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The Orange County Hotel’s meeting spaces are in a state of transformation, finding new ways to accommodate the growth in business travel and events.
According to this week’s Business Journal list, as of January, OC had the most meeting space to accommodate large events, with 1.9 million square feet of meeting space among 35 hotels. This represents a 6.2% increase over last year’s total, with two local hotels coming back online and numerous renovations and expansions to area hotel interiors.
Last year, the opening of Pendry Newport Beach and the return of the Hyatt Regency Irvine brought 108,000 square feet of ballrooms, meeting rooms and outdoor terraces.
These vacancies come amid strong market conditions in the sector.
“Consumers are optimistic,” Visit Newport Beach told the Business Journal.
The nonprofit is one of several area marketing groups focused on promoting tourism throughout OC and is involved in marketing the Newport Beach hotel to interested meeting planners.
“We are noticing an increase in the number of fulfillment commitments and room nights customers are now signing,” the organization said.
Pendry debuts on this year’s list at No. 9 with 58,000 square feet of meeting space.
For the Hyatt team, the reopening of the hotel’s conference rooms and first guest rooms in August served as a key part of reintroducing the hotel to the business market.
“This is all about getting people back into the building,” Terrance Frederick, director of sales and marketing, told the Business Journal.
With the Hyatt returning to the list, it becomes the hotel with the largest meeting space in Irvine and ranks 12th among all OC hotels. Before the pandemic shutdown, it was formerly known as the Irving Hotel.
The Disneyland Hotel tops the list with 215,796 square feet of meeting space.
Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club moved up to No. 4, adding about 9,000 square feet, and Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa moved up to No. 4. No. 5.
The Dana Point hotel renovated its former Athletic Club space into a new meeting room and terrace called Avalon, which opened last March.
Other changes from last year include renaming the DoubleTree by Hilton Anaheim Orange County to the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Ferra and retaining 40,000 square feet of meeting space.
Disney’s Pixar Plaza Hotel was removed from the list this year due to ongoing renovations that made its meeting rooms unavailable for reservations.
city venues
The City of Newport Beach has experienced a resurgence in economic activity over the past few years with the opening of two new luxury hotels in Newport Center.
“This created a huge buzz among the local customer base,” said Visit Newport Beach.
The organization noted that the city has a variety of hotels with different price points and amenities that provide a good mix of customer base.
A business favorite is the Renaissance Newport Beach Hotel, which is frequently used by association groups and praised for its “flow of functionality” from room to room.
The upscale luxury hotels are designed to attract business from industries such as health and insurance groups, according to the marketing group.
Other cities are also benefiting from new openings to recapture their meetings and events business.
For Costa Mesa, the Orange County Museum of Art not only brings more visitors to the city but also provides a new venue near the hotel’s base.
“This event space allows us to offer impactful, stunning venue options when booking off-site group business,” Travel Costa Mesa said.
The hotelier saw revenue per available room in the group business increase by more than 23% annually in 2023, while temporary business grew by 5%.
Visit Santa Ana is also focusing on the local arts scene, and the marketing organization has formed a partnership with the Bowers Museum to promote the institution as a space for off-site meetings and events.
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