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Florida resorts still inclined to negotiate W/planners. (Resort Meetings/Florida).

Article Excerpt
Florida resorts have seen some stabilization in the corporate meetings market-- some even reported increases in occupancy--but there has been little movement toward stricter contractual terms for buyers, with sellers and buyers alike saying the resort properties remain very amenable to negotiations, particularly for short-term meetings.

Some of Florida's resort operators are reporting similar or better amounts of booked room nights and number of corporate meetings than one year ago, but without a commensurate increase in revenue per available room levels. Some factors behind this include a desire by some U.S. corporations to restrict meeting sites to domestic locales and a brutal winter in the Northeast, causing some buyers to yearn for Florida sunshine.

That's about as far as the good news goes for the resorts. Corporate meeting buyers still are able to negotiate favorable terms, and the word "resort" is still anathema to some corporations engulfed in layoffs, declining stock prices and weak corporate earnings reports.

"The smaller resorts are more conducive to negotiation because the larger properties are going after big annual conventions," said Margie LaBelle, president of Miami-based independent planning firm Meeting & Travel Consultants. "Clients want everything and are getting more demanding of properties,...

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