Alaska is the place to meet: plenty of choices for conventions and conferences.

• Author: Storm, Joette
• Position: SPECIAL SECTION: Conventions, Meetings & Corporate Travel - Conference news

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There was a time when finding space for corporate conferences and meetings was a challenge. Today, with more than 2,000 hotels, lodges and venues in Alaska there are plenty of choices. They range from national brands such as the Millennium in Anchorage to the locally-owned Pike's Waterfront Lodge in Fairbanks. Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, Valdez, Nome and Kodiak all have convention centers to serve professional associations and business customers.

Anchorage alone has 70 properties from high-rise towers and fancy restaurants to lakeside hotels. Thirty-three hotels market meeting space, among them the newer Embassy Suites and Crowne Plaza. Alyeska Resort, an hour's drive from the hustle bustle of the city, is everybody's favorite getaway nestled at the foot of Mount Alyeska. The resort has hosted many international conferences, including the Arctic Imperative Summit in August. The property's largest meeting/conference spaces are the Kahiltna Court at 3,200 square feet and the Columbia Ballroom at 3,150 square feet. The rental fee for each room is $1,500, and that is negotiable depending on the amount of meals required for each day.

With so many choices, a meeting planner has much to consider. Crystal Enkvist, APR, director of Member and Public Relations for the Alaska Power Association, plans eight to 10 meetings a year. They vary in purpose and size so her needs are diverse.

A number of APA meetings each year are in Juneau, making Centennial Hall a logical choice for a venue. The municipally owned center has a 12,000-squarefoot unpillared ballroom, the largest such space in all of Southeast, according to Steven Pfister, general manager.

"Centennial Hall is really a civic center, providing space for hundreds of local events from concerts to the public market," Pfister says. "We must balance that use with the convention business, which brings in millions of dollars each year to Juneau's economy."

As a municipal facility subsidized by the hotel tax and general fund, Centennial Hall rents for well below the cost of other venues. For example, the largest ballroom space is $780 for nine hours, and the local nonprofit rate is $585.

Site Selection

Comparing space and rates, the Egan Convention Center in Anchorage offers ballrooms on two levels. The lower level, a comparable hall at 11,228 square feet, rents for $2,995 per day. The Valdez Convention Center, also owned by the city, uses a three-class fee system. Daily rates for...