San Francisco’s Moscone Center comprises three buildings offering a total of 790,000 sf of exhibit space.

California’s impressively varied landscape — from vast urban hubs to wild expanses, all informed by ocean, desert and rugged mountains — is overlaid with richly diverse culture and an abundance of attractions. It makes for a destination that can meet the needs of any meeting planner.

San Francisco

San Francisco is a revered meeting destination. DECA, Inc. booked its Luminary Program with 90 attendees at The Westin St. Francis-San Francisco on Union Square last summer. Christopher Young, CAE, chief program officer for the group, based in Reston, VA, says they’ve hosted multiple meetings in the city, in part to familiarize key stakeholders and others with San Francisco in advance of their citywide meeting for 29,000 booked for 2029.

“As a destination, San Francisco offers something for everyone. From the different neighborhoods and variety of restaurants to attractions, there’s a lot happening in San Francisco,” Young says. “Our conference focused on innovation and creativity, making San Francisco the perfect location. It’s a city that embraces innovation, creativity and unique thinking. It provides a nod to the historic past but also a fast track to the future, and attendees felt that. They could experience riding in an autonomous vehicle, meet at a corporate office of a creativity-leading company and still enjoy the thrill of riding a Cable Car and checking out the Embarcadero.”

Young says he worked with San Francisco Travel Association for transportation coordination and hotel sourcing. “We thought we could never consider San Francisco due to hotel cost, but SF Travel proved otherwise. They collaborated with the hotels to offer competitive rates and concessions making it rival our other destinations,” he says.

Young calls The Westin St. Francis a perfect venue for this event, saying, “We knew The Westin St. Francis had meeting space with spectacular views while being in the heart of Union Square. Our desire was to showcase the city to our attendees in the best way possible, so we held a sunset welcome reception in the Mission Bay Ballroom with breathtaking views from the floor-to-ceiling windows. The next day, our breakfast and lunch in the Golden Gate Ballroom, showcased the Golden Gate Bridge. In the evenings, our attendees explored San Francisco on their own in small groups, and being centrally located made it easy for them to get around.”

Recent additions elevated the experience further. “The hotel recently added a beautiful Westin Club Lounge and opened Michael Mina’s Bourbon Steak and The Eighth Rule, Stephen Curry’s first bourbon bar. These elevate an already iconic San Francisco hotel,” Young says, adding, “Every need was met during the contracting, planning and implementation phases.”

From the airlift to the hotel collection to the city’s attractions, Young says San Francisco is worth consideration. “If you haven’t considered San Francisco previously or even recently, now is the time to give the city a look.”

The 1.8 million sf Anaheim Convention Center is the largest convention and exhibit facility on the West Coast.

Anaheim

The best measure of a destination’s success comes from the planners who have experienced it firsthand.

Event professional Alejandra Baez, CMP, senior events manager with Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE), shares why Anaheim proved to be the right fit for their event and why they would choose it again. “Anaheim was an excellent fit due to its accessibility, strong hospitality infrastructure and ability to support a large-scale citywide event,” says Baez. “Our convention welcomed thousands of attendees from across the country, so having a destination with strong airlift and easy access was critical. The proximity to major airports, including John Wayne Airport, Los Angeles International Airport and Long Beach Airport, made travel convenient and helped support strong attendance.”

Baez cites the walkability of the city’s convention district and abundance of lodging at all price points, noting that attendees could easily move between hotels, networking events and convention activities with no extensive transportation required. Anaheim’s significant mix of dining, entertainment and networking opportunities, as well as its safety and cleanliness, added to event success. Prior experience mattered, too.

“SHPE successfully met in Anaheim previously, and that experience gave us confidence in the destination’s ability to support the scale and complexity of our national convention,” Baez says.

Anaheim continues to evolve. “The continued development and enhancements around the Anaheim Convention Center campus positively contribute to the attendee experience,” Baez says. “Improvements in nearby hotel offerings, dining options and convention-district amenities have created a more connected and engaging environment for attendees. Additionally, Anaheim’s continued investment in convention infrastructure and citywide event support helped reinforce the destination as a strong fit for a large-scale national convention like SHPE”

Baez calls Visit Anaheim “responsive, solution-oriented and a valuable partner in coordinating citywide logistics, supporting hotel communications, providing destination resources and helping facilitate collaboration across venues and stakeholders.”

Anaheim Convention Center played a major role. “The convention center was able to support the diverse needs of our event, including general sessions, workshops, career-fair operations, partner activations, networking events and back-of-house logistics,” Baez says. “One of its biggest strengths is the flexibility and scale of the space. The convention center allowed us to effectively manage simultaneous programming while maintaining strong attendee flow throughout the building. The exhibit halls and meeting rooms supported our operational needs well, particularly for our large career fair and high-volume attendee traffic.”

Location was key to the choice of headquarters hotels but not the only factor, notes Baer. Available room-block inventory, meeting space capabilities, pricing, attendee experience, strong brand recognition, service standards, operational standards and the hotel’s ability to support a large citywide convention were all part of the decision.

Hilton Anaheim was undergoing a renovation at the time, but Baez says that didn’t negatively impact the convention, adding, “The hotel team was highly communicative throughout planning and onsite execution, working closely with SHPE to ensure construction activity was managed and didn’t interfere with scheduled events. Adjustments were made in real time to mitigate potential disruption from construction noise or activity. This level of responsiveness and collaboration helped maintain a professional and seamless environment for attendees, VIPs and partners.”

The group also used hotel meeting space for various functions. Wi-Fi and tech capabilities met the group’s needs, as did hotel staff and vendors. “The hotel teams worked closely with us and our vendors to support our needs. The flexibility of the spaces, décor and accessibility for attendees contributed positively to the overall experience. Staff responsiveness and coordination during move-ins, room resets and event transitions were especially appreciated.”

In every area, Baez says Anaheim delivered. “The success of our national convention depends heavily on attendee experience, operational efficiency and the ability to create meaningful engagement opportunities across multiple stakeholder groups,” Baez says. “Anaheim supported those goals well and provided the infrastructure necessary to execute a complex, high-attendance event successfully.”

The Long Beach Convention Center has more than 40,000 sf of meeting and exhibit space. Photo courtesy of Long Beach Convention & Visitors Bureau

Long Beach

Another popular destination is Long Beach. Perhaps known best for the historic Queen Mary, which offers 80,000 sf of meeting and event space, this seaside location is not far from the Los Angeles International Airport and has plenty to offer. The Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center is perfect for large meetings as it provides more than 400,000 sf of meeting and event space. It has a more than 3,000-seat Terrace Theater and an outdoor event plaza adding to its versatility.

All of this is not far from area restaurants and entertainment districts. Nearby is the Four Diamond Award–winning hotel, the Hyatt Regency Long Beach, which has more than 35,000 sf of space available for meetings and events.

There are plenty of accommodations available in Long Beach. The historic Fairmont Breakers Long Beach turns 100 this year and just underwent a $160 million renovation before reopening near the end of last year.

A brand-new venue on the city’s waterfront —  The F&M Bank Amphitheater of Long Beach — can accommodate 12,000 attendees. Another venue celebrating a milestone is The Maya, originally called Queensbay Hilton. It is celebrating 50 years of hospitality this year and has more than 30,000 sf of meeting and event space.

San Diego

Barbara Magro, association executive director and event manager of Denny’s Franchisee Association in Hendersonville, TN, calls Coronado, across the water from San Diego proper, a fantastic location — although it can be challenging to access during peak hours. The group of 225 recently held its annual Allied Partners Summit at Loews Coronado Bay Resort for the first time, booking 584 room nights. As for the resort, she adds, the culinary is excellent and the views are spectacular.

“We love Loews Hotels,” she says, adding that Loews is a great partner. Their properties are fantastic. The service is great. The people are wonderful. We’re relationship driven when it comes to meetings and events; Loews is always a ‘go to’ for us.”

A high level of service is front and center. “What stands out the most about this property and the brand overall,” Magro says, “is the level of service each person provides. They care about us and it shows in their actions. The Denny’s Franchisee Association looks forward to partnering with Loews Hotels whenever we can. They work within our budget and make us feel important every time. They’re always consistent and exceed our expectations.”

The resort worked perfectly for the group. “The space is wonderful,” Magro says. “The banquet team was great; the food was fantastic — and I don’t say that about all banquet food! Loews always delivers when it comes to food. We also had a terrific experience with Encore, our AV partner.”

Loews Coronado Bay Resort, says Magro, is simply a great place to be. “The views are amazing; the resort is comfortable and has everything you need. We look forward to our next meeting there,” she says.

To planners considering the resort, she says, “Don’t worry about the traffic on and off Coronado Island; once you’re there, you’ll be happy and you won’t be far from anything you want to do in San Diego. I highly recommend visiting Loews Coronado Bay Resort.”

Nearby on the island, Hotel del Coronado recently completed a comprehensive seven-year, $550 million restoration project to preserve and elevate its status as a National Historic Landmark. Almost directly across the bay from Loews Coronado Bay Resort, the Gaylord Pacific Resort & Convention Center opened its 12th and final restaurant, Marzul Coastal Grill & Bar, which doubles as a private event venue certain days.

The Monterey Conference Center is not far from attractions like Cannery Row, Old Fisherman’s Wharf and the beach.

Monterey

The American Planning Association of California, based in Sacramento, welcomed 2,000 attendees to its annual convention in Monterey last year, with 763 rooms booked for the event. Portola Hotel & Spa at Monterey Bay served as HQ hotel.

“Monterey was highly appealing to our membership and created excitement around the conference,” says Cher Ekasala, CAE, executive director. “The proximity of the convention center to the hotels, restaurants, waterfront and entertainment amenities created a convenient and cohesive attendee experience. Having meeting space and lodging concentrated within a compact area significantly improved accessibility and reduced transportation needs. Another factor was the overall value and competitiveness of the pricing. While Monterey is a desirable coastal destination, we found the hotel and meeting package pricing to be competitive relative to comparable California destinations that could support a conference of our size.”

The group used the Monterey Conference Center for most meetings and functions. “The venue infrastructure supported our educational programming, exhibitor hall, networking events and large attendance levels successfully,” Eskala says. “While our group was nearing the maximum capacity the venue could comfortably support, the conference was ultimately very successful and well received by attendees.”

She calls See Monterey a valuable resource. She says, “The CVB provided creative and thoughtful recommendations for mobile workshop locations, local experiences and destination assets that would be particularly relevant and engaging to planning professionals and adjacent disciplines. Their support helped streamline planning efforts, enhance the attendee experience and showcase Monterey as an attractive destination and a living example of many planning concepts discussed throughout the conference.”

The group chose Portola Hotel & Spa at Monterey Bay “because of its exceptional location adjacent to the waterfront and within walking distance of restaurants, shops and other amenities that enhanced the overall attendee experience.” Eskala adds, “The hotel team was responsive, collaborative, solution-oriented and consistently willing to work with us to address the evolving needs of a large statewide conference.”

Some conference functions were set at the hotel. “The outdoor spaces were particularly memorable and added a unique element to the conference atmosphere,” Eskala says. “The hotel team did an outstanding job helping us design welcoming and engaging outdoor functions that allowed attendees to enjoy the destination while networking and connecting with colleagues in a relaxed setting. The overall ambiance and décor of the venue complemented the coastal location well and enhanced the attendee experience.”

Eskala says Monterey is ideal for organizations seeking a destination with strong meeting facilities, an attractive setting and an experience attendees will remember positively. “Monterey is an excellent choice, particularly for mid- to large-sized groups seeking a highly walkable and engaging conference environment.”

Wherever you choose to meet in the Golden State, golden opportunities await. | AC&F |