Hilton Anaheim, Orange Countyโs largest hotel with 1,574 rooms, is on track to complete its $200 million renovation by fall 2025.
โEverythingโs a priority,โ General Manager Sergio Bocci told the Business Journal. โJust to make sure that in a yearโs time, we get back to a place where this hotel becomes a hub of activity.โ
โWeโre the largest hotel. Some of that hub comes by osmosis because of the groups, but weโre looking to reach out beyond just the hotel guests,โ Bocci said.
The property is located next door to the Anaheim Convention Center, which sees around 150 conventions and meetings each year, and sits across the street from the Disneyland Resort.
โWe want the local community to come visit us and take advantage of some of the offerings we have as well,โ he said.
The overhaul began last summer and so far, around half of the guest rooms have been completed with event spaces done and new food and beverage (F&B) concepts starting construction before summer.
As the hotel remains open throughout the renovation, Bocci is hopeful for an increase in business that will come once visitors know about the upgrades.
โPeople work differently. Now they travel differently, so itโs pursuant to us to really be on the edge of that, making sure that our offerings are aligned with what customers are looking for,โ he said.
New Ranking as OC Hotel with Largest Amount of Event Space
Hiltonโs ballrooms and meeting spaces have been completed, still counting 100,000 square feet of indoor space and an additional 38,000 square feet outdoors.
The Anaheim property now tops the Business Journalโs list of Hotel Meeting Rooms (see page 25) with 138,000 square feet of total meeting space, leapfrogging over former No. 1 Disneyland Hotel. The Disney-operated hotel fell to No. 2 after reducing its meeting space to 131,778 square feet due to renovations at the Villas vacation tower that resulted in existing meeting spaces being repurposed to other uses.
Bocci said the Hiltonโs new event space features new technology, lighting fixtures and carpets.
โItโs a much lighter and brighter feel,โ he said.
The outside decks on the fifth floor have also been renovated with updates ranging from new garden lights to better internet services.
Group travel is a little quiet for the hotel this year, which the general manager noted is not unusual considering the economic headwinds of 2024.
โItโs going to be a little tougher now. Weโre going to get a little busier in the early part of the year with groups, but weโve reached out and everybodyโs excited.โ
โAll in all, itโs not a bad time to have a renovation,โ he added.
Despite the current softness, the property upgrades are attracting interest for future travel. Bocci said the sales team is hearing from visitors who are considering travel in 2026 and 2027.
The hotel is currently seeing a shift in the types of company meetings being booked out a few years from now.
Hilton Anaheim will be hosting more technological companies while pharmaceutical firms remain strong.
With Hilton Anaheimโs proximity to Disney theme parks, the hotel is typically a hotbed for youth sports groups as well.
Transient travel, known as shorter stays, is also going well and will be doing even better with the cityโs future itinerary of the FIFA World Cup, the Olympics in Los Angeles and DisneylandForward development, according to the general manager.
โHere in Anaheim, weโre competing against some great, great cities – Orlando and Houston started to come on – and thereโs other cities that are really taking off, so we want to make sure weโre right at the cutting edge,โ Bocci said.
Building Anticipation and Practicing Patience
Upgrades at Hilton Anaheim range from โlittle conveniencesโ to the hotelโs overall infrastructure, Bocci noted.
Approximately 745 rooms are complete, including the ones on the 14th floor looking across Katella Avenue to Disneyโs California Adventure Park.
Guest room construction is scheduled to finish in July.
The hotelโs new grab-and-go market will be called Hansenโs Market, adding baked goods and to-go options to its typical F&B offerings.
The newest dining concept will be known as Poppyโs Restaurant, replacing the previous Mix Restaurant & Lounge. Poppyโs features California coastal cuisine and cocktails and should open by April.
Bocci and the hotel team are currently looking for a chef to lead the concept with plans to also hire a new director of food and beverage.
Even the Starbucks hotel cafรฉ will get a facelift starting in April, according to the general manager. The store, located on the left side of the lobby, will add the capability of mobile app ordering for the first time to help with customer volume and expedite orders in a bigger space.
The lounge and half of the front desk in the lobby are almost done, mostly in time for the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) event that happened last weekend.
The hotel is taking advantage of the loungeโs location change and makeover to include new beer taps and serve more Anaheim-based craft beers.
90% of the lobby will be done for Natural Products Expo West in March and the renovated lounge and new Hansenโs market will be open by then also.
The hotel is working with PCL Construction, Project Management Advisors and Newbond as well as design firm RVD Associates.
โIโm a little impatient, but weโll get there,โ Bocci said with a laugh.
Tourism and Hospitality Partners
Sergio Bocci, general manager of the Hilton Anaheim, said the propertyโs partnerships with Visit Anaheim and the Anaheim Convention Center are vital to the hotel.
Bocci gave a shout out to Visit Anaheimโs new chief marketing officer, Scott Oklin, who is looking to add more music or comedy festivals in the city.
Oklin joined the tourism organization in September with a focus โto attract visitors from all corners of the globe,โ he said in a statement.
Anaheimโs two biggest conventions, funneling business toward the cityโs hotels and restaurants, each year are NAMM and Natural Products Expo West. The two repeat events attract a range of 125,000 to 140,000 attendees collectively.
Before the pandemic, NAMM alone counted a record of 115,000 people over a weekend.
General Manager Bocci also pointed to the leadership of Chief Executive Mike Waterman, who is โreally turning Visit Anaheim into the sales force piece that we really need here,โ he said.
For 2025, Visit Anaheim has booked 149 conventions, meetings and events in the city, which is estimated to generate $1.35 billion in economic impact. This includes regular fan conventions such as WonderCon and VidCon with newer ones such as The Nostalgia Con taking over the center.
Other events include dance competitions, leadership conferences, sports invitationals, beauty product shows and educational expos.
In 2024, the city of Anaheim counted a preliminary amount of 21.4 million visitors.
โEmily Santiago-Molina