The location is already booking decade-long contracts. The
Air Force Association recently booked its Air and Space Conference and
Technology Expo—which drew more than 9,000 attendees in 2006, including
officials from the U.S.
government, the Department of Defense, and the aerospace industry—from 2009 through 2018. And according to this Washington Post story, the property has stolen three big-revenue events (two military shows and a computer software meeting) from the Marriott Wardman Park, totaling a loss of $6 million a year for the D.C. property.
The hotel’s Prince George’s exhibit hall will be the size
of three football fields and can be broken into five
35,000-square-foot sections for smaller events. Two ballrooms will be on-site: one is 50,000 square feet and has an outdoor balcony, the second is
30,000 square feet with an outdoor garden. The space will have 74 breakout meeting rooms.
Nashville-based hospitality company Gaylord Entertainment—known for supersize lush resorts in Nashville, Dallas, and Orlando—is heading up the project. Plans for Gaylord National (the company’s fourth property) include a towering glass atrium, a waterfront promenade, and a full-service marina, in addition to a 20,000-square-foot spa and five on-site restaurants and bars. To top it off, there will be a nightclub at the peak of the hotel tower. Located 15 minutes from Reagan National Airport and 10 miles from downtown Washington, the complex is slated to open in April 2008.
