South Florida Heats up for Meetings

There's a great deal happening in South Florida's meetings destinations, but one of the most interesting is the new express train that will connect a number of them. Rail developer All Aboard Florida plans to commence service aboard Florida's first high-speed intercity train, the Brightline, in mid-2017. The 235-mile route will connect Miami, West Palm Beach, and Fort Lauderdale. By the end of the year, it will head farther north to Orlando.

While the full 240-mile trip from Miami to Orlando will take three hours, the much closer trio of South Florida cities will be much easier to travel between.

As for Miami, there are a large number of new hotels and major renovations going on or planned, but the big news is work beginning this month on the renovation and expansion of the Miami Beach Convention Center. Scheduled for completion some time in 2017, the revitalized convention center will grow from 1.2 million to 1.4 million square feet of event space, including 500,000 square feet of contiguous exhibit space, a 60,000-square-foot grand ballroom, three 20,000-square-foot junior ballrooms, 67,000 square feet of breakout space, 880 on-site parking spaces, and 12 acres of surrounding parks and landscaped areas.

There are also plans for a convention center hotel with a sky bridge connecting it to the convention center, but it is facing opposition and will not be finally approved before March 2016. The goal is an 800-room property with 95,000 square feet of meeting space.

The Palm Beaches 
A trio of new hotels are coming to the Palm Beaches over the next two years, but none is more important than the new Hilton West Palm Beach scheduled to open in January. The 400-room property at the south end of the CityPlace outdoor dining, shopping, and entertainment development is directly connected to the Palm Beach County Convention Center, finally giving it the headquarters hotel the CVB has been seeking for years.

The hotel will feature a large pool deck with cabanas and a fire pit, state-of-the-art fitness center, 225-seat restaurant by an up-and-coming local chef, a bar, and 24,000 square feet of indoor event space, including a 13,000-square-foot ballroom, 6,000-square-foot ballroom, and six breakout rooms. There are also two 2,400-square-foot event lawns facing the ballrooms and pool, and a 4,500-square-foot lawn in front of the hotel.

"For years we have had groups say to us, 'If you get a headquarters hotel at the convention center, we're coming,'" says Jorge Pesquera, president and CEO of Discover the Palm Beaches, the CVB. "We now have more than 1,000 rooms within five blocks of the convention center."

Five months before its opening, the Hilton West Palm Beach already has 22 groups booked and about 150 more pending, says Edd Karlan, director of sales and marketing at the Hilton West Palm Beach. "We are working very closely with the Palm Beach County Convention Center's sales team," he adds. "Quite a few groups have already booked both."

Another factor helping the Palm Beaches' group business is the growing arts, culture, and dining scene, says Pesquera. "We have the best waterfront, museums, great restaurants, and the arts, plus a vibrant downtown, CityPlace," he adds. "We have become a very nice third-tier meetings city. If you want authenticity, all the things a real city brings, we are a very strong option."

Later in 2016, the 200-room Hyatt Place Boca Raton will open with 4,000 square feet of meeting space. And the following year, Boca will get its second new property, a five-star, 158-room Mandarin Oriental. Part of the Via Mizner mixed-use development in downtown, the recently announced property will offer "extensive banqueting and meeting space," including a 4,500-square-foot ballroom and several conference rooms.

Fort Lauderdale 
A $450 million airport expansion and modernization project at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport is set to finish in mid-2018. But with two new resorts -- the 349-room Margaritaville Hollywood Beach Resort on the Boardwalk and 216-room Beachwalk Resort on the Intracoastal Waterway in Hallandale Beach -- having opened this year, it's far from the only news.

Eight new hotels are currently under construction, including the 290-room Conrad Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort; 150-room, nautical-themed Tryp Maritime by Wyndham Fort Lauderdale; a 150-room Four Seasons property; and a two-hotel downtown complex with a 209-room Starwood Tribute Portfolio property and 140-room Element by Westin Hotel.

Go West 
The Paradise Coast has been living up to its name this year. Naples placed first in the 2015 USA Today "Readers Choice 10 Best" poll of the Best Destination for Luxury Travelers. And for the second year, Conde Nast Traveler's readers poll called it one of America's Best Food Cities.

"Naples is rich with offerings for the premium traveler," said Jack Wert, executive director of the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades CVB of the USA Today poll. "This recognition is a testament to our outstanding hotels, restaurants, shops, and cultural institutions that help to create an atmosphere that appeals to the luxury traveler."

Of course, it also has nice beaches, as confirmed by Dr. Stephen Leatherman -- better known as Dr. Beach -- who placed two Naples beaches in his annual list of the 10 best beaches in the U.S. These were Barefoot Beach (No. 2) and Delnor-Wiggins Pass State Park (No. 9).

In August, the Marco Island Marriott Beach Resort, Golf Club & Spa reopened after a three-month closure that began a $250 million expansion and enhancement project that will see the property reflagged a JW Marriott in 2017. The pool decks, lobby, and entryway have been expanded, a number of new restaurants added, and golf courses redone. A room renovation is now underway, as is work on a new, 94-room tower -- there will be 810 total -- with a rooftop pool, celebrity chef restaurant, and 12,000-square-foot indoor entertainment center. Two new, high-tech ballrooms will bring the total indoor meeting space past 100,000 square feet.

The Keys 
 

The big news is the forthcoming opening of the first new resort in 20 years on Key Largo. The 14.5-acre, 154-room Playa Largo Resort & Spa is part of Marriott's Autograph Collection. Set to open in March, it will have 167 luxury guest rooms and suites with unobstructed water views, 10 private bungalows and a three-bedroom beach house with a private pool. Amenities include a full-service spa and fitness center, and private marina. Three signature restaurants include a true steakhouse, a ceviche restaurant, and one in a restored boathouse. It has 7,000 square feet of indoor meeting space, including a 6,000-square-foot ballroom flanked by courtyards, and an 8,000-square-foot event lawn. The resort plans to specialize in teambuilding.

Questions or comments? Email Leo Jakobson at [email protected]

This article appears in the December 2015 issue of Successful Meetings.