Corporate Travel Destinations

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.

Employees are often confined to offices or cubicles throughout the workday. They may have little time to interact with fellow employees, subordinates, or managers outside of the workplace. Even at the workplace there is little time for interaction outside of work-related topics or discussions. Employees are often busy working on projects that may include only a particular group of people, and the majority of the workforce may be unfamiliar with one another. A meeting planner understands the need to build in time for camaraderie when event planning. Whether this is accomplished through team building exercises or mutually agreeable leisure activities, building camaraderie is important for event planning.

Team building exercises are an excellent way to build camaraderie among employees. Team building exercises work great at any destination or venue. Group incentive destinations that are inherently more relaxing and offer attendees the chance to unwind are great venues for team building. Group incentive destinations that offer many leisure activities and entertainment options also provide attendees the opportunity to get know one another outside of the office. Finding common interests among employees is a great way to solidify a company's workforce. Choosing destinations that are ideal for team building and leisure activities can help build relationships among those employed by an organization.

Nearly all corporate travel destinations will have numerous museums that have permanent historical exhibits, host art exhibits or provide access to rotating cultural exhibits and events. Many cities even have a particular district that is home to several museums within walking distance of each other, such as Tacoma’s Museum District, San Diego’s Balboa Park, Cape Town’s Green Point District and Houston’s Museum District. With many options in close proximity, your attendees will have increased choices and the ability to select the exhibits that are of the most interest to them. This makes museums an easy, convenient option for adding to a list of local attractions given to attendees; however, you may also want to consider this low-cost entertainment option as part of your scheduled activities.

Museums usually offer rather affordable admission rates, making them a cost-effective option for corporate travel planners. But, savvy planners know that they can save even more by looking into group discounts or looking for free admission days that coincide with the dates of their corporate event. It is quite common for museums to offer at least one free admission day each month, with some entire districts offering free admission to all of the museums on a particular day. If this day happens to fall during your planned event, this is a great opportunity to offer an educational, enticing activity that will appeal to your attendees and help you stay within budget.

Historic walking tours are available in most destinations and can be a fun, educational way to spend an afternoon or personal day during a corporate event. If the weather is nice, this is a great way to spend time outdoors participating in a leisurely activity that can be enjoyed at one’s own pace. Depending on the city and the type of tour you select, historic tours may or not be appropriate for some attendees with disabilities, so be sure to look into this before adding it the itinerary, or if you are simply listing it as an optional self-guided activity, you should include a note about accessibility.

If your corporate travel destination is in a city with a rich history and interesting architecture, guided or self-guided walking tours are particularly enticing; however, even newer cities often have maps available for visitors pointing the way to important monuments, interesting sights or other points of interest.

Guided tours are sometimes more enjoyable, due to the information and stories shared during the experience, and are usually rather affordable, making this an easy option to add to your travel planning. If guided tours are not available in your destination, or if you are looking for ways to save even more, check the website of the area’s visitor’s center or tourism board to see if there are self-guided walking tour maps that you can download, print and distribute to attendees.

Las Vegas hotels sometimes offer some great deals for corporate meeting planners, but just a short drive away in Henderson, Nevada you might be able to save even more by taking advantage of competitive corporate travel packages offered by Henderson hotels. Henderson hoteliers know that they are competing with the big boys on The Strip, and are often willing to go the extra mile in offering extra niceties or negotiating stellar deals on hotel rooms, meeting spaces, rental items for events and meals.

Henderson is just minutes away from the offerings of Las Vegas, which allows your attendees to easily drive or take public transportation to enjoy gambling, buffets, fine dining, world-class shopping and Vegas shows. If you are including a show or event in Las Vegas in your corporate travel planning, an affordable, convenient bus charter will deliver your attendees to the event and back to the Henderson hotel and, even with this small additional expense, you will still see overall savings from opting for this Vegas suburb, instead of one of the main resort hotels on The Strip. You could also use some of the money you save to provide additional entertainment options, such as a chartered bus to Hoover Dam, Lake Mead, Mount Charleston or the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area.

Meeting and incentive travel planners have many destinations from which to choose for hosting your event; however, there are some that stand out among the options as ideal choices for a variety of reasons. For example, New Orleans is a hotspot for travel these days, particularly among those who understand the importance of tourism dollars to the revitalization of the city as it continues to recover from Hurricane Katrina.

New Orleans has managed to retain and regain much of its charm, and is home to historical and cultural attractions that appeal to travelers in every age group. Historic hotels, museums, antebellum homes and jazz clubs are plentiful, as are exceptional dining and entertainment options. With a business community that is dedicated to restoring New Orleans to its former glory, enticing meeting and incentive packages are readily available. This allows companies to enjoy an exciting destination, while also showing their support for this resilient community and its renaissance.

New Orleans attractions include the Audubon Zoo, the Aquarium of the Americas, Mardi Gras World, swamp tours and the World War II Museum. There are also many free, family-friendly attractions available, such as walking tours of the French Quarter, dedicated evenings for free admission to galleries in the Arts District and enjoying artists’ works and free shows in Jackson Square.

Support the revival of New Orleans and offer attendees an exciting travel destination by incorporating New Orleans into your meeting and incentive planning.

University venues can be an intelligent choice for conference events

These days planners are looking for alternatives to higher-priced hotels. One natural substitute is a university venue. Collegiate meeting spaces offer excellent service, good accommodations and first-rate audiovisual technology often for a lot less than typical convention center or hotel venues.

When budgets are tight,  universities become very attractive for planners, especially for regional meetings.

Nonprofit groups, state and federal agencies and youth and sports camps tend to use collegiate conference space because it can be had at a reasonable cost.   A significant percentage of the event business university venues receive is comprised of youth groups and camps. 

Campus venues offer great price points, ambience and variety in terms of destinations, and universities typically offer groups enviable recreational facilities, including swimming pools, tennis and racquetball courts – much of which more typical meeting venues can't compete with.

For those groups with sophisticated technical needs, college and university campuses offer superior computer labs, have A/V equipment built in, and great Internet connections. 

While most colleges provide a getaway, many are located close to thriving metropolises with a multitude of entertainment options.