Florida
It’s never been a better time to visit the Sunshine state, thanks to a plethora of special deals and discounts for meetings business.
By Kate Capleton
Planning on bringing a meeting to Florida? The state will be especially glad to see you. After several years of steady annual increases, the number of visitors coming to Florida fell in 2008 as compared to the previous year. While visitor figures at the start of the year were ahead of 2007, the full impact of the countrywide economic downturn took its toll in the fourth quarter, when an estimated 16.6 million people visited the Sunshine State—a decrease of 13.6 percent.
“It was during the second six months of 2008 when a sea of headlines about the global economic crisis, mortgage foreclosures, tightening credit markets, and bailouts caused consumers to change their vacation patterns and companies to cancel meetings and conventions,” notes Richard Goldman, chairman of the board for Visit Florida, the state’s tourism marketing agency, and senior vice president and chief marketing officer of Amelia Island Plantation.
“More than ever, meeting planners are paying attention to the bottom line,” adds Lyndsay Rossman, director of corporate communications at Visit Jacksonville. “More often than not, groups are cutting back on the length of stay when meeting and looking for a great value.”
Faith-based planners may be pleasantly surprised to find properties are more flexible—especially if you are able to think creatively about your meeting’s needs. “In this market, everything is negotiable, so planners should work with the attractions and restaurants to secure the best deals they can, as soon as they can,” says Sherri Brown, sales manager, faith-based meetings for Tampa Bay & Company. “There’s a cohesive team effort between all our destination partners to attract and book business for the Tampa Bay area.” In fact, the Tampa Convention Center has joined a number of facilities offering free meeting space to qualified groups this year. (See Deals and Discounts for more.)
Openings and Upgrades
On the Emerald Coast, plans have been approved for the 450-room Hilton Emerald Coast, on the sound-side of U.S. Highway 98. At press time, developers had tentatively scheduled the groundbreaking and start of construction for the project in the first quarter of 2009, with a soft opening slated for May 2010.
Meanwhile, the Emerald Coast Conference Center, which offers 35,000 square feet of flexible column-free meeting and exhibit space, hopes to complete a new 33,000-square-foot outdoor pavilion this summer. The center is building a reputation for hosting Christian rock concerts.
Gainesville
The Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Gainesville will be opening in July 2009. A Residence Inn by Marriott will be opening by fall 2009, with shopping and dining within walking distance.
Jacksonville
The 159-room Sheraton Jacksonville and the Four Points by Sheraton Jacksonville Baymeadows opened last year with 159 guest rooms and 850 square feet of meeting space. The Four Points by Sheraton Jacksonville Baymeadows opened in October 2008 with 80 guest rooms and 2,100 square feet of meeting space. Two new properties debuted in January 2009: Hotel Indigo, with 96 guest rooms and 2,100 square feet of meeting space and the Hyatt Place Jacksonville Airport with 127 guestrooms and 1,200 square feet of meeting space. Speaking of the airport, Jacksonville International Airport opened two new concourses last year as part of a $170 million renovation project. Both have moving walkways, high ceilings, skylights, television screens, and lots of seating. Free Wi-Fi is available throughout the terminal and concourses.
Panama City Beach
The Edgewater Beach Golf Resort conference center is undergoing a $250,000 upgrade. Opened in 2000, the center offers 20,000 square feet of conference space. The resort also plans to add a kids’ pool and water feature and a sports complex. The Edgewater is part of the Resort Collection of Panama Beach, which offers more than 1,500 suites and villas, 90,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor function space, 21 pools, and 36 holes of championship golf.
With guestroom options from condos with full kitchens to hotel rooms, a private beachfront location, a wide array of amenities and dining options, the Boardwalk Beach Resort has long been popular with faith-based groups of all sizes. The property’s convention center, which is directly on the beach, contains more than 20,000 square feet of meeting space, pre-function area, and breakout rooms, augmented by well-appointed outdoor space. It has recently added a new business center and is renovating the front desk area for remote convention check-in. Boardwalk Beach Resort is managed by Royal American Hospitality, which oversees more than 1,000 condo units and hotel rooms in the Panama City Beach area.
Shores of Panama is a new, gulf-front property with accommodations that range from studios to three-bedroom suites, a beachfront grand lagoon pool, and a banquet room that seats up to 180 attendees theater-style. The Holiday Inn SunSpree Resort has completed its SeaWatch Conference and Entertainment Center, adding 4,000 square feet of fully enclosed meeting space. This complements the property’s more than 3,000 square feet of existing meeting space on site.
Tampa
The History Museum opened in January, with lively interactive exhibits within walking distance of the Tampa Convention Center and all downtown properties. The Glazier Children’s Museum just broke ground and should open in 2010 with the Tampa Riverwalk. The Riverwalk, which is being completed in phases, will open the riverfront up to recreation, offering miles of parks, restaurants, and retail establishments for the public.
Daytona Beach
The Daytona Beach Ocean Center convention complex recently completed a $76 million expansion involving a new 95,000-square-foot exhibition hall, for a total of more than 205,500 square feet of function space. The expansion allows the facility greater flexibility in hosting multiple, same-day events.
Pensacola
The 127-room Hyatt Place Hotel is scheduled for completion in 2011 at the Pensacola Gulf Coast Regional Airport. The hotel anchors a $24 million development that will include offices, restaurants and retail shops. Newcomer, Solé Inn and Suites, a 1950s-style, retro hotel, is close enough to downtown that visitors can walk to many attractions, shops and restaurants.
Orlando
The Hilton Orlando Hotel is scheduled to open late August/early September 2009 with 1,400 rooms adjacent to the Orange County Convention Center, six dining establishments, and 130,000 square feet of meeting space. The Hilton Bonnet Creek Project, surrounded by the Walt Disney World Resort, will offer a 1,000-room Hilton and a 498-room Waldorf-Astoria. It is also scheduled to open in late August/early September 2009.
The Peabody Orlando has completed a 750-room expansion and is adding a new 32-story tower with 890 rooms, as well as 140,000 square feet of meeting space opening early 2010. The Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress is undergoing a $65 million restyling of all 750 guestrooms, its ballroom, breakout, and event facilities, along with an entirely new design concept for the lobby, guest services area, and hotel restaurants. It is scheduled for completion at the end of 2009.
Kissimmee
The Mona Lisa Suite Hotel opened last year. The $70 million, all-suite property offers guests 240 upscale one- and two-bedroom suites furnished with king-sized beds with Egyptian cotton linens, down comforters and pillows. The Hampton Inn and Suites also opened recently, just three miles from the Walt Disney World Resort. The property offers 125 guestrooms and suites equipped with microwaves and refrigerators, as well as LCD, high-definition televisions.
At the Silver Spurs Arena at Osceola Heritage Park, a new curtaining system enhances the venue’s options for event and meeting planners. The new system allows the 10,500-seat facility to be configured into two different floor plans; a theater seating 3,600 or a half-house set-up that seats 6,200. In addition to changing the layout of the room, the flexible curtain system can be utilized to dress up the venue or simply used as a backdrop.
Fort Lauderdale
The Westin Beach Resort, Fort Lauderdale opens in 2009 after a multi-million dollar renovation that provides more than 32,000 square feet of flexible event space and a Heavenly Spa by Westin. The 433-guestroom and suite resort features special discounts during specified dates throughout 2009.
Deals and Discounts
The Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, Inc. (Orlando CVB) is celebrating 25 years as a meetings and conventions destination with a program designed to thank the meetings community for its support. Through the Orlando CVB 25th Anniversary Savings Celebration, any meeting booked by May 1, 2009 and held by December 31, 2009 will enjoy a 2.5 percent discount off the master account at any one of 30 Orlando-area meetings hotels. Properties may also offer additional incentives, including welcome receptions and double award points. Transportation partners, including Air Tran, Jet Blue and Dollar Rent-A-Car, are also supporting the program with special pricing offers to qualifying meetings.
At the Emerald Coast Conference Center in Fort Walton Beach, meetings with fewer than 90 attendees that use the property’s catering services and meet certain other criteria will get the space for free.
At many locations, planning ahead can save time and money on catering. Bill Leaman, general manager of the Emerald Coast Conference Center, which hosts a number of large youth conferences every year, says planners who can arrange catered meals for attendees early enough to include those meals in registration fees are likely to save attendees both time and money. “It takes a bit more time and effort up front,” he notes, adding that, for example, when you have 700 young people break for lunch, the catering staff can feed them more efficiently and for less money than turning them loose to fend for themselves.
Venues in Jacksonville are also waiving space rental fees for certain meetings. Qualified groups booking more than 1,500 room nights July through December will get free space at the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center, which offers use of both exhibit halls that reach a total of 78,500 square feet, plus additional meeting rooms. Groups with fewer than 1,500 room nights that wish to use the center during those months can also negotiate a discount price.
Tampa is also offering free space at the Tampa Convention Center to qualifying groups over the summer, and many area attractions will also offer discounts for groups throughout June, July and August.
In Central Florida, Seminole County is having a third Night Free promotion at select hotels from April 15 through December 15, 2009. Visit AFreeNight.com for full details and participating hotels.
Gainesville continues to offer Conference Grants, awarding up to $10,000 to qualified meeting planners who generate room night revenue in Gainesville/Alachua County and who meet the grant criteria. Some planners have used the grant funds as reimbursements for a variety of meeting expenses such as transportation shuttles, program printing, as well as audio-visual rentals.
After-Hours Fun
Gainesville’s charming downtown has plenty of restaurants for a custom-made dine-around program with many culinary and budgetary options. Downtown is also home to the Hippodrome, a regional professional theatre that hosts stage performances. The Hippodrome, a restored 1912 Federal Building listed on the National Register of Historic Places, also has function and meeting space.
The Jacksonville Princess II is Jacksonville’s newest dinner cruise. This two-hour sailing adventure along the St. Johns River, which divides Jacksonville in two, takes in the sites of downtown and the other historic neighborhoods of Jacksonville. The yacht docks at the Crowne Plaza Jacksonville Riverfront and holds 110 guests.
At HarborWalk Village in Destin, shopping, dining, live entertainment, and great harbor views await attendees, all with a big dose of Southern Charm. Choices include Pat O’Brien’s, Commander’s Palace, or Harry T’s Lighthouse.
Disney Studios in Orlando recently opened The American Idol Experience. Here, you can encourage talented group members to pick up the mic and dazzle the “judges.” SeaWorld Orlando’s Elite Adventure Express Tour is a first-class experience reserved for private group tours. You’ll enjoy front-of-the-line access to main attractions, front row seating at two live shows, behind-the-scenes access
North of Orlando, Seminole County’s Black Hammock Adventures offers group-friendly activities around Lake Jessup. Groups can experience wildlife on a airboat ride or check out live alligator and bird exhibits. Trainers feed the 12-foot resident gator Hammy on Sunday afternoons.
This story was originally published in the April 2009 issue of Rejuvenate magazine.
