Planning a meeting in Las Vegas or attending a convention in Las Vegas and having to organize satellite events?
The Best Venues in Town
If you’re like most meeting planners in the industry, you are going to have to plan several types of events throughout the year. It’s not uncommon for a planner to have to organize an awards dinner one week, then prepare a training seminar the next week and then schedule a boardroom meeting for the week after. The range of vendors and environments planners work with is one of the most appealing aspects of the job, and why many professionals stay in the business for so long.

If you’re new to the Las Vegas market, however, such a diverse range of objects might seem intimidating, especially when you consider the seemingly endless roster of venues at your fingertips. To give you some ideas, we’ve put together this list of venues that we think are great for each of the major event types planners in Las Vegas have to organize. Consider this small sampling just the appetizer menu; there’s a whole smorgasbord of venues in Vegas just waiting to be explored.

Conventions

The Sands Expo and Convention Center is the site of ten of the nation’s largest 50 corporate events. This large-scale facility can accommodate conventions of up to 20,000 attendees. With a combined total of 1.8 million square-feet of meeting space, planners have the versatility and flexibility needed to stage conventions that are productive and can yield a positive return on investment. An on-site Event Service Manager (ESM) is available to help planners navigate the pre-planning process.

Trade Shows
When it comes to trade shows, the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) is the most used facility in the nation. The LVCC features more than two million square-feet of exhibition space. Trade shows representing every major industry and field make the LVCC their home every year thanks to the versatility of its space. The facility’s most striking feature is its grand lobby, which is more than 225,000 square-feet and makes for a stunning registration area.

Banquets
Banquets include several types of events, including awards dinners, fundraisers and year-end company celebrations. In short, anything that requires round tables and food is a banquet-style affair. Ballrooms have historically been the most used space for such occasions, and it’s easy to see why. Ballrooms lend elegance, sophistication and ambiance needed to accommodate groups of attendees dressed in formal attire.

One of the city’s most breathtaking examples of such refinement is the Encore Ballroom in Wynn Las Vegas. The Encore Ballroom is 20,650 square-feet and can accommodate seated dining for 1,270 guests. Its sheer size and grandeur is enough to leave an indelible impression on attendees, making it one of the city’s premier banquet facilities.

Boardroom Meetings

Boardroom meetings are all about business. Attendees are executive-level professionals who will be discussing important company decisions, so planners will need to find a completely private space with little distractions. Almost every major hotel and resort in Las Vegas has a boardroom for such meetings, but which do you choose?

For our money, we’d go with the two boardrooms at the Westin Casuarina Las Vegas Hotel, Casino & Spa. The Pinon Boardroom is 644 square-feet and the Ponderosa Boardroom is 580 square-feet, respectively. Both are elegantly furnished and can be used in conjunction with each other for breakout sessions or other supplementary events. Located in one of the most respected hotels in Vegas, the Westin Casuarina is perfect and offers the best spaces for boardroom meetings of groups of 20 or less.

Training Seminars
Training seminars can be executed in a variety of ways. Large-scale training meetings usually require a theater or an open space that can be configured into a theater-style seating arrangement. At the front of the space should be a screen that can project a presentation or visual aid of some sort. Smaller training seminars involve a classroom-style setting, including seats and desks for attendees and a projector screen at the front of the room.

For any type of training program, the Oquendo Center is a meeting planner’s haven. The facility features a 190-seat auditorium equipped with in-house audiovisual capabilities. There are also four multi-purpose spaces that can be utilized for smaller groups for class-room training sessions. The Oquendo Center is the only venue in Las Vegas that is aimed at training- and education-based events, making it an ideal location for planners looking for a productive environment conducive to the learning process.

Cocktail Receptions
Organizing cocktail or standing receptions are a chance for planners to engage their chic and stylish sides. The focus of a memorable reception should be networking, so finding a venue that’s conducive to group mingling is essential. Upscale lounges and bar areas are perfect for groups of business professionals to unwind and enjoy each other’s company.

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