Emerging from a decade of pendulum swings in hotel and convention center occupancies, Silicon Valley is entering a new era as a meetings destination no longer tethered to the tech economy roller coaster. While meetings and events related to the local high-tech industry are still a prime focus, the region is casting a much wider net these days.
“We have learned not to put all of our eggs in the technology basket,” says Dan Fenton, CEO and chairman of the San Jose CVB and Team San Jose. “We are much more diversified in our approach to meetings business than we were prior to 2000.”
Such an approach makes sense in a region that has plenty of diverse attractions, off-site venues and hotels to appeal to just about any kind of meeting. San Jose, which has invested heavily in making its downtown an attractive, vibrant place for locals and visitors alike, offers a pedestrian-friendly, inviting environment for everything from small corporate meetings to large trade shows and conventions.
Neighboring Santa Clara, located in the heart of the tech corridor, offers state-of-the-art meeting facilities in close proximity to major global corporations. The valley’s quieter, leafy side is evident in the nearby enclaves of Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Saratoga, and Los Gatos, which offer small-town charm along with sophisticated dining, shopping, entertainment, and lodging.
San Jose
While not riding quite as high as it did during the dot-com boom years, San Jose has made steady progress in emerging from the doldrums of the dot-com bust.
“During 2001 to 2004 we experienced one of the worst declines of any market in the country,” Fenton says. “We’re not yet back to pre-2000, but we’re getting there. For the past three years, we’ve seen 10 percent yearly growth in both hotel and convention center occupancy.”
Fenton gives some of the credit to Team San Jose, a nonprofit economic development body consisting of representatives from the CVB, hotels, labor unions, and the local arts and business communities.
Formed in 2004, Team San Jose manages the San Jose McEnery Convention Center and nearby cultural facilities that include the California Theater, Civic Auditorium, Center for the Performing Arts, Parkside Hall, and Montgomery Theater.
At the same time, San Jose has been making a push to attract recession-proof business, including association and SMERF (social, military, education, religious, and fraternal) meetings. The CVB recently added a second sales manager to its Washington, D.C., office to bring more national association business to the city.
“The beauty of some of this business is that it’s a really good fit on the weekends, which is when we most need it,” Fenton says. “And we’re creating a more stable environment where we’re not so subject to the peaks and valleys of the tech world.”
With corporate business on the rise as well, San Jose is getting ready to embark on an expansion and renovation of the convention center, which now offers 425,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space. Currently in the design phase, a key component of the project is a new 35,000-square-foot ballroom with completion targeted for 2010. A second phase of expansion, still in the planning stages, will add more exhibit space and a second ballroom.
Downtown San Jose offers a wide variety of hotels within walking distance of the convention center. At either end of the facility are the 353-room Hilton San Jose and the 506-room Marriott San Jose. The two hotels are partners in San Jose Group One Connection, a service that enables planners to book rooms and meeting space at both hotels and the convention center through a single contact.
While no new hotels are on the horizon for San Jose, the Crowne Plaza San Jose recently completed a $7 million renovation of its 239 guest rooms, meeting space and public areas. The 505-room Doubletree Hotel San Jose also recently underwent an $8.5 million property-wide makeover.
Other downtown hotels catering to groups include the Fairmont San Jose, Hotel Montgomery, Hyatt San Jose, and The Sainte Claire. Properties just outside downtown include the Hotel Valencia, located in the Santa Row complex, and the newly renovated Dolce Hayes Mansion, a conference center property.
When there’s a need for entertainment or off-site venues, San Jose can fill the bill with a variety of options close to the convention center and hotels.
San Jose’s California Theater, home to Opera San Jose and Symphony Silicon Valley, is a former movie palace recently restored to its 1927 glory. The theater makes an impressive site for events.
“We’ve done some spectacular product launches there,” Fenton says. “Apple has used it twice for iPod launches, including one with Steve Jobs and Bono up on stage.”
Also newly restored, the nearby Montgomery Theater, built in 1936, offers 535 seats and full production capabilities.
Another historic venue, the San Jose Civic Auditorium, a 1936 Spanish Mission-style building across from the convention center, provides a sound stage for theatrical events and can seat up to 3,060 people for a general session.
When not in use for scheduled performances, the Center for the Performing Arts, designed by the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation, is an elegant setting for events. The facility includes a 2,665-seat theater and spacious areas for receptions.
Still another downtown option is Parkside Hall, which is frequently used for meetings that need overflow exhibit and general assembly space. The facility offers 30,000 square feet of exhibit space, 24-foot open ceilings and a drive-on loading dock.
The San Jose Museum of Art, considered one of California’s finest art museums, is devoted primarily to 20th and 21st century art. If bought out, the museum can accommodate up to 1,500 people for evening events. Daytime events can be held at the museum’s Wendell Center, which can host up to 170 people for food functions.
Focusing primarily on local artists, the San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art also features a convenient downtown location. It offers changing exhibitions and a central gallery space that can accommodate groups of 200 for receptions and 100 for sit-down dinners.
One of the city’s most popular off-site venues, the Tech Museum of Innovation offers a variety of interactive exhibits and event spaces. Groups can rent out a floor of the museum, the 290-seat Hackworth IMAX Dome Theater or the entire facility.
Even if events aren’t booked at a museum, exhibits can still be enjoyed in some of the meeting facilities managed by Team San Jose.
“We’ve been partnering with local museums to present some blockbuster art shows,” Fenton says. “For example, we are presenting a major exhibition in Parkside Hall in partnership with the Tech Museum.”
A few miles from downtown, an “only in” San Jose attraction is the Winchester Mystery House, a 100-room historic mansion that can accommodate groups of up to 350 for a banquet. Once owned by firearms heiress Sarah Winchester, the house is a strange collection of architectural oddities, including stairways leading to solid walls.
Santana Row, a chic 10-block complex consisting of the 213-room Hotel Valencia, boutiques, restaurants, cafes, outdoor patios, and green spaces, offers an array of event sites as well as a meetings concierge to assist with arrangements.
Another popular off-site option for groups is San Jose 300, a bowling and billiards center that specializes in corporate events. The facility’s Main Center area has 50 bowling lanes, a sports bar and lounge, an area with six billiard tables, high-tech lighting, and music videos. For groups of 30 to 120 people, San Jose 300 also offers the Back 9, a private area with nine bowling lanes, high-tech lighting, music videos, and a private bar. An extensive catering menu is available.
A California wine country experience can be enjoyed right in the city limits at the San Jose J. Lohr Wine Center, where groups can taste the wines produced at J. Lohr Vineyards in Paso Robles. The center’s Vineyard Room can be configured for conferences, wine education seminars or multicourse meals paired with wines for up to 40 people.
Santa Clara
Much like neighboring San Jose, Santa Clara is looking beyond the tech market as a source of meetings business.
“We are trying to fill our weekends with SMERF and association business,” says Steve Van Dorn, president and general manager of the Santa Clara CVB. “Weekends are our slower times—planners can save as much as 50 percent on hotel rates.”
A rebound in corporate business has sent Santa Clara’s hotel occupancies up to an average of 80 percent during the first two quarters of 2007, the highest since the boom years of the late 1990s, according to Van Dorn.
“Corporations are meeting more and they are spending more money per event on things like food and beverage,” he says. “This has been happening for the past two years.”
However, Van Dorn says the CVB is working to educate its hotel members not to ignore other types of group business.
“We are mindful that we have our cycles,” he says. “We are at the beginning of another boom, but booms don’t last forever. We are looking at diverse business.”
Santa Clara is planning to add a 24,000-square-foot ballroom to the 262,000-square-foot Santa Clara Convention Center. The $37 million addition is expected to be completed in January 2009.
“Currently the convention center shares a ballroom with the Hyatt Regency, so this is needed,” Van Dorn says. “We don’t really have a ballroom of sufficient size and we’ve had to use exhibit halls for dressed-up events. This will give us a much better venue for upscale events.”
The biggest potential development on the horizon for Santa Clara is the possibility of a new $600 to $800 million football stadium that would be the new home of the San Francisco 49ers pro football team.
Team owner John York and an architectural firm are currently negotiating with the city for the development of a 72,000-seat stadium that would be located across from the convention center on a parking lot belonging to the Great America amusement park. Preliminary plans also call for a pedestrian mall and entertainment district that would link the convention center with Great America.
“This would be an incredible boost for us as a destination if it happens,” Van Dorn says. “It would certainly spur some new hotel development.”
In the meantime, the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara is undergoing a $12 million renovation expected to be completed by the end of August. All 501 guest rooms at the property are receiving new furnishings and decor, redesigned bathrooms and expanded work stations with oversized desks.
Also in the midst of a renovation, the Santa Clara Marriott expects to wrap up the refurbishment of its 754 guest rooms in November. Other major meetings hotels in the area include the Hilton Santa Clara, Embassy Suites Santa Clara and Biltmore Hotel and Suites.
One of Santa Clara’s major attractions and off-site venues, Great America recently expanded its waterpark area with a new 355,000-gallon Great Barrier Reef wave pool. New poolside cabanas were also added. Great America offers a variety of event spaces, including a 15,000-square-foot pavilion and a 10,000-seat theater.
Ideal for conferences and training meetings, Santa Clara’s Network Meeting Center at Tech Mart offers a variety of function spaces built around a five-story atrium. Certified by the International Association of Conference Centers, the facility can accommodate up to 500 people for a reception.
A popular off-site venue option in Santa Clara is the Triton Museum of Art, which is largely devoted to the work of artists from the San Francisco Bay Area. The museum features several function areas, including an outdoor sculpture garden. Receptions for up to 800 people and banquets for up to 400 can be accommodated.
Another major Santa Clara attraction is the Intel Museum, operated by locally based Intel Corp. The museum features more than 30 hands-on exhibits devoted to silicon chip technology.
Palo Alto and Menlo Park
Although home to such global high-tech powerhouses as Hewlett-Packard and Varian Inc., Palo Alto retains the atmosphere of a laid-back college town with its gracious tree-lined streets named for 19th century poets and its pedestrian-friendly downtown filled with boutiques, bookstores and upscale restaurants.
The Stanford University campus is a major draw for visitors from around the world and offers meeting venues that include the Cantor Arts Center. Event spaces at the arts center include a 120-seat auditorium and a sculpture garden filled with Rodin bronzes.
A changing roster of contemporary and historic art exhibits is on display at the Palo Alto Arts Center, which offers an outdoor sculpture garden large enough for receptions of up to 250 people. There is also a meeting room for up to 40 people and a 180-seat auditorium.
Another popular off-site venue is the Hiller Aviation Museum in nearby San Carlos. Devoted to historic aircraft, the museum features everything from 19th-century gliders to a 1986 Boeing Condor spy plane. There is also a wide range of function space, including an atrium for receptions and dinners as well as a small conference center.
Many of Palo Alto’s major hotels are clustered along El Camino Real, midway between the campus and downtown. Among the most distinctive is the 148-room Dinah’s Garden Hotel, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year and offers the Polynesian-style Trader Vic’s restaurant and meeting facilities that include a ballroom with a cathedral ceiling and garden terrace.
Palo Alto’s most historic property is the Cardinal Hotel, which opened in 1924 and recently completed a renovation of all 61 guest rooms and public spaces. The hotel can host small meetings for up to 25 people.
Another local landmark is the 194-room Crowne Plaza Cabana Palo Alto, where former guests have included the Beatles, Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis Jr. The property has 14,000 square feet of meeting space.
Other group-friendly choices include the Sheraton Palo Alto, Westin Palo Alto, Garden Court Hotel, and Stanford Terrace Inn.
East Palo Alto is home to the new 200-room Four Seasons Hotel Silicon Valley. Part of a sleek new shopping and dining complex, the luxury hotel offers more than 6,000 square feet of meeting space.
Just north of Palo Alto, Menlo Park is another attractive community that offers a pedestrian-friendly downtown and close proximity to Stanford University and high-tech firms. Its largest hotel, the 163-room Stanford Park Hotel, is planning an expansion that will include 8,250 square feet of conference space.
For More Info
Palo Alto COC 650.324.3121
www.paloaltochamber.com
Santa Clara CVB 408.244.9660
www.santaclara.org
San Jose CVB 408.295.9600
www.sanjose.org
San Mateo County CVB 650.348.7600
www.sanmateocountycvb.com
