Corporate Travel Destinations

Cruise meetings might sound lavish and expensive, but the opposite is true: not only a cruise meetings often more affordable than the alternatives, the truth is that cruise meetings are far more trendy and chic while offering tangible benefits to businesses. In today’s business environment it pays to have a little bit of panache and know when to use it. Meetings on cruise ships might be just what it takes to close that big deal or to impress investors. Here’s why:

• Cruise ships have to be updated more frequently than hotels in order to stay relevant. This is even true when comparing cruise ships to hotels in Las Vegas and Atlantic City, locations famous for the short lifespan of their local hotels.
• Cruise ships also tend to be better maintained than their land-bound counterparts. This is almost a requirement that they need to impress visitors who are often initially concerned about trying something new and different.
• Most business class passengers on cruise ships are treated like royalty, which is only a tiny step above how normal guests are treated. This means that you spend less time planning and reacting, more time analyzing and moving forward.
• A change in conditions, such as being on a gorgeous cruise ship and surrounded with a mixture of business and pleasure, is often enough to change the decision making process of individuals that are on the proverbial fence.

There are some factors that have got to be taken into consideration when traveling with a group: Accommodations, meals, meeting rooms, A/V equipment, activities, entertainment, and many, many other assorted details. Organizing group travel can swiftly become a nightmare as expenses start to rack up and overwhelm many companies scanty travel budgets.

Decreasing expenses to save costs on incentive trips such as these will effect in less than excellent trip reviews from individuals in the group, having the possibility to decrease employee morale and negatively affect productivity. Rather than organizing an expensive expedition on land, companies and organizations should think about taking their attendees on a cruise event to the Bahamas.

With land based venues, each feature of the excursion must be planned on an separate basis. The hotel may not have a restaurant or have only one dining option. Separate meeting area may have to be reserved, and all of the A/V equipment considered necessary may not be provided by the business meeting facility. When the meeting is over, employees may not know where to find local entertainment or activities they would enjoy. In addition, attendees have no real incentive to network or spend time with one another outside of scheduled convention events. Finding transportation for the group from the hotel to restaurants, activities, and meeting spaces can also be difficult.

Now think about a cruise ship. A cruise meeting is more often than not all inclusive, and incentive planners can adapt the cruise to meet the needs of their clients. Compared to land based venues, a group cruise event can save companies as much as 40 percent. This is because luxury accommodations, gourmet meals, meeting rooms, A/V equipment, activities, entertainment, and many other services are inclusive of the cruise fare. Therefore, taking a group cruise to the Bahamas can be less costly than organizing a trip on land. Moreover, the Bahamas is a tropical, exotic destination that will be seen as exciting and adventurous. Since everything is included in a cruise, participants can network together and participate in activities as a group. This helps to build unity and cohesion between the company’s top performers and management.

Taking a group on a cruise to the Bahamas is certainly more advantageous that most companies realize. Rather than spending on hotels and expensive restaurants, save money and book a cruise event. A cruise to the Bahamas will be memorable, and it will give new employees an incentive to work harder and achieve distinction. Incentive travel programs are essential to the success of a company and retention of top talent. Incentive travel programs such as a group cruise to the Bahamas is an admirable method to attract top talent to a company, motivate success, and give the organization a conspicuous edge.

Organize a group incentive cruise meeting to the Bahamas for your next incentive event. Seasite.com offers group incentive cruise meeting planning resources that will make it easy to plan group incentive cruise meeting events entirely online.

A recent survey conducted by MeetingNews found that most meeting planners expected meeting budgets to increase or stay the same over the first six months of 2010, when compared to meeting budget trends over the last six months of 2009. This optimistic outlook may be further proof that companies across the country are beginning to recover from the recent recession. The survey, which included 220 participants, found that only 19% of responding meeting planners anticipated further budget cuts or smaller meeting budgets in the first six months of 2010. Additionally, seventeen percent of respondents actually reported increased spending in the last half of 2009, showing that some companies continued to prioritize meeting spending during the economic downturn or were already beginning to enjoy financial recovery at that time.

Just over half of the survey participants (51%) expected meeting budgets to stay the same during the first half of 2010. These results support the hope that deep budget cuts are now behind us for the most part and indicate that things may start looking up for the corporate travel and business meeting industries. This is good news for meeting and travel planners who learned tips and tricks for cutting costs without losing quality during the economic downturn and will now be in an excellent position for providing exceptional planning services with increased budgets.

Have you ever questioned why or if employee incentive travel is more advantageous than a cash bonus? Is there more to incentive travel than just compensating employee(s) for a job well done?

Discerning the things that motivate your employees is a crucial feature of conducting business. It is crucial to learn just what motivates each person as an individual. If the incentive were a trip, where would your employees like to visit? Would they like to be pampered with a spa vacation, go on a cruise to exotic destinations, or is he more fascinated by out-of-doors activities such as water sports or golf? Modifying the incentives you offer is more likely to push employees to do their finest to get the trip.

Incentive travel is an aspect in keeping valued employees members. It is more cost effective to retain skilled individuals working for you rather than to train new people on a regular basis. Thanking employees for a job well done is something else that should not be overlooked. Those two words can stimulate workers on toward a common goal, particularly in difficult times.

Team efforts that earn a wonderful trip for the team involved promote the weaker members to work toward the capability level of the stronger team members. Contests can stimulate but they can also make staff to work against each other. Cooperative efforts many times get more valuable results and turn out employees who are more loyal too.

An all inclusive cruise meeting is one great way to motivate and thank employees. Putting together a corporate event such as a conference or a business meeting at sea makes a lot of sense, especially when it comes to getting the greatest value from the investments. Cruising can literally slash the cost of land based venues by 25-40%, allowing planners to persevere with today's shrinking budgets. Why not make your next corporate incentive event a meeting-at-sea?

Seasite.com, the first online group cruise planning resource, allows event planners to capitalize on the value of all inclusive cruise meeting and incentives. Cruising can slash the expense of land based venues by 25-40%, allowing planners to persevere with today's shrinking budgets. Why not make your next corporate incentive a meeting at sea? Take a look at Seasite.com today!

Carbon emission offsetting is a controversial topic. There are three basic schools of thought: those who wholeheartedly support it, those who believe it lets folks off easy and puts off finding other viable solutions, and those who think it is simply a money-making scheme. While not everyone believes carbon offsetting is the answer, it is certainly growing in popularity and is one way corporations can take an environmental stand and offset carbon emissions that are inevitable when travel and events take place.

If you are interested in learning more about carbon offsets for corporate travel and event planning, there are several websites dedicated to educating the public and offering offsets. Websites like carbonfund.org have carbon calculators for travel, business events and conferences, weddings and other activities, making it simple to help your clients estimate the amount of carbon their event or transportation will create. This allows them to determine the amount of offsetting they would like to undertake – if any – to mitigate the carbon emissions associated with their business meeting or corporate travel.

The bottom line is that offering carbon offsets for corporate travel and events is a simple way to expand the services you offer to corporate clients. Those who are interested in offsets will appreciate the convenience, while those who are not interested can simply not take part in that particular service. To find carbon offset sellers, visit Ecobusinesslinks.com, which has a list of non-profit organizations and for-profit companies offering carbon offsets.

If you plan your next business meeting or conference anywhere in Fiji, you can be fairly certain that it will be a very well-attended event. There is something about the South Pacific in general, and the islands of Fiji in particular, that holds a distinctive allure for travelers of any sort. This makes Fiji an ideal option for incentive travel, an international business meeting, an executive retreat or a convention. When you select Fiji as a corporate travel destination, your attendees will obviously enjoy resort living, pristine beaches and excellent local dishes, but also incorporating more traditional components into your corporate travel plans will make the trip much more meaningful for your participants.

Fiji has a rich history and culture, including traditional ceremonies, dances and arts, many of which are still practiced today either in welcoming guests or in everyday Fijian life. You can add a whole new dimension to your corporate event in Fiji by arranging to include some of these traditions. For example, you may want to consider opening your event with a meke, which is a traditional dance most often performed as part of celebrations, social events and religious ceremonies. Fijian women perform fan dances, while men use spear and clubs, and each movement tells the story of Fijian folklore.

Opening your event with a meke will make your event more memorable and will set the stage for a fantastic meeting or conference that pays respect to Fijian heritage.

Barcelona, Spain is among the most visited cities in Europe, and with good reason. It is home to a well-preserved medieval district, sensational architectural landmarks by the world-renowned Antoni Gaudi, fabulous Catalan cuisine, a newly finished waterfront promenade, numerous museums and a wide variety of shopping opportunities that appeal to any type of traveler.

With so much to offer and an exceptional climate throughout the year, it is no wonder that this magical city is a top destination for both business and leisure travel.

Barcelona is well connected to major cities via air or rail and boasts a reliable, safe public transportation system, as well as plenty of taxis and car rental agencies. Hotels range from upscale and fashionable, to affordable and comfortable, with options to fit any company’s travel budget.

Business meeting and incentive travel planners should also keep in mind that Barcelona Cards are available, which begin at just $25 per person and provide discounted admission to museums and attractions, as well as free use of Barcelona’s public transportation system. This is a nice addition to a travel package, or simply a friendly tip to pass on to your participants.

More information on the Barcelona Card, as well as general tourist information, can be found at www.barcelonaturisme.com.

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 »

No taxpayer wants to see her hard-earned dollars being wasted by companies on the public bailout dime. Misused funds are one way American businesses got into their current predicaments in the first place. However, nixing meetings just because they look like they are in a “fun” place–and companies getting bailed out should not have any “fun”–has created tensions not only in the companies who are canceling their meetings, but with gaming community hotels and convention services, and the meeting planner.

As understandable as the restrictions are, they are largely unwarranted. Gaming communities, Las Vegas included, are hurting for business right now and have become flexible and cost effective for business meeting needs. Other considerations, such as travel within the city, large room blocks, and good meal choices, are also good for companies pinching pennies–much of Vegas is within walking distance, food is less expensive than other cities, and there are excellent choices of hotel rooms. Continue reading »