Gus' Gazette Tag: Industry Insights

Greetings from Central Florida!

I would like to extend a huge congratulations to the Rosen Hotels & Resorts on celebrating 50 years in business this year and let you know a little more about one of my favorite hotel partners.

When booking one of our many events in the Orlando market, I am sure you have come across the Rosen properties that onPeak offers. What you may not know is the many details about this independent, local brand.

Some quick facts:
Rosen Hotels and Resorts is the largest independent chain of hotels in central Florida, and they run 7 area hotels. onPeak is most familiar with their 3 convention center properties: Rosen Plaza, Rosen Centre and, the crown jewel of their portfolio, Rosen Shingle Creek.

All Rosen properties offer:

• Complimentary self-parking
• Complimentary Wi-Fi in guestrooms and public areas
• They never have resort fees!

I am excited to share with you a little about the founder, the brand’s history, and dig deeper into the three properties we often partner with.

Harris Rosen is the Founder of Rosen Properties. He had previous industry experience working for Hiltons across the country and helped oversee Disneyworld hotels as they were being built. He even worked part-time as a Disney character! Harris decided to take his life savings and strike out on his own to purchase his first property, Quality Inn International, and renamed it Rosen Inn International. Those first few years he saved money by living and working on the property. He has always been very hands on, even gardening the grounds and working the front desk. Mr. Rosen can still be seen visiting the properties and walking the grounds today. His grown children also share his passion and chose to work in the family business. A unique aspect of this company is that they are debt free. Growing slowly and sustainably as opposed to taking on large debts has served them well in tough economic times.

The “Rosen Difference” is earning guests’ loyalty by doing the right thing and exceeding expectations that you can feel that firsthand. Like onPeak, people who love their job tend to stick around. Rosen has 272+ employees with over 25 years seniority. This is no surprise since Orlando Business Journal voted them one the best places to work in 2023.

Mr. Rosen is passionate about health and wellness and likes to share his enthusiasm with his associates. He and his culinary team created Rosen’s Perfect Pizza™, a honey whole-wheat crust containing no trans fats that is sold at his seven hotels [Being from Chicago, I know pizza and it always hits the spot]. Rosen is a master swimmer and opened an aquatic and fitness center that also teaches lifesaving water techniques and a learn-to-swim program. The center has even hosted the special Olympics and Michael Phelps! Rosen opened his own college of hospitality management, and it has been voted one of the best in the nation. They offer an unheard of Health Care plan for their employees which includes perks like paying 100% of the remaining balance of any hospital bill over $750.

I was in awe of the amount of philanthropic efforts Harris Rosen has spearheaded. He has donated to Haiti earthquake relief, built a local Jewish community center, donated millions to brain cancer research, on behalf of his son, and even been a recipient of Oprah’s Dream Academy’s President’s Award. One of the most impressive things I learned about is the Harris Rosen Foundation Tangelo Park Program. This program offers free preschool for any child 2-4 years old living in the disadvantaged community of Tangelo Park (soon to be adopted by the local Parramore community as well). As if that isn’t big enough, they also offer college scholarships to any Florida public college or vocational/trade school, including room and board for high school graduates of the program. Throughout the years, high school graduation rates in the area have improved from approximately 55% to nearly 100%, outstanding!

As promised, a closer look at the hotels we frequently partner with:

Rosen Plaza: Think convenience. The property is located closest to the West concourse of the OCCC with a sky bridge connecting the two. For area nightlife and upscale dining options you are also just across the street from the action at Pointe Orlando, an open-air entertainment complex. The hotel has 800 boutique inspired rooms, 7 dining options, and a popular local nightclub, 3NINE, named after Harris’s grandfather.

Rosen Centre: Rosen Centre is newly renovated and feels technically modern and sleek. This 1,334-room property also has covered walkways to both sides of the convention center. If you are looking for great views of Orlando this 24-story hotel is the one for you.

Rosen Shingle Creek: I had the pleasure of staying at the Rosen Shingle for the first time recently and, although I am usually one to be out on the town, this is one property I did not want to leave. This Spanish revival style, 1,501 room, upscale property boasts gorgeous views of their Arnold Palmer designed championship golf course. Foodies will be impressed with the property’s two triple A 4 diamond restaurants, Calla Bella and A Land Remembered.

The hotel even has an onsite farm supplying them with local and seasonal produce. Not everything was fine dining though. I was most impressed with the 18 Monroe Street Market. A 24-hour deli and convenience store with very reasonable prices and quick friendly service. The 4 outdoor pools were the perfect spot to enjoy their insanely good gelato!

So, rest assured when you are booking a Rosen Hotel that your convention attendees and exhibitors will have a seamless experience and, like me, become brand loyal after having experienced the “Rosen Difference”. You can feel good supporting a brand that has done so much for their local community and is truly making a difference in the lives of Orlando residents!

By Jason Gross

Clients have plenty of good reasons for holding their events in specific cities – great facilities, hotel room availability, world class dining, and weather, just to name a few.

But our clients also choose specific cities for a variety of other reasons. Here are some (but not all) of the reasons a client may choose a specific destination for their event:

1. Convention Center

A convention center’s availability and event space size is the main reason clients choose a specific destination.  As we move past the COVID era, clients’ demand for space continues to increase and cities are booking business further and further out.  For that reason, finding a city that has the right size convention center to fit the group and making sure it is available for all dates is a critical step in a client selecting a destination.

2. Accommodations

We are all about heads in beds, so why not put this number 1? Clients need to make sure the city that is hosting their meeting has enough hotel rooms available to accommodate their attendees/exhibitors.  Destinations like Las Vegas have over 150,000 rooms at various price points and locations which provide clients the ability to have enough hotel rooms to fit their programs.

3. Increased Attendance

Our clients want to choose an attractive destination, so that they can generate a strong attendance.  A client will think about which city will boost attendance and which city will decrease attendance when making their decision.

4. Airport Access

Airport Access in the city that is hosting an event is crucial for the success of many client meetings.  Most of our international heavy events choose major cities or destinations to host their meetings. The lift to those cities is easier than holding meetings in cities without major international arrivals.

5. Convention Services & Staff

Our clients want the best and when choosing a destination, that also applies to staffing and service. Cities that have experienced staff at the hotel and convention center level, tend to get a boost above the rest. Clients want to go to a city and be confident that their staff and their attendees will be well taken care of.

6. Location, Location, Location

Location matters when finding that perfect city. Being in close proximity to the airport, near the ocean, easy walkability, nearby attractions, easy shuttle routes, etc.  Location matters for our clients.  Geographic location is also a factor.  If an event is not in the same city each year, clients will often do a rotation system for convention sites based on regions (West, Central, East).

7. Weather

Of course, the weather matters, who wants to sit in a meeting in Las Vegas in July or Chicago in February? Clients have consistent event dates and generally stick to these dates, so weather factors into many destination selections.

8. Transportation

Clients want to know ease of transportation to and from a destination, as well as the accessibility within the city itself. Every attendee has a different way they want to get around the city or to/from a convention center, so having options helps certain cities stand out. Transportation includes shuttle routes and costs to clients; walkability to/from convention center and hotels; taxi, Lyft, Uber availability; subway/train systems; or any other transportation features a city may have to offer.

9. Dining

Whether it is world class restaurants, prepared to go boxes, convention center food, or custom-made menus, most major destinations have a wide range of dining options that fit every attendee’s needs.

10. Cost

Clients always weigh the costs of a convention city against a city’s appeal. For example, New York is expensive, but it is also consistently ranked as one of the most desired destinations when clients poll members about convention locations.

11. Purpose

A city can be chosen for the unique characteristics found within that city.  For example, Natural Products Expo West chooses Anaheim as a destination due to the natural food sources and commitment to sustainability found in Southern California.   Miami Boat Show is held in Miami because of its access to water ways and the large boating community.

12. Local Support

Some events need the support of a local community in order to hold their meeting.  RNC chose Milwaukee due to local support from the state government, convention and visitors bureau, and access to volunteers to make the city a success for 2024.

by Richard Albrecht

At PCMA in January, Rose, Jason, and Rich attended a fascinating session entitled “What’s Next for the Business Events Industry”, moderated by Carly Fiorina, former CEO of Hewlett-Packard, with Chris Nassetta, CEO of Hilton, Ben Erwin, Pres & CEO of Encore, and Matthew Slaughter, Dean of the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth on the panel.  Reflecting on the last few years, each offered their view of 2023 travel trends, live events, and the impacts of technology and inflation on the industry.

According to Nassetta, while many experts thought that everything was going to be dramatically different coming out of the pandemic, in reality nothing has changed all that much.  Leisure business is stronger than ever and business travel is back.  What has shifted, in his view, are work patterns and the concept of “bleisure” travel.  The result of hybrid work arrangements, Hilton is seeing increased business travel in the form of combined business/leisure trips.  People aren’t necessarily tied to a geographic location and that flexibility allows the “office” to travel with them.

Inflation is impacting labor costs in a big way – not only for event organizers but also for people attending those events.  A concern was raised that, when looking to cut costs, event-goers might view attending an in-person event as elective and perhaps decide not to go.  So, the mission for planners is to have a clear value proposition, making sure the event’s purpose and mission are clear so that they reinforce the importance of coming together.  Planners have to give participants a compelling reason to make the financial investment to attend – “pent up demand” to travel will only last for so long.

When asked about how technology impacts a live event, the consensus was that technology supports, but does not replace, being together in person.  It’s true that technology can enable worldwide participation in an event but it is by no means a substitute for being there in person.  In Slaughter’s words, while the flow of people stopped during the pandemic, the flow of information and ideas never did.  Over the last 100 years, many proclaimed that inventions like the radio, telephone, and internet (and even the metaverse) all signaled the end of people needing or wanting to come together in person.  Well, they didn’t, and neither has the pandemic.  Information and ideas will always flow and Slaughter concluded with this notion:  “…we bring people together for that serendipitous discovery, the building of relational human capital.  And that’s what business events do in many different ways.”  So in other words, and as we’re already seeing, live events are back!