Marina Del Rey

It’s been said that California is a state of mind. Which might be another way of saying, California isn’t really a state at all.  But, so dominant is California’s influence on American innovation and culture, so great is its agricultural bounty that feeds a nation, and so dynamic are its physical attributes — from the highest peaks in the lower 48 to North America’s greatest deserts — that California’s collection of world-class destinations is positively catnip to meeting planners looking for a dose of fresh air on the meeting circuit.

“We really love having our programs in California,” says Meagan Venditti, CMP, DES, head of North American Event Operations for Markets Group, which produces in-person and virtual forums for the investment management industry. “It’s the fifth largest economy in the world, so it’s a perfect place to host a financial conference.” In addition to serving as headquarters for most of the world’s top tech firms, California is also home to Wells Fargo, Visa and Farmer’s Insurance, making it a natural for events targeting the financial and insurance sectors.

Across the state, new and revitalized hotels, conference centers and attractions are making California a go-to for meeting planners. In downtown San Diego, two hotels have received a significant refresh and rebrand. The former Hotel Palomar was renamed the Kimpton Alma Hotel and received a head-to-toe $25 million renovation in 2022.

Kimpton Alma Hotel features 20,000 sf of meeting space, including the 3,025-sf Ovation Ballroom. Hotel Solamar in the Gaslamp Quarter reemerged last summer as Margaritaville Hotel San Diego, the brand’s first urban location on the West Coast. With 235 upgraded rooms, the $31 million makeover features a Southern California-inspired design and the city’s largest rooftop pool deck and three dining concepts. Nine venues offer 6,000 sf of indoor space plus 7,000 sf of outdoor space on its expansive rooftop, including the 3,321-sf Compass Rose Ballroom.

Needing no re-brand, the iconic Hotel del Coronado is celebrating 136 years of operation with on an ongoing, $400 million, multi-year restoration and expansion of the celebrated property. Shore House at The Del was revealed in 2022, featuring 75 residential-style seaside villas along with a new event center, Southpointe Event Center, which features a 15,130-sf clear-span ballroom offering approximately 10,000 sf of pre-function and breakout meeting space. It is the leading beachfront option for large-scale meetings and groups in the city, with 96,000 sf of indoor meeting space and an additional 150,000 sf outdoors.

“San Diego has great airlift, pleasant weather, a choice of boutique properties, and options for varied and unique off-property activities and dining experiences, making it a perfect fit to achieve meeting goals,” says Jeff Welger, director of corporate meetings and events at Arch Insurance Group. For a pair of customer advisory meetings, Arch chose to host guests at the 170-room Lodge at Torrey Pines.

“For 2023, they each wanted pleasant weather along with a desirable location that included a premier golf course. San Diego is a natural fit to meet those expectations. The Lodge is a historic five-star boutique hotel — and also an architectural masterpiece in an idyllic setting on a cliff overlooking the Pacific,” he says.

The new Lodge at Torrey Pines carries the aura of an early-20th century Craftsman-era home, albeit on a grand scale. The Lodge overlooks the renowned 36-hole Torrey Pines Golf Course, situated on the coastal bluffs immediately north of La Jolla, and offers a full-service spa and the fine-dining, A.R. Valentien restaurant.

“The hotel is a wonderful fit for a small to mid-size meeting or event,” explains Welger. “When onsite, the guests feel that they are the only group in-house. All members of the team are professional, polite, and gracious, and they understand five-star service. They provide excellent guidance of what works well and often provide unique options that enhance the event.”

Welger notes that the Lodge was able to provide unique events, including one called Sip and Swing, held on the Torrey Pines driving range. “The event included several golf pros to help the guests enjoy several golf activities, including driving, putting, chipping, closest to pin, to name a few, while enjoying refreshments and networking with colleagues. The highlight was having the U.S. Open trophy available and on-display, allowing guests to see it close up and take photos with it,” he says.

The guests played on Torrey Pines’ North course, where the 2023 Farmers Insurance Open took place. Another unusual option was Evans Garage, the hotel owner’s private collection of vintage cars. “It’s an impressive collection of museum-quality vehicles that otherwise cannot be found in one location. The family’s collection delivers a wow factor and for each meeting we had a dinner here — in both cases attendees indicated it was the highlight of their meeting experience,” Welger says.

Less than 100 miles north of San Diego is Anaheim, a destination that truly lives on the world’s stage. The development of land surrounding Disneyland Resort continues, and the 618-room Westin Anaheim Resort across the street from the Disney parks is equipped with 47,542 sf of indoor/outdoor meeting and event space.

Located at the Anaheim GardenWalk, a short stroll from both the Anaheim Convention Center and Disneyland Resort, the 446-room JW Marriott Anaheim is infused with modern décor and augmented reality technology, with subtle design touches inspired by Orange County’s agricultural history, highlighting natural materials, rustic tones and a warm color palette.

JW Marriott Anaheim features 43,000 sf of indoor and outdoor function space, along with pre-function areas offering floor-to-ceiling windows. The Grand Ballroom measures at 13,440 sf, suitable for up to 1,400 attendees, as well as 15 meeting rooms and breakout spaces.

Known as ocV!BE, a $4 billion mixed-use entertainment district by the owners of the Anaheim Ducks and anchored by Honda Center, has been opening in phases. The 115-acre project includes a 6,000-person concert venue, more than 20 restaurant concepts, four public plazas, office space, and two new hotels with a planned 550 total rooms.

For planners seeking unique and historic venues, they should look no further than Long Beach. The beach community is between Orange County and Los Angeles. In addition to the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center, a state-of-the-art facility with more than 400,000 sf of exhibition space, the famed Queen Mary ocean liner has reopened for tours and events. With over 80,000 sf of functional meeting and exhibit space in a series of Art Deco salons, the Queen Mary provides an authentic historical backdrop for smaller, more intimate meetings.

Last year, one of California’s most storied properties wasbrought back to its original grandeur and Long Beach saw its first luxury boutique hotel. The 1920s-era Breakers Hotel is now part of the Fairmont family and currently undergoing a $150 million restoration and development. The reimagined Fairmont Breakers Long Beach will offer 185 rooms and suites, rooftop pool and terrace, open-air rooftop lounge and bar with 360-degree views of the Pacific Ocean, lavish two-story spa, wellness and fitness center, live jazz club and music lounge, and more than 12,000 sf of flexible indoor and outdoor meeting and function space. The hotel’s culinary program includes five F&B venues, including the reopening of the famed Sky Room restaurant.

Planners seeking an airport-close destination in the L.A. area might consider Marina del Rey, a beach community located just four miles from LAX. During the pandemic, Marriott opened a pair of side-by-side waterfront hotels, the Courtyard Marina del Rey and Residence Inn Marina del Rey, with 159 and 129 rooms respectively. The hotels offer 4,200 sf of event space.

Meanwhile, the Marina del Rey Marriott on Mother’s Beach completed a nearly $20 million renovation of all 370 spacious guest rooms and suites and featuring a fresh, coastal chic vibe.

Julie Van’t Hul, vice president of convention sales at San Francisco Travel, collaborates with The Moscone Center and the City of San Francisco in bringing major conventions and events to the city. “Julie has been instrumental in re-engaging and re-educating our convention clients about San Francisco in the wake of the pandemic,” says Nicole Rogers, executive vice president and chief sales officer at San Francisco Travel.

Tourism is the largest generator of outside revenue into San Francisco’s economy, and conventions alone drove $587 million in visitor spending in 2022. Dining remains key for the city’s appeal, and the Michelin Guide California continues to honor numerous area restaurants with Michelin stars.

Pasadena welcomed the Hotel Dena, Pasadena Los Angeles, a Tribute Portfolio Hotel, a makeover of Sheraton Pasadena Los Angeles. The 311-room hotel features two restaurants and bar concepts, street art and dynamic murals, a retro-inspired screening room, and evening performances by local musicians, poets, and comedians. Hotel Dena is adjacent to the Pasadena Convention Center, which features event spaces, including a 25,000-sf ballroom, boardroom and outdoor venues.

Jennifer Schreter, executive director of the Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of LA, says the Pasadena Convention Center was a good fit for her one-day meeting that drew more than 500 attendees in March 2022.

“It is a fairly central location to most of the people attending from both the city of Los Angeles and over the state,” says Schreter.

“There is no escaping LA traffic, but at least a few of the freeways offer FasTrak and carpool lanes, and this proximity to freeways and the airport (both Burbank and LAX) is very attractive to exhibitors and attendees. There are a lot of shops and restaurants within walking distance for post-event activities, and for those few folks who do utilize a hotel.

“The facility space is quite large with high ceilings and a spacious layout for the ballrooms. We created a carnival for our convention last year and had stilt walkers and magicians, and the flow was perfect,” she says.

For the carnival, Schreter lauded the convention center’s flexibility on F&B to create perfect carnival themed buffets. “They let us merge and pick and choose items to create the best menu for our guests. It was the perfect accent for the carnival atmosphere we were creating,” she says.

Schreter adds that the Pasadena Convention Center, which offers 130,000 sf of space, is “a much more affordable alternative to the Los Angeles Convention Center, if you don’t need that much space. This venue has a sweet spot for between 500 and 1,000 guests. But if you want to secure a specific date, the sooner you request it the better — at least one year or more in advance.”

In Los Angeles, the ambitious $15 billion modernization of Los Angeles Airport [LAX] is transforming the facility into one of the world’s premier airports. The project includes major improvements to infrastructure and elevated guest experiences.

While LA’s revitalization has been focused on the downtown convention core, the 400-room Fairmont Century Plaza reopened in 2021 following a $2.5 billion renovation that modernized the iconic property while maintaining touches of its history, including 24,000 sf of indoor meeting space. The 305-room Conrad Los Angeles opened in 2022, a new downtown centerpiece designed by Frank Gehry — the first Conrad property on the West Coast.

Other openings last year included the Moxy Downtown Los Angeles and the AC Hotel Downtown Los Angeles in a dual-branded building, representing a combined total of 727 new rooms and 13,000 sf of meeting space.

“Los Angeles has a natural sense of occasion,” suggests Venditti. “I think people like the warm weather, the easy airlift, and for us, just being centrally located in downtown LA is a huge draw.”

Markets Group plans ALT conferences around the world, but Venditti notes that the annual ALTS LA is the company’s largest. “It’s been our flagship program since 2016, and growing year over year, from 250 attendees in 2016 to 1,400 attendees this past March [2023],” she says. Co-hosted with local associations, the for-profit conference is attended by people working in the asset management space — hedge fund, private equity, private wealth and real estate. “We have 100-plus sponsors, and all of them are looking for different places to host dinners.”

Although Vendetti estimates about 40% of the attendees are coming from out of state, there are many local guests, meaning a large room block is not necessary, but the facility must still offer sufficient ballroom space for the exhibition and general session. The hotel that has worked best for ALTS LA the last several years is the JW Marriott Los Angeles LA LIVE, which has 878 rooms and 134,143 sf of meeting space.

“What makes it a great property is they offer a lot in-house,” says Vendetti. “They make it really easy to do FedEx, clings and branding, they have partnerships with local DMCs and Encore was super easy to use. Also, the JW being adjoined to The Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles is an advantage, especially when you’re working with a financial clientele, as a lot of our more senior asset managers like to stay on the Ritz side.”

Vendetti says the JW Marriott’s range of food outlets for sponsors to host VIP dinners and meetings is important (including several at The Ritz-Carlton), along with a large central lobby bar.

The other thing she applauds is the natural light. “The diamond ballroom has floor-to-ceiling windows in the foyer — it’s one of the prettiest walkways that I’ve encountered,” she says. “Even though you’re inside the whole time, it really feels very light and airy and bright for the meeting space that we contracted. Our attendees really like it, even though we’ve gotten a little tight in the foyer from growing so much.”

“Book early; LA is competitive,” Vendetti advises. “And figure out where your attendees are coming from because LA spans a large area, so do your research. Is Santa Monica going to make sense for us, or Century City, or do we want to be downtown? I think it can be a bit intimidating at the start, but find out where your contingency is coming from and how far they’re willing to drive, because that’s how most people are getting around in LA. There are a lot of resorts in LA, but if you want to get a lot of people in one area, go downtown. It’s just going to be easier.” I&FMM.