It’s been a pretty good year for Marty Belz, the president and CEO of Peabody Hotel Group. On Saturday, Dec. 11, the Peabody Orlando hosted the Central Florida Hotel & Lodging Association annual gala while celebrating its grand reopening after a $450-million expansion.
Approximately 1,500 people were in attendance as Belz was honored with the 2010 CFH&LA Charles Andrews Memorial Hospitality Award for his contributions to the industry and community.
The massive expansion that saw the addition of a 750-room tower, 150,000 square feet of meeting space and a top-to-bottom renovation of the existing property was completed in September, two and a half years after it began.
The Peabody Orlando now features 1,641 guestrooms and 300,000 square feet of meeting space and is the largest non-gaming hotel to earn Forbes' four-star rating. The added space has allowed Belz and his property to compete on a national level for group business, which brings in approximately 90 percent of the hotel’s revenue.
Despite the property’s success, in addition to the other two Peabody properties in Memphis and Little Rock, AR, Belz and his company have not forgotten the local community. Peabody will celebrate its 25th year this spring as a sponsor for Give Kids The World, an Orlando foundation providing terminally ill children with a 70-acre village filled with fun and entertainment. Belz says Peabody has raised more than $10 million for the charity over the years.
To read the full interview with Marty Belz, please click here.
