Monuments, museums and headline-making politicos still define Washington, D.C., but major new facilities and attractions in both the capital and its Maryland and Virginia suburbs are taking their share of the spotlight, loading up a hefty
portfolio that’s already bulging with meetings-ready possibilities.
Partisan politics have no place in hip and happenin’ districts like Georgetown, the Penn Quarter near Capitol Hill or the emerging National Harbor project on the Maryland side of the Potomac River. The spring 2008 scheduled opening of that massive project’s centerpiece—the 2,000-room Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center—is part of what’s driving new additions across the region.
Washington, D.C.
“We continue to evolve as an exciting and sexy city,” says Tiffany Chester, director of sales for the Washington Convention and Tourism Corporation (WCTC). “Anyone who hasn’t been in Washington since their fifth grade field trip is in for a shock. On Tuesday nights, you often have to make reservations for dinner at 10.”
The TV image of Washington is hardly the full picture, according to Chester, who says those who haven’t visited are often not aware of the variety, especially the hot nightlife scene.
Indeed, a city that used to roll up its streets once Congress went home to dinner now offers an exciting ambience—day and night. Clubs and restaurants serve cuisine that ranges from American to exotic Asian and French, there are stunning event venue sites, and the Penn Quarter is a pulsating new retail and condo development near the Washington Convention Center. The Penn even has a new bowling alley and movie complex that’s all just a hop from enthralling Chinatown.
Consider the Rock & Roll Hotel just north of Union Station. It’s a live music venue that hosts traveling rock bands, and the “hotel” part of the name refers to a series of themed rooms that can be rented out for private events. Palace of Wonders is a tavern-meets-traveling-carnival that draws inspiration from Coney Island sideshows. It’s the only dedicated vaudeville stage, museum of oddities and full bar in the world. Live burlesque, sideshow and vaudeville shows include female arm wrestling, retro DJs and dancing girls. Meanwhile, FLY Lounge is a new D.C. hot spot that has an interior right out of a Boeing 747 aircraft. It offers dance music, bartenders dressed as flight attendants, free bags of peanuts, and testimony that D.C. is not just a place of policy but also a place to party.
Major new attractions are coming on-line this month, including two museums: Newseum and Madame Tussauds.
Newseum is a $400 million high-tech museum dedicated to the history of news and how it’s made. Highlights of the interactive facility will include a facade featuring a “window on the world” that measures 57 feet by 78 feet and overlooks Pennsylvania Avenue and the National Mall. Inside, visitors will explore six levels of displays and experiences, including an interactive newsroom and broadcast studio. The Source, a new restaurant concept by Wolfgang Puck, is also part of the project. Newseum will offer a two-level, 24,000-square-foot conference center with views of the U.S. Capitol and the National Mall.
Washington’s A-list personalities will be waxed and ready when the newest Madame Tussauds debuts. With locations around the world, the brand is known for its lifelike wax interpretations of notables. The new $16 million museum is emerging from an historic retail building and will feature wax figures of luminaries such as Abraham Lincoln, Duke Ellington, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Beyonce, and Angelina Jolie. Exhibits about D.C.’s colorful history and a replica of the White House’s Oval Office, where visitors can pose for pictures, will also be part of the lineup.
For private events, Madame Tussauds will feature a reception area and a “glamour” space hosting up to 150 people for receptions. Guests may begin an evening by mingling with the celebrities in residence, then feasting on cuisine prepared by Restaurant Associates.
Elsewhere in the region’s suburban locations, additional facilities and attractions are polishing metro D.C.’s appeal as never before.
Suburban Maryland
With over 1 million room nights sold 10 months before its scheduled opening next spring, Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center has set an industry record. Located on a 48-acre site eight miles south of the capital on the Prince Georges County, Md., side of the Potomac River, it’s the fourth installment in the Nashville company’s brand and the largest non-gaming hotel and convention center on the East Coast.
The resort, part of the National Harbor project, will feature 2,000 guest rooms and suites, 470,000 square feet of meeting and exhibit space, an 18-story glassed atrium, and entertainment options like a comedy club, bowling and billiards. A new water shuttle service will connect National Harbor to Georgetown in D.C., Alexandria, Mount Vernon, and eventually Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
The resort is the centerpiece of the new 300-acre waterfront National Harbor development, which will include additional hotels in the first phase: Hampton Inn & Suites; Residence Inn by Marriott; Westin; and aloft by Starwood. An initial 350,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment components also will come with the site’s opening.
Though the mammoth project excites many, some competitors are nervous.
However, Sheldon Suga, senior vice president and general manager for the new Gaylord resort, says his company is beefing up business for the entire metro D.C. region. Besides giving the region a home for larger groups that have outgrown other area sites, Gaylord is adding over 1,100 jobs in the county alone, he says. To ssist with job fulfillment, the company has funded a new hospitality training program for Prince Georges Community College.
“We are bringing and retaining business for the region,” Suga says. “This area competes with Orlando, Vegas and Chicago for meetings and conventions. Some groups have outgrown the D.C. area. Much of the business we’ve already booked is for Gaylord-brand customers who rotate through our properties and typically don’t come here—Harley Davidson, Goodyear, Proctor & Gamble and the American Association for Cancer Research, for instance.”
Suga says Gaylord’s intent is to encourage hotels and other industry players in the region to pull together. Metro D.C. has so much to offer, he says, and the debut of National Harbor will be a boon not just to visitors but also to residents who will find it to be an attractive weekend alternative.
Elsewhere on the suburban Maryland side of the region, Montgomery County offers options such as the Bethesda North Marriott Hotel and Conference Center as well as Bolger Center, an IACC-certified Dolce International property. Often called a gateway to the nation’s capital, the county that is home to many federal government agencies and biomedical companies markets itself to groups of around 800 attendees.
Additionally, Maryland’s capital city of Annapolis provides business groups with a variety of meetings-ready facilities and activities near the nation’s capital, Baltimore Washington International Airport (BWI) and the Chesapeake Bay shoreline.
According to Joyce Stinnett Baki, director of sales for the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County CVB, the destination is adding hundreds of new guest rooms to accommodate meeting attendees. Included are the new Hilton, Sheraton and Westin properties in the airport area, as well as the Westin Annapolis in the historic part of town.
“If you are looking for an area that has a wide range of hotel choices, we have it,” Stinnett Baki says. “Besides renovated properties, we have fresh new spaces for planners to consider.”
Suburban Virginia
The Virginia side of the Potomac River is also highly anticipating the opening of the National Harbor development.
Old Town Alexandria and its waterfront are just a stone’s throw across the river from the new site, and plans are in motion to expand visitor attractions and services as the project unfolds.
“We are working closely with Gaylord National to book overflow room blocks for meetings scheduled at the resort,” Lloyd adds. “We are also promoting off-property events at Alexandria’s many unique and historic venues, as well as pre- and post-convention tours. In time, the city of Alexandria will further enhance and redevelop its historic waterfront with new dining, accommodations and recreational amenities.”
In Arlington, where many hotels are closer to the White House than some D.C. hotels, city managers are expecting a local business uptick from the National Harbor development.
“We think the National Harbor project is very exciting for the region,” says Sylvie Joseph, director of sales for the Arlington Convention and Visitors Service. “It’s a very impressive addition. We continue to add hotel rooms to our portfolio, including our exciting new Palomar Hotel by Kimpton, to accommodate even more visitors. We continue to promote our arts theme, with lots of participation by local Arlington artists and musicians. One of our theater companies, Signature Theater, has just opened a new facility that happens to be a great space for private events.”
Nearby meetings-friendly Fairfax County offers still more hotel and after-business options within the suburban D.C. portfolio, according to Arnie Quirion, president and CEO of Visit Fairfax.
“With one of the best shopping opportunities on the East Coast, a full product line of hotels—from The Ritz-Carlton to long-term-stay hotels—and a location immediately adjacent to the nation’s capital, Fairfax County puts meeting attendees in the middle of one of the most culturally, historically and attraction-rich locations on the globe,” Quirion says. “As our branding identification suggests, “FX Marks the Spot."
For More Info
Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association 703.838.4200
www.funside.com
Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau www.visitannapolis.org
www.visitannapolis.org
Arlington Convention and Visitors Services 703.228.0808
www.stayarlington.com
Conference and Visitors Bureau of Montgomery County, MD 240.777.2060
www.cvbmontco.com
Fairfax County Convention & Visitors Corporation 703.790.0643
www.visitfairfax.org
Prince George’s County Conference and Visitors Bureau 301.925.8300
www.goprincegeorgescounty.com
Washington Convention and Tourism Corporation 202.789.7000
www.washington.org
