The HD SUPPLY CONNECT 2022 tradeshow was held at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Kissimmee, FL. Courtesy of Meghann Swiney

When Cvent, an industry-leading meetings, events and hospitality technology provider, returned to compiling an annual list of top meeting destinations in the U.S., following a pandemic-induced three-year pause, there was no surprise which city was still the one. Orlando. Prior to the pause, this vibrant city was the top-ranked destination for five years in a row and by popular demand, it has retained its top position.

“We’re thrilled to be the number one city on this year’s Cvent Top Meeting Destinations list,” said Casandra Matej, president and CEO, Visit Orlando. “With a state-of-the-art convention center, an abundance of hotel rooms, ease of accessibility, award-winning dining and world-class entertainment, Orlando offers everything meeting planners need to create memorable experiences for their attendees.”

Meeting planners agree.

“Orlando is built for hospitality,” said Meghann Swiney, director of events & customer training for industrial distributor HD Supply in Santee, CA. “There are incredible hotels, fun offsite venues and, of course, the theme parks.  There is a rich food culture, and most critically, a wealth of incredibly talented partners in conference planning, who are connected to the deep pool of local talent for entertainment and logistics support.”

The destination has not spent the pandemic era testing on its laurels. There are constant renovations and improvements. The Caribe Royale Orlando completed a $140 million renovation, including a new lobby with an expansive skylight and a new 50,000-sf grand ballroom. The property has 240,000 sf of total meeting space and offers 1,217 one-bedroom suites and 120 two-bedroom villas.  At the beginning of next year, the resort will open the multi-sensory, sports-themed Stadium Club. Caribe Royale’s high-tech, immersive sports entertainment bar will feature a selection of multi-venue private buy-out areas, covering an area of 9,000 sf over two floors.

The Drury Plaza Hotel Orlando in Disney Springs, the newest Official Disney Partner Hotel, offers more than 17,000 sf of meeting space and shuttle service to all four Walt Disney World Resort theme parks.

Also new this year, the Brightline Orlando Station opened at Orlando International Airport (MCO), connecting domestic and international visitors traveling via high speed train between Miami and Orlando with stops in Aventura, Fort Lauderdale, Boca Raton and West Palm Beach. Attendees will enjoy touchless ticketing, premium in-station lounges, complimentary WiFi and about 15 daily departures from South Florida daily.

Transportation access was one of the key reasons the Georgia-based software company BeyondTrust, a worldwide leader in intelligent identity and access security, chose Orlando for a company kickoff event this year that drew 1,250 attendees worldwide.

“We wanted to keep the event on the East Coast,” explained Kim Richard, BeyondTrust’s vice president of customer marketing, in Ponte Vedra, FL. “It was also important to pick a location that offered direct flights from a wide range of airports. Most of our employees are based in the U.S., but a large contingent travels in from Europe and Canada, so being easily accessible was paramount.”

The last time they hosted a company-wide meeting was in Atlanta during the winter and temperatures were freezing. So, Florida was a great option. “In Orlando, we had a great chance of the weather being temperate, all the while having options to offer exciting entertainment within proximity to theme parks and their amenities,” she said.

BeyondTrust chose the 1,011-room Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace, due, in part, to its proximity to Disney Springs, an outdoor shopping, dining and entertainment complex.

“We did not have to share any space with any other groups, and the hotel was filled 100% with BeyondTrust employees,” said Richard. “Although not a strict requirement, we especially liked that we had the ability to brand just about everything in the hotel to cater to our group. The hotel even changed the lights at the top of the building to glow orange, which is our company color. Their flexibility and openness to all of our branding ideas was really above and beyond.”

Richard said a sales manager took the time to study the group’s resume and make the initial site visit memorable. During the event, the resort made sure that every need was met,  handling all the rooming changes and tweaks made by BeyondTrust’s employees.

The meeting space sprawls across 120,000 sf, ranging from unique outdoor venues to ballrooms, with the largest measuring up to 18,000 sf. “With everything being all in one tower, it was a breeze for attendees to get from their rooms to the conference center, which was just one level below the main lobby,” said Richard. “I was expecting a bottleneck at the elevators, but the hotel seemed to manage the full capacity without any major delays or hiccups.”

Another plus when it comes to meetings is the quality of the food and beverage, something at which Richard felt the hotel excelled. “The food at the Hilton was top-notch, especially considering how many people we were feeding,” she said.

BeyondTrust also hosted an off-site evening event at the House of Blues Orlando in Disney Springs. The group had exclusive access to the entire venue and were able to offer both a party atmosphere in the theater space, as well as more of a laid-back atmosphere in the restaurant. “It was nice to be able to offer two different environments for our very diverse employee base. Once the event wound down, our group had either a short trip back to the hotel or they could carry on and check out the other venues within Disney Springs,” she said.

One caveat Richard passed along to her planner peers was an unexpected restriction on branding at the hotel, due to its location on Walt Disney World property. She said that none of their branding could be visible from Disney Springs, and due to its proximity, this required them to move down some of the artwork that was being projected onto one of the outside building walls. While it didn’t cause any major upset, she encourages planners to ask questions about what those restrictions may be before finalizing any plans for branding and décor.

The Caribe Royale Orlando recently completed a $140 million renovation. Courtesy of Caribe Royale Orlando

For Brian Toy, vice president of experiential marketing for B2B software provider e2open in Orlando, the city offers an abundance of suitable hotel venues with the right balance of meeting space and sleeping rooms. They selected Universal Orlando Resort to host a 550-attendee client conference. “Orlando is easily accessible to most of our attendees and it offers a variety of attractions for those who choose to bring their families and make it a mini-vacation,” explained Toy, whose team also used the facilities at Loews Royal Pacific Resort. “A few members of our team have done events here and had a great experience and positive attendee feedback,” said Toy. “The nice thing about it is that it’s surrounded by sister properties. In the event you need to overflow anyone for hotel rooms, there are plenty of options within walking distance, and our housing coordinator helped us secure a few extra rooms at a couple of those hotels.”  The resort is within walking distance of Universal CityWalk and served by water taxis as well. The group enjoyed the close proximity to the Universal theme parks, where they hosted evening events.

The conference facility at Loews Royal Pacific Resort covers 132,000 sf of meeting and function space, including the new Oceana ballroom with about 36,000-sf to complement the existing about 42,000-sf Pacifica Ballroom. Just steps away is the Loews Sapphire Falls Resort, with an additional 115,000 sf of meeting space.

The company hosted an awards dinner in one of the ballrooms and requested a plated menu that would allow attendees to choose from three entree options.

“They typically ask that groups of our size choose just one option for the whole group, with exceptions only for those with special dietary needs. However, once we explained what we wanted and gave examples of past offerings, they were willing to work with us and we came up with a menu that fit the needs of our group,” explained Toy.

Toy cautioned that planners should be aware of seasonal fluctuations in theme park demand. The company was there the week before the opening of Halloween Horror Nights and all the hotels in close proximity to Universal Orlando were either sold out or almost sold out. Planners should take that into account and make sure they contract all the rooms they may need well in advance, if they’re booking during that time of year.

The company took the entire group to Islands of Adventure for an exclusive private event one evening.  They hosted a golf tournament at the Arnold Palmer-designed Shingle Creek Golf Club, one of Orlando’s top courses.The 18-hole golf course is connected to Rosen Shingle Creek, another of the area’s top meeting resorts.

The AAA Four Diamond hotel sits on a 225-acre property that comprises the headwaters of the Florida Everglades. The hotel’s meeting space covers 524,000 sf and includes the 95,000-sf Gatlin Ballroom. Extensive restaurant choices include the new Emma’s Creekside Farm, along with the hotel’s 15 other dining options, offering farm-to-table freshness from the onsite gardens.

The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin is an iconic resort located between EPCOT and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Attendees enjoy some of the same benefits as when staying at a Disney resort, such as early park admission and transportation. The Swan and Dolphin features 23 restaurants and lounges, multiple pools, three health clubs and the Mandara Spa. With a combined 2,267 rooms, the Marriott-managed property offers 333,000 sf of meeting space, including 110,500 sf of contiguous convention/exhibit space. The Swan Reserve, a 349-room standalone boutique hotel is across the road from the main complex featuring 15,000 sf of meeting space.

The Orlando Evermore Resort, which is set to open at the beginning of next year, is a 1,100-acre property that provides an array of stay experiences, ranging from single homes to villas, flats and hotel guest rooms — 10,000-bedrooms in all. The anchor hotel is Conrad Orlando, which will offer 40,000 sf of indoor meeting space, a full-service spa, multiple dining options and a signature rooftop experience, as well as an eight-acre swimming lagoon with white sand beaches at the heart of the facility.

HD Supply  selected Orlando for their HD Supply Connect Conference last fall. “Right from the start, the level of support that Visit Orlando and Experience Kissimmee offered during our research phase was critical,” said Swiney. “Their teams were eager to share their knowledge about the area, and they ensured we were leveraging all the resources they had to offer and were proactive in connecting us with the right people to help us host an incredible event.”

HD Supply’s conference chose the 1,718-room Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center, a facility with more than 500,000 sf of meeting space including five ballrooms, with the largest measuring 48,505 sf. Located in Kissimmee, the Gaylord Palms is a 20-minute drive from the airport, and minutes away from the Disney theme parks.

“When we were looking for our host property, we came in with a laundry list of needs. We wanted a space that we could transform for the conference — onsite lodging for a large portion of our attendees, meeting room space, a ballroom that could accommodate all 4,000 attendees at once for our general session and keynote, and closing party entertainment on a main stage built to impress. We needed outlets and unique spaces to create VIP parties, large team gatherings, and creative spaces for activations during our evening and networking events, all while having special menus for each day. The Gaylord Palms supported all these requests and helped us find ways to push beyond what we thought was possible,” she said.

For Swiney, and other planners, Orlando is still their number one destination in the U.S., for many reasons. The hotels, with their ever-expanding meeting spaces, as well as outstanding dining, nightlife, world-famous amusement parks and other unforgettable amenities, are among the factors. This is not to mention Orlando’s workforce — one of the most courteous in the country.  And bonus — this magical city is one of the most affordable destinations in the U.S. This is a win-win situation for any planner.  C&IT