While the location of an event may not make or break it, the venue has a huge impact on the attendees' experience. The content could be fantastic, but if people have to circle a parking lot for 30 minutes looking for a space, they may not be ready to take in all the great information being delivered (speaking from experience....).
There's also a fatigue factor among venues to consider. Events in a city seem to take place at the same dozen or so venues. For event planners, this puts more pressure on the content of your event to drive the experience. It becomes harder to stand out from the other events people have attended at the same location. While there is a great deal of innovation in modern meeting spaces, the reality is once you've been to one convention center, you've really seen them all. And let's not get started on the windowless ballrooms.
With all this in mind, we've done some research on new spaces for government events in DC.
- The District Warf -- One of the newly developed areas of the city, this waterfront location offers a variety of event spaces including outdoor party venues, theaters, and traditional hotel spaces including the luxury Intercontinental DC. The newness of this development may be a draw for more social or networking-oriented events.
- The National Arboretum - This facility opened its doors to events last summer. With a year under its belt, it is a great option for unique outdoor events. They also boast indoor space for more intimate gatherings.
- District Winery - Located near the Navy Yard and Nationals Park, this location has meeting spaces tailored to business events as well as many options for social get-togethers and networking.
- Hyatt Regency Bethesda - This hotel recently completed a $37 million renovation that added 20,000 square feet of meeting and event space as well as a rooftop terrace.
- National Union Building - Boasting 28,000 square feet of space over six floors, this Penn Quarter venue offers flexible event space with state-of-the-art AV.
We'd love to hear from you. What locations are you looking at for events? Where would you like to see meeting planners host government events? Share your suggestions in the comments.
