From Orlando to Kissimmee to Lakeland and beyond, tourism and transportation investments keep meeting professionals coming back to Central Florida.
Orlando
When Visit Orlando recently announced that a staggering 68 million visitors came to Orlando in 2016, no one was really surprised. What was surprising was the rapid growth in the past few years with “just” 51 million visitors in 2010 alone.
To accommodate this influx of leisure guests and meeting attendees, capital improvements are in evidence all over Orlando—from the new South Terminal Complex at Orlando International Airport, adding 16 gates and additional parking, to the expansion at the Orange County Convention Center to further accommodate its 200-plus events per year. New hotels, meeting space, restaurants and attractions at the theme parks have truly made Orlando the place to meet.
“I’m always telling meeting planners that you can come to Orlando year after year and get a different experience every time,” said Fred Shea, senior vice president of convention sales & services at Visit Orlando. “Orlando has so much happening, with a wide variety of experiences in and outside the parks and new restaurants and attractions. I-Drive will soon open Andretti Indoor Karting & Games and Topgolf Orlando, both great for group events. And high-end Circo Orlando, from New York’s famous Le Cirque restaurant, will open next to Mango’s Tropical Cafe on International Drive,” he said.
There are scores of other recent openings and renovations, including Rosen Plaza Hotel’s new 3NINE at The Plaza, a premier turnkey entertainment venue accommodating up to 1,500 guests when including ’39 Poolside Bar & Grill. Rosen Shingle Creek’s 1,501 luxury guest rooms, its grand lobby, Headwaters Lounge and Cafe Osceola have all been refreshed.
Universal’s Loews Sapphire Falls Resort added 1,000 guest rooms and 115,000 square feet of meeting space, connecting to Loews Royal Pacific Resort, creating the Loews Meeting Complex with a combined total of 2,000 rooms. New attractions include the water theme park Volcano Bay and a new ride—Race Through New York Starring Jimmy Fallon.
“Universal Orlando Resort is a truly unique meetings destination,” said Vince LaRuffa, senior vice president, resort sales and marketing for Universal Orlando Resort. “The recent opening of The Loews Meeting Complex means an additional 295,000 square feet of meeting space in addition to 6,200 guest rooms, making it an ideal location for groups of any size.”
Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort’s planned expansion includes a new 15-story tower adding an additional 500 rooms to the resort, a new rooftop restaurant and meeting venues that include a boardroom and two multipurpose rooms that will add to the resort’s current 220,000 square feet of meeting space.
Also in the works is a 28,000-square-foot expansion of the convention center at Disney’s Yacht and Beach Club Resort, bringing the total amount of flexible meeting and event space to 100,000 square feet.
Entertainment complex Disney Springs announced several new restaurants: Paddlefish, in a reimagined steamship; The Edison, themed as a 1920s-era electric company; The Polite Pig; Planet Hollywood Observatory; and Wine Bar George.
Attendees can explore the magic of Nature ‘on’ Pandora–The World of Avatar at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, where they are immersed in a mystical world of bioluminescent rainforests.
Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek unveiled a 3,500-square-foot ballroom accommodating up to 360 people and a 2,155-square-foot expedition meeting room. Meanwhile, the Walt Disney World Swan & Dolphin Resort is undergoing a $140 million multiyear redesign project to transform all of its 2,267 guest rooms.
Other hotels in the news include the Buena Vista Palace Resort and Spa, now the Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace, commemorating a large-scale renovation project that includes 92,000 square feet of renovated meeting space.
Westgate Resorts recently opened Village at Westgate Lakes, a seven-story mixed-use development at Westgate Lakes Resort & Spa. The Village features Drafts Sports Bar & Grill and 20,000 square feet of conference and meeting space. In the works is The Sunset Key Island retreat and event center, a private island for up to 300 people, with palm trees, tropical flora, tiki figures and thatched-roof Chickee Hut, constructed by the Seminole tribe of Florida.
PageBreakJust west of Orlando in Howey-in-the-Hills, the 176-room Mission Inn Resort & Club is undergoing a $3.5 million renovation to its guest rooms, including a Wi-Fi upgrade throughout the hotel.
Kissimmee
Just south of Orlando, Kissimmee offers easy access to Orlando International Airport and more than 1 million square feet of meeting space.
“From practical and affordable, to grand and luxurious, Kissimmee has something special for groups of all sizes,” said DT Minich, CEO and president of Experience Kissimmee. “We’re also minutes away from world-famous theme parks, amazing outdoor adventures, championship golf and more.”
One of the largest meeting hotels in the area, Omni Orlando Resort at ChampionsGate, recently debuted an extensive $40 million expansion to include 23,000 square feet of additional pool deck and recreational space, Kissimmee’s only resort wave pool, a new 93-room property villa building and a redesign of Trevi’s restaurant with an outdoor garden terrace and bar.
The expansion also includes 100,000 square feet of event lawn and conference center space.
Bohemian Hotel Celebration recently underwent a million-dollar makeover to all 115 guest rooms and an extension of the lobby.
Activities in the area include Stompin’ Gator Off-Road Adventure opening this month at Gatorland. Adventurers can rollick in a 12-foot high, off-road monster vehicle through Florida’s natural habitat, an alligator graveyard and a pond filled with hundreds of live gators.
Lakeland/Winter Haven/Lake Wales
The Lakeland region also boasts its share of property news.
“We’ve actually got a lot going on here,” said Al Snow, tourism representative, conventions, meetings and events for Visit Central Florida. “Our biggest focus is The Lakeland Center, which became RP Funding Center in May. The center will undergo $15 million in meeting space renovations to be completed by the end of 2018 or early 2019.”
Also getting a facelift—to the tune of $48 million—is Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium, the Detroit Tigers’ winter home.
East of Lakeland, in Winter Haven, the $24 million Winter Haven Conference Center and Field House project is expected to bring in more national groups to the area, according to Snow.
“Because we’re smack-dab in the middle of the state, we attract meeting planners who want to be near Tampa, Orlando and the beaches,” Snow said. “We also have 10 new hotel projects in the pipeline.”
The historic 1926 Walesbilt Hotel in Lake Wales is scheduled to reopen in December 2018 after renovations, and the historic 75-room Taylor Hotel in Winter Haven is getting a complete overhaul, and once completed will have a high-end restaurant, rooftop bar and meeting space for up 60.
Lakeland is becoming quite the culinary and brewery hub, according to Jackie Johnson, senior vice president of the Lakeland Area Chamber of Commerce.
“Brazilian Gastropub Posto 9 has an authentic Brazilian restaurant on the bottom floor; the next level is a great meeting facility and the top level is the rooftop lounge Ipanema,” Johnson said.
Westgate River Ranch Resort & Rodeo, a dude ranch located 90 miles south of Orlando in Lake Wales, recently completed three new meeting rooms, giving the ranch more than 12,300 square feet of meeting space. The ranch’s newest accommodations, Luxe Teepees, provide luxury camping.
Orlando North/Seminole County
“What differentiates Orlando North, Seminole County from the rest of Central Florida is our affordability, accessibility, and abundance of natural beauty,” said Guilherme “Gui” Cunha, tourism manager for Orlando North, Seminole County. “We also offer a variety of non-traditional meeting and event venues, such as the Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens, the St.
Johns Rivership, Route 46 Entertainment District and Wekiva Island, a LEED Platinum oasis along the Wekiwa River.”
Opening this month is TownPlace Suites by Marriott Orlando Altamonte Springs/Maitland. The new property features 1,030 square feet of meeting space. After a four-year hiatus, Route 46 Entertainment District in Sanford reopened. The 4.9-acre complex provides four event venues that offer a total of 27,000 square feet of flexible indoor and outdoor space.
Gainesville
“Located in the center between Miami and Pensacola, Gainesville/Alachua County is easily accessible for meetings,” said John Pricher, executive director, Visit Gainesville Alachua County, FL. Home to the University of Florida, one of the largest campuses in the country, there’s plenty of sprucing up going on these days.
The 248-room Hilton University of Florida Conference Center, with 25,000 square feet of meeting space, recently finished a $15 million renovation to its guest rooms. In October, The Fairfield Inn & Suites is scheduled to open with 114 rooms and 2,200 square feet of meeting space, and AC Hotel adds 144 rooms and 774 square feet of meeting space.
New meeting and event space includes venues at the Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, home of the Florida Gators, which includes the nearby O’Connell Center, which was renovated in January 2017 and accommodates up to 10,500 guests.
