Mission Statement: Advancing Tourism and the Community Through Hospitality March 21, 2014 In This Edition... VIP STEVE HOGAN BUCKS GOLF OPEN SEAWORLD PARTNERS IN ACTION MEET THE VIP HOSPITALITY OPPORTUNITIES HONOREES Lodging Member of the Month : James Grosso Hilton in the Walt Disney World Resort Allied Member
of the Month Marshall Pickard Squeegee Squad Event Partners of the Month Board of Directors Meeting Bright House Networks Enterprise Solutions CFHLA Board Chairman Doug Gehret, General Manager of the Hilton Orlando,CFHLA VIP Member Rick Patterson, President of Associated Planners Group, and John Bisignano President/ CEO of Central Florida Sports Commission CFHLA ARC Breakfast Bay Hill Eye Care St. Patrick's Golf Open Title Sponsor: Massey PrevenTech Commercial Services Hole Sponsors: American Hotel and Lodging Educational Institute Arena Americas CFHLA Vacation Ownership Council Vice Chairman and General Manager of the Sheraton Vistana Villages, Jorg Heyer, Vacation Council Chairman and General Manager of the Sheraton Vistana Resort Glen Vlasic, and Fred Sawyers General Manager of the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort Bags Parking & Guest Services Bay Hill Eye Care Behr Paint Corporation Belfor Property Restoration Brickman Carter Electric, Inc
Crown Linen LLC Girard Environmental Services Harvill's Produce Company Massey PrevenTech Commercial Services Orlando Health SeaWorld Parks & Resorts Spinout Guest Laundries CFHLA VIP Member Maureen Haggerty of Spinout Guest Laundries, Inc. and Glen Winsor General Manager of the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort Squeegee Squad Sunbrite Outdoor Furniture, Inc. VISIT FLORIDA VS Media Group Driving Range Sponsor: Rush Truck Center, Orlando Putting Contest Sponsor: ProfitSword, LLC Roving Cart Sponsor: RedCell Technologies, Inc. Thank You For Your Support of CFHLA! 2014 CFHLA Executive CFHLA 1st Vice Chairman and General Manager of the Caribe Royale Resort & Convention Center Gerald Urquiola and CFHLA VIP Member and Senior Account Executive of TRS Wirless, Inc. Charlie Weddle CFHLA would like to thank the following 2014 VIP Members for their support ATM FLA Associated Planners Group Awnclean USA, Inc.
Committee: Chairperson Doug Gehret Hilton Orlando 1st Vice Chairperson Gerald Urquiola Caribe Royale Resort & Convention Center 2nd Vice Chairperson Dave Bartek Loews Hotels Universal Orlando Secretary David Friederich Grand Bohemian Hotel Treasurer Doug Ridge Orlando World Center Marriott Assistant Treasurer Jetse Pottinga Melia Orlando Hotel Historian Pat Engfer Hyatt Regency Grand Cypress Immediate Past Chair Jim Burns Grande Lakes Orlando Bags Parking & Guest Services Bay Hill Eye Care Belfor Property Restoration Brickman Bright House Networks Enterprise Solutions Boyer Building Corporation Duke Energy Fisher & Phillips LLP Global Sourcing Int'l, LLC HUFCOR Florida Group Minuteman Press Orlando Business Journal Orlando Health Sign-A-Rama Orlando Smart City Spinout Guest Laundries, Inc. Sunbrite Outdoor Furniture, Inc. System Tech Services, Inc. Terminix Commercial TRS Wireless, Inc. Hospitality
Updates Orlando's 9% increase in hotel biz may hint of another strong summer TravelHost Magazine / Orlando Where Magazine Orlando / Morris Visitors Publications, LLC Richard Bilbao Orlando Business Journal Despite new attractions on the horizon, the Central Florida hotel industry always ponders how this year's business performance will shape up as the summer tourism season approaches. Historically, hotel occupancy for the region reached 71 percent in 2013, up nearly 9 percent from 65.2 percent in 2008. But on paper, this year looks great for attractions: Universal Orlando Resort will open the new Harry Potter Diagon Alley expansion, Walt Disney World's opening a new coaster at Magic Kingdom, and SeaWorld Orlando has its 50th anniversary event and more. And that's good news for Central Florida hotels. At the March 18 CFHLA Board meeting of presented Central Florida Hotel and Lodging Association with an honorary sledgehammer to thank the Association for its commitment to stadium renovation. CFHLA President / CEO Rich Maladecki, CFHLA Board Chairman and General Manager of the Hilton Orlando Doug Gehret, and Steve Hogan of Florida Citrus Sports History shows Orlando's hotel occupancy has been on the rise and other major factors like room rates are also
encouraging signs of another strong year. Will there be dips? Probably. There is some concern about travel from a few international markets like Brazil, which is hosting the 2014 World Cup. But to let you see for yourself, I gathered data from Smith Travel Research into a small database that should help you see how Central Florida's hoteliers performed the past six years. If the numbers tell any story, it's that Orlando's hotels should be in for another good year in business. Disney's Grand Floridian Resort on Travel & Leisure 'Best Hotels' list Megan Ribbens Orlando Business Journal Walt Disney World's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa was ranked on Travel & Leisure Magazine's 2014 world's best hotels list. It was the only Orlando hotel on the list. In total, 28 Florida hotels made the cut for the U.S. region. Other regions included in the rankings were Africa,
Asia, Australia, Canada, the Caribbean, Europe and Latin America. Winners were selected by the magazine's readers. Here's what to expect on Harry Potter's Hogwarts Express at Universal Orlando Please Follow Bacchus Bash on Social Media Richard Bilbao Orlando Business Journal Universal Orlando pulled out all the stops for the upcoming Hogwarts Express ride at the Harry Potter Diagon Alley expansion. In a YouTube video, Universal shared what guests will see on the Hogwarts Express train ride, which will connect Universal Studios' Diagon Alley to Islands of Adventure's Hogsmeade park. Check out the photos from the ride above. Please Click Here to view the gallery. The attraction is part of Universal Orlando's overall Diagon Alley expansion that will include several new stores, new rides and other Harry Potter experiences. The expansion is expected to bring new visitation to Orlando, which will boost business for the region's $50 billion
tourism and hospitality industry. "This is a full-scale train experience that is authentic to what you see in the movie," said Mark Woodbury, president of Universal Creative, in the video. "You will sit in your cabin and see London passing before your eyes and out into the countryside headed to Scotland. And along the way all kinds of things happen in the train." In addition, the attraction will require guests to "pass through" a brick wall at the King's Cross Station to arrive at the famous Platform 9 3/4 from the film. The train will also billow steam and have an authentic steam whistle as it passes through areas with live special effects, lifelike animation and more. Harry Potter fan site, Mugglenet.com, also posted details they came across: "Everything will be exactly as you see it in the films, from the fabric used on the cushions, to the curtains, and even the individual cabins off the main hallway. Speaking of cabins, we weren't told how many passengers would fit on the train, but there are approximately 200 seats per train, each (Thank You Doug Ridge, General Manager) Golf Committee Leadership: Chairman Holiday Inn Orlando International Airport Vice Chairman Wyndham Vacation Ownership, Inc. Allied Liaison Spinout Guest Laundries, Inc. As you may know, SeaWorld is 50 years old today - opening its first park in 1964, in San Diego, California.
of which has three cars. We also found out that the journey will be approximately 7 minutes long," wrote the blog. The attraction will be for Universal guests with park-to-park passes, which should help fatten Universal's wallets and potentially encourage return visits in the same vacation. There's still no official date on the opening of Diagon Alley, but a safe bet is sometime this summer. For additional information relating to SeaWorld's 50th Celebration, As a segment of the CFHLA Adopt-A-School Program, Massey PrevenTech Commercial Services recently conducted two partnership activities with Killarney Elementary School. The first of these was the "Progress Matters with Massey Services" contest for students. One student from each 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade level, that showed the largest percentage increase in reading scores from their Fall "benchmark" tests to their recent Winter "benchmark" test, would receive two tickets each for them and a parent, to join Massey Services in their Skybox on Feb.12th to enjoy the Magic vs the Memphis Grizzlies game. As a special surprise, Massey Services also rewarded the teacher of each winning student with a ticket to join in the evening fun.
Jay Hunt and Paul Giordano of Massey Services present award certificates and Orlando Magic tickets to the winners of the "Progress Matters with Massey Services" contest. The second activity awarded the January and February "Talk of the Town Teacher of the Month" to two teachers, Lisa Collier - 1st Grade and Katie Hall - 3rd Grade, in recognition of their hard work and dedication. Each Teacher received a $50.00 Gift Card to use at any one of the local Talk of the Town Restaurants.
Jay Hunt and Paul Giordano of Massey PrevenTech Commercial Services, as part of their Adopt- A-School Partnership with Killarney Elementary, present the "Talk of the Town Teacher of the Month" Awards. CFHLA thanks Massey PrevenTech Commercial Services for their continued support of Killarney Elementary School and Public Education in Central Florida. MEET THE VIP
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