Corporate Travel Destinations

Modern meetings at sea are a potentially high tech affair full of alternative meeting formats and interesting ideas. Furthermore, there are many concerns that people have that are no longer serious issues when planning meetings at sea, such as:

• Price – Some people associate meetings at sea with high prices but nothing could be further from the truth. The fact of the matter is that meetings at sea are incredibly affordable by nearly any standard one chooses to use considering the all-inclusive nature of most tickets. Negligible expenses for entertainment and food are just part of the package!
• Motion sickness – Today’s cruise liners are positively enormous and are very steady in all but the most dangerous of waters. While one can never predict Mother Nature, science has severely reduced the odds of a massive ocean liner winding up in unfriendly seas. Furthermore, most ships have their own mini-hospitals will full staffs on hand for anything from motion sickness to an unexpected delivery!
• Lack of choice – A few decades ago cruise liners were half the size that they are today, and that meant a limitation on meal selections and other options. Modern cruise ships have multiple restaurants, bars, and even dance clubs contained within their massive hulls to give patrons a variety of dining, shopping, leisure, exercise, and even meeting options!

More and more businesses are tightening their budgets, but that leaves an opening for businesses willing to offer inventive travel to their staff, partners, suppliers, customers, and/or political contacts. Here’s what you really need to know when you start planning your incentive travel options:

• As the competition retreats into walls of financial security, you get the opportunity to step up your relations with workers, vendors, suppliers, and other contacts. Use it or someone else will.
• If you do decide to invest extra in incentive travel options to redefine your business, make sure everything else is suitably classed up. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so building a strong link next to several weak links is not a good idea.
• Make sure that the offers are given to the right people. Employees tend to enjoy competitions, but some suppliers or partners might take umbrage to finding out that a peer was invited on a company-sponsored vacation when they were not.
• Be sure to target partners or vendors that look like they have more than just the bottom line in mind, and look carefully at employees that are worth far more than they are being paid. Both are likely to look at other options when they get the chance.

The world is full of unique corporate travel destinations, but the Pacific Rim has been the focus of the majority of business travel for the past few decades. It appears that Latin America might be making a comeback despite some countries in the area still holding less than friendly political feelings towards the United States in particular and developed nations in general.

That notwithstanding, the fact of the matter is that Latin America is booming and is ready for business. Corporate travel destinations have been established in Mexico, not far from major manufacturing facilities and textile plants. Brazil has an amazing number of extremely high tech manufacturing facilities that produce everything from vehicles to the latest microprocessors. No longer are countries like China, Japan, and Taiwan looking like good long term investments, but Latin America also has plenty more to offer.

Unique cultures, values that more familiar to those from Western cultures are also on tap as well as lower airfares and governments that seem less likely to support local businesses over the rule of law. The result is that longer term investment in Latin America is just another great reason to consider many of our southern neighbors for your next corporate travel destination. The changes a few decades have brought can be truly amazing.

Meetings in other countries have been a popular concept for businesses over the past several years, especially as air travel continues to become increasingly affordable. Several countries have developed entire regions dedicated to earning the business of enterprise clients and this business serves many purposes:

• Businesses get great deals on accommodations and entertainment, often with amazing all inclusive packages. The prices offered by many developing countries on goods, services, and accommodations are absolutely unbeatable and in volume can even make up for the price of airfare.
• Attendants of such events or meetings get a chance to travel and see the world. This broadens perspectives, increases loyalty, and even gets the mind working in entirely new ways. Who knows what the benefit will be of stirring up the creative juices with new stimuli, but they are bound to be profound and lasting.
• The communities in developing nations that have invested heavily in building the infrastructure necessary to attract business customers benefit from having tourists and may even have other business opportunities worth looking into. Some countries develop business-oriented tourist facilities in tandem with plans to build business parks and production facilities that could further enhance the relationship between a developing country and businesses looking to lower their bottom line. The result can be a win-win situation if the circumstances are right.

When most business people think of exotic corporate travel, they start to conjure up passports and visas that are required to travel to some far flung exotic location. Instead, consider some of the more interesting and exotic corporate travel destinations within the U.S. such as:

Las Vegas – There are few destinations within the borders of the United States that have as much variety to offer business travelers as Las Vegas. Even Atlantic City takes a distant second to this jewel in the desert.

Hawaii – Sun-drenched Pacific islands that have been included in countless movies and television shows for their raw natural splendor are obviously the very definition of exotic. That does not mean that Hawaii is not affordable, though a plane ride or cruise will be required due to its location.

Alaska – Looking to cool things down a bit? Try ice fishing in Alaska or simply booking a hotel with an amazing view of glacier-capped mountains and pristine forests blanketed in snow.

The Florida Keys – Florida’s keys are amazingly gorgeous, and full of history. Add to this the number of quality hotels offering inclusive travel options, and the Keys are a particularly exotic yet practical domestic destination.

The Grand Canyon – Looking for a great getaway that still has creature comforts and is perfect for outdoor meetings? The Grand Canyon in the northern section of Arizona is affordable and awe inspiring.

Inclusive business incentives are a type of travel that includes everything that the traveler will typically need. This ranges from the business meeting rooms to meals and a room, and may even cover a few recreational activities in some cases. The good news is that not only are inclusive business incentives easy to plan, they are affordable and good for public relations.

Why are inclusive business incentives typically good for public relations? The answer is that most of the venues offering the best deals on inclusive business incentives are developing countries that are placing an emphasis and promoting their tourism infrastructure. Governments around the world are passing law after law to compete for inclusive business travel of all kinds, which typically makes the inclusive business incentives even more desirable as the locations can be very exotic.

There are also more traditional inclusive business travel destinations that also offer great inclusive incentives, but the best deals are often in developing nations. For those that prefer specific destinations, such as Hawaii or the Cayman Islands, there are still great bargains to be had by going with inclusive travel planning versus paying the local rate and negotiating with several vendors for a wide variety of goods, services, and entertainment options. This makes inclusive business incentives affordable compared to any alternative, even if the good PR option is not taken.

A meeting planner is very aware of the different tastes and preferences that individuals have. There is always the chance that the group incentive destination will not be approved by all participants. For this reason, it is important that event planning be taken seriously and the same attention to detail given to each group event. The travel destination of choice should be carefully considered by the meeting planner and should take into account, when feasible, the preferences of attendees. If a travel destination was not well-received by the majority of attendees, then it may be wise to choose another locale or venue.

A few of the popular and well-liked incentive travel destinations are Orlando, Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; and San Francisco, California. These locations are popular because of the excellent entertainment, attractions, and local fare available. Because the cities are popular tourist destinations, the vendors in these cities tend to cater to the needs of their guests. Feeling welcome and at-home is an important aspect of travel, and cities that thrive on tourism are typically great host cities. Even the most finicky of group incentive travel participants may enjoy trips to cities that are friendly, easily accessible, and provide a wealth of entertainment, leisure, and dining options.

The Westin La Cantera Resort  in San Antonio, Texas is an upscale destination hotel.  With a Colonial Texas design on a hilltop overlooking the downtown area, the resort offers 508 guest rooms and plenty of meeting space.  There are  a variety of activities available, including two championship golf courses, six outdoor pools, a full-service spa, and a fitness center. 

For meetings and special events, there is more than 39,000 sq. ft. of indoor/outdoor event space, including the 17,000 sq. ft. ballroom.   There are also eight separate meeting rooms and two boardrooms. 

The location is ideal, as it is within 12 miles of the airport, and approximately 15 miles from the downtown and historic River Walk areas.   It is also conveniently situated adjacent to the Six Flags Fiesta Texas Theme Park. 

The resort can create team building activities to help unify team members and bring groups together. 

westinlacantera.com

Some travelers swear by self-catering accommodations and would not dream of spending the night in a hotel during business or leisure travel. Other travelers cannot stand the thought of not having 24-hour reception, 24-hour room service, at least one on-site restaurant and concierge services.

Self-catering lodgings have either kitchenettes or fully-equipped kitchens, and often have other convenient amenities, such as laundry facilities, DVD and book libraries, swimming pools, fitness centers and reserved, private parking. They range from urban apartments to country cottages and offer more privacy than hotels. However, they usually do not offer the same range of amenities and services that guests will find when staying in luxury hotel rooms.

Self-catering apartments are ideal for holding small business meetings and entertaining clients and prospects. Additionally, the ability to cook some meals in the apartment – rather than dining out for every meal – is a cost-saving measure that is convenient and appealing to many travelers. Of course, a nice hotel room is also good for entertaining potential clients and customers, but a private apartment has the added benefit of giving the impression that your company maintains an apartment for use by its employees when they travel on business. This type of impression will not go to waste on prospects of a particular ilk and can assist in leaving a positive image of your company in your prospects’ minds.

Many companies are trimming their budgets to adjust to the changing economic climate. When it is time to cut costs, the travel budget is usually one of the first items on the chopping block. For some companies, this may mean canceling travel plans altogether, but for others it simply means finding ways to stretch your corporate travel dollars and get a bigger bang for fewer bucks.

One option that has recently increased in popularity is staying close to home. When business meetings, team building activities, retreats, conferences and incentive travel take place closer to home, this can significantly cut down on transportation costs, as well as increasing attendance. However, opting for nearby destinations and venues comes with its own set of challenges, including creating excitement about the event and maintaining its appeal when you do not have an exotic location to rely on to do that for you.

Here are three ways to make your local event more appealing and create excitement among attendees:
1. Choose a unique venue. Think outside of the boardroom and opt for a museum, wild animal park, theme park or docked cruise ship.
2. Spring for better entertainment. If your budget will allow you to have a well-known headliner, this alone can make up for the lack of an exotic setting.
3. Invite an enticing guest speaker. A well-known guest speaker may or may not be more affordable than a great headliner, so check prices for both before deciding which will work better for your particular situation.