Not true. With the economy in high gear and corporate treasuries flush with cash, there are a lot of Gillises looking to set up corporate getaways. "More and more companies are holding more and larger meetings," says Allison Fogarty, senior manager for hospitality industry services at Ernst & Young in Miami. "Florida is generally a top, inbound destination for corporate and incentive business."
The heavy demand for meeting space -- and a relative shortage of first-class and luxury hotel space -- has meant Florida hotels and re-
sorts have been sitting pretty for much of the 1990s, particularly when booking business in the January-to-April peak season. "Yes, we are more in the driver's seat," says Pam Fields, associate director of sales for Sanibel Harbour Resort & Spa in Fort Myers, which this fall is doubling its meeting space to 45,000 square feet.
With demand outpacing supply, Gillis and other meeting planners face higher room rates, requirements to book more rooms and tough cancellation policies. Hotels and resorts make little, if any, money renting meeting space; the payoff comes in room rentals. Hotel economics dictate, for example, that a company trying to book a meeting or luncheon for 100 without booking sleeping rooms will be in for tough negotiations. "It's a seller's market right now," says Gillis.
That could change. A number of factors could push the balance of power to the demand side. For one, many resorts are adding meeting space and rooms. Particularly in south Florida, a number of new first-class and luxury hotel projects will inject more competition into the market. Three new Ritz Carlton hotels are in various stages of planning in the Miami area -- one on Key Biscayne, a second is planned in Coconut Grove and a third is under discussion for Miami Beach. Other properties in the works include a Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Miami's Brickell Key and a JW Marriott Hotel on Brickell Avenue, both under construction; Four Seasons and Regent hotels are also planned for south Florida.
"With all this new supply, there will be increased competition," concedes Amaury J. Piedra, general manager of Mayfair House, a 177-suite boutique hotel in Coconut Grove. Mayfair House added 12,000 square feet of meeting space last year and launched a campaign to sell itself as a meeting site. The hotel generates 39% of its business from corporate conferences.
Other wildcards that could impact the meeting and convention business this year and next are airfares and the national economy. For the first six months of 1999, business fares have increased an average of 3%. If that trend continues, it could slow corporate travel and cut into demand for meetings. At Palm Beach's venerable Breakers Hotel, where 55% to 60% of room bookings are for group events, business has been good, with meetings by top executives particularly strong. But Jim Mostad, director of sales, says he's seeing "a slight downturn in corporate bookings going out a few years" that could indicate the economy is cooling. "If the economy goes south and airfares go up, it becomes difficult," adds Fogarty.
World class luxury hotels that cater to out-of-state corporate meetings are more likely than next-tier facilities to feel pinched in a downturn. Not only will top-notch properties soon face more competition from new first class hotels coming online, but corporate meetings are often discretionary. Top management could decide to skip meetings one year. Large associations, on the other hand, have annual meetings mandated by their bylaws. And typically associations shop for lower room rates, often at hotels a step down from the very high-end properties.
So, how are meeting venues planning to deal with increased competition for possibly fewer meetings? Some are focusing on specific industry niches. Mayfair House targets small groups of 45 to 65, particularly the Latin American divisions of North American companies (30% of attendees are from Latin America), as well as pharmaceutical companies and law firms. Says Mayfair House's Piedra, "We can't do the Florida Citrus Commission, but we can do the board of directors of the Florida Citrus Commission."
The 355-room Marriott Bay Point Resort Village in Panama City Beach, which generates 60% of revenues from meeting and conferences, directs particular attention toward the insurance industry. Paul Wohlford, director of sales and marketing, notes that among the 12 to 15 trade shows he attends each year, one is specifically for the insurance planners association.
Other hotels and resorts try to distinguish themselves by their facilities apart from the hotel and conference rooms. Saddlebrook Resort north of Tampa sells itself as a world class golf, tennis and sports center. Along with two 18-hole golf courses and 45 tennis courts where the likes of Pete Sampras and Martina Hingis train, the resort added an executive challenge course, a spa and fitness center, including a wellness and longevity program. There's also a sports village where meeting attendees can take a break by pitching a few innings of softball or shooting a few hoops on a basketball court.
Ultimately, the health of Florida's convention industry depends on how business perceives the mood on Main Street and Wall Street. Says Ernst & Young's Fogarty, "Uncertainty in the economy is never good for the lodging industry."
Marketing meetings: Three Strategies
Seaside -- Not Just a Movie Set
"We will always be a unique destination," says Alvin Bettcher, director of sales and marketing for Seaside. From its creation in 1981, the town -- don't call it a resort -- has quietly marketed itself as a setting for corporate retreats. A more active pursuit of corporate meetings began five years ago. Today, the community typically hosts groups of 10 to 100 senior executives from Fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola and Merrill Lynch. Bettcher says that 90% of the meetings business is from outside Florida. The Walton County site was also the setting for last year's hit movie The Truman Show.
Although Seaside has only two formal meeting rooms, one that seats 100 people theater-style, the other 80, there are a number of covered and semi-covered pavilions for small breakout sessions and receptions. Some companies design programs in which attendees bike from cottage to cottage for meetings and meals.
Because Seaside's meetings operation targets small groups of top executives, many of whom vacation in the town, word of mouth is key to marketing. He adds, "A lot of people just stumble on Seaside."
Miccosukee Resort & Convention Center
It's not quite Las Vegas on the Everglades, but the 650 video slot machines, 40 poker tables, Lightning Lotto and bingo certainly set the Miccosukee Resort & Convention Center apart from other south Florida hotels and resorts.
Following the lead of the Pequot Indian's wildly successful Foxwood Resort in Connecticut, the Miccosukee Tribe's recently opened hotel, located on the edge of the Everglades 20 minutes west of Miami International Airport, is designed to be more than a spot for senior citizens to gamble $10 or $20. With 46,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space that will accommodate groups of up to 1,800 people, general manager Peter Demetrius says he hopes the 302-room property will generate at least 33% of its business from meetings and conventions. Demetrius is coy as to the value of gaming as a draw for groups. He says, "I don't think it will tip the scales."
Peabody Orlando: Convention Center Heaven
It not surprising that the Peabody Orlando generates 85% of its business from groups and conventions. After all, tens of thousands of conventioneers who meet and exhibit at the 1.6 million-sq.-ft. Orange County Convention Center across from the hotel have to sleep somewhere. With more expansions planned for the convention center, the Peabody is following suit. The 13-year-old hotel, which has 891 rooms and 58,000 square feet of meeting space, plans to begin construction next year on an additional 1,000 rooms and 100,000 square feet for conventions and group events.
Barry Anderson, vice president of marketing for the Peabody, says 50% of the hotel's meetings business is corporate and 50% associations. An average of 300 rooms are booked for an event, with 80% from out-of-state.
To market the property, Anderson relies on the Peabody's affiliation with Preferred Hotels and Resorts. Repeat business runs at 40% for meetings, and the hotel uses a national sales firm with offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, Dallas, New York and Washington. He also credits the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau. Says Anderson, "That's a very far-reaching sales and marketing effort."
Building Boom: North Florida
• The 300-room World Golf Village Resort Hotel opened last year adjacent to the St. Johns County Convention Center, which has 80,000 square feet of meeting space and a 30,000-sq.-ft. ballroom.
• Adam's Mark Jacksonville, a 966-room hotel under construction in downtown Jacksonville will have 110,000 square feet of meeting space and is scheduled to open in first quarter 2001.
• Boardwalk Beach Resort and Convention Center, a 30,000-sq.-ft. facility, opened in Panama City Beach last fall.
Central Florida
• At Universal Studios Florida, a 750-room Loews Portofino Bay Resort, with 42,000 square feet of meeting space, will open this year. Hard Rock Hotel, a 650-room property, will open in 2000. A South Seas-themed hotel will open in 2001. This fall, a 250-suite Grand Bohemian Hotel, with 11,000 square feet of meeting space, will open in downtown Orlando.
• The Westin Orlando, a 1,200-room convention hotel with 115,000 square feet of meeting space, is scheduled to open in early 2000 on International Drive opposite the Orlando Convention Center.
• Gaylord Entertainment will develop the Opryland Hotel-Florida on a 60-acre site near the main gate of Walt Disney World. The hotel, slated to open in 2002, will have 1,400 rooms, 200,000 square feet of exhibition space and 150,000 square feet of meeting and ballroom space.
Tampa Bay
• The 717-room Tampa Marriott Waterside Hotel will open this year adjacent to the Tampa Convention Center. The hotel will have more than 50,000 square feet of meeting space.
• Tampa's Busch Gardens will build an on-site 800-room African-themed hotel with more than 65,000 square feet of meeting and banquet space.
South Florida
• The Loews Miami Beach Hotel, which incorporates the Art Deco-period 100-room St. Moritz Hotel, opened with a 700-room tower and 85,000 square feet of meeting space.
• The 572-room Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach added a 15,000-sq.-ft. ballroom and five "board rooms," making a total of 45,000 square feet of function space.
• Ritz Carlton will open a 270-room hotel with 18,000 square feet of meeting space in downtown Sarasota in mid 2001. And in Naples, where there's already a Ritz, a Ritz Carlton Lodge is planned for 2001. A 300-room hotel is under construction in Key Biscayne and another is planned for Coconut Grove.
• A 500-room Crowne Plaza hotel will open next year adjacent to the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center. It will have 20,000 square feet of meeting space.
• The Diplomat Resort and Country Club in Hollywood, closed since 1991, will re-open this year after a $500-million redevelopment. It will have 1,000 rooms and 200,000 square feet of meeting space.