Corporate Travel Destinations

There are many different companies offering cruise meetings and cruise events, which means that consumers actually have a choice. This might not be immediately obvious as many people still consider cruise meetings to be an alternative meeting format. Despite this common misconception, there are a few things that one needs to consider when evaluating different cruise lines: What is their focus? Some cruise lines handle cruise meetings but have a focus on specific aspects or target audiences.

• Where do the cruises go? Not all cruise liners travel to all parts of the world. If certain locations are important then there is going to be a limitation placed on the available cruise lines to meet business needs. Fewer choices tends to drive price up.
• Do they charter? Some cruise lines offer chartering of small, medium, and even full-sized cruise liners for the right amount of money. Chartering cruise liners can actually be surprisingly affordable for businesses with the means, especially compared to the alternatives.
• What are the meeting facilities like? Most cruise liners have meeting facilities, though space is always at a premium aboard a vessel at sea. This means that larger meetings need to be held in dining halls, theaters, and other rooms. Sometimes this can be the perfect invitation for unique meeting formats, so be willing to be flexibile.

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.

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?