NAME IN LIGHTS: The Association of Luxury Suite Directors Premium Experiences Conference and Trade Show featured a visit to SoFi Stadium, one of six venue tours offered to attendees. (VN Staff)
Group Sets Sights on London in September, Philly in 2025
The Association of Luxury Suite Directors this week wrapped its 34th annual trade show, which was held July 14-16 at the JW Marriott Hotel at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles.
The program featured a host of speakers from within and outside the premium venue space, covering diverse topics from using AI to mine valuable data to the impact marketing has on the bottom line.
PRESIDENTIAL PAIR: ALSD President Amanda Verhoff is pictured with Cathy Winter, president of Premier Sport Psychology. (VN Staff)
Attendee and exhibitor numbers were comparable to last year’s confab in Indianapolis, said ALSD President Amanda Verhoff. About 1,200 attended, she said.
“All guests and fans want the instagram moment, the memories, the elevated experience. So, we in premium, have to elevate to an even higher level of service, experience, care,” Verhoff said. “The bricks and mortar in new and renovated venues reflects this, as does the training, tiered service levels and bespoke care of VIPs. It’s a tall task, and one we are educating our membership about.”
Verhoff said Philadephia is well known as “a true sports city… with four incredible venues set to satisfy fan demand for great experience, F&B and beyond.
London at The O2 will prove unique, in that many experiences are all under one “roof” or tent. The content here and across the pond is starting to blend.
The convention featured site visits to six venues: BMO Stadium and the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on night one, SoFi Stadium and COSM on night two and Crypto.com Arena and the Peacock Theater as the gala finale of the event.
PREMIUM SPACE: ALSD attendees gather at Crypto.com Arena prior to a tour of the venue’s newest suites and clubs. (VN Staff)
The site visits also gave the venues’ concessionaires — Legends at BMO, the Coliseum and SoFi, and Levy at Crypto and the Peacock — to show off its finer offerings.
“That was the most we’ve ever had, and they were all close,” said Jeff Morander, ALSD CEO. “We had a sell through rate of over 97% on the hotel room block as well as exhibitor hall. Coupled with attendance and terrific feedback regarding the conference and the fantastic venue receptions and tours.”
ALSD CEO Jeff Morander
Verhoff said next year’s convention in Philadelphia is in keeping with the ALSD’s practice of holding the convention in sites on or near the coasts and in the Midwest while also following venue construction trends by locating in cities where there is plenty of action on that front.
“In Philly next year, we will see another true sports city, along with hopefully four incredible venues, set to satisfy fan demand for great experience, F&B, and beyond,” Verhoff said.
Some of the exhibitors this year were situated in the main assembly room, an intentional move aimed at integrating the trade show and convention more closely, she said.
Among the breakout sessions was one that included charettes led by moderators from Perkins & Will and AEG, during which attendees split into groups to design and name new premium spaces in different venue categories with defined budget and available spaces. One attendee’s suggestion that an intimate suite be called the “Love Box,” instead of Loge Box, drew chuckles from the participants.
Janet Marie Smith, executive vice president, planning and development with the Los Angeles Dodgers, was presented with the ALSD’s Visionary Award.
Morander and Verhoff said the mission of ALSD has expanded far beyond what its name suggests as the trend toward premium experiences, sometimes offered as additional perks for a price to even low-end guests, continues to gain momentum.
He said the ALSD’s first conference in 1988 had 13 people. It now draws about 1,300.
Looking beyond Philadelphia in 2025, the choices for 2026 have been narrowed to three cities, he said.
Morander said he is also excited about the growth of ALSD’s convention across the pond, the sixth annual version of which takes Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at indigo at The O2 in London. The convention drew 450 in Manchester last year and is expected to reach that number again this year, he said.
