Sonesta International Hotels has launched a meetings portfolio of 25 hotels offering a combined 500,000 square feet of event space across major U.S. and Canadian markets, aimed squarely at the mid-size, multi-city meetings segment the company calls underserved.

The Sonesta F1RST Meetings Collection spans two brands — The Royal Sonesta and Sonesta Hotels & Resorts — in city centers, resort destinations and convention markets including Chicago, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., and Toronto. Individual properties carry between four and 26 meeting rooms each, with total event space of 10,000 to 65,000 square feet per hotel. Guest-room capacity across the collection runs from 200 to 500 rooms per property.

What does the collection offer planners?

Sonesta is positioning the program around five attributes — Flexible, Innovative, Reliable, Swift and Transparent — and bundling concrete economics into the pitch:

• Thoughtfully designed concession packages aligned with planner priorities
• 500,000 square feet of combined event space across the network
• Sonesta Travel Pass Planner Perks earning 2 points for every dollar spent

The loyalty mechanic ties meetings spend into Sonesta's existing Travel Pass program, which the company describes as award-winning and built around rate benefits, immediate points toward free nights and accelerated status progression.

Who runs the program?

Jim Mooney, Vice President of Sales – Managed Portfolio at Sonesta, framed the launch as a coordination play: "We're pleased to launch the Sonesta F1RST™ Meetings Collection across key cities in the U.S. and Canada. This new program is designed to help planners elevate the meeting experience with Sonesta's high-touch support, seamless execution, and specially designed packages for all types of meetings and events."

He added that Sonesta acts as one coordinated partner across the properties within the collection, simplifying planning and appealing to events of all types. A dedicated team of meeting and event professionals provides relationship-driven service, with an emphasis on high-touch support, fast decisions and tailored solutions.

Why target the middle market?

Sonesta's stated advantages over large-chain competitors center on structure rather than taste or design: a consistent experience across multiple locations, flexible solutions for mid-size and multi-city programs, personalized service without large-chain complexity, value through incentives and efficiencies, and reduced planning risk for repeat events.

The multi-city coordination argument matters for the segment Sonesta is chasing. Planners running programs across several markets typically negotiate property by property; Sonesta is betting that a single coordinated partner across 25 curated hotels shortens decision cycles and cuts execution risk for recurring events.

How big is Sonesta's platform?

The collection sits on a substantial base. Sonesta ranks as the 8th largest hotel company in the U.S. according to Smith Travel Research (STR), with approximately 1,100 properties totaling 100,000 guest rooms across 13 brands in nine countries. The portfolio spans owned, managed and franchised properties under brands including The Royal Sonesta, The James, Classico Collection by Sonesta, Sonesta Hotels, Resorts & Cruises, MOD Collection by Sonesta, Sonesta Select, Sonesta Essential, Sonesta ES Suites, Sonesta Simply Suites, Red Lion Hotels, Inns & Suites by Sonesta, Signature Inn by Sonesta, Americas Best Value Inn by Sonesta and Canadas Best Value Inn by Sonesta.

With the F1RST Meetings Collection now live in key North American markets, Sonesta has a vehicle to court mid-size corporate programs that increasingly demand multi-city execution — and planner loyalty points on every dollar spent give it a measurable hook against larger competitors.