Washington, D.C., is all about deal-making and power plays, and the culture spills into the private event and meetings world, too, say those who live in it.
Connections are frequently the oil that separates a “wow” occasion from the mundane, says Gabrielle Malman, general manager, D.C. and New York DMC for TBA Global, a full-service event and destination management company with offices in the capital.
“If you want to have an event in places like the Capitol Visitor Center, the Supreme Court or a room in the House or Senate, it can be complicated,” Malman says. “So it helps to partner with someone who can make it happen. For our company, there’s no learning curve for us in this market because we’ve been here a long time.”
But unique venues with easier access do abound throughout the city, she adds, such as Smithsonian venues that are well known and give guests the feeling they are in an important place.
“A couple of my personal favorites are the new Newseum near the Capitol,” she offers. “Its conference center and other spaces give people such fantastic views of DC landmarks to look at, and you can have events for a few up to several thousand there. They can see the Capitol, National Gallery of Art, National Archives and the Washington Monument. For small events, I like the Anderson House on Dupont Circle that dates to 1905. It belonged to an American ambassador and his wife. They traveled the world and collected many European and Asian artifacts that are still on display. Anderson House also has a lovely outdoor space that’s wonderful for receptions.”
Malman raves about Penn Quarter and its attributes for visiting business groups. Everything a group needs or wants is within walking distance, she says. “People can stay in the Hotel Monaco and literally have two days of activities and never leave the quarter.”
D.C.’s revitalizations over the past decade or so have brought the city to a new level of destination competition, Malman adds, and for groups it’s truly a destination to come and see these days: “The city has done a fantastic job with redoing districts like the Penn, and it’s really a hotbed of activity now.”
So how does it measure up to that big metropolis to the north?
“New York may be the well-established city for groups to hold business meetings and incentives,” she says, “but D.C. is a more manageable place, easier to get around and park, clean and beautiful, not as chaotic, and certainly rising to the top.”
