HIS YEAR MARKED THE 30TH ANNI- versary of VISIT FLORIDA’s Florida Encounter event, where planners and suppliers meet face-to-face — and where the “Meetings Mean Business” way of thinking plays an important role. “We continue to work at beating the AIG Effect,” said Eileen Forrow, VISIT FLORIDA’s executive vice president of sales and marketing. “We’re still moving the [Meetings Mean Business] campaign along and letting folks know that Florida is open for convention business.” To that end, Florida Encounter 2010 brought hundreds of planners and suppliers to the Fon- tainebleau Miami Beach resort on Nov. 14–17 for dozens of one-on-one appointments with hotels, destinations, and other suppliers. As at the previous year’s event, there was plenty of talk about supplier collaborations and ways to bring more meetings to the state. And it was apparent that the programs and partnerships put in place are working. The Beaches of Fort Myers and Sanibel, for example, continue to offer their “Islands Incentive” program, which allows groups to get credit on room revenue. In Daytona Beach, some hotels offer credit toward F&B, while in the Naples/Marco Island area, promotions range from discounted golf to free meeting- room rental to complimentary breakfasts. Destinations across the state have similar incentives.
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Our host hotel, the Fontainebleau, com- pleted a $1-billion renovation in 2008, and now offers 1,500 guest rooms and 107,000 square feet of flexible meeting space. It was one of many attractive venues we saw dur- ing Florida Encounter 2010, with the Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau playing host and arranging tours and site visits for at- tendees — accompanied by Miami’s trademark sunny weather. Stops included the brand-new JW Marriott Marquis Miami, with 313 rooms, 56 suites, and more than 80,000 square feet of meeting space. The property is home to a virtual bowling alley, an indoor golf school, and an NBA-approved basketball court — all on its 19th floor — and, on its 39th floor, the Hotel
Beaux Arts, a hotel within a hotel that offers 55 guest room and suites. Along with other first-rate properties in the area — such as Kimpton’s EPIC Hotel (459 rooms and suites; 11,000 square feet of event space), InterContinental Miami (641 rooms and suites; 66,000 square feet of event space); and Mandarin Oriental, Miami (326 rooms and suites; 15,000 square feet of event space) — the JW Marriott helps make downtown Miami its own meetings destination.
Other venues we visited included Jungle
Island, with more than 13,800 square feet of indoor event space and another 10,000 square feet out of doors. In Miami Beach, a Frank Geh- ry–designed new campus for the New World Symphony will offer unique spaces for private functions, including auditoriums, performance areas, and a garden roof. And in Coral Gables, just outside Miami, sits the historic Biltmore Hotel, with 273 guest rooms and 80,000 square feet of recently renovated conference space. n — Alan L. Kleinfeld, CMP, CMM