Richmond: A Value Alternative to Vancouver

With its landmark Richmond Olympic Oval venue and the opening in September of the Canada Line rapid transit extension, Richmond is coming into its own as a dynamic meeting destination. With 4,600 guest rooms, more than 145,000 sq ft of event space, and an extraordinarily diverse range of activities, the region is a value-packed alternative to downtown Vancouver. It also offers a cost-saving bonus: most hotels provide free airport shuttles, thereby eliminating costly delegate transfers. Besides, if participants really need to get their Vancouver fix, it will be only a 22-minute sky-train ride away.

"We are an airport city with a difference because there’s so much on our hotels’ doorsteps" says Ange Chew, Director of Marketing, Tourism Richmond. "We have a rich, multi-cultural heritage alongside all the components for a first class meeting experience, from high-tech facilities and intriguing venues for offsite events to team-building and spousal itineraries."

These include golfing at Mayfair Lakes, dragon boating on the Fraser River at John M.S. Lecky UBC Boathouse, another great alternative space for up to 190 people, whale-watching out of Steveston as well as excursions to Richmond’s two new estate wineries which have just started to produce grape wines along with their raspberry and blueberry wines. "We can even organize a drumming session to be part of an agenda," adds Ange.

Joining established chains like Fairmont, Marriott and Holiday Inn, Sheraton has just refurbished and taken over the Richmond Inn – Sheraton already has a Four Points property in Richmond’s shopping district, and Westin Wall Centre is set to open in January 2010 as one of Richmond’s highest tech-savvy meeting hotels. Add to this, locations such as River Rock Casino Resort with its 5,000 sq ft ballroom, versatile show theatre and tradeshow space as well as oneof- a-kind venues such as Steveston’s Gulf of Georgia Cannery (a National Historic Site) and you begin to understand Richmond’s ability to satiate the meeting planner’s eternal quest to find something different. One of the newer off-beat venues is just-opened exhibit at Britannia Shipyards — five original stilt houses decked out as they were 100 years ago and including a Chinese Workman’s house that’s available for meeting space for up to 50 people.

The Richmond Olympic Oval, however, was the key draw for John Kageorge who organized the national convention Canadian Public Relations Society earlier this year. "Choosing the Oval as an event venue was a no-brainer because as Canada’s newest landmark, we wanted to instill in our delegates a sense of Canadianism, pride and exclusivity," comments John. "What really surprised me was the number of people who felt compelled to skate. The Oval is such an inspirational site, I suppose it was like going to Ireland and not kissing the Blarney Stone; people just HAD to skate here."

For Linda Bates, it was Richmond’s MeetingsEasy ™ program that scored high marks. As President of the Association of Administrative Assistants, Linda is responsible for the organization’s national meetings each year. "By inputting my preferences and criteria, and receiving only those proposals that were a perfect fit to my needs, my research time was cut in half and it really simplified the decision-making process." Linda explains: "The speed and efficiency of MeetingsEasy™ was the beginning of what turned out to be a terrific conference experience. Everything in Richmond is so central and the shopping is superb."

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