Amaury Piedra, Managing Director, Caribe Royale Orlando

In an interview with Invest:, Amaury Piedra, managing director of Caribe Royale Orlando, discussed the resort’s continued investment in meetings infrastructure, the evolution of guest booking behavior, and the importance of service and employee retention in hospitality. “Hospitality as an industry can do a better job educating people about the long-term career path available in hotels, restaurants and bars. These are real careers,” Piedra said.

How would you describe the past year for Caribe Royale Orlando in terms of operational performance, market positioning, and its continued evolution?

2025 was a mixed bag. Everything was going extremely well, and then when tariffs were rolled out, companies did not really know how to react. The first half of the year was better than the second half. By September and October, though, companies had adjusted and things started picking up again, especially with group bookings for 2026, 2027 and 2028.

From that perspective, things stabilized. Even on the consumer side, while leisure travel was not fully back, it also began to stabilize once people had a better grip on what was happening around the world. We entered 2026 on a very high note, and the year is set up to be much better than 2025.

What milestones or successes have had the biggest impact over the past year?

One of the biggest things is that we are always looking long term. We added 20,000 square feet of meeting space to our existing 240,000 square feet, bringing us to 260,000 square feet total. We were able to open the new Coral Ballroom in November of last year, and it has been in significant use this year.

We also continued renovating different parts of the hotel and completed work in several key areas. This year, we are renovating our villas, which are our two-bedroom, two-bath product, beginning in July. 

How does that investment fit into the broader repositioning of the resort?

Over the last four years, we have spent more than $160 million upgrading and expanding the property. We added Stadium Club, a Starbucks, additional meeting space, and we have really reimagined every aspect of the hotel.

Stadium Club in particular has been doing very well. It had the best two months in its history in January and February, and it is on track to have its best year since opening. That kind of momentum reinforces that the repositioning is working because it shows guests are responding to the new experiences we are creating.

How have booking patterns evolved for convention guests and leisure travelers?

The patterns are very different depending on the customer. Convention guests, because our groups tend to be on the larger side, are booking further out. Right now, we are seeing a lot of activity for 2027, 2028 and even 2029. Once you get into groups of 1,000 or 1,200 people, there are only a limited number of hotels in the United States that can handle that kind of demand.

We are also seeing that groups are more willing to do multiyear deals. If they are happy and had a good experience here, they are willing to book a couple of years out so they know where they are going to be and do not have to worry about finding alternate space.

On the leisure side, it is the opposite. Booking windows have continued to shrink. Where people might once have planned two or three months out, many are now making decisions two or three weeks out. A lot of that has to do with international travel. International travelers tend to plan further out, while domestic travelers have more flexibility to book on shorter notice. As international travel builds back up, I expect those booking patterns to lengthen again.

How have differentiated food and beverage experiences contributed to guest engagement and local demand?

There are really a couple of different customer types. For convention guests, they want something different. One of the top comments group attendees make is about the quality of the food and beverage. They do not want the standard banquet plate. They want something creative and memorable.

Our team has been able to create individualized experiences for groups almost as if we were operating a restaurant in a banquet setting. That matters because it helps elevate the meeting experience and makes the event more distinctive.

On the leisure side, guests also want fun. They want something interactive, not just a regular restaurant. That is where Stadium Club comes in. You can watch a game, use a simulator and have a great meal at the same time. It becomes an overall sensory experience rather than simply sitting down for dinner.

At the same time, service remains fundamental. Fifty years ago, service mattered, and 50 years from now, service will still matter. Making sure the customer feels welcomed in a genuine way is never going away, and that continues to show in our scores and online reviews.

What are the most pressing issues affecting operations today, and how are you navigating them?

Labor is always going to be a major issue, especially in entry-level hourly positions. The bigger issue is retention and making sure that when you have a good employee, you keep them.

That comes down to training, recognition, proper wages, benefits, and giving people opportunities for advancement. In 2025, we had more than 80 employee promotions, and that is a strong number because it shows people there is a path forward. If someone starts in one position, they can move up.

Hospitality as an industry can do a better job educating people about the long-term career path available in hotels, restaurants and bars. These are real careers. The more we invest in employees and help them see that trajectory, the better the outcome for everyone.

Retention is the key. If you have somebody good, you do not want to lose them. You have to get to know them, invest time in them, and understand what they want out of the job. Do they want it to be a job, or do they want it to be a career? Then you help them get there.

It takes effort to build that pipeline, but it matters. Our turnover rate is one of the lowest I have seen in my hotel career, and I think a lot of that comes from the culture and the fact that we truly try to invest in our people. Turnover also costs money, so it is almost always better to invest in the people you already have.

Looking ahead, what are the strategic priorities for Caribe Royale Orlando?

It is not just about the resort, but about Orlando as a whole. The county is talking about expanding the convention center by another 400,000 square feet. It is already one of the three largest convention centers in the United States, and that would strengthen Orlando’s position even further as it competes with cities like Las Vegas and Chicago.

For the resort specifically, it is about continuing to grow our group base and continuing to build our name in the meetings marketplace. We want to strengthen our reputation as one of the top convention hotels not only in Florida, but nationally. We compete against other major destinations, so we have to win the battle locally first and then nationally as well.

That comes back to execution. Every meeting planner or group that leaves here happy becomes a source of referral, and that kind of recommendation is more powerful than advertising. We recently had a group tell us they heard about us through a meeting planner forum online where people were discussing Caribe Royale Orlando and the service they received. That is exactly the kind of momentum we want to keep building.

We also have to continue innovating. You always have to be looking forward. We are reimagining Venetian Chop House this summer with a full facelift, and we are looking at adding a sushi restaurant. Those kinds of updates help keep the property fresh, create buzz, and give people new reasons to come back.