Photo by Flickr/Kevitivity
1. A Green Meetings DestinationTouted as one of the nation’s most environmentally friendly metropolises, Los Angeles has meeting and event planners painting the town green.
It’s no coincidence that the first trade show to bring together the entire spectrum of green products and services under one, solar-paneled roof was held at the Los Angeles Convention Center last spring. “LA is one of the nation’s most vibrant and forward-thinking green markets,” said Diane O’Conner, president of Green Media Enterprises, who organized the Green West Expo/Conference.
Whatever size gathering, LA has an environmentally friendly site to accommodate the smallest or largest of groups. The 867,000-square-foot Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC), which boasts the largest solar-generating building in North America, is the nation’s greenest. It has the capability to recycle 99 percent of used trade show materials, as well as transform food waste into animal waste. It also recycles garden waste and is avid when it comes to water conservation.
LA is also home to the Westin Bonaventure Hotel & Suites, the city's first hotel to reach the standards set by Green Seal, an independent, non-profit organization that partners with hotels and motels across the country to improve sustainability. Erected in 1976, the 37-story Westin Bonaventure with 1.5 million square feet is the City’s largest hotel and is expected to save more than $225,000 annually under the certification guidelines while drastically reducing its carbon footprint. Read more about LA's first Green Seal hotel.
2. Attendance Records
Meetings in LA are all about exceeding expectations, and that applies to your clients as well as your attendees. In the past couple of years, the City of Los Angeles helped several major events break attendance records and set the bar to even greater heights. For example, the Association for Computing Machinery – SIGGRAPH met in San Diego in 2007 and had 24,083 attendees. Their Los Angeles event in 2008 had a record 28,432 attendees. The National Business Travel Association, NBTA, held their July 2008 event in Los Angeles and broke an attendance record that had been standing for 40 years. And finally, NAFSA – Los Angeles 2009 saw an 11% increase in international attendees for their May 2009 conference.
3. LAX
As the fifth busiest passenger airport in the world, LAX has more than 55 million people passing through every year. For meeting planners and attendees, flexibility is the name of the game with 80 passenger carriers (including all major airlines) serving LAX.
A vast variety of restaurants, cocktail lounges, gift shops, newsstands, restrooms, public telephones, business centers and duty-free shops for international flights offer convenient services within the airport.
The FlyAway Bus Service provides frequent, nonstop transportation between LAX, Downtown and the San Fernando Valley. Get more information about LA's public transportation.
4. Affordability
Los Angeles is home to hundreds of event venues offering unforgettable settings for your group gatherings. But in today’s business environment, the budget remains one of the top concerns. Fortunately, LA has plenty of venues that will help stretch your budget without cutting back on the glamour of an LA event. Center at Cathedral Plaza can host events for up to 4,000 guests in an expansive outdoor plaza. Experienced staff members and some of LA’s most competitive rates make it an ideal venue for bargain hunters. Petersen Automotive Museum offers a setting that simply cannot be found anywhere else with incredible views from the fourth floor pavilion’s 17,000-square-foot event space.
In addition to many budget-friendly event venues, LA has an incredible selection of affordable hotels with space for groups of all sizes. According to a survey conducted by Smith Travel Research, LA ranks as one of the most affordable top US markets with an average daily room rate of $127 — well below the averages for San Diego, San Francisco and Chicago. For more information about great hotel deals in LA, see our Hot Deals for Meeting Planners section.
5. Convention Center/L.A. LIVE
One of LA’s most noteworthy happenings has been L.A. LIVE, a $2.5 billion, 4-million-square-foot entertainment complex. One of the crowned jewels is the 7,100-seat NOKIA Theatre, built adjacent to STAPLES Center and the Los Angeles Convention Center. The theatre hosts more than 150 live annual performances and also features 235,000 square feet of flexible hospitality areas, specially-designed function spaces and private suites perfect for corporate meetings and private functions.
Fully wired, the NOKIA Theatre includes complete catering facilities, with full bars and concessions on each level, and satellite and production facilities to accommodate closed circuit global broadcasts. The adjacent one-acre NOKIA Plaza is also available for private outdoor functions into the thousands and includes catering facilities, giant LED screens and a "red carpet" site for special events.
Meeting attendees also have a chance to survey many of LA's top restaurants at L.A. LIVE, including Lawry’s Carvery, The Farm of Beverly Hills, Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar, Yard House and ESPN Zone. Meanwhile, several nightlife venues offer entertainnment options galore. Lucky Strike Lanes features 18 state-of-the-art bowling lanes, including a four-lane VIP area with surround sound, and LA’s preeminent Latin music venue, The Conga Room, dishes out Latin gourmet cuisine and an eclectic lineup of live entertainment.
