What Conference Venues do you recommend in SF?

December 3, 2015 10:36 AM

Hi folks, I am helping organize a conference for about 1000 attendees in San Francisco next year. I have only been to an event at Fort Mason Center in the past. Any good venue recommendations? It would help if you can explain why you like it. Also looking for local production, caterer, etc...vendors if you know of any good folks. Thanks!
posted by notatron to Work & Money (5 answers total)

Moscone Center is an excellent location. It's huge so they can easily accommodate your conference. Lots of hotels right there, on a good bus line and easily walkable from BART on Market Street.

They can do catering, production, etc.

I do know an excellent producer, memail me if you want her name and contact info.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 11:59 AM on December 3, 2015 [1 favorite]

Several times I've been a conference 5+ times the size of your conference that was hosted jointly by the downtown Hilton and a hotel next-door. The Sheraton, maybe? Good location near Union Square and plenty of transport. I've no idea of the price or their catering etc, however.
posted by col_pogo at 2:56 PM on December 3, 2015

The Sheraton Union Sqare has very large ballrooms and could accommodate a large conference. It's pricey though.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 5:09 PM on December 3, 2015

Check out the conference center at UCSF's Mission Bay campus. I attended WordPress's WordCamp conference several times there before they outgrew it. It's well served by public transportation (though by MUNI, not BART) and it has flexible outdoor spaces for lunches, concerts, or big lectures (a pretty weather-safe proposition from May through September). It's a cheaper venue with more personality than convention hotels downtown.

I'm not sure Moscone even returns phone calls for an event with 1,000 attendees; it's geared for much larger meetings. (It just hosted 180,000 for DreamForce in October).
posted by mississippi at 8:46 PM on December 3, 2015

Response by poster: Thanks folks for the info!
posted by notatron at 12:21 PM on December 4, 2015