LIVE! CASINO HOTEL MARYLAND

BACKGROUND

At Live! Casino & Hotel Maryland, the energy is electric, and the possibilities are endless. As Cindy Jones, Vice President of Hospitality and Sales, puts it, “Anything can happen at Live, and it usually does. The energy here is infectious, and it shows in everything we do.” Opened in 2018, Live! Hotel in Hanover, Maryland, is the flagship property of the brand that has expanded to Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Louisiana. These properties combine table gaming, live entertainment, luxury accommodations, and stunning event spaces, creating a perfect location and comprehensive support for meetings and events. 

With 50,000 square feet of mixed-use event space, 10 restaurants, and a vibrant casino, Live! Hotel is redefining what it means to host meetings, conferences, and social events in the Mid-Atlantic. Groups can tap into the state-of-the-art AV in the 4,000-seat event center, relax in David’s Restaurant with a small group, or use Club 21 for focused and productive leadership meetings. There are 310 guest rooms accessible within the building and a multitude of shopping, dining, and entertainment options in nearby Baltimore, Maryland and Washington, DC. 

What truly sets this property apart is its commitment to innovation—especially in how it showcases its versatile spaces to planners and clients through cutting-edge technology like Cvent Event Diagramming and photorealistic 3D tours. The HALL at Live! features massive high-resolution LED screens, the ability to divide the space into breakout rooms, a VIP-level balcony, and unlimited options for unique set-ups and event structures. With this versatility, however, comes the challenge of communicating the world of possibilities available to planners and group attendees. 

CHALLENGE

Communicating Versatility and Inspiring Creative Event Design

Live! Hotel Maryland’s event spaces are anything but ordinary. From hosting a boxing match on Saturday night right into a 500-person general session on Monday, the venue is “like a big transformer,” says Cindy. “It has 10 different breakout spaces in different configurations that are all customizable.” However, this very flexibility posed a unique challenge: how to effectively communicate the venue’s potential to planners who may never have set foot in Maryland, let alone in the property itself. 

Planners like Lola Akinbade, owner and creative director of Master Plan Events, are always searching for “unique spaces that allow us to transform the space or be able to do creative designs and floor plans.” But static photos and basic floor plans didn’t allow them to communicate clearly with planners all the possibilities and get them to engage with the hotel. “Pictures…are not enough to show you exactly what the venue can do,” Lola explains. “If you’re doing a 3D tour, then you actually get to feel like you’re in the space without being physically in the space.” 

Marissa Gossage, Corporate Catering and Sales Manager, adds, “You can have a conference going on on one side and then a corporate meeting on the other side. I do love the fact that we are able to accommodate multiple events at one time… It truly is something unique that I have not seen at a lot of places.” Layering in multiple events, various levels of the event space, and one-of-a-kind features meant the property needed technology that was as adaptable and versatile as they are to set expectations and spark creativity. 

SOLUTION

Cvent Event Diagramming and Photo-Realistic 3D Bring the Space to Life

To bridge the gap between imagination and reality, Live! Maryland turned to Cvent Event Diagramming and photorealistic 3D technology. These tools empower planners and clients to virtually walk through the space, experiment with layouts, and collaborate in real time—no matter where they are. During the planning process, the hotel teams and the planner can collaborate in the diagrams to create practical layouts that meet the requirements of all stakeholders. 

Key features that are essential to Live! Hotel and their event planners are:

• Collaborative Design: “I love that we have that ability in Cvent Event Diagramming that we can share it with each other,” says Marissa. “Planners can say, hey, this is what we’re expecting. And from the venue side, I can say, I love that. Let’s just shift this a little bit in this space, or this is how we can make that work.” Giving access to everyone collaborating on the event keeps communication open and ensures that everyone has the most recent changes at all times. 
• Visualizing Event Flow: “For the flow of the event, using the diagram has really been helpful because we’re able to say, your guests are going to be arriving through this section…then we move this way into the first ballroom,” Lola explains. “Having that diagram to be able to show the actual walkway or the 3D tour…really helps plan out what we need to provide for the guests and for the clients so that we’re well prepared for their arrival.” 
• Time and Cost Savings: “The biggest benefit of Cvent Event Diagramming is the time saving,” says Tiffany McCoy, founder of Bird of Paradise Events. “It saves hours for us building a floor plan from scratch. And it makes us look good to our clients that we have that information readily available.” 
• Enhanced Collaboration: “It is a best practice to offer collaboration for Cvent Event Diagramming to all of our clients. It gives them the ability to see what their space looks like. I send diagrams with all of my proposals,” Marissa notes.
• Precise day-of execution: No matter how complex the event, everyone is aware of the plan and exactly what needs to happen at different times. “When I’m creating event orders for the team to utilize and execute off of, I start with the diagram. We go through that together before the event comes in,” said Marissa. 

While some benefits, such as consumer trust and client satisfaction, can be hard to calculate, the hotel continues to see measurable results because of its expert use of diagramming technology. 

• High Engagement with Diagrams: In 2024 alone, Live! Maryland created 707 diagrams and sent 31 collaboration invites, with over 2,500 3D clicks and nearly 9,000 total floorplan downloads. 
• Efficient Event Planning: “[Cvent Event Diagramming] is a big time saver. It makes things super efficient on the day of the event. Our clients love that visual,” Marissa says. 
• Improved RFP Quality: “We do get more qualified RFPs when the planners utilize Cvent Event Diagramming first, because they know what they’re working with. They know what they’re walking into, and they truly can say, ‘Okay, I have at least a grasp of what’s going on before walking into that space.’” 

In addition, Cvent Event Diagramming enhances the planner experience, improves client communication, and provides employees with the tools they need to do their jobs with excellence. 

• Better Prepared Planners: “I do think our meeting planners are more educated about our space. Especially with how unique our space is. Because of the tools that we have…being able to see the space, build a diagram, literally, right there, and actually turn it into a 3D with people. And seeing the flows or seeing how the lights change…It really helps prepare them for that planning,” Cindy explains. 
• Seamless Collaboration: “Cvent Event Diagramming is super efficient, and it’s just a way for us as a venue and the clients to collaborate together the day of the event,” Marissa summarizes. 
• Excitement and Confidence: “Seeing the actual space gets you excited,” said Marissa. “You feel like you’re walking through it in real time, and then it makes you want to come out and see the venue in person.”