Corporate Travel Destinations

Two parties meeting often produces more than a little anxiety, especially when business is involved. Learning how to plan ice breakers into meetings is an art, and it is one that certain cultures have learned to excel at. Instead of spending a lot of time doing formal mixers and other events, consider the following:

• The Japanese prefer tea – Sitting down for a tea and discussing anything but business is a common traditional business practice amongst the Japanese, yet it is starting to fade away. One advantage of this is that it allows people to develop a rapport before they begin conducting formal business.
• The Scots sometimes meet over 9 or 18 holes – While it takes a little while to get to business, many business arrangements have actually been arranged on the back nine. The first few holes might be just pleasantries, but once those are over with the structure of the game takes over and business can be conducted with less pressure and a modicum of enjoyment.
• Meet at the gym, spa, or sauna – Some people prefer alternative meeting formats such as meeting side by side but not face to face on a pair of massage tables or at the gym in the spinning room. Sometimes a change of pace is just what it takes to start a new relationship off on the right foot.

Travel is one of the best incentives a company can offer employees, partners, potential clients, existing clients, and even suppliers. Travel usually needs to be business-related, but that is actually surprisingly easy to accomplish. If you have not considered travel incentives yet, think about the following:

• Employee Motivation – If employees are starting to look at Monster.com or otherwise job hunt instead of work, then there is a problem. Sometimes it is not practical to solve such problems with increased salaries, but if a seminar might benefit the company then it could prove to be the basis for a great intra-office competition where the top employee or employees get to enjoy a paid vacation on the company dime.
• Customer Loyalty – Everyone in the business community has figured out that there is much more to business than the bottom line. There are perks to consider as well, and those companies that offer perks to suppliers and customers alike find that their shipments arrive with less difficulty and that customers overlook small differences in bids in favor of a name that they know and trust.
• Potential Clients Convert Better – Potential clients often need to be ‘buttered up’ in order to get them to convert. Why not give a sales pitch during 18 holes on a great golf course? Who could resist an invitation like that?