When meeting planners choose Seattle, they’re also choosing a city with thought-leading approaches across industry verticals. It’s those values that have helped Seattle build an enviable mix of associations and business sectors that choose to place their meetings there.
In the past year alone, Seattle Convention Center has played host to this diverse mix of industries.
Seattle’s remarkable medical research and health care community continues to pave the way to a better, healthier world. Being home to organizations such as the University of Washington, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center, and Paul Allen Institute helps procure subject matter experts that augment conventions such as the American Academy of Neurology, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, the International Antiviral Society-USA, and ASPEN among others.
Seattle’s wholehearted embrace of innovation and boundary-pushing has helped set the tone for meetings of The Linux Foundation, Redgate, Smartsheet, Solution Tree, Moz, and Microsoft among others. Today, the Pacific Northwest is home to more than 1,300 startups and dozens of the world’s most inventive and established brands. Seattle’s modern, thought-leading approach to everyday things has lit the right sparks to engage and inspire a range of attendees.
As the second most literate city in the nation, Seattle continues to break down barriers to make education more accessible. With the city’s rich intellectual and educational capital, groups such as the Higher Education User Group, AVID, American Booksellers Association, and SHAPE America have chosen Seattle as an excellent choice for placing their education-inspired meetings.
Seattle’s gaming history stretches back to being the birthplace of Nintendo’s Super Mario Brothers and Zelda. Today, it’s still renowned as the number one gaming city in North America, with over 150 video game companies such as Big Fish Games, Twitch, Wizards of the Coast and Nintendo who call this home. This avid gaming fanbase has offered the perfect backdrop for Pokémon Go Fest, and PAX West for the tenth (consecutive) year.
Seattle’s innovative spirit, future-focused vision and culture of collaboration not only aligns with each of these industries, it serves as fuel for memorable and meaningful meeting experiences. The addition of Summit—which some of these groups have already experienced first-hand—transforms the city’s convention package. The city itself also stands ready to further transform a wide range of meeting experiences, no matter the industry.