Plan Your Meetings

Watch for:

• The $76-million Ocean Center expansion, to be complete by fall/winter 2008, is adding 100,000 square feet of exhibit space and 30,000 square feet of new meeting space, bringing Daytona Beach to second-tier convention market status.
• The Daytona Beach Resort & Conference Center completed a $30 million renovation in February 2008.
• Daytona Live!, scheduled to open in 2010, will be a $250 million multi-use development located across from Daytona International speedway. Amenities will include 200,000 square feet of retail, dining and entertainment space as well as a 2,500-seat multi-screen movie theater and a 160-room hotel.

Want group dining?

Azure, at the Shores Resort & Spa, is Daytona Beach’s only AAA Four-Diamond restaurant; outdoor dining on an elevated oceanfront terrace is available. Martini’s Chophouse is an elegant steakhouse with a private, indoor dining room (capacity: 35)and an outdoor garden lounge area with waterfalls and a tiki bar (capacity: 250).Another hotel restaurant is Doc Bales’ Grill, serving three meals a day; groups can dine outdoors on a private oceanfront patio. Stonewood Grill and Tavern and Hyde Park are upscale steak houses with private dining rooms. The Chart House is a steak and seafood restaurant with panoramic views of the Intracoastal Waterway. Rain Supperclub is a chic gourmet Asian-fusion restaurant.

Want to meet green?

Designated Florida Green Lodging hotels include the Plaza Resort & Spa and the Shores Resort & Spa. Meeting amenities at the Plaza include 323 guest rooms, 32,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space, a full-service spa, oceanview ballrooms and golf packages. Amenities at the Shores includes 212 guest rooms, oceanfront boardrooms, cloud-level meeting facilities and more than 20,000 square feet of indoor and outdoor space.

Want to make the most of the beach?

Daytona Beach is known as the “birthplace of speed” because the first automobile races were held along its beaches. Oceanfront Park has a pedestrian-only beach, but there are other designated areas where planners can arrange dune buggy races; let the convention and visitors bureau help you acquire the proper permits. If you’re looking for unusual team-building, Surfari Surf School and the Daytona Beach Surfing School offer group surfing lessons on the beach. Take attendees on a scenic manatee cruise, charter a sailboat or teach attendees how to fish; kayak and canoe tours are other options.

Want unusual venues?

In Ocean Walk Village, the multi-plex movie theater has screens available for private meetings, seminars and screenings. The Daytona Lagoon Waterpark & Family Entertainment Center has a private conference room, and areas for corporate challenges and company picnics. Meeting rooms and charter boats for meetings, seminars and special events are available at the Inlet Harbor Marina and the Sunset Harbor Yacht Club.

Want to surround your group with culture?

The Museum of Arts & Sciences has a 2,000-sq. ft. banquet hall, a 266-seat theater, 86,000 square feet of gallery space and outdoor venues in a 90-acre nature preserve. The News-Journal Center is a $29 million cultural center with two theaters, rehearsal rooms, a catering kitchen, and several banquet and reception areas. The Southeast Museum of Photography on the Daytona Beach College campus has 9,000 square feet of gallery space, classroom and office space, a theater-style lecture hall, an atrium, banquet space, a screening room and a research library.

Want to rev things up?

The Daytona International Speedway has reception and banquet space at its Daytona 500 Club and Daytona USA attractions. Groups also can create tented corporate villages and rooftop parties, or reserve skyboxes for special events and race days, or team-build on the racetrack with the Richard Petty Driving Experience. Planners can arrange motorcycle tours of the area through Destination Daytona, a 150-acre motorcycle-themed facility with accommodations, retail, restaurants, and meeting and convention space in its 35,000-sq. ft. Coca-Cola Pavilion.

Want to shake up a meal function?

Teauila’s Hawaii Dinner Theater presents Polynesian food and shows featuring hula and flame dancers; the dancers also give hula lessons to audience members. Host a garden tea party, dinner or reception at the historic Tavern & Chapel. Attendees can customize and make their own pancakes tableside at the Old Spanish Sugar Mill Grill and Griddle House at DeLeon Springs State Park.

Want golf?

Golf Daytona Beach can arrange golf tournaments and group packages. Daytona is the official home of the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) International; banquet space, golf instruction, tournaments and accommodations are available on-site.

Want to meet in a place with history?

The Casements in Ormond Beach formerly was the home of John D. Rockefeller; now the historic home operates as a museum, park and cultural center. The Daytona Beach Bandshell and Oceanfront Park Complex was built in 1937 and accommodates groups of up to 5,000 people; it is nestled between the beach and Ocean Walk Village, and is across the street from the convention center.