Yet another hotel has taken over the region’s top spot for meeting spaces.
Thirty-eight hotels in Orange County, with at least 10,000 square feet of meeting and event spaces, make up 2.1 million square feet of breakout rooms, ballrooms, courtyards and other venues that can host corporate and special events.
The region’s top five properties with over 100,000 square feet of space include Anaheim Marriott, Hilton Anaheim, Disneyland Hotel, Waldorf Astoria Monarch Beach Resort & Club and Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort & Spa.
Anaheim Marriott, with 281,154 square feet of both indoor and outdoor space as of January, leapfrogged over last year’s top hotel, Hilton Anaheim, to take the top spot—driven by the hotel adding 114,892 square feet of outdoor space known as Palms Square to its total count this year.
Strong Group Sales
Several Anaheim hotels have reported a strong return in group sales.
The Westin Anaheim Resort said its group segment had recently increased, while leisure demand had slightly declined. The Westin, OC’s sixth largest hotel by room count, counts almost 54,000 square feet of event space.
The Anaheim Majestic Garden Hotel said leisure travel “remains robust” while the group and convention business is bouncing back. The 489-room hotel has 26,000 square feet of meeting space.
The city’s marketing organization, Visit Anaheim, has booked 142 conventions, meetings and evenvts for 2026. This year’s lineup is projected to generate $1.7 billion in total economic impact for Orange County and $22 million in tourism occupancy tax (TOT) revenue for Anaheim.
Meeting Spaces Out at Disney’s Pixar Hotel
Off the list this year is Disneyland’s Pixar Place Hotel, which the Disneyland Resort rebranded two years ago. The hotel was formerly the Paradise Pier Hotel.
Representatives told the Business Journal that it is using the hotel’s meeting space for its professional development program, Disney Institute. The training program educates professionals on Disney principles and demonstrates how to apply them within their own organizations.
The hotel previously reported 26,343 square feet of meeting space.
Disney told the Business Journal that the resort continues to offer “a robust number of meeting and convention options at Disneyland Resort” with more than 170,000 square feet of event space.
Of that, the No. 3-ranked Disneyland Hotel has 137,000 square feet of space and 48 different meeting rooms, while the No. 31-ranked Disney’s Grand Californian Hotel & Spa has 29,000 square feet available as of January.
The No. 16-ranked Hilton Orange County/Costa Mesa, down the street from John Wayne Airport, forecasts that group travel in 2026 will look steady.
“Travel pace” is up in the first quarter, looks softer in the second quarter and appears strong in the third and fourth quarters of the new year, officials said.
The Westin South Coast Plaza, ranked No. 24, said that it was “performing exceptionally well with group travel and hotel bookings” thanks to its proximity to its namesake shopping center and the airport. A spokesperson attributed the local market’s performance to corporate events, conventions and leisure travel.
“We have seen consistent growth in bookings and inquiries, and our team continues to ensure seamless experiences for our guests,” the hotel said.
Hesitancy in Bookings and Cautious Budgeting
Coastal resorts like Balboa Bay Resort said they still see opportunities in the group travel market while navigating the discretionary budgeting landscape.
“The hotel is performing well within this environment, with transient pickup bookings pacing positively and sustained demand across meetings and events,” according to the No. 21-ranked Balboa Bay.
Balboa Bay Resort last year renovated its Mariner, Clipper and Quarterdeck meeting rooms, which had not been updated since 2015. The makeover did not alter the size of its meeting space, which is 36,314 square feet as of January.
“This renovation was driven by a desire to thoughtfully modernize the spaces while building on what our clients have consistently told us they love most about Balboa Bay Resort,” Director of Sales Nicole Coleman told the Business Journal.
Coleman said Balboa Bay, along with other luxury properties, is still experiencing “uncertainty across key demand segments,” resulting in an imbalance between pricing and profitability. Locally, guest budgets are either flat or down from last year.
“We are seeing increased hesitancy among clients and prospects when it comes to confirming future bookings, with longer decision timelines and more cautious budget approvals,” she said. “In many cases, organizations are consolidating what would have traditionally been multiple meetings into a single gathering, resulting in fewer overall events despite sustained interest.”
She added that in Orange County, average wedding spending is down approximately 30%.
“Across the industry, this has required operators to be more strategic, flexible, and creative in how we deliver value, curate experiences, and meet guests where they are,” Coleman said.
The Balboa Bay Resort recently acquired a 42-foot private yacht, named Host of the Coast, that best accommodates small groups of 10 or fewer.
New Hotel Leaders
A handful of OC hotels added new leaders ahead of the new year.
Balboa Bay Resort welcomed General Manager Tyler Hathaway in September. The hotel also updated its culinary team led by the newly added Executive Chef Diego Bernal.
Lido House promoted Rory Emslie to general manager last August. The property is a newcomer to this year’s list, with almost 17,000 square feet of meeting space, following the addition of new venues in 2025 (see page 3).
“The team saw a clear opportunity to lean into outdoor-first gatherings, responding to how people now want to meet: more open air, more flexibility, and a stronger sense of place,” Lido said in a statement.
Surf & Sand Laguna Beach named Jeroen Quint as the new managing director in January.
Last October, Peter Lai was appointed executive chef of the resort’s Splashes restaurant.
The Resort at Pelican Hill added Shannon Gilbert as general manager last November in time to lead the property’s transition into a St. Regis Estate flagship set for 2027, when the current multimillion-dollar renovation is scheduled to finish.
“New service standards, menus, and experiences will ensure that The Resort at Pelican Hill is the place for discerning guests to host their premier meetings, incentives, corporate events, C-suite retreats, as well as extraordinary social events and unforgettable wedding celebrations,” Gilbert said.
