NJ-THE MEETING PLACE

New Jersey Business, Dec 01, 2003 by Prior, James T

The 200-room Hilton Woodbridge has large meeting rooms of 3,750 square feet and 2,695 square feet.

The 408-room Hilton Philadelphia/Cherry Hill offers 40,000 square feet of meeting space, including two newly renovated ballrooms. It has 20 meeting rooms, the largest of which is 11,334 square feet. There is an on-site Business Center and complete audiovisual services.

The Hilton Garden Inn at Edison/Raritan Center has flexible meeting space for up to 300 people, state-of-the-art sound systems, conference desks with ergonomic desk chairs, in-house catering and a meeting staff. It has a complimentary 24-hour Business Center.

There are three Hyatt Regency Hotels in the state that cater to the business meeting sector of the industry - Princeton, Jersey City and New Brunswick.

The 4-story, 348-room Hyatt Regency Princeton, on the Carnegie Center campus, has been sprucing up its property without inconveniencing its clientele. Kelly Blice, director of sales, says that in 2003, the hotel improved its pool area, health facilities and parking facilities. In 2004, it will be redoing all of its guestrooms and improving the meeting space.

She says that the war in Iraq and the economic doldrums have put a crimp in 2003 bookings, but that reservations for 2004 are picking up. "Companies are beginning to make commitments," she says. "Companies are looking at all the options and are scrutinizing meeting requirements and costs. They have to justify expenditures."

The hotel is essentially two wings connected by a sky-lit atrium designed with a lush garden with brick paths and landscaped terraces. On the ground level is a massive 9,306 square-foot ballroom. It has 12 large conference rooms and two executive boardrooms. In all, the Hyatt Regency Princeton has some 20,000 square feet of meeting space. Twenty meeting rooms offer individual or master controls for multiple electrical microphone outlets, special lighting effects, as well as for heat and air conditioning, sound and telephones. On the Gallery Level, down a flight, are seven meeting rooms, which have also been refurbished.

Blice says a hotel meeting concierge acts as a proactive expert specifically trained to anticipate unexpected situations that may occur at meetings.

The Hyatt Regency Jersey City, which opened last year, sits on the south pier of Harborside Financial Center, jutting out into the Hudson River - with marvelous views of the New York City skyline. it has 350 guestrooms and 16 suites with high-speed Internet access. The nine-story hotel has more than 20,000 square feet of flexible meeting space, including the 5,000 square-foot Manhattan Ballroom with panoramic views and the 8,000 square-foot Hudson Ballroom. The 6,000 square feet of additional meeting space also includes a 600 square-foot Riverview Boardroom.

Michael Newman, director of sales at the Hyatt Regency Jersey City, says business group meetings account for 50 percent of the revenue, on both the lodging and the food and beverage sides of the business. "Meetings tend to be short-term, about two or three nights, and the booking times are more like three weeks than three months," he explains. "Meeting planners are driving hard bargains and they are capitalizing on the down economy. This business is all about relationship building. So, we make sure they're happy. Social events, particularly weddings, are booked out a year in advance. The PATH Station, right next to our hotel, is just now opening, so that should further improve our business."