Elaine Herman
Elaine has been in the industry for 17 years, spending 16 of them in the bay area. Her background includes professional training as a pastry chef, and large scale food and beverage management in a series of facilities. Elaine’s true passion has always been special events. Her background in catering and event planning provides valuable insight when it comes to planning and operating events at many of the bay area’s premier venues. She has had the good fortune to work on some truly incredible high profile events, some for up to over 10,000 attendees.
WHAT'S YOUR REGIONAL TERRITORY OR DESTINATION OF FOCUS?
San Francisco and the Napa and Silicon Valleys
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE FEATURE ABOUT YOUR DESTINATION?
There are an incredible amount of things to do here. We have great weather, great wines and the amazing restaurants and caterers. If you are a foodie, this is your Mecca!
WHAT TRENDS ARE YOU FINDING WITH PROMOTION OF GREEN INITIATIVES IN YOUR CLIENT PROGRAMMES?
More and more clients want to “go paperless” and have zero waste. We are constantly refining ways throughout our events to eliminate waste. I feel great about the green challenge most of our clients are demanding.
WHAT’S NEW AND HOT IN YOUR DESTINATION?
There’s always something new going on here. Right now the city has baseball fever since the Giants won the World Series last year. The America’s Cup Yacht Race is coming in 2013, so the city is all abuzz in preparation for that, and many events are being designed around landmark sporting events such as these.
DESCRIBE THE BIGGEST MISPERCEPTION OF YOUR DESTINATION?
A lot of people think the weather is warmer than it actually is. They think of California as endless summer, when it actually chilly her at night. I can’t tell you how many times we have had to purchase sweat shirts for attendees who expect our summers to be warm.
WITH WHAT OTHER DESTIANTIONS DOES YOUR DESTINATION COMMONLY COMPETE?
Los Angeles and New York.