Corporate Travel Destinations

The swine flu, more correctly called H1N1, has hit the travel industry hard. There doesn’t appear to be any destination that hasn’t reported some cases of H1N1. Predictions of a widespread resurgence of the flu inspired many economically wealthy countries to donate 10% of their stockpile of H1N1 to poorer countries. People in these countries will suffer the most in the event of another outbreak of this strain of influenza.

The CDC (Center for Disease Control) now encourages tourists to resume their travel plans, taking a few common sense precautions. Include a basic medical kit in your luggage and get the normal seasonal flu shot as well the H1N1 vaccine if you are in a high-risk group. Increase your travel insurance if you’re going overseas. Check the policy over carefully, making sure that you have coverage against pandemic diseases.

Your best defense is common sense. Wash your hands frequently with soap and water, especially during flu season and don’t overuse bacterial disinfectants. They are useless against viruses.

Travel plans can change dramatically if H1N1 rears its ugly head. Last year cruise lines were not obligated to grant refunds when itineraries changed and most airlines have no written refund guarantees in the event of another outbreak.

Business Events Sydney’s video showcases Sydney Australia as the perfect business destination. Sydney is an world class destination to consider if you are organizing a conference, corporate event or incentive.

Take a look at what Sydney offers:

If you’d like to include places of historical interest plus fun on the water to your next event, consider Virginia. There are endless possibilities for planning a unique experience for your guest and some attractive incentives that add to the scenic backdrops of this great state.

Virginia Beach is famous for sand and sun; a new convention center has drawn the eye of many meeting planners to this area. Ocean front hotels provide calming views and allow visitors to let off a little steam playing in the surf between meetings. The area is home to some fine microbreweries for beer connoisseurs and chocolate tastings at Schakolad Chocolate Factory for anyone with a sweet tooth.

If you are interested in adding a memorable culinary experience to your next meeting, consider Norfolk. There are more than 80 chef owned restaurants in Norfolk and many of them proudly show off Virginia wines, produce, and beef. It is possible to book events to coincide with the wine festivals held in the spring and fall.

Water can sooth overworked spirits. If your clients enjoy the outdoors and want to get away from it all, there are a multitude of boating and fishing options available in Suffolk. Reach out to Virginia for your next destination and you won’t be disappointed.

Texas: it’s not just about big hats, boots, and spurs that jingle jangle jingle. The Lone Star State has much more to offer travelers than its stereotype.

Austin is famous for its live music venues, especially the seven blocks known as 6th Street. Visitors can choose to enjoy almost any kind of music ranging from jazz to blues to progressive to heavy metal and of course, to country. The historic district proudly displays buildings going back to the 1800s and now host great bars, superb restaurants, art galleries, and quaint cafes. There’s a little bit of something for everyone in Austin.

San Antonio is renowned for her River Walk, a network of walking paths on the bank of the San Antonio River. Guests can take a cruise, walk the cobblestone shopping areas, or visit the Alamo as well as enjoy the multicultural arts center of the city. There are a wide variety of meeting centers ranging in size from the large Henry B. Gonzalez convention center to more intimate spaces available at four diamond hotels in the historic center of the city.

Austin and San Antonio are just two of the great cities to think about when planning your next event. Texas can meet any range of travel palate from the sophisticated to the outrageous; and it’s true events are bigger and better in Texas.

Corporate meeting planners are often called upon to book travel destinations in far away places with romantic sounding names. It’s easy to forget all the wonderful places in the United States that are more affordable and every bit as exciting as an island paradise. California has some excellent travel locations that allow you to book meetings in luxurious yet affordable destinations.

Have you considered adding a wine tasting agenda to your next corporate meeting? Monterey County has some excellent vineyards and many add special venues upon request. What about holding your meeting aboard the Queen Mary? The retired ocean liner is permanently docked in the Long Beach area.

The recently renovated convention center in Long Beach is located downtown and is within walking distance to the Aquarium of the Pacific, great restaurants, and famous shopping districts like Shoreline Village and The Pike at Rainbow Harbor.

California in the winter months can be a welcome relief from the snow and frigid weather other parts of the U.S. experience. Your team can relax and be kids again at one of the many amusement parks or enjoy the unparalleled pampering of exclusive spas.

This state runs the gamut of family fun to sophisticated entertainment. Surprise your team by rediscovering the wonders of America.

Standing tall in the Las Vegas skyline, the Wynn Las Vegas Resort and Casino provides luxury and decadence to those folk who call Las Vegas their home away from home.  If you are considering a business meeting or event in Las Vegas, the Wynn Las Vegas is sure to please.

Salon Suite

Recognized as the only casino resort in the world to be awarded the Mobile Five-Star and AAA (American Automobile Association) Five Diamond awards, the Wynn Las Vegas prides itself on providing an exceptional guest experience. With 50 stories and 2,716 rooms, luxury and intimacy flourish around every corner. Guests can choose to stay in a resort room amid the hustle and bustle of hotel activity or sneak away for a more private stay in the Tower Suites. Guests can bath their stresses away in one of the many treatment rooms at The Salon or relax in a heated pool set amid beautiful gardens. For a more active approach, the fitness center boasts state-of-the-art equipment or an 18-hole, 7,042 yard, par-70 golf course awaits your tee time.

No detail was spared and no taste forgotten when time came to create the world-class dining menus found in the Wynn Las Vegas. With nine fine-dining establishments, six casual restaurants, and six lounge bars to choose from, guests are sure to find a palate they will enjoy. This collection boasts not only menus created by world-class chefs but food prepared by them as well. Alex boasts French cuisines brought to life by Chef Alessandro Stratta. Wing Lei provides guests with a masterful blend of Cantonese, Shangahi and Szechwan cooking styles. Named for Steve Wynn himself, SW Steakhouse offers refined steakhouse favorites overlooking the Lake of Dreams. Also alongside the Lake of Dreams is Daniel Boulud, bringing guests exemplary French cuisine. If Italian is more to your liking, Bartolotta celebrates traditional Italian cuisine by offering fresh seafood flown in from the Mediterranean waters daily. Okada boasts Japanese dining where guests are surrounded by waterfalls, lush gardens and a koi pond while the Country Club offers a sophisticated twist to classic all-American fare with beautiful views of the golf course.

Blush - Wynn Las Vegas

Entertainment abounds throughout the hotel and casino with two nightclubs and one magnificent show to choose from. Tryst is a chic 12,000 square foot nightclub with a hopping dance floor. If the great music and intimate space doesn’t thrill you, perhaps the 90-foot waterfall that cascades into a secluded lagoon will. For a more intimate setting, try Blush, Wynn’s newest boutique nightclub. Le Reve, Wynn Las Vegas’ signature show, offers spectacular performances featuring aerial acrobatics, provocative choreography and artist athleticism in an intimate theater in-the-round. When the sun goes down, the Lake of Dreams comes to life, stunning audiences with light displays, puppetry, film, pulsating music and sculpture. The lake itself is secluded by a 140-foot mountain, making for an intimate evening performance.

Wynn Esplanade Shops

Not only can you shop till you drop at the Wynn Las Vegas, but the Wynn Esplanade features some of the only U.S. boutiques outside of Manhattan. With 75,000 square feet of retail space, the repertoire includes brands such as Manolo Blahnik, Rolex, Cartier, Dior, Louis Vuitton, and Oscar de la Renta among others. If you are looking for something a tad bit more exclusive, then consider the 10,000 square foot Penske/Wynn Ferrari – Maserati dealership. This showroom is situated right off the main casino floor and offers new and pre-owned vehicles for sale, full factory-authorized parts and repairs and complete detail services. For those who want to look the part, the Ferrari Store features a collection of merchandise including active-wear, collectibles and memorabilia.

Of course, everything can’t be fun. If you are looking to book your next meeting or event in Las Vegas, the Wynn Las Vegas offers an experienced staff, comfortable facilities, and sophisticated technologies to ensure your expectations are met. Led by Chef James Benson, our culinary team is dedicated to providing you with a dining experience that is both delicious and memorable. Our meeting concierge service offers on-site support to all meeting clients ensuing meetings and events are run as smooth as possible. For added convenience, the Business Services Center provides equipment rental, office supplies, freight services, and mini-suites for guests that include a computer, Internet access, printers, and speaker phones for conference calls.

If you have ever had a client hire you for teambuilding travel plans, you know what a challenge that can be. The teambuilding session has become the subject of a lot of humor lately, and your client will expect you to find something better. Rather than have the result look like a master scene from a bad comedy, consider one of these solutions.

Paintball

While there are lots of survivalist types of teambuilding opportunities for you to present, have you ever thought about a day at the paintball course? Many businesses have sent their teams to paintball camps to get them active and working. Performing together as a problem-solving team promotes thinking in many different ways–and, it’s just plain fun.

White Water Rafting

This is already a favorite destination for teambuilding exercises, so see what the hubbub is all about if you have not yet done so. A handful of people depending on each other to get to the end of the river in one piece is a teambuilder on many levels. Continue reading »

Corporate travel rewards can often be difficult to book. Trying to find out what an employee, retail partner, or prized client wants can be an exercise in futility. It’s often hard to get an answer if you ask, and if it’s supposed to be a surprise it’s just a guess anyway on the part of the Big Boss.

One destination that has a high rate of success and approval is the tropical island. Although it is generally a popular destination, the idea of the private island is sometimes forgotten. Anyone who wants to give the gift of relaxation, beautiful scenery, and peace should consider the private island as a destination.

Private does not necessarily mean free of options. It doesn’t mean your client will be marooned until she decides she is no longer stressed and can come home. It means that there are choices. She can stay in bed for the whole trip if she wants, lie on the beach and read, but there is sometimes golf, tennis, equestrian activities, and much more a short distance away. But on a private island it means you don’t even have to be aware of them.

These amazing destinations can also be romantic. If your client knows that the traveler has an anniversary coming up, you can book a honeymoon island. You can find special dinners for couples, and even activities just for the two of them.

So before you throw your hands in the air in despair over a difficult plan, find out if there is space on an island somewhere. You have a good chance of being successful.

There is still a lot of caution with corporate travel, even though some are seeing signs that the recession is letting up. What is likely happening is an overflow of the emotional aspects of the bailouts and subsequent regulations surrounding meetings with those companies. It would behoove everyone to remember that it is largely emotional, and logic says that canceling travel is not a good idea.

For those who disagree and think corporate travel is wasteful, let’s see if you can answer this question truthfully: would you run your company on emotion or logic? If you said logic, good for you. So the next question for you is do you want your employees to know they are valued when they are productive? Or do you want them to think that all the productive employees before them were appreciated and they are not?

If your client has always provided corporate travel, especially for incentives, and he cancels the program, he may lose more than he bargained for. If you have a client who cancelled attendance at meetings, she may be telling her people that their education really isn’t important after all, and they may wonder why it was before.

Of course there are other concerns to canceling travel, but the most important ones regard people who deserve the trip. It all depends on the message your client wants to send, and the doubt that he or she wants to cast among the workers.

One of the first casualties of the global recession was travel, especially in the corporate world. The answer to that is finally coming in–not only are most countries and properties clamoring to offer the best deals around, countries that were never considered serious destinations are becoming contenders in the world travel business.

While many groups might continue sending their conferences and meetings to Europe or larger Asian countries, some are looking at Myanmar, Vietnam, the Philippines, and other smaller destinations. Some of these destinations are just starting out in the world market for travel, and are offering the best they can give–including prices–to attract meetings. Continue reading »