Portland’s central city hotel room inventory has grown by nearly 50 percent since 2016, and 2023 will see more of the same. The city’s first five-star hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, Portland, is slated to open this summer, with 251 rooms in the heart of downtown Portland. It rises 35 stories above the city streets, with a design inspired by the majestic nature of the Pacific Northwest and 16,000 sf of meeting space.
The city’s culinary scene continues to be recognized nationally, with many new restaurants earning top spots on notable lists. Kann, a new Haitian restaurant by chef Gregory Gourdet (located near the Oregon Convention Center), is a finalist in the 2023 James Beard Awards category for Best New Restaurant, and Mexican restaurant Republica was named one of Bon Appetit’s 10 Best New Restaurants in America. Portland’s 500+ food cart landscape—which groups can tap into for their events—is gaining notoriety, with Netflix’s “Street Food: USA” calling it “a defining aspect of the city.”
Business events are booming as well, with the largest conference ever booked at the Oregon Convention Center coming to the city in a couple of years. “This is an exciting time for Portland as we’re experiencing continued growth in meetings and conventions,” says Desiree Everett, VP of convention sales at Travel Portland. “The National Education Association has selected Portland for its 2025 annual conference, bringing in around 7,000 delegates and 35,000 room nights over the course of the event. This is a tremendous boost for our local economy, and we expect more events like this to come.”
The buzz in Seattle is all about the Seattle Convention Center’s newest addition, Summit, which adds approximately 250,000 sf of exhibition space and 160,000 sf of event space in 62 meeting rooms, including a 60,000-sf ballroom. Summit’s stacked design and vertically organized flow shatters the mold of the traditional convention center, and skylights bring daylight deep into the event spaces. The design pays homage to Seattle with The Hillclimb, a suspended stair and escalator system that provides event attendees access from street level to the ballroom level on top. The Hillclimb is an iconic design element authentic to the Pacific Northwest, made of wood with seating elements for guests.
The Summit was sustainably developed, using 3,900 suspended planks of salvaged wormwood and exceeding current energy standards. More than $93 million of its funding has been allocated to affordable housing, parks and open spaces, improvements to the city streets, and developing an infrastructure for bicycles.
Seattle’s ongoing waterfront redevelopment spans 17 total blocks, with all projects scheduled for completion by 2025. This will create a bayside promenade featuring shops, bike lanes and a ferry terminal, and the area will be accessible by pathways from downtown, the Seattle Convention Center and Pike Place Market.
2023 is off to an excellent start in Seattle, according to Kelly Saling, sr. VP & chief sales officer at Visit Seattle. “In 2023, the Seattle Convention Center has hosted groups such as the American Astronomical Society, the Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections, and the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology,” she says. “Groups such as these align closely with the values our city espouses: research, innovation and positive social change.” —Barbara Scofidio
travelportland.com/meetings; visitseattle.org/meeting-professionals