Orlando Upgrades Raise Florida Hospitality Stakes

<B>Orlando Upgrades Raise Florida Hospitality Stakes</B>

By Rowland Stiteler

A new round of upscale hotel construction announcements in Orlando, combined with the opening of new shopping, entertainment and airport facilities around the state this fall continued to push the growth of travel infrastructure across Florida.

Two of the top names in the Marriott corporate portfolio of hotels, Ritz-Carlton and JW Marriott, in September announced plans for construction of a big hotel and golf complex near the Orange County Convention Center in southwest Orlando. The property, to be called the Orlando Grand Lakes Resort, will include a 15-story, 584-room Ritz-Carlton and a 25-story, 1,000-room JW Marriott. The opening in 2003 will mark the debut of both hotel brands in the Orlando market. The Grand Lakes complex also will include an 18-hole, Greg Norman-designed golf course and a free-standing, 40,000-sq.-ft. spa. The Ritz, which will feature luxury suites as large as 2,400 square feet, also will include a 16,000-sq.-ft. ballroom.

Orlando planner Claudette Stroble, president of Orlando Conference Management Group Inc., thinks there's plenty of demand for upscale hotel properties in the city these days, especially with the planned 2003 expansion of the city's main convention center to 2.2 million square feet. "More upscale hotel product will definitely find a clientele with the growth in upscale meeting and convention groups we are seeing in the Orlando market," she said. "I don't think there is any question that the Orlando market is a proper fit for the top names in the hotel business."

Downtown Orlando will get its first five-star property in March, with the opening of the $37 million, 250-room Westin Grand Bohemian Hotel, built by Orlando hotel developer Richard Kessler, whose company Grand Theme Hotels has developed a number of high-end properties around the state, including the Casa Monica Hotel in St. Augustine and the Celebration Hotel near Kissimmee.

In October, Omni Hotels announced plans to build a $150 million luxury resort in the Champions Gate community near Orlando. The 732-room property, set to open in 2002, will include 70,000 square feet of meeting space, with a 26,000-sq.-ft. grand ballroom and a 20,000-sq.-ft. ballroom. It also will include a 10,000-sq.-ft. spa, six restaurants and the Dave Leadbetter Golf Academy as part of the 1,200-acre complex.

Another high-end property opening in Orlando in the spring of 2001 is Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge, which will offer its own African game preserve. Giraffes and zebras will graze on grasslands just outside the windows of the 1,293-room luxury resort, which also will offer an on-property spa and three African-themed restaurants.

In October, Orlando International Airport added another airside terminal, a $150 million satellite of the main terminal building, bringing the number of gates at the airport to 116. Another 14 gates can be added to the satellite terminal. In 2003, another major terminal building, equal in size to the current terminal building, is set to open, creating the capacity for as many as 230 gates at the airport.

William C. Peeper, president and CEO of the Orlando/Orange County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said the timing of the 2003 airport expansion, the same year as the convention center expansion, is vital. "This will fill a need for more lift capacity, a requirement that will clearly be generated by the new convention center," he said. Peeper said that bookings for larger and larger conventions and trade shows are starting to book up the expanded center well into the next decade. "We are really encouraged," he said.

In Tampa, not one but two massive shopping, dining and entertainment complexes opened within a mile of the Tampa Convention Center during the fall. In Ybor City, a popular historic district, Centro Ybor, a half million-sq.-ft. complex with upscale dining, nightclubs and shopping venues, opened in early October. Another half-million-sq.-ft. shopping, dining and entertainment center, Channelside, opened 30 days later, adjacent to the city's cruise ship terminal, just a short walk from the Tampa Convention Center and the newly opened Marriott Waterside Hotel.

"We've certainly had a number of important elements come together for us," said Norwood Smith, vice president of marketing for the Tampa Convention and Visitors Bureau.

In mid-2001, Ft. Lauderdale/ Hollywood International Airport will open a new terminal building, expanding the number of gates at the airport from its current 30 to 39.

Next year also will be big for upscale hotel openings in Miami, with three Ritz-Carlton hotels opening around the city, joining the Mandarin Oriental Hotel and a JW Marriott as new entries in the south Florida market. "You'd have to consider 2001 a banner year for upscale hotel growth in our city," said William Talbert, president of the Greater Miami Convention and Visitors Bureau. "This is more high-end hotel property growth than Florida has ever seen before.