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!

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.

Employee incentive programs are essential to any company wishing to recruit and retain the top talent in their field of business or industry. Customized travel incentives, according to industry surveys, is an excellent incentive program that can be utilized to motivate employees. This is especially true if the travel destination is thought to be exciting and adventurous. While many companies are considering scaling back their travel incentives because of current economic conditions, taking steps such as these may be ill-advised and ill-timed. Cutting back on incentive travel can damage employee morale and decrease productivity. On the other hand, incentive travel can increase productivity by as much as 20 percent and foster a more solid employee commitment to the company.

One popular and affordable incentive travel program available today is an all inclusive Caribbean cruise. Choosing an all inclusive incentive cruise can save businesses up to 40 percent compared to land travel. The reason all inclusive cruises are so affordable is because almost everything is included. Meals, lodging, meeting rooms, activities, entertainment, and rooms service are all included in the cost of the cruise. The Caribbean is an exotic, breathtaking, and fascinating cruise destination. This is why all inclusive Caribbean cruise for employee incentives is such an exceptional idea.

There are many advantages of inventive travel programs such as all inclusive Caribbean cruises. These cruises afford employers and employers the opportunity for: team building, education, and increased zeal for the company. An all inclusive Caribbean cruise for employee incentives is a fantastic way to reward top-earners and encourage others to reach these same levels of greatness.

All inclusive Caribbean cruise for employee incentives is an incentive travel program that companies and organizations should seriously consider. Cruise ships offer group-friendly itineraries that build employer and employee camaraderie through team building activities, tour excursions, and sales incentive awards. Cruises can be customized to groups of all sizes and interests. Incentive travel programs, such as all inclusive Caribbean cruises, can help motivate individual employees and create a staunch group cohesion as well.

Who says corporate travel is all about jets, hotels, and airports? The world is a place where many modes of transportation and even different meeting venue styles vie for corporate business. Here are some lesser known corporate travel alternatives:

• Trains – Trains are an older form of transportation, but modern bullet trains are amazingly swift. These trains can be found throughout Europe, Asia, and are even becoming a popular alternative in the United States.
• Boats – Boats come in many shapes and sizes, but many boats are designed to at least appear to be culturally and/or historically significant. Traveling up a river in a modern-day steamboat is safe, quiet, and even offers corporate travelers a way to relax while getting a little business done en route.
• Ships – Some boats are big enough to be called ships. While the distinction between the two can be a little blurry at times, most corporate travel on ships tends to take place on cruise ships. Cruise events and cruise meetings are also understandably popular.

No matter which style of alternative corporate travel is selected, remember that the choice can be used to portray the company in a certain light to employees, the public, partners, suppliers, and virtually anyone else. How people in a company travel and work says a lot about that company, and where that company holds its meetings and events can be equally important.

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.

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.

Large events, meetings, and seminars have traditionally be scheduled at conference centers and/or hotels, but that is all changing now. Cruise ships are the new ‘it’ place to host events of almost any size, for many good reasons. Here are a trio of very good reasons to consider:

• Go places, do things – One of the top reasons to opt for cruises over more traditional meeting environments is the fact that cruise liners take your places while you work instead of taking you to places to get work done. Add to this the limited distance between work and play, and cruises are nothing if not efficient and convenient.
• Amazing facilities – Hotels come in different quality levels, usually measured in stars. Cruise ships are an all-star affair, and every passenger is made to feel like an all-star. Putting a dollar value on having meeting participants felt like that are having their every whim met is nearly impossible.
• Affordable – Meetings and events held on cruise liners are surprisingly affordable. Why? Because one companies is providing everything. Instead of distributing the overhead of a catering company, a hotel, and a conference center over each participant, cruise liners have a single overhead to distribute. It is all about cost of customer acquisition, and that is what makes cruise meetings affordable.

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.

When most people think of meetings, they imagine themselves stuck within the confines of four walls sitting around a table for several hours. For this reason, when a meeting planner suggests the idea of meetings at sea, some organizations may balk at this notion. Many mistakenly believe that a hotel or resort would be most budget-friendly than a cruise ship charter. From conference rooms equipped with the latest in technology to on-board rock climbing walls, a cruise ship charter can offer an organization a fresh perspective on meeting spaces.

Group cruise planning is a great way to get employees outside the four walls of the conference room and motivate them to be more creative and innovative. For example, meeting at sea may be held in suites or villas with their own private decks. For organizations looking for team-building exercises, a cruise ships can offer mixed-use sports decks for employees to participate in a variety of activities. A meeting planner should keep in mind that event planning does not have to be held in a venue with the traditional four walls. In order for organizations to encourage their employees to look beyond the four walls, event planners have to look beyond the four walls, too.