DOMESTIC CONVENTION SALES: Promotions, Sales Calls, Trade Shows and Events
The team’s proactive efforts resulted in 88 presentations, virtual client sales calls and in-person meetings throughout the month of May. Highlights include:
- American Association of Blacks in Energy
- American Association of State Highway and Transportation
- American Council of Engineering Companies
- American Geophysical Union
- American Israel Public Affairs Committee
- American Regional Reception
- American Trucking Association
- Arthroscopy Association of North America
- Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies
- Association for Talent Development
- Association of Corporate Counsel
- Association of the United States Army
- Awesome Con
- ConferenceDirect
- Freeman
- Krewe of Pyros Foundation, Inc.
- IMN
- Innov8 Meetings, LLC
- Legal Symposium
- Maritz
- Master Connection Associates
- Modern Day Marine
- National Alliance for Care at Home
- National Association of Broadcasters
- National Association of Realtors
- National Charitable Gift Planners
- One10
- PDK
- Smithbucklin
- Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions
- Society for Neuroscience
- Walmart
Society of Government Meeting Professionals National Education Conference (May 6-8, St. Louis, MO)
DDC Staff: Derrick Collins
Three dynamic days of networking with government meeting planners provided insight into their evolving priorities. From sourcing assistance to navigating the shift toward smaller meeting formats, the discussions were thoughtful, relevant and highly productive. DDC staff left the conference with strong new connections and follow-up meetings already lined up in DC.
DDC targeted the following customers:
- Association of the United States Army
- Boeing
- Department of Defense
- Department of Veterans Affairs
- Internal Revenue Service
- National Credit Union Administration
- Zero to Three
Afternoon Tea and Hillwood Mansion Tour (May 7, Washington, DC)
DDC Staff: Dianna Waldroup, Morgan Simonet, Jerry Joseph, Elizabeth Sheridan
DDC enjoyed an exclusive afternoon tea with local customers at Hillwood, where we networked and then learned about the gardens and their year-round maintenance from the Director of Horticulture. We finished the afternoon with a guided mansion tour and self-guided garden tour.
DDC targeted the following customers:
- American Association for the Advancement of Science
- American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
- American Council on Education
- Association for Psychological Science
- ComplianceTech
- Giving Foundation for Women and Children
- HelmsBriscoe
- International Finance Corporation
- Security American Future Energy
- Transportation Research Board
Professional Convention Management Association (PCMA) Philadelphia Phillies Event (May 14, Philadelphia, PA)
DDC Staff: Dianna Waldroup, Shirley Del Carpio, John Sklencar
DDC was proud to be a Platinum Sponsor of the 2025 PCMA Greater Philadelphia Chapter Phillies Businessperson’s Special. Even with a little rain, the energy sparkled. This event gave our team a chance to build relationships with Philadelphia-based clients and share what makes DC such a winning choice for meetings.
DDC targeted the following customers:
- American Association for Cancer
- American College of Physicians
- American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery
- Association Headquarters
- ASTM International
- HelmsBriscoe
- Jazz Pharmaceutical
Unique Venue Familiarization Trip (May 21, Washington, DC)
DDC Staff: Dianna Waldroup, Rachel Bomser
DDC welcomed 28 local meeting planners for an exclusive FAM tour spotlighting some of the city’s most distinctive and inspiring event spaces. The day kicked off with a networking breakfast hosted by Convene and wrapped up with a happy hour at Nationals Park. Throughout the tour, planners experienced standout venues including Patterson Mansion/Placemakr, the Woodrow Wilson House, the Library of Congress, Folger Shakespeare Library, DC Water’s HQO, District Winery and Nina May.
DDC targeted the following customers:
- AARP
- American Apparel and Footwear Association
- American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics
- American Council on Education
- American Farm Bureau Federation
- American Physical Therapy Association
- American Public Transportation Association
- Congressional Black Caucus Foundation
- Federation of State Humanities Councils
- FIRST Agency
- Heart Rhythm Society
- HelmsBriscoe
- Hotel Source Assist
- International Finance Corporation
- International Franchise Association
- Interstate Natural Gas Association of America
- Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington, Inc.
- Public Sector Network
- Scoop News Group
- Securing America’s Future Energy
- Society of Interventional Radiology
- Venable LLP
- World Bank Group
Definite Site Visits
Arthroscopy Association of North America (May 7-9, 2025)
- 650 peak rooms, 2,170 total rooms, 1,100 attendees
- Multiple venues
Otakon (Aug. 7-9, 2025)
- 4,300 peak rooms, 14,515 total rooms, 17,000 attendees
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center
National Academy of Sciences on behalf of Transportation Research Board (Jan. 11-13, 2026)
- 5,500 peak rooms, 23,375 total rooms, 10,000 attendees,
- Multiple venues
Tentative Site Visits
Elanco (Aug. 19-20, 2025)
- 31 peak rooms, 78 total rooms, 40 attendees
- Multiple venues
National Accrediting Commission of Career Arts and Sciences (May 2-6, 2026; Aug. 1-5, 2026; Nov. 7-11, 2026)
- 17 peak rooms per month, 99 total rooms per month, 20 attendees per month
- Multiple venues
mSupply (Sept. 10-12, 2026)
- 80 peak rooms, 249 total rooms, 160 attendees
- Multiple venues
National Association for Home Care and Hospice (Oct. 28-29, 2026)
- 900 peak rooms, 3,100 total rooms, 3,000 attendees
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center and multiple venues
International Process Systems Alliance (July 20-22, 2026; July 19-21, 2027)
- 75 peak rooms per year, 246 total rooms per year, 140 attendees per year
- Multiple venues
GLOBAL CONVENTION SALES: Sales Calls, Bid Development, Strategic Programming, Familiarization Tours, Site Visits and Tradeshows
With a continued focus on proactive client outreach, personalized touchpoints and international bid development, the team engaged prospective accounts and tentative leads throughout the month of May. Highlights included:
- Aviatur, Meetings and Events Division
- BCD Meetings and Events Colombia
- Cielos Abiertos
- Grupo Over
- Frosch Colombia
- IBM
- Informa Connect
- International Fiscal Association
- International Monetary Fund
- Mundo Ski
- Nuba Mexico
- Nutanix
- Washington Intergovernmental Professional Group
- World Bank Group
Professional Convention Management Association Convening LATAM (May 2-6, Bogota, Colombia)
DDC Staff: Melissa Riley, Patricia Najar
PCMA Convening LATAM was held for the first time in Latin America, bringing together business event professionals from across the region. DDC hosted a branded activation featuring a photo opportunity that generated strong engagement with Washington, DC. In addition, DDC partnered with United Airlines to host a private dinner with 11 key clients from Colombia.
IMEX Frankfurt (May 16-23, Frankfurt, Germany)
DDC Staff: Elliott Ferguson, Melissa Riley, Tara Miller, Megan Fariel, Heidi Williams, Shelby Luzzi
This tradeshow is DDC’s largest opportunity to engage with clients across the global business events sector. Over the course of the week, DDC’s sales team, alongside co-op partners Events DC and Linder Global Events, conducted over 50 pre-scheduled appointments, 7 group presentations and directly engaged more than 200 potential clients. In addition to exhibiting under the Brand USA Pavilion, DDC maximized customer interactions by participating in customer events, panels, presentations, board meetings and media interviews. DDC also sponsored the Exclusively Corporate education program, which enabled a full day of engagement with over 100 additional corporate meeting planners from companies around the world.
Lastly, staff members spoke at the BestCities education session about “Going Global? What Factors Are Affecting International Meetings Around the World” and U.S. Travel Association’s session 100 Days In: Real-time Insights for Travel to the U.S.
Definite Site Visits
Nutanix (May 6-8, 2025)
- 2,405 peak rooms; 9,009 total room; 4,500 attendees
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center and multiple venues
Tentative Site Visits
International Business Machines Corporation (Sept. 26-30, 2027)
- 7,500 peak rooms, 40,700 total rooms; 15,000 attendees
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center and multiple venues
International Business Machines Corporation (Sept. 24-28, 2028)
- 8,500 peak rooms, 47,200 total rooms; 17,000 attendees
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center and multiple venues
International Business Machines Corporation (Sept. 9-13, 2029)
- 9,500 peak rooms, 53,700 total rooms; 20,000 attendees
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center and multiple venues
Alzheimer’s Association (July 20-24, 2030)
- 2,500 peak rooms, 13,670 total rooms; 8,000 attendees
- Walter E. Washington Convention Center and multiple venues
Upcoming Activities:
Domestic Convention Sales
- NorthStar Small and Boutique Meetings (June 1-3, Burlington, VT)
- Professional Convention Management Association Educon (June 1-4, Louisville, KY)
- WorldPride DC Sales Client Event (June 7-8, Washington, DC)
- Labor of Love – North America's Building Trade Unions (June 7-9, Williamsburg, VA)
- CVENT Connect (June 9-12, San Antonio, TX)
- Meeting Professionals International New Jersey Chapter Golf Outing (June 10, Hamburg, NJ)
- Association Forum Honors Gala (June 11, Chicago, IL)
- Meeting Professionals International WEC (June 17-19, St. Louis, MO)
- Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE) ACCESSE Leadership Conference (June 23-25, Philadelphia, PA)
- Financial & Insurance Conference Professionals Education Forum (June 23-25, Bluffton, SC)
- Maritz Elevate (June 23-26, Chula Vista, CA)
- International Association of Exhibitions and Events Leadership Institute (June 26-27, Baltimore, MD)
- HelmsBriscoe ABC (June 28-30, Toronto, Canada)
- Destination Discovery: Springtime in DC Familiarization Trip (TBD June, Washington, DC)
- Destinations Alliance Summer Agency Soiree (TBD June, Washington, DC)
Global Convention Sales
- Council of Engineering and Scientific Society Executives (CESSE) ACCESSE Leadership Conference (June 23-25, Philadelphia, PA)
- The Meeting Show (June 25-26, London, United Kingdom)
- Associations World Congress (June 29 – July 1, Hamburg, Germany)
- United Kingdom Sales Mission (July 21-25, multiple cities, United Kingdom)
- Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Convene (Aug. 1-2, Lisbon, Portugal)
- Canadian Meetings + Events Expo (Aug. 12-13, Toronto, Canada)
- IBTM Americas (Aug. 20-21, Mexico City, Mexico)
Check out the full Destination DC Member News to learn more about what's going on this month.
