Technological advances are often crucial for event planners to have a marketing edge. Here are new and recently renovated Washington venues that have stayed on top of upgrades and improved offerings for tech-savvy guests. The hotels, conference centers, restaurants, private rooms, and other spaces can accommodate groups large or small for private and corporate events, conferences, meetings, weddings, business dinners, teambuilding activities, cocktail parties, and more.
San Francisco-based Eatsa is bringing its healthy customizable quinoa bowls and high-tech ordering system to Washington, D.C., this fall. The 3,142-square-foot restaurant has an automated food pick-up system with glass door “cubbies” that display personalized graphics, producing a customized meal in a few minutes. Eatsa also offers a mobile app for ordering in advance so customers can skip the line. Eatsa's D.C. location will have a maximum capacity of 60 people.
The $1.4 billion MGM National Harbor luxury gaming resort in Oxon Hill, Maryland, is slated to open in December. Located on the banks of the Potomac River, the 308-room hotel and 125,000-square-foot casino will offer 50,000 square feet of meeting and event space. The 16,200-square-foot MGM Grand Ballroom has floor-to-ceiling windows and a 6,000-square-foot terrace. Other event spaces include the 4,284-square-foot Bellagio Ballroom; the ARIA, Mandalay Bay, and Beau Rivage rooms, which are 1,838 square feet each; and two Mirage Boardrooms. Outdoor events can be hosted at the pool deck as well as the Potomac Plaza, which can host groups of as many as 500 people. Live Nation will promote shows at MGM National Harbor's 3,000-seat theater, which has V.I.P. suites and scalable designs for chairs and tables. The multi-use theater can accommodate groups as large as 4,000 people. Technology throughout the meeting spaces includes a video wall, fiber-optic ports in each room, and a 64x64 matrix router that will provide intra-room connectivity to share audio, video, and data throughout any room in the conference center. Boardrooms are equipped with built-in 90-inch screens with video and teleconferencing capability. MGM National Harbor will have several dining options, including restaurants from chefs José Andrés, Marcus Samuelsson, and Bryan and Michael Voltaggio. There will also be two cocktail lounges, an infinity pool, and a destination spa.
The Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture opened on the National Mall in September. The 400,000-square-foot museum tells the story of African-American history and culture, with a collection that spans more than 36,000 artifacts with 3,000 items on display. The museum includes an education and technology center, a welcome center, an orientation theater, a contemplative court, a gift shop, a cafe, and the 350-seat Oprah Winfrey Theater, which offers state-of-the-art acoustics. Visitors can download the museum's mobile app to complement their on-site museum experience or discover more about the collection, including multimedia and augmented-reality experiences. In the spring of 2017, the museum will debut its 3-D interactive exhibit wall, a built-in collaboration with Google software engineers. Visitors to the museum will be able to interact with and rotate artifacts from the collection thanks to 3-D scanning, 360 video, and other technologies.
Open since May, Home2 Suites by Hilton Arundel Mills BWI Airport in Hanover, Maryland, is an 80-suite hotel that is part of the Hilton HHonors app, which allows guests to check in and choose their rooms with their mobile devices. By the end of 2016, the app will be available for iPads, offer real-time chats with hotel staff, and add a "pin my room" feature that will allow guests to mark their favorite room so they can select the same room for future visits. By early 2017, guests who share a room will be able to use the app on multiple devices. This Home2 Suites property does not have a designated meeting space, but the hotel offers working spaces in each of its suites, along with a 2,000-square-foot lobby area and two outdoor patios: a 500-square-foot back patio with grills and a 800-square-foot side patio with a fire pit.
At Owen’s Ordinary—a tavern and beer garden located in North Bethesda, Maryland—the focus is on a high-tech beer-delivery system. The restaurant’s 50 rotating drafts are dispensed from a state-of-the-art, three-tier temperature-controlled draft system. The 6,000-square-foot American restaurant, which opened in October, can seat 175, including 60 in the outdoor beer garden. Owen's Ordinary is Neighborhood Restaurant Group’s first restaurant in Montgomery County. Decor includes wood floors, subway tile, zinc cladding, and industrial steampunk elements.
In September, Tesla Motors and Hilton Garden Inn Washington D.C. Downtown announced a new partnership to install charging stations for electric cars at the 300-room hotel. The hotel’s garage now offers four electrical charging stations, courtesy of Tesla Motors. Two charging stations are exclusively for Tesla vehicles, free of charge. The other two stations are for other electrical vehicle models and cost an extra fee to recharge per day. Event spaces at the hotel include the 1,622-square-foot Georgetown Ballroom, which can host as many as 155 guests for theater-style seating, and the 541-square-foot Cleveland Park room, which can accommodate 55 guests for receptions.
The Ritz-Carlton Georgetown, Washington, D.C. installed a charging station for electric cars in August. There are two charging stations at the property, and the installation is part of a rollout at the majority of the Ritz-Carlton’s North American locations and select international hotels. The 86-room hotel offers 7,000 square feet of meeting space, including outdoor spaces such as the 2,350-square-foot Urban Garden (which can host as many as 90 guests for receptions) and a 585-square-foot courtyard, which can accommodate as many as 75 people for receptions. The 1,935-square-foot Fahrenheit Ballroom, which has floor-to-ceiling windows and exposed brick, can host as many as 150 guests for receptions. Degrees, a 1,409-square-foot bar and lounge, can host as many as 80 for receptions. Other meeting spaces include the 945-square-foot Brickyard Room, which can also hold 80 guests for receptions, and the 420-square-foot Brickyard Foyer, which can host as many as 40 guests for receptions. For an intimate private event, the Chimney Stack Room seats 12, and is located at the base of the hotel's historic Chimney Stack.
In August, Hilton Worldwide opened the dual-branded Hampton Inn by Hilton Washington, D.C. NoMa Union Station and Homewood Suites by Hilton Washington, D.C. NoMa Union Station. The 239-room hotel is also part of the Hilton HHonors app, whose Digital Key feature allows members to check-in, choose their room, and access their room via their mobile devices. The hotel offers four meeting spaces, including the 385-square-foot 1993 room that can accommodate as many as 40 guests in a theater-style layout, and the 300-square-foot Baywood Boardroom, which holds 10 guests.
Other meeting spaces at the dual-branded Hampton Inn by Hilton Washington, D.C. NoMa Union Station and Homewood Suites by Hilton Washington, D.C. NoMa Union Station include the 705-square-foot NoMa room, which can host as many as 70 guests in theater-style seating, and the 880-square-foot Shaw room, which can accommodate as many 90 guests in theater-style seating. The NoMa and Shaw meeting rooms are adjoining and can be combined for larger functions. By the end of 2016, the Hilton HHonors app will be available for iPads, and will offer members real-time chats with hotel staff and the ability for guests to choose a favorite room for future visits. In early 2017, the app will allow guests who share the same room to use the app on multiple devices.
Fairfield Inn & Suites Alexandria is expected to open in April 2017. As a Marriott brand, the 116-room hotel will be a part of the Marriott Mobile App program, enabling guests to use mobile devices to check in to the hotel, open their rooms, and chat with hotel staff. Fairfield Inn & Suites Alexandria will also include two event/meeting rooms that have a combined 1,752 square feet and capacity for as many as 75 people.
