Moving your meeting or conference from a single hotel to a convention center can be a little intimidating and seemingly so much more work than you have time for, especially if you have a small staff or are a one-person department.

Yet, sometimes circumstances dictate the need to seriously consider a convention center and hotel package:

> Your meeting has or will quickly outgrow its current hotel space.
 
> Your Board would like to move to a larger city with more amenities.

> A particular destination contains certain assets (e.g. University, medical facilities) that tie in well with your group.

Don't let fear or lack of resources keep you from exploring the convention center and hotel package options for your meetings and conventions:

Short Distances Room to Room
Most cities have headquarters hotels either connected, adjacent to or within a short walking distance of their Convention Center. The extra time spent going between the two is typically less than five minutes. For example, there are two downtown Sacramento hotels approximately 145 feet from the Sacramento Convention Center.  This video is a great illustration of the proximity. There are several more within a four- to six-block radius. On a nice day - and there are plenty in Sacramento - the walk is very pleasant.

br />
CVB's Understand Your Needs
Your CVB reps have the greatest amount of experience working with groups who decided to make the switch from a single hotel to a convention center/hotel package. She is there to represent the needs of the customer. She is also the one person who understands the intricacies and complexities of Sacramento meeting facilities and hotels and is well versed in your needs.

Access to Greater Services
When you work with a CVB, you have access to more resources for a better conference. For example, using Sacramento convention and meeting services mean you could qualify for airport and store welcome signage, street banners, information desk staffing, customized landing pages, delegate discount programs and more.

There's no need to view this opportunity as a scene in a horror film, where you're forced to confront a race of aliens known as convention center event planner, AV rep, catering manager, security; or you fear your delegates leaving the safe confines of the hotel and stepping into a convention center will bring unseen horrors with zombies at every turn who chase your delegates sending them screaming back to the safety of their rooms.

Take a deep breath, summon your inner meeting planner Wonder Woman or Lara Croft and do what you would do if you were contacting a hotel and working with a dedicated sales or catering manager.
 
Pull out your ray gun, aka mobile phone, and contact the city's convention & visitors bureau. Your CVB sales rep will be your sole point of contact and will walk with you through every step of the process. They will do the work of bringing the convention center and hotels together to ensure you have a successful conference. 

Contact the Sacramento Convention & Visitors Bureau's Sarah Atilano - satilano@cityofsacramento.org - to start the conversation on moving to a convention center.