Corporate Travel Destinations

Corporate travel is not just average travel. Corporate travel is designed to award top-performers within a company or organization for their hard work, dedication, and innovation. Top-performers and first class employees deserve more from their employer than simply mediocre and mundane corporate travel. Of course, in uncertain economic times the extravagance of corporate travel has to be balanced with the financial resources available for incentive travel expenses. However, businesses do not have to choose between quality and value when planning corporate travel. They can enjoy both by booking cruise ship charter.

An incentive cruise is an ideal way to award top-performers and motivate others within the organization. By choosing to conduct meetings at sea, businesses can save approximately 40 percent compared to land-based incentive travel. Travel incentives such as a ship charter are excellent because they are all inclusive. Cruise event participants can enjoy premium services, accommodations, dining, and entertainment on an incentive cruise. A cruise ship charters' inclusive incentives will be attractive to even the most well-seasoned traveler. Since a cruise event may be less expensive than land-based travel, group cruise planning is a real value to the business. Therefore, businesses do not have to sacrifice quality or value if they choose an incentive cruise for their corporate travel.

There are many metaphorical closed doors in the business world. Worse, there are doors that are sealed tight. There are ways to open those doors, even those that seem sealed shut. One such way is to consider sending invitations to a cruise event. After all, requests for meetings and invitations to conferences can be ignored by many but few will turn down an invitation to travel on a cruise ship. In fact, most people would consider an invitation to travel aboard a cruise ship to be an honor. Here are a few points to consider:

• Most cruise ships are all inclusive – This means that a single price covers almost every a guest could want. Whether you are inviting all-star employees in an attempt to build morale, stubborn clients, potential clients, or intransigent suppliers, everyone invited to cruise events/meetings will feel like they are highly valued.
• Almost nobody can resist the opportunity to take a cruise – This is one of the main reasons why cruise events and meetings have such high attendance rates. Simply put, a hotel is possible for most people to resist.
• Special events can extended the irresistible nature of a cruise – most meeting and/or event planners are more than happy to schedule special events for members of a large group. Those that could resist a cruise might not be able to resist a cruise plus a little something extra.

Many companies and large corporations use cruise meetings effectively, but they closely guard some of their secrets. Here are three easy ways to get far more mileage out of a cruise:

1. Start by signing up for a corporate credit card with the cruise company if they have one. Most corporate credit cards in this class are surprisingly reasonable when it comes to fees and terms, and almost all of them yield useful travel-related rewards.
2. Plan ahead. Remember that a ship at sea is difficult and expensive to resupply so plan for banquets and other special events ahead of time and give the chef in charge of catering ample warning before leaving port. It may take a week or more to get good deals on vegetables or meats.
3. Note that it never hurts to ask, even when it comes to using public spaces. Want to host a meeting on the aft shuffleboard lobby? Ask! Want to book the spinning room or yoga center for a pre- or post-meeting event? Go for it! Want to host a meeting in the spinning room? That can almost certainly be arranged too if you ask in advance.

The sky really is the limit on a cruise ship when it comes to accommodating customers, especially corporate and business clients. Be sure to make requests in advance and you can be surprised how accommodating cruise liners and their staffs can be.

While smaller meetings and events on cruise ships are all well and good, there is another option that is actually even better for those who truly have a need: chartering and/or buy-outs.  Ship charters are surprisingly affordable, as it gives the cruise company a chance to earn their overhead without spending as much on marketing, but there is so much more to consider:

• Some meetings need to be secretive by nature, and buy-outs/chartering ensures that none of the other passengers might be eavesdropping. On the other hand, companies that host cruise meetings where others can see them might not only seem more open and honest, but they may seem more attractive to investors.
• A buy-out of all cabins on an existing cruise ensures complete access to all facilities at all hours. In short, you are calling just about all of the shots save for the course. Even then, the captain of the ship might be amenable to arranging longer stays in Port A and skipping Port B.
• Complete concierge services is also typically available on charters. This should be no surprise since the concierge usually serves the guests. Since all the guests are your invitees, all you have to do is kick back and relax and let someone else sort out their problems.
• There are big and small charter cruise ships available. Do not worry if all you have are a hundred or so participants as there are smaller cruise ships that are ideal for the task at hand. Even a smaller cruise ship is still an enormous floating meeting and entertainment facility.

When planning a cruise meeting or at least considering a meeting at sea it is important to realize that a cruise environment is unlike any other. Where else can you find so many services, goods, and styles of accommodation under one roof? The biggest difference between meetings on a cruise ship and meetings in more traditional environments is that meetings on a cruise ship can take entirely different form without seeming unusual. Here are a few great ideas for alternative cruise meetings:

If the meeting is small, consider taking the meeting in the massage center. A few powerful individuals can relax while resolving problems or planning a potentially successful course of action while they are extremely relaxed.

Medium sized meetings could be conducted from the spinning floor or the palates class. A little physical exertion can get the mind working at high-speed. After all, oxygen is carried to the brain in the bloodstream, and getting the heart pumping increases the amount of blood and oxygen being circulated.

A shuffleboard environment is also a great way to have multiple groups of people get acquainted, and perhaps conduct informal conversations prior to the start of formal meetings that can be held in more formal settings.

Seaside conference rooms are also a great alternative to vistas of cityscapes and real jungles trump concrete jungles when it comes to scenery every single time.

There are two extremes to consider when planning corporate travel: all-inclusive options or planning every single detail. Here are some points to consider when deciding which way to go:

If your sole purpose at the company is to plan travel and there are really no other tasks to perform, all-inclusive travel options can still be used at the end of research if they are viable. Using all-inclusive options as a go-to option every single time might be a quick way to end up on the unemployment line or with a promotion, depending on the situation.

All-inclusive travel is often a great way to save time and money, but it sometimes lack in options. This is generally not a problem for the vast majority of people, but those with special needs will probably need to plan at least some of the details. Since many all-inclusive incentive travel options are all or nothing, this means that a few custom options that are above and beyond the call of duty might require planning every single detail.  An all inclusive incentive cruise is a great way to save and thrill your attendees.

Planning every detail might seem like a great way to save money, but it often ends up being more expensive. Add to this the time and effort put into planning and it is easy to see why all-inclusive travel options are so popular with so many business travelers.

Corporate travel is always a balance between profitability and exclusivity. Simply put, profitability is the benefit derived from any activity minus the costs and opportunities lost by taking the course of action. This causes many to inherently think of affordable destinations for corporate travel, but this is where exclusivity comes into play. Exclusivity is the concept that the more unique or interesting the destination, the more the trip is generally worth in a less quantifiable manner.

For example, an incentive cruise for employees to Hawaii is probably considered to be a lot more interesting than an incentive travel promotion to Nebraska. While there is nothing inherently wrong with Nebraska, it is simply not considered to be as exclusive and/or interesting as Hawaii. The key is to strike a balance between cost effective travel options and here are a handful of destinations that are surprisingly cost effective while generally being viewed as very exclusive:

Bimini – While small, it is a very affordable locale for hosting small gatherings and meetings. Just do not plan anything during hurricane season.

Oregon – Believe it or not, Oregon is home to a wide range of climates and terrain, which makes from some very interesting and affordable locales.

Sedona – Gorgeous sunsets, excellent hiking, top-notch spas and world-class golfing make this relaxed venue a great spot for meetings and corporate events.

If you have heard of incentive cruises but are not entirely sure what they are, then you might have a lot to think about when you discover what an incentive cruise is. Simply put, an incentive cruise is a cruise that is offered as an incentive for meeting certain goals or criteria/criterion. Incentive cruises can be offered to employees, partners, suppliers, customers, and even potential recruits. Here are some interesting thoughts regarding incentive cruises from multiple points of view:

• Employees and recruits tend to view incentive cruises as a major perk and fringe benefit, and it can also be considered a source of inspiration. Those workers that meet the requirements to go on an incentive cruise are often the standard to which other employees hold themselves.
• Partners and supplies may value their business relationship more with partners that show a willingness to build rapport and look at the big picture. This could prove vital in cases where globalization or other factors shift the position of a company in a volatile market.
• Valued customers may feel a similar connection to a company that shows just how much their business is valued by offering incentive cruises to their top clients. In some industries these types of incentives are even the norm, but in others that are niceties that separate the serious players from the rest.

One of the best benefits of having cruise events is that, well, they are cruise events! This means that everyone gets to have a great time and escape their daily grind, unless they happen to work on a cruise ship. Since the chances of that rare occurrence seem remote at best, the simple fact of the matter is that anyone attending cruise events is likely to be inspired. In fact, even those that are not invited along for the cruise event are likely to be inspired. Consider the following:

Partners and suppliers that meet key goals and are offered a limited number of cabins on cruise events are likely to value the business relationship in terms that are measured in more than just dollars and cents. This can be very valuable as globalization continues to cause long-term market readjustments that can allow for fierce competition from new adversaries overnight.

Employees can be inspired by the opportunity to travel on the company dime, especially when it involves cruise events and rubbing elbows with the top brass. The stories they tell when they get back are likely to prove inspirational in their own right.

Executives and top talent are likely to consider cruise events to be perks, even if a little work or a few meetings are involved.

One of the best aspects of cruise meeting planning is that most cruise liners have in-house planners and a complete staff to take care of virtually every possible need and/or want. The result is that anyone handling cruise meeting planning can be as thorough and detailed as they like, or they can go the other route and allow the in-house planners and staff to take over some of the burden. Here are a few examples to consider when determining how much effort to put into cruise meeting planning:

Most cruise ships have at least one chef, many now have upwards of five, and full catering staffs on call. This means that catering options are already available right out of the box, and amount of time and energy you spend planning meals and parties is up to you.

Virtually all cruise ships have activities directors, and many cruise ships reserve space upon request for group activities. If you need space for a meeting, or just a private social gathering, all you have to do is ask. The question is: where do you stop asking? The event/activity coordinator can probably handle a lot more than just setting aside a room if only they asked.

Save money and allocate resources more efficiently by determining which aspects of the meeting planning should be handled in-house and which can be well-executed by someone else.