Updates from past Catalyst Award winners
While walking the aisles of IMEX America 2024 at Mandalay Bay Convention Center this month, we caught sight of a number of Smart Meetings Catalyst Award winners. We asked these leaders, who’ve also been featured on Smart Meetings covers, to catch us up on what is happening in their lives and how they are supporting meeting professionals.
Lisa Messina
Since Messina was named a 2022 Fusion Catalyst Award Winner, she has moved from her role as Chief Sales Officer with Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority to the same role at Visit Orlando.
She shared that Orange County Convention Center (OCCC) recently announced it generates approximately $3.9 billion—including direct, indirect and induced impacts—annually in economic impact for the Central Florida economy, according to a new study by PFM Group Consulting. OCCC has averaged nearly 200 events in recent years, attracting an estimated 1.5 million attendees to the market on an annual basis.
The center also continues to move forward with enhancements to the North-South Building which will include an additional 60,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and an 80,000-square-foot ballroom, along with a new entry to the North-South Building along Convention Way.
Also on the horizon for the coming year in The City Beautiful:
- The debut of Universal Epic Universe, including The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, Super Nintendo World, How to Train Your Dragon—Isle of Berk and Dark Universe.
- Disney Experiences expansion and Disney Meetings & Events Creative Studio at Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World Resort.
- SeaWorld Orlando unveiling of the world’s first-of-its-kind Arctic flying theater.
- Evermore Orlando Resort, a new beach-like property with a 20-acre sandy beach centered around the eight-acre crystalline Evermore Bay, will be hosting Smart Meetings Experience at newly opened Conrad Orlando. The luxury property is an example of Hilton’s expansion and renovation of Waldorf Astoria Orlando and Signia by Hilton Orlando Bonnett Creek.
- After a $25 million renovation, B Resort & Spa in Disney Springs shopping and entertainment complex has rebranded as Renaissance Orlando Resort & Spa.
- As part of a $140 million reimagining, Caribe Royale Orlando debuted, Stadium Club, a confluence of high-tech sports bars, nightclubs and chef-driven restaurants that will appeal to NextGen audiences.
Mike Massari
When we talked to Caesars Entertainment Chief Sales Officer Mike Massari for our cover story in 2018, he was preparing to welcome the 550,000-square-foot Caesars Forum conference center to Vegas. We all know what happened to the meetings industry that year, but even during the breather, Caesars went on to host the industry’s major conventions, MPI World Education Congress 2021 and PCMA Convening Leaders 2021, in addition to ConferenceDirect, HelmsBriscoe and Experion. The sustainable, tech-forward building has been a hive of activity and has been tapped to host:
- OpenText World 2024 AI conference
- ISS Inside Self-Storage World Expo 2025
- HPN Global 2025
- National Association of Managed Care Physicians Fall Managed Care Forum 2025.
Learn More: Lessons from Leaders with Mike Massari
When asked how Caesars impacts attendees and communities where they operate, which was the theme for IMEX America 2024, Massari was circumspect. “It’s about being good stewards of the environment. It’s about wellness incorporated into meetings and events so that attendees can really have a well-rounded, full experience when they’re there. We lean into those things because our customers have these as values and they want to work with partners that have those as values as well.”
Dan Surette
When we got to know Omni Hotels & Resorts Chief Sales Officer Dan Surette better in 2023, the company had just cut the ribbon on 500-guest-room Omni PGA Frisco Resort in Texas with 127,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and two 18-hole championship golf courses.
“PGA has been amazing,” he said. “It’s got some really unique features, including the Dance Floor, a two-acre putting green, and The Swint, a short course that’s quick and easy. Both work well for groups that don’t want to play the two championship courses. It’s part of the entertainment district with an icehouse, barbecue and retail.”
Read More: New Golf -adjacent Venues Emerge
Now the excitement is around Omni Fort Lauderdale Hotel, a new 801-guest-room hotel with 120,000 sq. ft. of meeting space and ocean views set to open with a connection to expanded Broward County Convention Center in Fall 2025. “This expansion puts Broward County on the map for larger convention programs,” said Surette. This project will mark the first time Omni has been in Southern Florida in 25 years. Like all Omni properties, it will feature only-in-Lauderdale touches that lend a sense of place to the stay. In fact, 20% of the brand’s 50 hotels from Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, California, to Omni Parker House in Boston have been updated this year as part of a $1.5 billion investment to ensure an elevated identity. That was paired with an investment in training new and rehired staff post-Covid as part of a Power of Engagement initiative.
Surette stressed that one of the core pillars of Omni is local market leadership. The company partnered with Feeding America in 2016, donating a meal for every stay. That has added up to 27 million meals in eight years. The company also facilitates opportunities for groups and their attendees to support.
When Hurricane Helene hit Ashville, North Carolina, Omni Circle Plan made it easy for associates to donate $15,000 to help victims in and around The Omni Grove Park Inn.
