Prevue March-April 2018 - 38

More than 5,000

sparkling new hotel rooms

A new theme park with an island

volcano

An ever-expanding convention center
A billion-dollar transformation
of a popular entertainment district

feel the
In most convention cities, any one
of these new developments would be
big news, but in Orlando - rated as
the No. 1 meetings destination by
Cvent for the past three years -
they're simply part of the city's
ever-changing landscape. In fact, hospitality officials have a favorite buzzword they use to describe what's going
on in The City Beautiful right now:
momentum.
"Orlando has never been a city that
rests on its laurels," says George Aguel,
President & CEO, Visit Orlando, the
region's tourist board. "Our business
leaders are relentlessly innovating and
raising the bar with new projects, renovations, facelifts and expansions to help
meeting professionals offer the best
possible experience to attendees. Just
when you think you've got us all figured out, we've got more surprises up
our sleeve."

RAISING THE BAR

Orlando's hotel inventory is skyrocketing, with more than 120,000

Momentum
rooms at a wide array of price points
(and over 5,000 more rooms in the
pipeline). Planners are raving about the
new 1,000-room Loews Sapphire Falls
Resort at Universal Orlando™ and the
$140 million transformation of the
iconic Walt Disney World Swan and
Dolphin Resort. And the Orange
County Convention Center (OCCC)
is building on the momentum of a
$187 million renovation with a proposed brand-new concourse that will
add 200,000 square feet to the center.
But it's not just the city's hospitality
infrastructure that is ever-evolving. The
entertainment district and venues also
continue to serve new offerings to surprise and delight. One highlight is the
new London-based, motor-themed Ace
Cafe Orlando, which opened its doors
in downtown Orlando in June 2017.
"The Ace" features scratch cooking, live
music, a rare motorcycle collection
and multiple creative spaces for group
events. An investment is also underway
in the city's popular entertainment
districts: More than $1 billion in

Coca-Cola Orlando Eye

high-profile development are planned
through 2020 for the International
Drive resort area.
Furthermore, The City Beautiful
continues its reign as Theme Park
Capital of the WorldSM with the opening of new and expanded attractions/
venues. A noteworthy event was the
May 2017 opening of Universal's
Volcano Bay™, a revolutionary water
theme park anchored by a 200-foot
volcano. In addition, Universal
Orlando Resort™ has added two hotels
in the last four years, with another one
coming in 2018, for a total of six new
hotels. Finally, the city's theme parks
continue to add one-of-a-kind, immersive-experience elements to elevate
the "wow" factor of your meetings and
private events.
The bottom line? "Orlando is
the kind of place that makes attendees
giddy with excitement, because there's
always something bigger, better and
newer to see," says Shari Weinstein,
senior meeting & event manager for
Experient, a global events company.
Cover Photo: BYCSWHITE.COM

Special Adver tis eme n t Se c t ion

800-362-4424 * OrlandoMeeting.com

http://www.BYCSWHITE.COM http://www.OrlandoMeeting.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Prevue March-April 2018