Wednesday 16 May 2018

The Insider’s Guide: SearchLove Boston 2018

With just under four weeks until SearchLove returns to our favourite east coast city of Boston, we thought it was time to give you a low-down on what to expect and some insider tips, including:

  • What to expect during the conference
  • Suggestions of where to stay
  • Our speakers recommendation on the best places to eat
  • Recommendations from our local speakers on the best things to do with your spare time while in Boston

Wednesday Night - Pre Conference

The two-day conference has four main parts to it; If you were lucky enough to grab one of our exclusive VIP passes your SearchLove journey commences on Wednesday evening where you’ll be joining some of our speakers for an intimate and relaxed dinner. Here you’ll have the chance to ask your most important questions before the conference has even begun. For those not holding VIP passes, do not despair; the Wednesday evening is still a great opportunity to mingle with the Distilled team, just drop @Distilled a tweet and the team will let you know where they are enjoying a beer.

Thursday - Conference Day One

Next up, registration and breakfast on the June 7th. The Distilled team will be there from 8am on Thursday morning along with our sponsor"s STAT, Moz and DistilledODN, and we’ll be ready with your name badges and some delicious continental breakfast. Sessions commence on stage at 9am, so plan your travel to arrive in good time! Driving in? Then you’ll be pleased to hear you can park right on site at Revere for around $ 30 per day.

After a full day of sessions, we’ll be heading up to one of the highest rooftops in downtown Boston to enjoy some local beers, pizza and good conversation. The free bar will run from 5.30pm-8.30pm in case you want to plan a dinner reservation off-site at one of Boston’s excellent restaurants. (Wait for the recommendations below!)

Friday - Conference Day Two

Set the alarm for a hot breakfast from 8am before day two sessions kick off at 9.15am. We’ll have another jam-packed day of keynote speakers plus our breaking news panel. Then we’ll close out with some relaxed drinks in the hotel lobby bar for those of you not having to jump straight on a plane home.

It’s going to be an intense couple of days but as Rob our emcee always says: ‘lean-in, take notes, engage with your fellow attendees and try to stay off the day-to-day email so that you can soak up all the incredible knowledge that our speakers are excited to share’.

Where to stay

If all of the above sounds right up your street then you’ll want to book your ticket, arrange your travel and that all-important accommodation. You’ll be pleased to hear that the Revere have given us a mini extension on our preferential rate. You have until Thursday 17th May at 5pm EDT to book your stay on site and make the most of every moment of the conference.

Alternatively, if you are working to a smaller budget or just fancy staying somewhere else, why not check out our HotelMap which shows the rates at all the hotels in the area around the Revere. Or you peruse the local Airbnb offerings for a place that fits right within your budget.

Places our Boston based speakers recommend checking out

So, you’re all booked in for the conference and now you are ready to look at what to do when you are there? Well, you are in luck, as here are a few of our speakers who are Boston locals and have lined up some great suggestions for you to check out:

Casie Gillette - KoMarketing

Casie will be speaking on the power of data on day one of SearchLove, and will also be a member of our breaking news panel. She is the Senior Director of Digital Marketing at KoMarketing in Boston. Here are her favourite spots:

Things to do

Duck Boat Tour

If you"ve never seen the city, I am a HUGE fan of the duck boat tour. It"s obviously a very touristy thing to do but it"s a great way to see the city and the drivers are hilarious. It"s 90 minutes and you can pick it up in a couple different spots, one which is very close to the Revere Hotel.

Fenway Tour

If there"s no game or there is a later game, Fenway offers tours - even if you aren"t into baseball, it"s pretty cool to see the park. Fenway is a registered historical landmark, so it"s still pretty small and has a ton of history.

Food & Bars

North End

I always recommend a meal in the North End, a small neighborhood located near the TD Garden. The streets are small, the buildings are brick, and there are ~40 Italian restaurants which are all good - want pizza? The original Regina pizzeria in the north end is delicious. Their other locations, not so much.

Also...cannolis. Everyone will tell you to go to Mike"s, I prefer Modern.

Top of the Hub

The food is so-so and it can be a bit pretentious at night, but if it"s a beautiful day, head up to the bar and have a drink. Amazing views of the city.

Bell in Hand

Close to the North End and near Faneuil Hall is the Bell in Hand, which claims to be the oldest Tavern in America. There is nothing special about it but if you want to say you drank a pint where some of the founding fathers sat, this is the place.

Flour Bakery

Located around the corner from the Revere hotel, Flour is a cute little bakery with some delicious pastries, coffee, and sandwiches. Good for breakfast.

Bukowskis

There aren"t many dives left in downtown Boston but Bukowskis is one of the best. Located on the other side of the Hynes Convention Center (not too far from the hotel), it"s dark, somewhat dirty, but the food is good as is the beer selection.

Eventide

Somewhat new to Boston but founded in Portland, ME, Eventide is located near Fenway and has some amazing seafood. Oysters, chowder, and most importantly, a hot lobster roll. Highly recommended.

Chris Savage - Wistia

Chris is on the SearchLove stage at 11:50 on day two speaking about the future of video. He is the Co-Founder and CEO of Wistia a video platform based in Cambridge, Boston. Here are Chris’ top 4:

  • Eventide Oyster Co is amazing. Originally from Portland, ME. Their oysters and lobster rolls are incredible.
  • Neptune Oyster. This is a tiny spot in the North End. You will love everything about this if you can get a table. They are crazy busy.
  • Thinking Cup has great coffee.
  • Sweetgreen has great salads.

Justine Jordan - Litmus

Justine will be presenting on the state of email at 2:10pm on Friday 8th June. She is the VP Marketing at Litmus. Here are Justine’s favorite spots:

Restaurants:

Attractions:

  • Duck Tour is always fun, and a classic
  • Public Garden
  • North End (Little Italy - take a food tour)
  • Harpoon Beer Hall (get a pretzel)
  • Bowling at Sacco"s in Somerville
  • Taza Chocolate Factory tour

Well that all sounds good, right? Don’t forget to follow along on our conference hashtag: #SearchLove and why not engage with your fellow attendees before you arrive and find out where they’ll be eating and hanging out before and after the conference.

See you in Boston!


Distilled

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