NAVC and the Marriott Celebrate 25 Years Together

NAVC Conference 2011 marks the 25th year of close collaboration between the Orlando World Center Marriott Hotel and the Conference. The Marriott has long provided the support that the Conference has required in its growth and expansion, which has helped the Conference to thrive.

To celebrate the historic occasion, all Conference participants are invited to a party in the Marriott Exhibit Hall at 5:30 on Sunday evening, the opening day of the Exhibits.

After a few years at other hotels whose capacity did not match NAVC needs, the Conference moved to the brand new Orlando World Center Marriott in 1987. To accommodate the burgeoning registration at the conference and need for space, the Marriott added the 72,000-square-foot Palms Ballroom in 1991. When exhibit hall growth prompted moving NAVC Convention headquarter to the Gaylord Palms Hotel in 2003 and space was still not adequate, the Marriott responded by adding the 105,000-square-foot Cypress Ballroom, the largest pillar-free ballroom in the United States, to accommodate NAVC's waiting-list exhibitors. The Marriott is one of two headquarters sites of the NAVC Conference in 2011, housing the complete scientific program offerings for practice managers and technicians as well as all exotic animal sessions and half the small animal sessions; the other half is hosted at the Gaylord Palms. At its Exhibit Hall, the Marriott offers Bayer Central Park, the traditional place for rest, recuperation, and fun for everyone in the family during busy conference schedules, and 150 exhibits, topping off the exhibit extravaganza at the Gaylord.

NAVC Executive Director Colin F. Burrows, BVetMed, PhD, HonFRCVS, DACVIM, said of the relationship with the Marriott, "As the Orlando World Center Marriott's first and most long-standing customer, we have grown and thrived together. We thank them for their service as we established ourselves as a leader in veterinary continuing education, and we look forward to many successful years of continued collaboration."