SUCCESSFUL MEETINGS December 2007 Ground-breaking news: Fort Lauderdale and Palm Beach are on their way to building long-awaited convention center hotels. Livin' large: Reborn and refurbished shopping and dining options along European-style avenues are increasingly attractive event and entertainment program possibilities, with exciting happenings in Clematis District in West Palm Beach, Los Olas Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, and South Beach in Miami. Meanwhile, the entire region, stretching from Jupiter to the Florida Keys, is seeing the arrival of new, luxury properties, ideal for incentives and medium-sized high-end meetings.
Essential Tool Box
Convention Facilities:
FORT LAUDERDALE Greater Fort Lauderdale / Broward County Convention Center, 199,526 sf of dedicated meeting space, with 32 meeting rooms, largest holds 6,000 theater-style.
GREATER MIAMI Miami Convention Center / James L. Knight Int'l Center, 28,000 sf of dedicated meeting space, with 37 meeting rooms, largest holds 5,000 theater-style; Miami Beach Convention Center, 502,848 sf of dedicated meeting space, with 82 meeting rooms, largest holds 13,300 theater-style; Coconut Grove Expo Center, 150,000 sf of dedicated meeting space, with 5 meeting rooms, largest holds 5,400 theater-style.
PALM BEACH COUNTY Palm Beach County Convention Center, 350,000 sf total space with 23 meeting rooms; Kravis Center for the Performing Arts, 2,200-seat concert hall, 300-seat theater, and 1,000-seat outdoor amphitheater; Cohen Pavilion, with 10,440-sf ballroom and 5,000-sf rehearsal hall; and South Florida Expo Center, 150,000 sf total space.
For complete listings, visit Facility Quick Search at www.mimegasite.com
Average Daily Business Travel Costs*:
Fort Lauderdale: Hotel $149.18 F&B $75.75 Car Rental $74.64; Miami: Hotel $165.47 F&B $94.20 Car Rental $81.07
For More Info:
Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB
www.sunny.org
Greater Miami CVB
www.miamiandbeaches.com
Palm Beach County CVB
www.palmbeachfl.com
*Business Travel News 2007 Corporate Travel Index
Talk to the Chief
Nicki Grossman, president and CEO of the Greater Fort Lauderdale CVB, can't stop smiling when she thinks about the recently announced, 1,000-room Hilton convention center hotel that is expected to open next to the Broward County Convention Center in 2011.
"We think we can increase our group business by nearly 30 percent by offering a headquarters hotel," says Grossman. "It has been very frustrating not being able to pursue that business since we opened the convention center. Once we begin selling the convention center hotel, we expect to add approximately one million room nights annually within four years."
Grossman believes the impact of the convention center hotel will be far reaching. "It will bring groups that will need additional hotel rooms in the destination, and the compression factor of that business will be felt along the 17th Street corridor, the beach area, and throughout the county."
A recent inductee in the Florida Tourism Hall of Fame, Grossman has been a key player in boosting Fort Lauderdale's impressive tourism numbers. When she became CVB president in 1995, Greater Fort Lauderdale attracted 2.9 million visitors. In 2006, a record 10.35 million people visited the area.
Under Grossman's watch, more than $2 billion in tourism-related investments were realized in the past five years. Grossman was one of the important facilitators of the master plan for the now 600,000-sf Greater Fort Lauderdale / Broward County Convention Center. "That's another reason this new convention center hotel means so much to me and the Greater Fort Lauderdale area," she says.
Home Team Recommends . . .
Successful Meetings Home Team experts recommend the following:
Kimberly Ruby, of PA-based Day & Zimmermann, picks Miami's 693-room Doral Golf Resort & Spa, A Marriott Resort ("The new Legends Ballroom and the new spa are superb; the staff is top notch, and it's an easy drive from the airport."), the 998-room Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa ("Buy out the [60-room clubhouse at the] country club for a small group to make them feel special."), and the 650-room Marriott Harbor Beach Resort ("Great options for kids and plenty of options for adults; the staff can put the company logo in the sand, to be seen from all the upper rooms."). Birmingham, AL-based Michelle M. Jones, CMP, DMCP, recommends the 454-room Hyatt Regency Coconut Point. In the Miami area, Nicole Bumpus of VA-based National Events recommends the 601-room Marriott Biscayne Bay; the 790-room Loews Miami Beach, the 334-room Sheraton Miami Mart, and the 481-room Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood.
Recommended off-site venues include Ngala. In the Palm Beach area, Karl Nybergh, CMP, recommends Flagler Museum, the Harriet Himmel Theater, the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, the Ann Norton Sculpture Gardens, and the Museum at Ragtops Motorcar Sales & Special Events Facility.
Facilities Update
GREATER MIAMI Slated to open in Jan is the 334-room Gansevoort South Hotel, Spa & Residences on South Beach, which will feature 45,000 sf of space.
g The 641-room Intercontinental Miami expects to complete its 14,000-sf My Spa by Mar 2008..
* The 790-room Loews Miami Beach Hotel on South Beach opened a new $12 million, 18,000-sf Elemis Spa earlier this year.
* Aquasino, a new luxury gaming yacht, accommodates up to 500 passengers. With rooms on three decks, meeting goers will be able to enjoy training videos on plasma screens throughout the ship as well as catered specialties from the fine dining facilities and full bar, then party with Vegas-style gaming and sportsbook not available on Florida's mainland.
* The oceanfront, 17-story Regent Bal Harbour, situated in the upscale Bal Harbour Village, slated to open in Jan, will offer 124 luxuriously appointed guest rooms, a private beach, 10,000-sf spa, and 3,700-sf conference center.
* The Sonesta Beach Resort Key Biscayne is closed and is not expected to reopen as a hotel.
* The Sonesta Hotel & Suites Coconut Grove has been re-named the 225-room Sonesta Bayfront Hotel Coconut Grove.
* The 317-room Trump Int'l Sonesta Beach Resort has doubled the size of both its beachfront and sundeck and added a second pool.
GREATER FORT LAUDERDALE The 166-room, $240 million St. Regis Resort, Fort Lauderdale (Florida's first St. Regis), which opened in May on Fort Lauderdale Beach, has 24,000 sf of meeting space, a 29,000-sf tropical pool deck, and the St. Regis Spa.
Slated to open early next year is the $205 million, 23-story, 346-room W Hotel, a member of Starwood Hotels & Resorts Luxury Collection, offering a 10,000-sf Bliss Spa, oceanfront infinity-edge pool, and 15,000 sf of meeting space. The 384-room Hyatt Regency Pier Sixty-Six Resort & Spa has undergone a significant $25 million renovation, including a complete redesign of the Deluxe Lanai and Tower guest rooms and suites, with luxurious retro-modern appointments.
PALM BEACH COUNTY Under new ownership, the 339-room PGA National Resort & Spa expects to complete an enhancement project next month that includes a redesigned front entrance, a new restaurant (the Ironwood Bar & Grille), an expanded Business Concierge Lounge, and a completely redesigned free-form swimming pool.
g The 270-room Ritz-Carlton, Palm Beach is scheduled to debut its new 28,000-sf Mediterranean-style spa in late 2008.
Spirits of Miami Past On September 25, the 612-room Hyatt Regency Miami celebrated its 25-year anniversary with a retro-themed bash at the nearby James L. Knight Center, where space was transformed into the Miami of years past, complete with white palm trees, lots of neon, and life-size projections of Eighties icons like Prince, Madonna, and Billy Idol. "The Hyatt Regency Miami has been a major part of this city during a dynamic period in its history, and I am delighted that we can celebrate our 25th anniversary with many of the people who have supported the hotel over the years," said the property's GM, Gino Caliendo, who accepted an official proclamation from the mayor's office applauding the hotel's contributions to the vitality of downtown Miami.
The property, which is part of the Miami convention complex, is undergoing a $20 million renovation that will include a sleek new lobby, luxurious Hyatt Grand Beds, and a new-air conditioning system.
Meanwhile, two of Miami Beach's oldies but goodies, the 1,504-room Fontainebleau Miami Beach and the 349-room Eden Roc, will debut the results of massive improvement and expansion programs in 2008, with the Fontainebleau completing a $1 billion renovation/expansion plan in the middle of the year. Much of the plan was focused on enhancing the resort's meeting and event capabilities. The resort will feature 58 meeting rooms totaling 107,000 sf, 42,000 sf of pre-function space, and 51,000 sf of outdoor function space-including the 21,000-sf Grand Lawn. In addition to the refurbished guest rooms, accommodations will include 700 studio and one-bedroom suites in the resort's two new luxury towers.
The Eden Roc, A Renaissance Beach Resort & Spa, is constructing a new 283-room tower, to be completed by next fall. The hotel, which closed in Apr for renovations, reopens in Feb. Most of the enhanced rooms have balconies with sweeping ocean views. The remodeled lobby is brimming with carved Italian marble, polished original terrazzo floors, and a mahogany reception desk. All 43,000 sf of meeting space has been updated, and the renovation of the spa will be completed in Jan 2009.-Patricia Ann Jordan & ES
Palm Beach's Hot Culture
Move over Miami: Palm Beach County's now touting itself as the cultural capital of the Sunshine State. And there may be something to that claim: Though it's known as a golfer's mecca and a beach lover's paradise, Palm Beach County claims over 200 cultural venues, offering year-round entertainment for visiting groups.
"We're considered Florida's cultural capital," says Bill Nix, vice president of marketing and government affairs for the Palm Beach County Cultural Council. And with almost a decade at the Cultural Council, he should know. Let's take a tour of some of the County's cultural standouts, with Nix leading the way. "On Palm Beach Island, the Flagler Museum is a major draw for its historic import. It's Henry Flagler's estate from 1902, and it's a great spot for groups," he says.
"And just across the Intracoastal Waterway, in West Palm Beach, the Norton Museum of Art is one of the largest art museums in the Southeast. It has an impressive permanent collection, and it also hosts traveling exhibitions."
Also in West Palm Beach, the Raymond F. Kravis Center for the Performing Arts is one of the premier performing arts institutions in the region, Nix says. "It just celebrated its 15-year anniversary, and it's beautiful."
In Delray Beach, Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens has a collection of six gardens that chronicle the evolution of the art form. "It's the largest outside of Japan," says Nix. Delray Beach is also home to the Old School Square Cultural Arts Center, featuring the Cornell Museum of Art and History, Crest Theatre, and Vintage Gymnasium.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg, Nix says: "We have a different flavor for everybody." Speaking of flavor, the county has over 2,000 restaurants with a variety of cuisines. Sounds tempting, but where do you go after you've finished sampling all that food? Says Nix, "That's when you go to the beach." -Ben Chapman
Readers Recommend
Our subscribers gave a 2007 Pinnacle Award to:
Palm Beach County CVB
The Breakers Palm Beach
Boca Raton Resort & Club
Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort & Spa
Marco Beach Ocean Resort
cean Reef Club
Sonesta Beach Resort Key Biscayne
The Naples Beach Hotel & Golf Club
The Westin Diplomat Resort & Spa
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