EXHIBITOR Magazine Honors Best North American Convention Centers
ROCHESTER MN. – In 2019, Exhibitor Group, which produces both EXHIBITOR magazine and Find It on EXHIBITORXchange, the buyer’s guide to trade show products and services, announced an initiative to identify and recognize North America’s best convention centers for trade shows and events. Since then, small, medium, and large convention centers located anywhere in North America have been invited to apply annually, with entrants evaluated using an objective algorithm weighted to reflect how EXHIBITOR magazine readers value a variety of variables. The myriad criteria considered were categorized into five primary areas:
· Facility & Functionality
· Location & Accommodations
· Service & Execution
· Expansions & Upgrades
· Awards & Industry Participation
The evaluation process also includes a survey of event planners, show organizers, and exhibit managers who have recently hosted (or exhibited at) events within each facility, as well as a review of entrants’ event spaces, selling points, and innovations, conducted by a panel of corporate exhibit managers.
“While individual exhibit managers rarely have a say in where their trade shows are held, they are often the ones most impacted by that decision. This is their opportunity to give credit where credit is due and celebrate the exhibitor-friendly venues that do their part to make trade shows and events as smooth, successful, and painless as possible,” said Travis Stanton, editor in chief of EXHIBITOR magazine, noting that everything from health and safety protocols to the cost and quality of Wi-Fi access can have a significant impact on exhibiting companies’ experiences at events. “Simply by virtue of being included in this list, these facilities have proven their ability to host trade shows and events of all shapes and sizes while providing world-class service and state-of-the-art accommodations.”
The highest-scoring venues were then named among EXHIBITOR Magazine’s 2023 Centers of Excellence, and they will be featured in the upcoming October/November issue of EXHIBITOR, as well as via an online portal where readers can learn more about each of the 30 facilities that qualified for this honor. The portal, housed within the Find It on EXHIBITORXchange website, enables face-to-face marketers to quickly and easily research potential event venues and learn more about the convention centers that are hosting the trade shows and exhibitions on their annual calendars.
“The online portal helps to ease the venue-selection process for the 92 percent of our readers who are tasked with overseeing their organizations’ meetings and events in addition to managing their companies’ exhibit-marketing efforts,” said Stanton. “Additionally, exhibitors who are planning to participate in trade shows being held at these facilities can learn more about each venue, including everything from the number of loading bays to the maximum ceiling height within exhibit halls.”
The venues that qualified for EXHIBITOR Magazine’s 2023 Centers of Excellence include:
· Anaheim Convention Center
· Atlantic City Convention Center
· Caesars Forum
· Colorado Convention Center
· Convention Center at The Broadmoor
· Cox Business Convention Center
· Denny Sanford Premier Center
· Duke Energy Convention Center
· Edmonton Convention Centre
· Enercare Centre
· George R. Brown Convention Center
· Greater Columbus Convention Center
· Greater Tacoma Convention Center
· Hawaii Convention Center
· Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center
· Huntington Place
· Indiana Convention Center
· Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center Dallas
· Kentucky International Convention Center
· Las Vegas Convention Center
· Los Angeles Convention Center
· Miami Beach Convention Center
· Orange County Convention Center
· Overland Park Convention Center
· Raleigh Convention Center
· Renasant Convention Center
· San Diego Convention Center
· Vancouver Convention Centre
· Walter E. Washington Convention Center
· Wisconsin Center
In addition to naming North America’s 30 best venues for trade shows and events, EXHIBITOR will be announcing the finalists for five special awards next month, including Best Convention Center in four size-based categories, as well as Best Customer Service & On-Site Support. The winners of those awards will be announced during a ceremony held in conjunction with IAEE’s Expo! Expo!
For more information on the Centers of Excellence competition, visit www.ExhibitorOnline.com/Awards/CoE. And for more information on all of the 2023 Centers of Excellence recipients, visit www.ExhibitorOnline.com/FindIt/CoE.asp.