Mike - I named the downtown hotels in a previous post. Here it goes again though - Embassay Suites, Marriott, Radisson, etc.

"But it doesn't mitigate the <b>fact </b>that..."

Facts are facts. Opinions are opinions.

The things that you state as "facts" may or may not be "facts" for others. There can be six people sitting at the same table eating the same lunch and one will rave over the wonderful salad and another can complain that the salad looked like weeds from his yard. What's the fact here? That salad was served. Was it good? That's opinion. (real example here that I came to mind when I read the OP's description of her hotel and food). My guess is that Payton's Grandma would have loved the exact same hotel and food.

"I think there's a thread about dogs or ice cream over in the Fodors Lounge calling your name. Back to your usual haunts. "
That's the second one of those. Interesting way to deal with folks that don't agree that your "facts" are "facts" ;)

Mike, as I stated earlier, most meetings, and association meetings in particular are usually booked years ahead of time and believe me it is very polical in nature.

As far as downtown Orlando is concerned, you firstly have to have a single hotel (planners will only use multiple hotels as a very last measure) that has ample meeting space for your group.

So if your group is 150 people and you have three days off all day meetings, you also have to have enough meeting space for 150 people to have at least two meals in making your need for space for 300 people instead of the original 150. When I say meeting space for 150, it has to be classroom setup.

You just can't close down the restaurant in the hotel for this.

Are you following or am I confusing you (not being snarky at all).

While space for 300 doesn't sound like a lot, it hotel terms it is. That is about 10,000 feet of meeting space.

I can promise you that only The Loews hotel can accommodate more than 150 classroom. None of the others have the space.

Jill, of your list, only the Marriott downtown Orlando can handle more than 75 people for anything other than a standing room only cocktail party.

They simply do not have the meeting space.

I'm sure that Marriott stays booked up all season.

The Embassy Suites has enough space. The Sheraton downtown has over 20,000 square feet of meeting space. Crowne Plaza does too.

Good grief! I can't believe that this many people are complaining about attending meetings in Orlando! I truly don't get the extreme dislike of Orlando as a conference destination. Sure, there might be places with better public transportation and more cultural opportunities, but in my mind, if you're in meetings all day anyway, what difference does it really make? It would be nice to go to a museum or shopping, but most conferences I've been to have kept me busy until after closing time for all but your typical mall stores. Really good food would be nice, but as long as the food isn't horrible.....well, you're there for WORK, not for a vacation. If your company is saving money by having the conference in Orlando as opposed to New York or Chicago, well, that's probably a good thing, considering today's economy. Personally, I can take or leave Orlando, but I wouldn't spend time complaining if I were sent there on business....because it's business. However, if I do get sent there, it sounds like there are plenty of Orlando insiders on this board who could direct me to decent food, some entertainment or shopping, and possibly help me avoid the $80 cab rides to get there.....if I just remember to ask here before I go!

"Mike, as I stated earlier, most meetings, and association meetings in particular are usually booked years ahead of time..."

And some companies I work with have walked away from $6000 to $10,000 deposits on exhibit space because conference registrations have been so low in the last three years. It's cheaper to walk away and lose 10K than to go and spend more on the rest of the space and the costs to have employees attend to staff the space. One national organization opted to have TWO national meetings on opposite sides of the country in the same year, hoping for more local (drive) attendance. That didn't work either.

GoT knows what she is talking about. It's been her business for years.

bkluvsNola - you say it makes no sense whatsoever to go to Chicago for a conference in Feb. Well, I just did! I did not have 20 layers and I enjoyed myself... a lot more than I would have at an orlando destination,... but hey that is my opinion.....

Mickey is not my idea of fun! I enjoyed back in the day with my kids.... not now. If I were to stretch a business trip into a family vacation - well then I might consider Orlando.

My point is that it isn't always a black or white situation.

Maybe the ratio is 3:1 in disfavor of Orlando, but I suspect it to be 10:1 in disfavor of other locations in the dead of winter, except maybe Las Vegas or New Orleans.

In other words, it's a smart choice in February. There would be many more complaints about a conference elsewhere.

Perhaps it is the lesser of two or more evils?

Well, there appears to not BE a Sheraton Orlando Downtown (at least anymore). I wonder what it is now.

annesherrod,

That's your opinion, and you're entitled to it, as am I.

I seriously believe, though, that if you asked 100 people if they would rather go to Orlando or Chicago in February, 70+ of them would prefer Orlando. And meeting planners have to play the odds. I would be in that 70 number that prefers Orlando and you in that 30 number that prefers Chicago.

<<Always said it was an opinion, Starrs.>>

I dunno, this certainly sounds like it's trying to be a statement of fact:

<<It's not a favorite and, as many people have pointed out, it's not popular.>>

And you went on:

<<To continue to drag employees--or association members or customers--to places that people dread going to is not a good business decision and reflect poorly on those doing the event planning.>>

Do you really think that all of the businesses and trade associations and such choosing to go to Orlando are idiots? That they are doing this against the wishes of the majority of their participants/attendees?

""I seriously believe, though, that if you asked 100 people if they would rather go to Orlando or Chicago in February, 70+ of them would prefer Orlando. And meeting planners have to play the odds. I would be in that 70 number that prefers Orlando and you in that 30 number that prefers Chicago.""

Meeting planners don't care really what the attendees think of the location. What we care about is how many will get stuck in various airports throughout the country with February blizzards.

That is why you'll find more meetings March through early June with the exception of May than in February.

"I think there's a thread about dogs or ice cream over in the Fodors Lounge calling your name. Back to your usual haunts. :)"

Well, now you've really lost me. I thought the point of this thread was to discuss and offer suggestions and opinions. I didn't realize it was turn to nastiness when someone offers a differing opinion logically presented and supported.

(Even when one adds a happy face, the intention of being nasty is still vividly clear).

One more time on the transportation question. There are no actual cabs at the Disney Hotels, nor at the Ritz. There are vans owned by Mears Transportation. The fee is a flat $37. I tipped $3 and that made $40. There is an arrangement between Mears and the hotels to keep their cars on property. They have some way of keeping the metered cabs away. If you want a metered cab, you have to:
a. Know somehow (like from reading Fodor's!) that when you ask for a cab at the front door, you are not going to get an actual metered cab, but a Mears car with a flat fee; and
b. Ask the bell staff to call you a metered cab and wait 20-30 minutes while one arrives. The cabbie knows that they will not receive a return fare when they drop you off because the hotels won't let them wait.

In fact, if you look carefully, only black Mears cars are permitted at the Disney hotels, and only white Mears cars at the Ritz! I asked a Mears driver about this and he confirmed all of the above.

So it isn't just that I wasn't clever enough to figure out how much a cab would cost. It's that I wasn't clever enough to realize that these hotels REALLY want to keep you on the property and want to be paid (by you, indirectly) if you leave!

Unless you want to be stuck at the Disney properties or pay $80 roundtrip fares every time you leave, rent a car online before your trip, pick it up at the hotel and be prepared to pay $10/night additional for self-parking. And bring lots of dollar bills and quarters with you when you drive because you will stop numerous times to pay tolls.

What's an "actual cab"? Mears operates Yellow and Checker on property.

Yes, Disney's business plan (as probably with most resort properties) is to keep you on-property as much as possible. Why fight it?

Or, you could read my previous post about downtown Orlando and not take any cabs and avoid all toll costs.

<i>Or, you could read my previous post about downtown Orlando and not take any cabs and avoid all toll costs.</i>

Except, as pointed out by a meeting planning expert, there is almost nowhere in Downtown Orlando that hosts meetings. So to get to Downtown Orlando, it's a $40 cab ride in Orlando traffic.

If you keep reading, I posted places that do provide the space.