Groups that “are ready for their close-up,” so to speak, will find a marquee full of glamorous off-site options in L.A., where the glitz and star power of the entertainment industry is always the main attraction.
“The feeling is that if we can pull off a premiere, a red carpet awards show and a playoff basketball game on the same day, the likelihood of us being able to handle their meeting is very high,” says Mikela Redd, who in her job as senior director, client event marketing and tradeshows heads up the destination services group for CVB Discover Los Angeles.
“Because we’re such a large city, there are different events going on in different regions in the city,” she continues. “Citywides tend to focus on downtown and Hollywood, but there’s also amazing facilities in the Valleys, the beach cities and even out by LAX, so we have something for everybody in terms of pricing.”
In an expansive megalopolis such as Los Angeles, virtually any type of event option can be arranged via Discover Los Angeles.
“We certainly have the resources to be able to accommodate an intimate group that wants a plush VIP experience, to a Universal Studios Hollywood experience for 7,000 of your closest friends,” she says, adding that one group actually bought out Universal Hollywood for two nights during a citywide.
Iconic cultural and entertainment industry venues that can be rented for private events include the Frank Gehry-designed Walt Disney Concert Hall, which features a Founder’s Hall that can accommodate 150, as well as a reception hall and a garden area that can seat up to 800; the Nokia Theater, home to scores of top awards shows, including The Emmys; the Hollywood Bowl, where groups can buy blocks of tickets along with a pre-concert picnic and meeting—or hire any number of local acts to stage their own concert; and thrill-inducing theme parks such as Warner Brothers Studios and the aforementioned Universal Studios.
To help facilitate good service in such a large geographic area, Discover Los Angeles recently appointed regional directors to represent various parts of the city, as well as a client services team that serves as a liaison to meeting planners.
“We have a couple of different layers,” Redd says,” from the venue perspective to the hotel perspective, to really drill down and provide a customer with all of the resources.
