Few regions anywhere have mushroomed in importance over the past few decades as California’s Silicon Valley, the world’s technology nerve center encompassing Santa Clara County and southeastern San Mateo County. The inevitable result of this growth is its parallel emergence as a major meetings and business travel destination, with many groups drawn to the Valley’s innovation and state-of-the-art infrastructure.
San Jose
San Jose, as the largest city not only in Silicon Valley but in Northern California, is especially benefitting from a boom in meetings business, much of it coming from the tech sector. According to Cheryl Little, director of sales for Team San Jose, 56 per cent of San Jose’s meetings are corporate high tech, while another 39 per cent are with tech-related associations.
“This is largely in part due to San Jose being the ‘Capital of Silicon Valley,’” she said. “We are home to the biggest tech giants in the world, so it makes sense for them to hold their meetings here.”
While much of Silicon Valley consists of suburban communities that are largely car-dependent, San Jose offers a pedestrian-friendly urban center where the San Jose McEnery Convention Center is close to meetings-friendly hotels that include the Fairmont San Jose, Hilton San Jose, San Jose Marriott, Westin San Jose and Hotel De Anza. Downtown is also experiencing a boom in the number of cultural attractions, entertainment venues and dining options, according to Little.
“Our downtown is compact and walkable with over 250 dining and nightlife options, as well as museums and galleries for attendees to enjoy after convention hours,” she said.
Little emphasized that planners will find plenty of services designed to enhance the attendee experience, including Team San Jose’s “Own the City” campaign.
“This allows groups to post their branding throughout downtown, the convention center and the airport, making attendees feel welcome upon arrival,” she said.
San Jose also purports to offer groups the nation’s best free connectivity through its Wickedly Fast Wi-Fi program, which extends from Norman Y. Mineta San Jose International Airport to the convention center and throughout downtown.
“We worked on this through a partnership with the city and the result is incredible bandwidth, allowing thousands of people in the convention center to be streaming video at the same time,” said Benjamin Roschke, director of business development for Team San Jose. “Our corporate clients can import their entire network into the system, using the building like it’s their own campus.”
While an expanding hotel inventory is helping somewhat, a busy convention calendar means that finding favorable dates and rates can be a challenge. San Jose’s value season is during the summer months, particularly on Thursday through Sunday, according to Little.
Santa Clara
While San Jose positions itself as the “Capital of Silicon Valley,” nearby Santa Clara emphasizes its importance as a conveniently located tech hub that boasts some of the region’s major meeting and event venues.
“Santa Clara is Silicon Valley Central and the perfect destination for a meeting or event,” said David Andre, vice president of marketing communications for the Santa Clara CVB.
Among its assets are nine group-friendly hotels, including the Hyatt Regency Santa Clara and Santa Clara Marriott, in close proximity to the 322,000-square-foot Santa Clara Convention Center where recent enhancements include the installation of charging stations for electric vehicles throughout its parking garage.
Also located close to the convention center are Levi’s Stadium, home to the San Francisco 49ers, and California’s Great America, a 100-acre amusement park. The $1.2 billion stadium opened in 2014 with over 400,000 square feet of meeting and event space. Its many venues include the 49ers Museum, where up to 300 guests can play interactive games and view team memorabilia that includes five Super Bowl trophies; Levi’s 501 Club, a loft-style space with panoramic views accommodating up to 900 guests; and Intel Plaza, a two-level outdoor space for large events of up to 1,500 people.
Next door at Great America groups can choose from a variety of teambuilding programs and event spaces that include the Great America Pavilion, an 18,000-squre-foot meeting facility with a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace and audiovisual services.
San Mateo County
Extending from Palo Alto north toward San Francisco, San Mateo County is a multifaceted destination where prime meeting areas include Palo Alto, an upscale enclave near Stanford University with such stylish properties as the Four Seasons Silicon Valley at East Palo Alto, Garden Court Hotel and Clement Hotel Palo Alto. In the wooded hills of neighboring Menlo Park, groups will find such options as the Quadrus Conference Center and Rosewood Sand Hill hotel.
On hand to help planners navigate the county, which offers assets including a stunning stretch of coastline and a wide assortment of group-friendly hotels near San Francisco International Airport, is the San Mateo County Silicon Valley CVB.
“We love to bring planners in for site visits—to show them that we have every California experience here except snow,” said Anne LeClair, president and CEO of the CVB. “People often think that Silicon Valley is south of us, but it’s here too, especially biotech.”
A growing number of groups coming to the area are requesting tours of technology company headquarters, which is something the CVB can facilitate.
“We have a tie-in with an organization called the Silicon Valley Innovation Group that makes it possible for people to visit the campuses of places like Apple, Google and Tesla as well as start-ups,” LeClair said. “Along with tours, they can also hear presentations from the people who work there.”
