Convention Hotels More Room at the Inn

When plans for the Hilton Orlando Convention Center were announced in 2006, it was cause for celebration in the central Florida city. The new hotel would directly connect with the Orange County Convention Center, the second-largest convention center in the United States and the largest without an anchor hotel.

By the time construction began last May, groups already had booked room blocks and function space. So many, in fact, that Juan Garcia, director of sales and marketing for the Hilton Orlando CC, estimated about 80 percent of the hotel's business will be with groups.

When it opens in summer 2009, the hotel will have 1,400 rooms and 175,000 square feet of function space, including two ballrooms and 21 meeting rooms. Also, a covered, open-air walkway will connect to the South Concourse of the OCCC's North/South Building.

Tradeshow Week Assistant Editor Stephanie Corbin spoke with Garcia recently about the role the hotel will play in Orlando's hospitality industry.

Question: What types of events do you expect to host at the Hilton Orlando Convention Center?

Answer: All of Orlando's main show events we're participating in. We have a beautiful six-year contract with Performance Racing (Industry Trade Show) that's really important to Orlando. (The Natl. Assn. of) Home Builders' (show, The Intl. Builders' Show/nextBuild) we're wrapping up (a contract with) right now. ... We took it as a very responsible position to help Orlando attract more, just as much as maintain, the major citywides that it has. So we've got some pretty healthy plots with them already, some great relationships with a lot of the major planners.

Q: Will any of the larger show managers book meeting space at the hotel?

A: In some cases. It depends on what their makeup is in terms of headquarters status or exhibitor status. They all operate differently and independently. Some, they turn the exhibitors on to you; some, they totally manage by blocking your entire hotel and then allocating it. Each one is a different relationship … and we play ball by doing what we need to do to make them feel good and comfortable about coming back again and again.

Q: What are the sizes of the groups that have already booked space?

A: We've got some good in-house events, large meetings anywhere from 1,300 peak to 50 peak (room nights). Some of those are in conjunction with the citywides, but most of those are independent.

Q: How do you view Hilton's role in the Orlando area?

A: There are a lot of good hotel products in Orlando, and we're here to compete with them directly, but also effectively against other cities in drawing ... a lot of good events.

Q: What about the hotel's role in the convention center?

A: Our job is to accentuate and help the convention center attract business. In some cases, people prefer to be a little off-site; in other cases, they prefer to be on-site. When it comes to Orlando, we have so many attractions and venues and things like that, it's just unbelievable; and it's not yet even a complete story. There's just so much planners can choose from. We want to put that out in front of planners.

Every planner's going to say, “Three of the four nights we're going to have a catered event, but one we want to go off (site).” You can't stop that; you can only help it. ... In addition, when we trade off and on with the OCCC, whatever events (planners) want to do over there, we want to help them; and whatever events they do here, we'll help them.

Q: There has been a lot of hotel construction and expansion in Orlando over the last few years. Is there enough business to go around?

A: If we do the right things – if Orlando does the right things – then we're always going to be out there attracting more business. And that's a big part of our role here: to support the city, to support the community, to support the OCCC. There are a lot of big citywides that continue to grow, and many of them have no place to go but a (city like Las) Vegas. Well, we're capable of taking on many of those and bringing more to the city. I don't see it petering off yet; I don't see it diminishing yet. It's a good healthy market out there.