There’s a lot to love about Red Sox Nation (also known as Boston) – from downtown to the shores, there’s something for just about everyone. With all that the city of Boston has to offer, there’s little doubt as to why it has become such a highly sought-after destination for events.
One city, one seamless experience
Attendees come to – and get excited about visiting – Boston because of the history, food and activities (we’ll get to all of that). But, for the meeting planner, it’s all that plus a seamless, well-networked system to design cross-city experiences. From hotels and the Convention and Visitors Bureau to the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (BCEC) and Hynes Convention Center, meeting planners have a plethora of resources at their fingertips to help them design an experience that addresses their unique attendees. And those resources take it one step further by participating in “pre-con” meetings to ensure seamless execution of attendees’ experience.
Nowhere but here
Boston is home to the biggest ballroom and exhibit hall in New England. The BCEC is a blank canvas for events; with 2.1 million square feet of convertible space, each event that comes to town is able to make its mark and transform the space, which means every experience is unique. From a theater that seats 4,000 and ballroom that holds up to 10,000 to the Lawn on D (a dynamic outdoor event space), the BCEC and Hynes Convention Center enable meeting planners to design an experience that brings their vision to life, with enough flexibility to create opportunities to reach, engage and connect with each attendee.
One such event was The ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) Convention held at the BCEC in November (2018). With a mission that promotes communication as a human right, the association looks to cultivate an environment that does just that for each of its 18,000 attendees. To do this, ASHA took advantage not only of BCEC’s nearly 700,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space, but of its public space as well to ensure seamless accessibility to information and presentations. The center was, in essence, turned into an “education hall” where the large open public spaces were used to create 15 overflow spaces dedicated to accommodating attendees looking to attend sessions that reached capacity. Throughout the space, people could easily find the session they were looking for, even if it overflowed to a new location. With every square foot of the space being used, ASHA was not only able to fulfill its mission, but wrap attendees in an experience cultivated just for them.
MCI highlighted the role multipurpose venues will play in 2019 since they allow event professionals to bring their creative concepts to life.
From the locals
Whether you’re planning a site visit, attending an event or vacationing, there are a lot of great places to visit, food to eat, and activities to do in Boston. For the best insider tips, we had to look no further than our local team.
Favorite restaurants:
- Committee (Seaport District)
- Abe and Louie’s (Downtown)
- A great spot to grab lunch and afternoon drinks
- Legal Harborside (Seaport District)
- Loco (South Boston)
Place to visit (+ food to eat):
- Sullivan’s on Castle Island. With just a 5-minute Uber ride from the Seaport District, you will be on this quaint island where you can get great “beach food” (fish n’ chips, hot dogs, ice cream), sit/play in the sand, watch the planes come in/take off, and act like a local.
Favorite season:
- Summer. “We have great weather. You can go anywhere (the beach, the woods), do anything. You can literally sit in your backyard and it’s amazing.”
- Spring. “I really love the first days when I hear birds by my window. The snow is melting and baseball begins. Also, there are awesome trees that blossom in the Public Gardens.”
Insider tip: If you don’t use the in-house AV company (in this case, Projection), it’s important to determine whether you need to set the room the day before the event kicks off. If you don’t book the room for the extra day, you will end up having to do everything the day-of the meeting.
As the saying goes (slightly tweaked, of course): If you haven’t been to Boston lately, you haven’t been to Boston. In addition to the city’s rich history, there has been a ton of exciting growth and development over the past several years, especially near the BCEC in the Seaport District. While there are countless things to do and see throughout the city and across the region, event attendees needn’t go far to find a bowling alley, movie theater, parks, shopping, and delicious food. Think about it: With all that Boston has to offer, your event can play the starring role, with an incredible supporting cast – all creating an unforgettable experience for attendees.