When Hilton Worldwide opened the Waldorf Astoria and adjoining Hilton Bonnet Creek resort here this month, it introduced a unique, non-Disney product right next door to Disney World.
It also opened 1,500 new rooms, bringing to more than 4,000 the number of rooms Hilton has added in the last two months to a market that has been battered this year by a sharp drop in meetings and business travel.
Still, Hilton and local officials insist the resort is an important addition to Central Florida, and one that gives the company strength in Orlando.
"The travel industry as a whole has a unique challenge for the short term," said Paul Brown, president of global brands and commercial services for Hilton Worldwide and No. 2 in the company’s chain of command.
"We look at Orlando as a long-term investment," he added. "And we have to do things for the long term."
Like most big projects coming on line this year, Brown said Hilton’s decision to expand in Orlando was made years ago, long before the downturn that has seen occupancy and rates plummet at luxury and meetings hotels around the world.
"That said, we think this is the best product in Orlando," he said. "We think this will be a destination in and of itself."
The Waldorf Astoria Orlando is the first Waldorf Astoria outside of Manhattan, although Hilton has added a number of properties to its Waldorf Astoria Collection.
And the Waldorf is one of just a few luxury offerings in Orlando: The Ritz-Carlton opened shortly after 9/11, a Four Seasons is under construction and Disney operates the Grand Floridian, one of the grande dames of Orlando resorts at 21 years old.
"There aren’t that many options for people who want a real luxury experience," Brown said.
Of the Hilton and Waldorf’s location in Orlando, he said, "You can get Disney, but you are not immersed in it."
Another feature, he said, is the 150,000 square feet of meeting space that connects the Waldorf to the 1,000-room Hilton, making it attractive for organizers of large conferences who want to offer attendees options on room costs.
"Not everybody wants to pay the price of the Waldorf," said Brown. "That’s a unique feature that we see as very attractive."
The new property joins the recently opened Hilton Orlando Convention Center among the company’s Orlando-area meetings offerings: That property offers 1,400 rooms, connected via covered walkway to the Orange County Convention Center.
Brown acknowledged that the new Waldorf and Hilton rooms plus the 1,094-room hotel on International Drive that last month was reflagged under Hilton’s Doubletree brand, was a lot for the current market. But he said that "before, we didn’t have enough rooms and meeting space to offer for large groups and conferences."
Tom Parke, director of sales and marketing for the Waldorf and Hilton Bonnet Creek, said bookings were strong, both for groups and leisure, at the new properties.
Gary Sain, president and CEO of the Orlando/Orange County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the resort brings to 115,000 the number of hotel rooms in Orlando.
He also said the Waldorf brand brings "more opportunities" to the market, which is working closely with the U.S. Travel Association to fight the so-called AIG effect, where companies canceled or postponed meetings because of the fear of negative publicity.
Sain said Orlando was using recently released U.S. Travel research that shows the value of face-to-face meetings and incentive trips to battle the backlash that followed reports that insurance giant AIG proceeded with a meeting at a luxury resort after receiving billions of dollars in public bailout funds.
Orlando, he said, has seen an 8% to 9% drop in total visitors this year, from 49 million in 2008 to a projected 45 million in 2009. But the AIG effect seems to be waning, he said.
"We still see it in pockets, but it’s not the same issue it was earlier this year," he said.
Next year, he predicted, will be flat. But "I think 2011 will be a bang-up year. I think we will see growth in the latter part of 2010 and into 2011."