ORLANDO, Fla. — Universal Orlando is opening its fifth hotel aimed at attracting more convention bookings.
A local newspaper reports that tropical-themed Sapphire Falls Resort will open Thursday with 1,000 rooms and 115,000 square feet of space for meetings and events, along with a covered walkway to another hotel's conference area.
Reports said that Universal now advertises almost 300,000 square feet of meeting space throughout its Orlando hotels.
The average convention guest spends up to four times as much as the average leisure tourist, according to Abraham Pizam, dean of the University of Central Florida's Rosen College of Hospitality Management.
Orange County Convention Center executive director Kathie Canning said the county's 2 million-square-foot convention facility expects to add Sapphire Falls to the list of hotels with which it works to book rooms for larger events.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Previous video report: Universal Orlando announces new Sapphire Falls Resort
Cox Media Group
