156 Business View Magazine - October 2016
Canning:
“We do not because the hotel inventory is so
strong that the hotels get most of that business, so we
really go after the convention/trade show market as
our primary objective.”
BVM: Are you competing with other centers of simi-
lar size, or other cities or locations for business?
Canning:
“Well, it’s a very competitive business. We
compete a lot with Chicago and Las Vegas, but we also
compete with cities like San Antonio and Houston. It
really depends on the event and what they’re looking
for. We do well because we have the facility, the ho-
tels; the customer service is very, very strong in Or-
lando, and at the Convention Center. We provide what
a meeting planner is looking for.”
BVM: You mentioned that the Center has added
more space to its footprint. Are there any further
plans that might impact the way you do things – ex-
pansions, upgrades, new facilities?
Canning:
“Over the past five years, when we came
out of the last economic downturn, we saw that we
needed to invest some significant dollars into renovat-
ing, replacing, and upgrading the infrastructure; a lot
of the air conditioning systems, the fire alarm systems,
and even the soft goods, themselves, needed some
work. We are owned and operated by Orange County
Government and the Board of County Commissioners
