From new boutique hotels to renovated resorts that can host over 2,000 for a meeting or event, the diverse offerings along Orange County’s 42 miles of coastline are more welcoming to groups than ever. 

Marriott International Chief Marketing Officer, Americas Steve Heitzner fills Meetings Today in on the hotel giant's recent moves.

What do you get when you cross the world’s most valuable sports franchise with one of the world’s largest independently owned and operated hotel companies? The “star attraction” named the Omni Frisco Hotel, of course.

The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort is planning an expansion, including new features and amenities catering to meetings and groups. The project is slated to break ground early fall 2018 and is scheduled to be completed in the fall of 2020. The new structure, which is described as a tower, will be located next to the Swan Resort on the current site of the tennis courts.

Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resort celebrated the grand opening of its new convention center expansion and guest room renovation. The convention center expansion of 28,000 square feet will offer nearly 100,000 square feet of meeting and event space at this Walt Disney World Resort location.

UNITE HERE union workers in San Francisco, Boston, Seattle, San Jose, Honolulu and Maui are holding strike authorization votes on Marriott properties across the U.S. The votes will determine whether union workers can move forward with a strike in each city. This article will be updated with voting results as they are announced so be sure to check back in for updates!

Omni Hotels & Resorts launched a new meeting planner loyalty program modeled after its Omni Select Guest program, which awards amenities and tier levels for free stays for planner activity. The program was announced August 20, 2018 at ASAE’s Annual Meeting & Exposition in Chicago.

Now a year-round destination, Epic Discovery is Vail Mountain’s playground, with ziplining, summer tubing, a mountain coaster and miles of trails for hiking and biking. This wasn’t my summer vacation, but rather part of a Marriott Convention & Resort Network (CRN) press trip in Colorado. Over the three days, we saw meeting space, amenities and group offerings at the collection’s properties in the state—including the soon-to-open Gaylord Rockies Resort & Convention Center.

The TWA Hotel is gearing up for its spring 2019 opening at John F. Kennedy International Airport by offering planners a first look at its 50,000 square feet of meeting and event spaces. The overall project, led by MCR and MORSE Development, is restoring and reimagining Eero Saarinen’s landmark 1962 TWA Flight Center at JFK Airport and transforming it into a 512-room hotel.

Late founder Bill Kimpton, who held heartfelt compassion for his guests, would be proud. Holding a commanding position in D.C., its top market for nearly two decades, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants offers some 55,000 square feet of combined space in 11 Capital Region properties, including flagship Hotel Topaz (2001) in D.C. and Lorien Hotel & Spa in Old Town Alexandria.