You’re Invited! Unique Venues Annual Member Conference
You can . . . in Portland
No matter what it is you’d like to be, do, eat, or drink – even if you’ve never tried it before – you can, in Portland.
Ten Fun Facts about the City of Roses:
- Portland is situated on two rivers – the Willamette (pronounced: Will-am-et) and the mighty Columbia.
- There is no sales tax (except on hotels and rental cars).
- Speaking of cars, don’t try pumping your own gas, Oregon is one of two U.S. states where an attendant must pump your gas.
- The food cart scene is just that, a scene. You’ll find them grouped in pods, one of the largest located downtown with 40 carts.
- Portland has more microbreweries and brewpubs than other US city.
- There are more bicyclists per capita pedaling the streets than any other US city.
- Portlanders love their parks, big and small, and the tiniest of them can be found downtown at just 2 feet in diameter.
- There are miniature horses all over the city – you’ll have to join us on our venue and city tour to find out what’s up with that.
- You won’t find any locals carrying umbrellas, that’s because it mists more than it rains and it just doesn’t bother them. So, if you’re carrying one, you’re probably from out of town.
- Keep Portland Weird? You bet. They love their quirky city and its people and they’re fighting to keep it that way!
2018 Conference Highlights
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- Speed Sessions: Choose your favorite 3 (out of 6 sessions) to attend, while also earning up to 10 CEU’s towards your CMP designation.
- Headquarter Hotel Options: Your choice again. We have room blocks at two hotels, so you can book the one that best fits your budget.
- Registration is FREE for Most UV Members
- Venue & City Tour Now Included: One of the most favorite add-ons in past years is now available to everyone and included with registration.
- Registration Includes: Keynote speakers and presenters, networking, BEST of Awards Celebration, a member appreciation party and so much more!
The UVAMC Schedule
Dates and Times
| Sunday, October 21, 2018 | |
|---|---|
| Arrival Day | |
| 7:00pm | Beyond Bizarre Portland Walking Tour ($30 – optional) |
| Monday, October 22, 2018 | |
| 6:30am-8:00am | Breakfast available at Headquarter Hotels for Hotel Guests |
| 8:00am-8:30am | Registration – Portland Art Museum |
| 8:30am-9:00am | Unique Venues Welcome |
| 9:00am-10:45am | General Session |
| 11:00am-12:00pm | Educational Session 1 |
| 12:15pm-1:30pm | Networking Lunch |
| 1:45pm-2:45pm | Educational Session 2 |
| 3:00pm-3:30pm | UV Specials & Programs |
| 3:45pm-4:45pm | General Session 2 |
| 4:45pm-6:00pm | Sip & See (Modern & Contemporary Art | Portland Art Museum) – hosted local wines and craft beers! |
| Tuesday, October 23, 2018 | |
| 6:30am-8:30am | Breakfast available at Headquarter Hotels for Hotel Guests |
| 9:00am-9:30am | Meet to depart for tours (Location TBD) |
| 9:30am-10:30am | Venue Tour #1 – World Forestry Center |
| 11:00am-12:00pm | Venue Tour #2 – Portland State University – Viking Pavilion & Smith Memorial Student Union |
| 12:30pm-1:30pm | Lunch |
| 2:00pm-3:00pm | Venue Tour #3 – Lewis & Clark |
| 3:30pm | Return to Headquarter Hotels |
| 6:00pm-8:30pm | Member Appreciation Party/BEST OF Awards Celebration at Punch Bowl Social PDX – hosted cocktails, apps and games! |
| Wednesday, October 24, 2018 | |
| Departure Day | |
Educational Sessions
Yes there will be parties, venue tours, and networking luncheons, but, there will also be what we think is our best sales and marketing educational programming to-date. Last year, our members told us that they wanted shorter sessions and they wanted to be able to choose which ones to attend. We heard you, and here’s what we have lined this year:
SIX Speed Sessions (you choose three, one hour each)
- 5 Ways to Use Social Platforms – Drive traffic and generate more sales leads with these tips.
- Effective Survey Methods – Keep the competition at bay and learn what your customers want and need by creating effective surveys.
- Website Case Study – Understand what planners expect in a website and how to effectively use it on a 2-minute sales call.
- Digital Security – Take home these new tricks to ensure your venue’s digital assets are safe.
- Modern Networking – A fresh perspective will leave you thinking about sales, marketing and revenue generation in a new way.
- What’s Your Story – Create you venue’s story and learn how to bring it to life as a sales tool.
We’re also opening the conference with a morning general session on Today’s Technology and how the latest meeting tech trends in the hospitality industry are going to impact you and your venue (one hour, fifteen minutes).
Click here for detailed session descriptions, speaker bios and learning outcomes.
UVAMC Venue Tours
Every year, Unique Venues holds a tour of venues in the city where our Annual Member Conference is being held. The tour provides our members with a behind-the-scenes look at how meetings/events are hosted at different venues. This is a great opportunity for you share, network and learn from your colleagues while earning up to 7 continuing education credits towards your CMP.
Join us on Tuesday, October 23 beginning at 8:30am and concluding at 4:00pm. The tour is included in your registration for 2018.
- Get a behind-the-scenes glimpse into 3 venues’ operations
- Network with other non-traditional meeting/event professionals
- Gain new ideas that you can take home and implement
- Tour the city of Portland along the travel route
Punch Bowl Social PDX
Tuesday, October 23 from 6:00pm-8:30pm
This night is for YOU! Socialize, unwind, have some fun, bowl, karaoke, play some pool and board games with other UV members. This is our way of saying THANK YOU for being a valued member of Unique Venues. You’ll enjoy appetizers, cocktails, and our Best of Awards Celebration. And the best part, it’s on us.
Portland Art Museum
Every year, we book UVAMC at one of our member venues. It’s an opportunity to showcase and celebrate our uniqueness as an industry. We’re excited to announce that the Portland Art Museum, located in the heart of Portland’s cultural district, will be our host venue this year.
PAM is a short walk from the Marriott and easily accessible from both headquarter hotels via public transportation, Lyft or Uber.
>TWO Headquarter Hotels – Rates for Every Budget
We have negotiated group room blocks at two hotels to make sure that we have room rates for all of our members’ budgets.
University Place Hotel & Conference Center – Owned and operated by UV member Portland State University, University Place Hotel & Conference Center is downtown Portland’s only 3-star casual, economical hotel and conference center. Located just steps from the light rail, you will be able to choose from two room styles: comfort or standard.
Comfort – $109 with full service breakfast onsite restaurant, free wifi
Standard – $89 with full service breakfast onsite restaurant, free wifi
*Call 503-221-0140 for reservations. Press 1 to be connected to a front desk representative. Be sure to mention UNIQUE VENUES to obtain the group block pricing. Reservation cut-off date: September 13, 2018.
Portland Marriott City Center – The Marriott City Center hotel is located in downtown Portland. This boutique, 4-star hotel enables guests to tap into the pulse of Portland’s most enchanting urban rhythms. Situated in the center of the city’s business district, this downtown hotel is near great shopping, restaurants, MAX Light Rail and just a 10 minute walk to our host venue (Portland Art Museum).
$189 (w/o breakfast), free wifi
$211 (full breakfast), free wifi
*Call 1-800-Marriott or click here to reserve your room. Be sure to mention UNIQUE VENUES to obtain the group block pricing. Reservation cut-off date: October 1, 2018.
Room block is expected to sell-out, book your room now!
Must guarantee reservation with a major credit card or first night’s deposit.
Room cancellation policy: 72 hours before check-in date to avoid being charged one-night’s room & tax.
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Transportation
- Downtown Airport Express by Blue Star – Runs every 30 minutes and costs $14 one-way, $24 round trip. When leaving the airport, you can find the Downtown Airport Express and other hotel shuttle buses on the terminal’s lower roadway (outside of baggage claim) on the far side of Island #2, closer to the parking garage.
- MAX LIGHT RAIL – The Red Line is the easiest way to and from the airport and takes about 38 minutes. Tickets run $2.50 and you can take your luggage with you. For a complete schedule visit www.trimet.org/schedules/maxredline.htm.
- Uber/Lyft – Transportation networking companies Uber and Lyft are now authorized to pick up and drop off passengers at PDX.
- Taxi – The average taxi fare from the airport to downtown is approximately $40-$48 before gratuity.
Registration is free for all members except the $595 package, it’s only $395 for those members as well as additional registrants.
REGISTERED MEMBERS: If you are not able to attend the Unique Venues Annual Marketing Conference after you have registered, please let us know before September 28, 2018. Cancelling before the deadline allows us to open additional spots to other UV members. If you do not cancel your registration, you will be charged a cancellation fee of $50.00 to cover non-recoverable expenses.
