Albuquerque New Mexico ItsATrip.org
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The largest city in New Mexico, Albuquerque’s affordability and rich, inviting Southwestern culture has long made it a traveler’s favorite, but it has also become an important Mid-Market destination, featuring 16,000 hotel rooms city-wide, vibrant neighborhoods such as Downtown Albuquerque, Nob Hill and Historic Old Town, and, of course, the Albuquerque Convention Center, which features 275,000 square feet of flexible exhibit and meeting room space, the 2,300-seat Kiva Auditorium with seating for over 2,300, and 31 meeting rooms.
Mid-Market Cities
Judy Marshall Manager of Conference Services American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers The Annual Conference of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and AirConditioning Engineers, always held in June, attracts between 1,700-2,200 attendees. A meeting-intensive convention, not only are the business and related issues of the association discussed and turned into policy, but the Technical Standards for Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning are written, which include environmentally sustainable and other green practices. Although this organization has met in larger destinations, such as Boston and Atlanta, they generally meet in Mid-Market cities such as Seattle, Nashville and Denver. The first Annual Conference, the second annual largest meeting of the organization to be held in Albuquerque, also made history for the organization because it installed the first woman president of the organization. Facilities & Destinations 2011 Mid-Market
Our preference is for 2nd and 3rd tier cities, and Albuquerque is sort of borderline. It’s a very affordable city. The airport could use more direct flights, but once you are here it is very walkable. We had a good, cost-effective package. Convention Center Pluses
There is a also a big public area where people/attendees could sit down and talk, and which has free wifi. What we needed in terms of audio/visual they had. But what makes this facility different was that the staff was one of the best I’ve ever worked with. They were always on site, the orchestration went on without a hitch. They were very responsive and didn’t wait to be asked. The Convention Services Manager stayed with us until we closed, and we can run late. The staff didn’t leave at five o’clock, they were always visible. Those little things can really make a difference to planner, getting that kind of support and service, it makes the entire meeting run smoother. Facility Food
They had concession stands for our attendees and did a special lunch for the association staff, who really can’t leave the area at all. They had a wonderful buffet luncheon, which had a TexMex flair. The food was good both inside the facility and around the city. Southwestern Culture
There were some restaurants downtown, but most attendees went to the Old Town district, where there is a lot of dining and entertainment. It was a 10-minute, economical taxi cab ride. There is a lot of shopping, unique jewelry, the whole Southwestern culture. It’s different from a lot of cities; we offered four or five general tours of the city and were able to sell out each one. Meeting Intensive
We have a lot of meetings, run eight concurrent sessions, have technical meetings, committee meetings. We’re focused on meetings from 7 AM to 10 PM. The Albuquerque Convention Center was perfect since we used 55 to 65 meeting rooms. The Convention Center was attached to three hotels, which is something else we want, everything close together. 31