Rosen Hotels & Resorts eases meeting planners' minds - and wallets

Feb 02, 09 | 1:52 am

Rosen Hotels & Resorts is making meetings a little less stressful - and economical - for meeting planners with a ground-breaking new "Attrition Relief" program at its three Orlando convention hotels Rosen Plaza, Rosen Centre and Rosen Shingle Creek.

A study by the Convention Industry Council (CIC) shows that more and more meeting attendees are booking rooms outside the contracted guest room block, making it difficult for meeting planners to guarantee that the rooms they reserve will be filled. In response to this trend, Rosen Hotels & Resorts is alleviating -and often eliminating - customary attrition fees for those who don't meet their estimates.

"We understand how difficult it is for meeting planners to estimate and guarantee their room block, so this program was designed to make their jobs a little easier," said Leslie Menichini, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Rosen Hotels Convention Properties. "As the industry evolves and travel habits change, we want to remain flexible and attentive to the needs of our planners and our attendees. We have developed a variety of special programs that make an immediate impact on our customers' bottom lines."

The new program offers reduced or waived attrition based on group historical pickup data and is valid for any new meeting booked after Jan. 29, 2009 for 400 room nights or greater at any of the three Rosen convention hotels based on offer availability. The meeting must be actualized by Dec. 31, 2009. The offer is based on availability and is not valid with other discounts, definite business or citywide groups. Group history pickup is required to determine eligibility.
 
The key to Rosen Hotels' flexibility and responsiveness to meeting planner needs is having President and COO Harris Rosen onsite in Orlando to provide approval for special requests and programs as needs arise.

"Although Mr. Rosen is the largest independent hotelier in Florida, we don't have to cut through multiple corporate layers to reach him - he is accessible and available to make the decisions that make meetings happen," said Menichini. "In this economy, turnkey response and creative, customized solutions are a necessity and we're committed to providing that flexibility to our clients. We don't believe in a 'one-size-fits-all' offer."

The three hotels have long been a favorite of meeting planners, winning dozens of awards from readers of leading meeting planner publications. Most recently, Rosen Shingle Creek was named a Top Pick in the Meeting News Planner's Choice Awards and also was named a "2008 Best of the South" winner by Meetings South magazine. All three properties received Meetings & Conventions (M&C) magazine's prestigious Gold Key Award, designating them as outstanding meeting properties. Additionally, Rosen Centre earned the Gold Platter award for its excellence in food and beverage, while Rosen Shingle Creek received one of the meetings industry's most prestigious awards, Gold Platter "Elite" status, which is given only to the top five convention hotel catering departments in the United States.

Just weeks ago, Rosen Plaza, Rosen Centre and Rosen Shingle Creek are the first and currently only hotels in Central Florida to achieve Two Palm status in the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's Green Lodging Program, three of only 11 total Two Palm hotels in the state of Florida. They were among the first 50 properties - the top one percent in Florida - to receive One Palm designation in 2007. The voluntary state initiative recognizes hotels' reductions in waste, water and energy consumption.

Rosen Plaza, Rosen Centre and Rosen Shingle Creek also have introduced an eco-friendly meetings website called Rosen Green Meetings, outlined at www.rosengreenmeetings.com. The informational website is designed to assist meeting planners who are interested in reducing the environmental burdens typically associated with large meetings and conventions.

Together, the three Rosen convention hotels offer the largest number of guestrooms, largest combined gross square feet of meeting/event space and closest proximity to the Orange County Convention Center of any Orlando convention hotels. Combined, they offer more than 3,600 rooms and more than 611,000 gross square feet of flexible meeting space and one of the nation's largest column-free ballrooms. An award-winning championship 18-hole golf course and golf academy, world-class spas, nearly two dozen dining, entertainment and lounging options, state-of-the-art fitness centers, a variety of tennis and sport courts, provide meetings attendees and leisure guests unparalleled convenience and amenities.

For more information about Rosen Hotels & Resorts, visit www.rosenhotels.com. For more information about Rosen Hotels & Resorts' Green Meetings program, visit www.rosengreenmeetings.com.