Corporate Travel Destinations

There is a lot of fraud going on these days in the world of contractor and freelancer business. Every day someone else gets cheated, sometimes for a lot of money.  Is it any wonder that businesses are nervous about hiring contractors to plan and book their incentive travel?

Perhaps an insurance instrument is the way to go for many incentive travel planners today. Especially if you are just starting out, it will be difficult to get people to trust you. Here are ways that insurance instruments can help you.

Bid Bonds

A bid bond is simply a document that holds you, the contractor, to an obligation to perform the work if you are the successful bidder. This is a popular instrument in the construction world, but it might also help the planner secure the confidence of a business owner who is a little nervous about hiring someone for big ticket travel. Continue reading »

In a world where discomfort is often the status quo, citizens of the world often resort to comfort zones to hide from it all. This sometimes gets reflected in our educational sessions–we try to remove any distractions so that the student can focus on the material at hand.

Yet how can one think “outside the box” if one is still inside it?

Removing the distractions of discomfort is a nice idea, but it goes against some theories of how we learn. Discomfort often comes with change in general, and learning is change as well. Discomfort and learning are at least second cousins if not first, and one often does not happen without the other thanks to their common friend, change. Continue reading »

When you think about the “Pacific Coast,” you are likely thinking of the seaboard of the western United States. Maybe even Hawaii makes it into your mental fray. However, if your client wants to book Pacific business travel you may be dealing any one of a host of other countries.

Asia

While Asia encompasses many different countries, a great deal of the business travel happens in China, Japan, India, Thailand, and a few other smaller countries (many of them Islands). These days Indonesia stands out as an Asian destination, as do several other of the beautiful islands in that area of the world. Continue reading »

Cities like Las Vegas and Atlantic City have recently been frowned upon for meeting destinations because someone, someone might have fun during the meeting.  However, there other destinations that might serve if your client wants a meeting in a casino town and wants to avoid the political stigma associated with it. Here are some Native American destinations to explore.

Ruidoso, New Mexico

Also the site of a fine race track (Ruidoso Downs), this little mountain town is tucked into one of the most scenic areas of New Mexico. With its own state-of-the-art conference center, it boasts everything from a local ski area to sports, art, culture, and–of course–gaming. What makes it special is the casino is housed in the beautiful Inn of the Mountain Gods, and is owned and operated by the Mescalero Apache tribe and not a hotel chain whose owners have more money than they can spend in a lifetime. Continue reading »

It’s amazing that something so small you can hardly pick it up on a microscope changed some of the destination trends earlier this year. When the swine flu made its appearance in Mexico the country took on the identity of the proverbial redheaded step-child, and people canceled trips, made other plans, and left Mexico alone to go to bed with an ice pack on its head and get better.

Well, get better it did. The problem is, people are still staying away. While this is bad for Mexico it can be good for you. Hotels, activities, and other incentives are cheaper and easier to book due to the vacancies. This makes you job easier if you can only sell the client on the idea that she won’t come home sick. Continue reading »

Often when one thinks of Europe cities like Paris, London and Frankfurt am Main come to mind. And why not? They are the quintessential destinations for European travel, and the hubs from which other destinations spin off. However, many people are content with those hub cities. Smaller towns and even rural destinations are sometimes not even considered, and the former eastern bloc countries are afterthoughts at best.

Why not consider the “smaller” destinations for your corporate travel destinations? Here are some favorites among world travelers. Continue reading »

When an international destination is required but there just is not enough time to plan for something truly exotic, Mexico is often one the favorites of planners near and far. Although the recent flu scare is over, however, property owners are still offering discounts wherever possible to entice travelers to this beautiful land. Above the current savings potential, here are some other reason to try Mexico for a corporate destination.

Convenience

Flights to Mexico are mostly non-stop, many, and short due to the close proximity of the country. For example, flights from New York City to Mexico City are around four and a half hours, and there are four international airports to choose from. Continue reading »

If you have recently been assigned the task of arranging a meeting in Europe and want to try something other than the usual places, try Croatia. From sailing on the Dalmatian Coast to concerts in the old cities, Croatia is everything you could possibly want in a unique corporate destination.

Every day Croatia thinks of new ways to bring tourism to its country, and this means for you that you can find new incentives to travel there. Hotel rates are reasonable and there are many direct flights from many European destinations. In many of the cities traditions are rich and tourism is popular for those who appreciate the arts, history, and architecture.

As a corporate destination, any organization will be pleased with Croatia’s meeting venues and accommodations. Zagreb’s Concert and Congress Hall Vatroslav Lisinski, recently renovated, contains two meeting halls and is flexible enough to accommodate many different kinds of events and meetings. It also has over 20,000 square feet of exhibit space, complete with snack bars and high tech amenities. Continue reading »

By the time your clients’ meeting participants sit themselves down on a plane, they have already been screened, asked questions and gotten suspicious looks by airport personnel (as all travelers do). They may have been rushed through a process designed to make them feel more secure, and maybe even had their belongings sifted through and shoved back into their bags willy nilly. At the gate they may have experienced more hold-ups, the flight might have been late, or may have experienced other delays and stresses. This is not your doing and not your problem, but you may be able to mitigate the effects.

Although participants will likely not associate those experiences with you, the meeting planner, they will remember you if you have provided a little comfort for them. To make the travel experience better for your clients’ members, consider making up travel packs to be delivered before the flight. Depending on the length of flight, include items that target a traveler’s basic needs–relaxation, rest, staying occupied, and a little energy. Here is a list of things to pick and choose from: Continue reading »

Here is a test for meeting planners: You have a client who wants it all. The meeting has to be centrally located for people coming from many areas of the United States, must be inexpensive and not in a gaming town for image purposes. Not only that, the facilities have to be high tech and offer good food as well. This is not an ordinary client, and you want to overdeliver.

Well, you can. You can also offer lower-cost transportation, an image overhaul for the meeting (adding a small image boost to the company), and beautiful accommodations for guests. You can do all this by convincing your client to hold the meeting in the American Midwest.

More than a bunch of grey, industrial cities, the Midwest offers better pricing on many aspects of your meeting than the more popular destinations in coastal cities, tropical areas, and game communities. Because it will appear that your client is offering a boon to a part of the country that is usually suffering some economic woe or another, it will improve the company image. Continue reading »