The program includes increasing the exhibit space to 350,000 sf from 214,000 sf and building the 105,000-sf Cypress Ballroom which Marriott sales and marketing director Tim Swan says will be the largest pillar-free resort ballroom in the US. The Cypress Ballroom will connect to the existing Palms Ballroom and provide 160,000 sf of open, carpeted space for tradeshows and special events, Swan says.
Marriott has invested $200 million in renovations and additions over the last 10 years at the 17-year-old, 250-acre property at 8701 World Center Drive in the center of metro Orlando's tourist corridor. Last year, Marriott renovated its 39,000-sf Crystal Ballroom and 110 suites.
The resort can currently accommodate 5,000 guests. When the renovations are completed, the entire complex may be able to handle up to 10,000 visitors at one time, according to Swan.
Based on GlobeSt.com research, area resorts offering sizable meeting and convention space, after Gaylord Palms and World Marriott, are Walt Disney World's Swan and Dolphin Hotels with a combined 329,000 sf; Disney's Coronado Springs Resort, 220,000 sf; Renaissance Orlando Resort, 185,000 sf; Caribe Royale Resort, 150,000 sf; Wyndham Orlando Resort, 119,000 sf; Rosen Centre, 106,000 sf; and Grande Lakes Orlando, 85,000 sf. Rosen Shingle Creek Resort expects to offer 250,000 sf of meeting space when it opens in south Orlando in 2006.
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