It’s easy for planners to overlook some of the smaller meeting rooms here with the county’s 50 full-service hotels that each have more than 5,800 square feet of available space.
But as some conferences scale back amid the slowing economy, some planners are looking for spaces of 2,500 square feet to 5,000 square feet.
And there’s a big local market for training and sales programs, board meetings and other corporate and social events that don’t require a convention center or big ballroom, which is increasing the demand for smaller spaces.
Here’s a look at a few of the OC hotels that fall into this category and how they’re filling their meeting space.
– Hotel Menage, Anaheim, a former Holiday Inn converted to a boutique hotel by Casa Hotels of Laguna Beach, has about 5,000 square feet of meeting space, half of it in an onsite ballroom that holds up to 200 people.
Like other area hotels, Hotel Menage has enough rooms to qualify for our list of largest hotels by room count, but its meeting space isn’t quite enough to make the cut for the meeting room list.
What it lacks in space, it makes up for in decor. Its themed meeting rooms,Tuscany, platinum, retro, New York loft and zen,were a hit for holiday parties in 2007, according to owner Richard Ham.
“We even did some private dinners for area restaurants,” Ham said.
The hotel was set to host several private VIP parties during the International Music Products Association’s NAMM convention that wrapped up last weekend. Ham hopes to increase the hotel’s share of the meetings market.
“We’re targeting pharmaceutical (companies) because of our themed rooms,” he said.
On a local level, the pool deck has been popular for weddings, he said,and he loves it when locals come to an event or the restaurant, see the meeting space and later book an event. Still, Ham knows it will take some time to make the hotel a small meetings hotspot.
“Repositioning a hotel is like moving a battleship,” he said. “It takes time.”
– Doubletree Guest Suites, Dana Point wants to compete with the likes of Hotel Menage for smaller meetings and is set to open a 5,000-square-foot conference center in March. The center will occupy a space designated for a future ballroom but until now has been used for valet parking.
This hotel overlooks Doheny State Beach and is steps from the sand. It primarily has drawn business from leisure travelers due to a dearth of meeting space. Its 3,200 square feet of existing space limited it to groups of 50 to 100 people, according to director of sales Todd Wheeler.
A decade ago, that was enough to get it on the list of the top 50 hotels. But in more recent years, the hotel lost a lot of potential business due to the lack of space, Wheeler said.
“A lost-business report convinced ownership to add (the space),” Wheeler said.
– Radisson Suites Buena Park, a former Embassy Suites, changed its name in 2006 after new owners acquired the all-suite hotel. It has 3,663 square feet of dedicated meeting space, plus another 1,400 square feet of
space in a private area suited to luncheons and dinners, according to director of catering Trese Childs. The hotel is looking to snag a larger share of social events, training
and sales meetings and tour and travel companies now that Radisson’s renovations are complete.
– Chase Suites Fullerton has 4,484 square feet of meeting and ballroom space. According to director of sales Monique Yiatrar, that’s about to change. The hotel’s new owners, Core Capital Hospitality of Huntington Beach, have invested roughly $3 million in a renovation that should be complete by April, Yiatrar said.
In addition to a complete room and lobby makeover, the renovation includes a new restaurant and lounge that will bring it to full-service standards. That is likely to make it more attractive to planners who prefer to use hotels that have onsite food service.
When the renovation is complete, the hotel will assume the Holiday Inn & Suites name.
“We’re looking for more corporate meetings and high-end social business,” Yiatrar said.
– Hilton Suites Anaheim has just 2,500 square feet of meeting space, but its location near Angel Stadium of Anaheim, the budding Platinum Triangle and UCI Medical Center plays in its favor for small meetings.
“Our focus is on what we call a compact meeting or intimate wedding,” said Patricia Llamas, event meeting manager.
The hotel can easily handle 100 people for a banquet, but that number is a tight squeeze for more traditional meeting layouts, she said.
The hotel hosts a lot of sales and training groups and hopes to get more, both from the local market and the East Coast, according to Llamas. She said many business travelers prefer all-suite hotels and she is hoping to attract more visitors with a $1.5 million furniture makeover this year.
