Florida is a huge destination variety package filled with all the attributes necessary for successful meetings and incentive programs. An extensive choice of premier meeting hotels, resorts, unique venues and attractions located along two coasts and in cities brimming with history, culture and cuisine awaits planners. Attractions range from Orlando’s famous theme parks and historic Castillo de San Marcos in St. Augustine to the fascinating Kennedy Space Center and the subtropical Everglades National Park. Beach life includes peaceful days on the white-sand beaches of Pensacola to the energetic vibes of South Beach in Miami. No wonder the Sunshine State attracts corporate groups from all around the world.

Florida also is home to many large businesses that hold countless meetings of all sizes throughout the state. For example, every year Florida Blue (the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Plan for Floridians) holds 50 to 75 meetings throughout Florida that last at least two days and have 10 to 300 attendees.

According to Kathleen Zwart, CMP, corporate meeting and travel services manager for Jacksonville-based Florida Blue, these meetings also include two annual incentives for approximately 100 attendees. “We are lucky because we have so many places that we can choose from in Florida that gives the reward we want to provide without leaving the state,” says Zwart. “We can go all over the state and present them with different options every year. There are dream locations whether your business is located inside or outside of Florida.”

In addition, Florida is a popular destination for meetings held by Blue Cross Blue Shield companies in other states. Every year, employees in similar departments from the “Blues” in other states hold two- or three-day meetings in various locations nationwide to compare practices and do benchmarking, says Zwart. The Blues hold dozens of such meetings annually ranging in attendance from 30 to about 100 attendees.

Three to five of the meetings are held in Florida every year. “They all want to come here, especially in the winter. These meetings are always better attended when they are held in Florida. I have one that wants to meet in August of this year and another one that I’m working on. Some are held in Jacksonville because we have an 11,000-sf conference center there. We also have met in St. Petersburg and other parts of the state,” says Zwart.

Orlando

No other destination offers so many hotel and resort rooms located so closely to one of the world’s great collections of theme parks. Groups enjoy Orlando so much that they return year after year, sometimes moving from one property to another. For example, Brown & Brown Inc., a Daytona-based insurance company with offices nationwide, held its annual sales incentive at the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center for the last seven years before moving to the Hilton Orlando, which is connected to the Orange County Convention Center (OCCC). Both hotels offer top services and value, says Diane Jones, Brown & Brown executive assistant and meeting planner.

Brown & Brown’s three-day incentive honors the company’s 1,500 top producers. During the incentive, attendees get plenty of rest and relaxation and enjoy Orlando at their leisure. “We used to offer them buses to the theme parks and a mall for their leisure time. But we found that what they mostly want to do is lie by the pool and relax or golf. Every year, we have a general session, black-tie dinner and costume theme party. Last year, the theme was superheroes and everybody dressed up as one. This year, the theme is rock stars,” says Jones.

In addition, for the last five years Brown & Brown has held its annual leadership meeting for 200 managers at the Hyatt Regency Orlando International Airport. “We used to have them fly into Orlando and drive to our headquarters in Daytona and have the meeting there. But we found that we can save money by having them land in Orlando and meet there instead of renting cars to drive to Daytona and stay there. And the Hyatt gives us a good rate,” says Jones. The company also held a two-day meeting last year for 50 accounting managers at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld.

New and Renovated

Orlando, the nation’s second largest hotel market, continues to increase its supply of more than 120,000 guest rooms and suites. Rosen Hotels & Resorts is constantly improving every aspect of services and amenities. The company owns seven properties in the Orlando area including three convention hotels: Rosen Centre Hotel, Rosen Shingle Creek and Rosen Plaza Hotel.

Rosen Plaza Hotel (800 guest rooms; 60,000 sf of meeting space) has renovated its guest rooms with new furnishings, carpeting, crown molding, TVs and 32-inch flat-screen TVs. The Rosen Centre Hotel (1,334 guest rooms; 124,000 sf of meeting space) has renovated its guest rooms, Grand Lobby, hospitality suites and three Presidential Suites. Meeting attendees can walk to the nearby OCCC via the covered Rosen Centre Skywalk.

Harris Rosen, president and COO of Rosen Hotels & Resorts, announced plans to build a skybridge connecting the Rosen Plaza Hotel with the OCCC. The pedestrian skybridge will be named the Gary Sain Memorial Bridge in honor of the Visit Orlando president and CEO who passed away suddenly in May 2012. Sain had led the agency since 2007, bringing about reorganization, a new vision and a name change. Construction of the $1.5 million bridge will be funded by Rosen Hotels & Resorts, completing the final link in connecting OCCC with adjacent International Drive hotels. “I am honored to dedicate this project to my friend and colleague Gary Sain,” said Rosen in a statement. “It is entirely fitting that this pedestrian skybridge named in his honor will be used to benefit thousands of visitors to Orlando, a destination he worked tirelessly to build and strengthen during his time with us. Rest assured, Gary’s legacy continues here today.”

Rosen Shingle Creek (1,500 guest rooms; 445,000 sf of meeting space) recently enhanced its 50,000 sf of outdoor meeting space with an additional 16,000 sf.

In other hotel news, Wyndham Orlando Resort (613 guest rooms; 60,000 sf of meeting space) launched a multimillion-dollar renovation scheduled for completion in May 2013. The project includes a makeover of all guest rooms and suites, and an additional 25,000 sf of meeting space that brings the total to 60,000 sf.

The Omni Orlando Resort at Cham­pionsGate (720 guest rooms; 128,000 sf of meeting space) recently added the 46,000-sf Osceola Convention Center and Ballroom bringing total meeting and banquet space to 128,000 sf. The venue also features eight meeting rooms, each equipped with the latest audio-visual equipment, and a 30,000-sf exhibit hall.

Attraction Updates

SeaWorld Orlando’s largest expansion ever will debut with the spring opening of Antarctica-Empire of the Penguin. The new theme park will include a penguin habitat and an interactive ride that journeys through the Antarctic and mimics a penguin’s life.

This summer, Universal Orlando Resort will premier Transformers: The Ride – 3D. The attraction will feature characters from the Transformers movie series in HD CGI media with special effects.

Walt Disney World Resort continues the expansion of Fantasyland with the opening later this year of Princess Fairytale Hall, where visitors can interact with characters such as Cinderella and Aurora in Fantasyland’s Castle Courtyard.

On Florida’s Space Coast, in July the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will open a 90,000-sf facility that will house the Space Shuttle Atlantis, which was retired in 2011. Visitors can view the shuttle and enjoy interactive exhibits highlighting accomplishments of the spacecraft, the International Space Station and Hubble Space Telescope.

Jacksonville

The state’s largest city is becoming a more popular meeting destination. Jacksonville books more than 400 meetings, conventions, trade shows and sports tournaments every year, according to Visit Jacksonville, the city’s convention and visitors bureau.

Jacksonville offers more than 18,000 guest rooms at several meeting properties, including the Omni Jacksonville Hotel (354 guest rooms; 14,000 sf of meeting space). The property has renovated its lobby and restaurant, and plans to renovate all guest rooms in 2014.

Golfers will love Jacksonville, which offers more than 70 golf courses. Just south of Jacksonville in Ponte Vedra Beach is the famed Ponte Vedra Inn & Club (250 guest rooms; 25,000 sf meeting space). The AAA Five Diamond property’s amenities include the largest spa in north Florida at 30,000 sf, 36 holes of golf, including links-style with ocean breezes, 15 tennis courts, an oceanfront gym, four restaurants, three lounges, eight shops and boutiques, and four heated pools in a beachfront setting.

The Omni Amelia Island Plan­tation Resort (404 guest rooms; 80,000 sf of meeting space) recently completed an extensive $85 million re-imagination. From the new lobby located in the new Oceanside wing to the new outdoor area with the largest pool deck in Northeast Florida, spectacular Atlantic Ocean views abound.

Miami

Chic hotels, a cosmopolitan metropolis, pulsing nightlife and a true tropical climate make the Miami area one of the world’s top meeting destinations says Valerie Bihet, owner of the Vibe Agency, a corporate meeting and event planning firm with offices in Miami and New York. “Miami is a great destination because it’s a vibrant city with a lot of culture, great weather and friendly people,” Bihet says. “Miami has an air of intrigue to it. It also encourages attendees to be happier, more creative and receptive. There is a certain vibe that you don’t necessarily get in other cities,” Bihet adds.

Many groups choose trendy and ever-popular Miami Beach. However, some insurance firms and financial companies prefer to meet out of the limelight. “Some companies want to keep a low profile and not have a leisure image,” says Bihet. “I had that issue with a bank that I was planning a meeting for recently, so I advised the company not to stay on Miami Beach. I told the client that Coral Gables, Coconut Grove and the downtown Bayside area of Miami are considered to be more business-driven.”

The bank took Bihet’s advice and met at the Four Seasons Hotel Miami (221 guest rooms; 14,931 sf of indoor meeting space), located in the Brickell Avenue financial district located downtown near Biscayne Bay. “It suited the client because it wasn’t too bling-bling. It was very business-oriented. It’s not a hotel that you would necessarily go to for a vacation but for a business meeting, and for a good price and good value,” says Bihet.

The bank’s three-day strategic planning meeting for 50 top managers included a unique teambuilding activity. Attendees were divided into groups to use Miami as a backdrop for making a movie to identify issues with the bank’s business model. “They all assumed different roles of actors, producers, writers, camera operator and lighting people. They made a movie to explain problems and find solutions. Instead of being in a plain meeting room in front of a flip chart, we decided to do it outside in a different environment. They did teambuilding and got to see Miami at the same time. At a gala dinner, we did an Oscar-like ceremony and reviewed the movie,” says Bihet.

Miami is full of unique teambuilding possibilities. Bihet offers another example: “Last year, we had another bank that met at a hotel in downtown Miami. We went to the Biltmore Hotel (275 guest rooms;75,000 sf of meeting space) in Coral Gables for a three-hour cooking class,” says Bihet. “We divided people into teams to prepare different parts of the meal like entrée, dessert and appetizers. We mixed up the teams so they included people who didn’t work together often. After preparing the dinner, they ate together and discussed business issues.”

Bihet’s clients also enjoy many only-in-Miami extra touches that can bring a meeting alive. For example, she brought in the Miami Heat cheerleaders for a three-day incentive meeting for an international financial firm with operations in the United States. “We had one meeting with lot of financial numbers, reports and announcements, and we needed to provide a different rhythm. So we used the Miami Heat cheerleaders. They did periodic cheers individually and as a group. They also cheered during the awards ceremony. This kind of thing is very memorable for guests. The group also did a city tour of Miami and a dinner cruise in Biscayne Bay. They want to come back to Miami for another meeting,” says Bihet.

Hotel Update

Miami properties continue to improve their facilities and amenities. The Doral Golf Resort & Spa (700 guest rooms; 86,000 sf of meeting space), now part of the Trump Hotel Collection, is undergoing a $200 million transformation starting with the redesign of the resort’s guest rooms. New room furnishings, colors and art work will reflect the sport of golf. Renovations also will include conference space, the main building, pools, clubhouse and all four golf courses. Upon completion in 2014, the resort will be renamed Trump Doral.

The Sheraton Miami Airport Hotel & Executive Meeting Center (405 guest rooms; 20,000 sf of meeting space), formerly a Wyndham hotel, boats a 17,000-sf Executive Meeting Center certified by the International Association of Conference Centers.
In downtown Miami, the JW Marriott Marquis (313 guest rooms; 80,000 sf of meeting space) reopened after a development project that includes retail outlets, condos and offices. The hotel also has a 50,000-sf sports and entertainment facility.

The Upper Keys

The Ocean Reef Club (175 inn rooms, 100 one-, two- and three-bedroom villas, and private homes; 30,000 sf of meeting space) is located in Key Largo, in the Upper Keys about an hour south of Miami International Airport.
The club, a private, member-owned property, features more than a dozen restaurants, a 175-slip marina, a private airport, 54 holes of golf, a shopping village, tennis courts, salt water lagoon, beach, pools and more. Group activities can include chartered yacht dinners, beachside events, eco-tours, and teambuilding programs such as cooking school, golf cart scavenger hunts, cardboard boat regattas and beach olympics to name a few.

The 8,000-sf Spa at Ocean Reef just completed its own multimillion-dollar makeover in December.

Palm Beach County

More than 38 municipalities are located in Palm Beach County, which is larger than the state of Rhode Island. The county offers 47 miles of beaches, more than 170 private and public golf courses and about 200 theaters, museums, art centers and other cultural venues. The county is well known for Palm Beach’s Worth Avenue — a high-end shopping area known as the “Rodeo Drive of the East Coast.”

Palm Beach County offers more than 16,000 guest rooms and is home to some of the finest properties in Florida. More are on the way, including a 400-room Hilton, which is scheduled to open in 2015 next to the Palm Beach County Convention Center. The 350,000-sf center features a 100,000-sf exhibit hall, a 22,000-sf ballroom and 21,000 sf of flexible breakout space divisible into 19 rooms.

Eager to show off all that Palm Beach County offers, in December the Palm Beach County Convention and Visitors Bureau facilitated a meeting for 30 meeting planners at the PGA National Resort & Spa (379 guest rooms; 39,000 sf of meeting space) in Palm Beach Gardens, FL, home to the PGA Tour Honda Classic. The three-day meeting included planning education sessions on Florida attractions, contract negotiation strategies, golf tournament planning and teambuilding. Planners also became more familiar with Palm Beach County’s meeting facilities, venues and attractions.

PGA National Resort has finished a four-year, $100 million makeover that includes new furnishings, carpet and bedding for all 397 guest rooms and suites. In addition, each of the resort’s five championship golf courses received new irrigation and turf systems, expanded tee and green facilities and rebuilt bunkers. Meeting facilities include the 39,000-sf Meetings & Conference Center. Amenities include nine restaurants, bars and lounges; the 33,000-sf Health & Racquet Center; and the 40,000-sf Spa at PGA National.

Looking for a perfect site for a small meeting, executive retreat or buyout? Consider this gem in downtown Palm Beach: The landmark, award-winning Brazilian Court Hotel (80 guest rooms), a historic Florida resort offering completely renovated studios, one-, two- and three-bedroom suites as well as flexible indoor and outdoor meeting space. The Brazilian Court Pavilion is an executive meeting facility, offering a state-of-the-art conference room.

Paradise Coast

Naples, Marco Island and the Everglades, collectively known as the Paradise Coast, offer world-class accommodations for groups of 20 to 2,000 people or more. The Paradise Coast features a laidback setting with posh shopping boutiques, nearly 90 golf courses, fine dining and tours of the Everglades.

The Paradise Coast’s top hotels offer sparkling renovations. The landmark Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club (317 guest rooms; 34,000 sf of meeting space) has completed the latest phase of its renovations and remodeling, including a makeover of guest rooms in the resort’s Florida Wing; the new 5,000-sf Everglades Room, a ballroom with views of the Gulf through a wall of windows; and renovation of two meeting rooms and adjacent prefunction space on the property’s Gulf side. With the completion of this latest phase, all guest rooms and suites have been renovated over the last three years. There also is an onsite championship golf course.

Last year, a regional bank held an incentive for 350 employees at Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort, Golf Club and Spa (727 guest rooms; 65,000 sf of meeting space.) The bank’s meeting planner was impressed by the property’s size and amenities, which include two private golf courses, eight restaurants and a full-service spa.

“It had everything we needed,” the planner says. “It had the ballroom space, and the sleeping rooms had a great feel to them with views of the water and island. Throughout the planning process, the hotel conference person was on top of everything. Many times the conference people are on their toes with planners but not always with guests. But I had so many guests tell me how great the service was. I don’t normally repeat properties, but we would certainly consider repeating this property at some point.”

Daytona Beach

Every Florida destination is associated with at least one world-famous attraction and in Daytona Beach it is Daytona International Speedway, a magnet for corporate incentive groups. Daytona Beach boasts 23 miles of beaches, some of Florida’s best deep-sea fishing and several golf courses designed by some of the sport’s greatest stars such as Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Gary Player and others.

Planners have a choice of more than 200 hotels offering more than 12,000 guest rooms including those at The Shores Resort & Spa (212 guest rooms; 20,000 sf of indoor-outdoor meeting-event space) located in Daytona Beach Shores, just a short drive from Daytona Beach. The guest rooms at the AAA Four Diamond oceanfront resort offer views of the Atlantic Ocean or the Intracoastal Waterway. The hotel’s many amenities include fine dining, an upscale spa, poolside cabanas and oceanside fire pits.

The value offered by The Shores has encouraged many companies, including some based in Florida, to regularly hold their board meetings at the property. For example, Brown & Brown held its board meeting at the property for at least the last 19 years, says Jones. Currently, the 10-member board convenes four times a year. “We like The Shores because it’s the nicest hotel in Daytona. We like the services, the quality of food, the meeting space and the price,” says Jones.

Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater

The Tampa Bay area is known for its quality hotels, theme parks, scenic Gulf views and beaches. Popular activities include visits to Busch Gardens, Ybor City’s Latin Quarter, museums and golf at more than 76 courses in the area.
The Tampa area is home to more than 70 hotels and resorts with more than 20,000 guest rooms. Here’s the latest news on properties in the area:

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tampa has finished a $75 million expansion. The hotel’s casino floor now has more space than five football fields and offers 110 table games, 50 poker tables and 5,000 slot machines. The project also includes a new pool area.

The Hyatt Regency Tampa is undergoing a renovation and will be reflagged as the Hilton Hotel Down­town Tampa (521 guest rooms; 30,000 sf of meeting space) later this year following an acquisition by Driftwood Hospitality Man­agement in December. The renovation is scheduled for completion by the first quarter of 2014. The project includes guest rooms, meeting space and a Starbucks outlet.

Emerald Coast

Located in the Florida Panhandle, planners will find the Emerald Coast communities of Destin, Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island, each offering Southern flavor and hospitality. TripAdvisor named the Emerald Coast one of the nation’s Top 25 Destinations because of its features such as 24 miles of pure white-sand beaches and more than 400 restaurants. Golfers and fishing fans appreciate the region’s more than 1,080 holes of golf and one of the state’s largest fleet of charter boats.

The area’s main meeting and convention facility, the Emerald Coast Convention Center (ECCC) (35,000 sf of meeting space), is located on picturesque Okaloosa Island. Facilities include 12 breakout rooms and a 21,000-sf ballroom. The ECCC accommodates 1,400 people for banquet seating and 2,350 people for a theater layout.

The Emerald Coast offers more than 16,000 hotel rooms including those at the Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa (598 guest rooms; more than 32,000 sf of meeting space), which has completed a $6.5 million renovation. The project included 17,000 sf of new outdoor deck areas with ocean views. While the resort attracts meetings held by corporations based nationwide, it also is very popular among companies headquartered in the South.

Florida has more top meeting destinations than some countries. That’s why planners repeatedly turn to the Sunshine State to find the perfect destination match for meetings and incentives of all sizes. There is no doubt that Florida can host productive meetings that align perfectly with corporate goals, lead to satisfied attendees and produce excellent ROI time after time. I&FMM