber recently handled the contract negotiations for a party her firm held at Tulalip Resort Casino. “The hotel has about $1 million of Native American art, and they have found a way to combine that with the modern look hotels have these days and turn it into a really beautiful, unique space,” she explained. “That’s in the meeting space, as well.”

The Moss Adams event was a huge success. “They loved having their party there so much they want to go back this year,” Weber stated. “Everything from the contracting, to planning the details, to the food and the onsite service, they raved about every part of it. It was very smooth, and it was very easy to work with them.”

Things To Do, Places To Meet

The Experience Music Project/Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame (EMP/SFM) offers a unique venue for private events. With the iconic Space Needle serving as a backdrop, the Frank Gehry-designed structure can host private events for up to 3,000 guests. EMP is dedicated to the exploration of creativity and innovation in popular music, while the SFM is the world’s first museum devoted to science fiction.

The Space Needle offers 360-degree views of the city and Puget Sound from its 100-foot-high Skyline Level venue, where up to 360 attendees can be accommodated for meetings, banquets and dinners. The observation deck can accommodate up to 1,000 people.

Three facilities make up the Seattle Art Museum complex, and all of them offer event space: the Seattle Art Museum in downtown, the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park and the Olympic Sculpture Park on the waterfront. The museums offer function spaces from boardrooms to auditoriums with theater seating, and Olympic Sculpture Park’s Pavilion and terraces are available for receptions for up to 400 and seated dinners for up to 210 attendees.

Savoring Seattle

Food-themed events continue to be popular with corporate groups, and there’s a company called Savor Seattle Food Tours that can easily satisfy that hunger. In addition to its food-themed tours that are open to the public, the company can arrange private tours for groups. Two options are available: The Pike Place Tour takes 2–2½ hours and covers many of the food items that are available at this world-famous open air market. As tour participants learn the history of the market, a culinary landmark, they have the opportunity

Hospitality industry volunteers clear a patch of land at the Danny Woo Community Garden in Seattle to make way for a children’s garden. They were inaugurating the SCVB’s new voluntourism program, which will help visiting corporate groups organize community service activities. Planners can learn more at visitseattle.org/meetings/voluntourism. Photo by Scott Squire, NonFiction Media

to sample delicacies such as smoked salmon, “Seattle’s Best” coffee, artisan cheeses, Russian pastries and clam chowder. Guests also get to see Pike Place Market’s famous “flying fish” that take to the air when the market’s fishmongers hurl three-foot salmon to each other instead of passing them by hand.

Savor Seattle also offers a private Downtown Seattle Tour that takes 3–3½ hours. Guests on this tour sample local wines and microbrew beers, as well as items such as fair trade and organic chocolates, artisan pizza, Bavarian-style cold cuts, and homemade gelato.

Catering With A Cause

More and more groups are also looking to add a charitable or community service component to their programs. The Seattle organization FareStart makes it possible for groups to give back to the community while they satisfy their appetites for great culinary experiences.

FareStart is a nonprofit organization that operates a restaurant and catering business to provide job training and placement for homeless and disadvantaged individuals in the Seattle area. Founder David Lee formed the organization when, after feeding the homeless for four years, he saw a huge opportunity to help them rebuild their lives.

Planners can contract with FareStart to cater multi-course dinners, cocktail parties, receptions, and business lunches and meetings in its restaurant and/or private banquet rooms. All revenue generated goes to support FareStart’s job training and placement programs.

LeAnne Grillo, partner at Reos Partners LLC in Cambridge, MA, discovered FareStart while she was in Seattle for a meeting and attended a dinner there. “I was so impressed with the whole idea. It’s sort of ‘give a man a fish and he eats for the day, teach a man to fish and he eats forever.’ It is a strong way of getting people back on their feet.” She was also impressed with the quality of the food and the atmosphere.

“It’s got sort of an open kitchen. It’s very modern looking and sleek,” she described. “It has sort of an industrial feel to it, but it’s still very warm and nice looking. It’s within walking distance of The Westin Seattle, right in the downtown area.”

Grillo also commented that FareStart can be an inspiration to corporate groups because it gives them an excellent opportunity to see real teamwork in action. “There’s an esprit de corps there. The way they work is such a team-oriented approach that you feel that.”

Air Transportation Update

It’s now even easier to get to Seattle. In November, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (Sea-Tac) added a third runway in an effort to reduce flight delays and allow the airport to remain on time when low clouds are present.

There will soon be a new way to get to downtown Seattle from the airport. By the end of 2009, the Central Link segment of the city’s light rail system will begin operation. “That should reduce the commute time (from Sea-Tac to downtown) to probably about 15 to 20 minutes,” Weber stated. “The light rail will be huge.”

Starting In Seattle

As Frye discovered, a good first step in planning a meeting in Seattle is to contact Seattle’s CVB. “They were our main point of contact,” he explained. “They made all of the introductions to the people that we needed to work with. They helped us formulate the agreement with the convention center and work with the hotels. I think their main role was really helping to win Seattle as the location so they spent a lot of their time showing us the city and the advantages of coming to Seattle over other cities. They obviously did a good job because we decided to go there.” The bureau also provided materials such as city maps and restaurant lists for Frye’s attendees, many of whom had never been to Seattle. “They were really happy to see the city,” he said. “It’s just a wonderful city.”    C&IT