Michelle D’Attilio
Chief executive officer, Sosh
As chief executive officer of Milwaukee-based marketing firm Sosh, Michelle D’Attilio often travels to meet with clients across the country. Recently, a cyber security conference brought her to Las Vegas, a city she has visited many times over the years. She offered these tips when traveling to Sin City.
Transportation:
“I prefer to fly Delta and, because I travel as much as I do, I tend to splurge on first class. The problem is Delta doesn’t have a direct flight to Vegas. So, if I’m in a rush, I’ll take Southwest, which has a direct flight. But I don’t mind having layovers; I talk to people I don’t know. Quite honestly, the airport is another way to network.”
Excursions:
“Downtown Container Park has a bunch of small shops and startups. It allows owners to show proof of concept. Around there, you can also see a bunch of Burning Man art; you can walk around and see The Big Rig Jig. Often times when people think of Vegas, they think of the Strip. Unless I have a conference near the Strip, I spend probably less than 5% of my time there.”
Accommodations and food:
“The Oasis at the Gold Spike is a project by Downtown Project, which is basically an effort to reinvent the downtown. It’s really nice and not too expensive. I think of it as a small town in Wisconsin; it’s an area of Vegas that people don’t even know exists. It’s a safe, great community.”
“My favorite restaurant is Le Thai. And it actually has ties to Milwaukee. The owner Dan (Coughlin) is from Milwaukee. PublicUs is great for breakfast and has coworking spaces.”
Travel tip:
“The best thing to do is TSA PreCheck, or get Clear (airport security program). If you have Clear, they’ll bring you to the front of the PreCheck line, they scan your fingerprints and you can skip everyone. Because I’m traveling so much and … don’t want to waste a minute of sitting at the gate, Clear and PreCheck have been instrumental.”
