The Walter E. Washington Convention Center was named one of North America’s best convention centers for trade show and events by Exhibitor Group for the fourth year in a row. The Convention Center also was recently named one of Facilities and Destinations Prime Sites.
The Convention Center was named one of EXHIBITOR Magazine’s 2023 Centers of Excellence and will be featured in the magazine’s October/November 2022 issue. Only 30 North American convention centers qualify for this list.
“It is an honor and distinction that the Walter E. Washington Convention Center has been named one of the top event spaces by EXHIBITOR magazine four years in a row,” said Samuel Thomas, interim president and CEO at Events DC. “This award is a testament to our entire team’s hard work to make every convention, meeting and event a spectacular experience for visitors from near and far.”
The awards are based on five criteria: facility and functionality; location and accommodations; service and execution; expansions and upgrades; and awards and industry participation. The evaluation process also includes a survey of event planners, show organizers, and exhibit managers who have recently hosted or exhibited at events within each facility, as well as a review of entrants’ event spaces, selling points, and innovations conducted by a panel of corporate exhibit managers.
“While individual exhibit managers rarely have a say in where their trade shows are held, they are often the ones most impacted by that decision. This is their opportunity to give credit where credit is due and celebrate the exhibitor-friendly venues that do their part to make trade shows and events as smooth, successful, and painless as possible,” said Travis Stanton, editor in chief of EXHIBITOR magazine, noting that everything from health and safety protocols to the cost and quality of Wi-Fi access can have a significant impact on exhibiting companies’ experiences at events. “Simply by virtue of being included in this list, these facilities have proven their ability to host trade shows and events of all shapes and sizes while providing world-class service and state-of-the-art accommodations.”
In addition to naming North America’s 30 best venues for trade shows and events, EXHIBITOR will announce the finalists for five special awards in November, including Best Convention Center in four size-based categories, as well as Best Customer Service and On-Site Support. The winners of those awards will be announced during a ceremony held in conjunction with IAEE’s Expo! Expo!
Facilities and Destinations
The annual Awards of Excellence from Facilities and Destinations, a magazine for meeting planners and tradeshow professionals, included 91 Prime Site Award-winning convention centers and 80 Top Destination Award-winning locations across the United States and Caribbean.
This year’s awardees were nominated based on their efforts to help communicate COVID-19 information and promote safety measures, while venues were nominated based on their implementation of such measures.
“We applaud these suppliers for stepping up to the plate and facilitating the return of in-person meetings,” according to Facilities and Destinations staff.
Events DC was named a Top Destination Award Winner and the Convention Center a Prime Site within the Mid-Atlantic region.
