Corporate Travel Destinations

As Cruising Slashes the Cost of Land Based Venues by 25-40%,

Planners Can Persevere with Today’s Shrinking Budgets

MIAMI, FL (Sept. 29, 2009) – Cutting costs without compromising quality or creativity is top of mind with meeting planners these days.  With that in mind, the fact remains that meetings and incentives held at sea, verses traditional land-based programs, can reduce costs by 25-40%.  But for those unfamiliar with staging events on board cruise ships, the process can be intimidating.  With the debut of Seasite.com, the first and only web portal dedicated solely to serving the cruise meeting market, planners will find what was once labor intensive, is now quick, simple and accessible all in one place.

The first and only comprehensive online marketplace for planning cruise meetings and events, Seasite is a revolutionary approach to ship selection and onboard event planning.  “It is the new frontier of cruise meetings and incentives, allowing you to do more with less,” says Josephine Kling, Seasite CEO.  “And beyond the affordability factor is the ability to design and customize and implement a program that is unique, client focused and unforgettable,” she adds.

Seasite demystifies the process and puts users in control so that meetings at sea can now be planned as easily as land based meetings.  Driven by sophisticated technology, super rich content and robust ship-search capabilities, Seasite puts incentive and meeting management companies, corporate or independent meeting planners and other group event organizers in total “cruise” control.  For those needing assistance, Cruise Advisors are on hand by chat, phone or email.  And for those already comfortable with organizing events at sea, Seasite’s sophisticated search and content rich data, coupled with its unique eRFP process, saves time and simplifies the process.  There is no cost or membership fee to use Seasite. Continue reading »

The corporate world is full of challenges and after the last year of pushing through the recession it’s time for a breath of fresh air. Would you like to send your client to a breathtakingly beautiful area that provides them with unique opportunities to get away from it all?

Why not choose Anchorage, Alaska for the next corporate getaway or meeting? The Anchorage Convention District is made up of two separate and complimentary Civic and Convention Centers located in the heart of downtown.

The Dena’ina (pronounced DEH-nah-EE-nah) Civic and Convention Center has 200,000 square feet of room to offer meeting planners. Native Alaska themes used throughout the Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center underscore its commitment to sustain and protect the environment by using state of the art heating equipment, low wattage escalators, and recycling products. Guests are stunned by the gorgeous stained glass murals and traditional carvings seen throughout the venue. The best in audiovisual technology is available making corporate events a breeze.

For smaller, more intimate meetings, investigate the William A. Egan Civic and Convention Center. This site offers affordable rates and is just two blocks from the Dena’ina area of the district. The Anchorage Center for the Performing Arts and Town Square Park are nearby.

Where else can you get world-class cuisine created with local resources and catch a glimpse of a moose in the distance?

If you’d like to include places of historical interest plus fun on the water to your next event, consider Virginia. There are endless possibilities for planning a unique experience for your guest and some attractive incentives that add to the scenic backdrops of this great state.

Virginia Beach is famous for sand and sun; a new convention center has drawn the eye of many meeting planners to this area. Ocean front hotels provide calming views and allow visitors to let off a little steam playing in the surf between meetings. The area is home to some fine microbreweries for beer connoisseurs and chocolate tastings at Schakolad Chocolate Factory for anyone with a sweet tooth.

If you are interested in adding a memorable culinary experience to your next meeting, consider Norfolk. There are more than 80 chef owned restaurants in Norfolk and many of them proudly show off Virginia wines, produce, and beef. It is possible to book events to coincide with the wine festivals held in the spring and fall.

Water can sooth overworked spirits. If your clients enjoy the outdoors and want to get away from it all, there are a multitude of boating and fishing options available in Suffolk. Reach out to Virginia for your next destination and you won’t be disappointed.

Recent research suggests that people making retail purchases are examining their expenditure more closely before making decisions. In other words, there is a lot less of the willy-nilly cash throwing that the upper-middle class to the wealthy had been guilty of for so many years during the height of their prosperity. Now these same people are looking for better value and asking themselves if they really need this or that. And now, this research shows, they are happier as well.

What this means to meeting planners and their business is not so much that you will have less of it–although that could happen and may be happening now–but that you will have to focus your attention on value as well. This focus will, of course, be on the client’s behalf, so you may end up working a little harder to bring home your bacon. Continue reading »

Here is a test for meeting planners: You have a client who wants it all. The meeting has to be centrally located for people coming from many areas of the United States, must be inexpensive and not in a gaming town for image purposes. Not only that, the facilities have to be high tech and offer good food as well. This is not an ordinary client, and you want to overdeliver.

Well, you can. You can also offer lower-cost transportation, an image overhaul for the meeting (adding a small image boost to the company), and beautiful accommodations for guests. You can do all this by convincing your client to hold the meeting in the American Midwest.

More than a bunch of grey, industrial cities, the Midwest offers better pricing on many aspects of your meeting than the more popular destinations in coastal cities, tropical areas, and game communities. Because it will appear that your client is offering a boon to a part of the country that is usually suffering some economic woe or another, it will improve the company image. Continue reading »

The time has come for high tech travel to look to the past for answers: the train. While aviation engineers have repeatedly tried to create economically viable forms of supersonic travel, the train has plugged along its merry way back into our hearts. Why? Not just because of the romantic ideas that the train has always stood for, but because it’s becoming an economically viable way to travel while making a minimal impact on the environment.

The romance of the train has helped, though. Once the only mode of high speed travel, it was the way most people made long trips. They had time to enjoy the landscape and get to know other passengers while they traveled. They were more civil days in some ways. These days we’re lucky to have our seatmates on the airplanes nod a greeting to us.

If you are looking for ways to get groups together, consider having them travel together when possible. That way they can enjoy the countryside views and enjoy their travel together, then participate in a conference, meeting, or group activity when they arrive at their destination–they will already know each other, and this could offer a great boost for meeting results. Continue reading »

The tanked economy may be old news–and news we’re all tired of listening to–but has turned out to be a boon for meeting planners and those booking incentive travel. Ovation Travel Group predicts that the recent tears-long trend of increased rates will be reversed in 2009, and rates might drop. Ovation recently polled hundreds of hotels through the world, and found that some have already lowered their rates, so the trend may be starting.

With over 400 hotels responding to a survey, Ovation reports that this year hotels have already lowered their 2008 rates by 4.31 percent. The company says that overseas, 35.6 percent of the properties report their rates are down by 11 percent, and another 27 percent have held steady. This makes a total average drop in rates of 4.67 percent.

Here in the United States 37.1 percent of our hotels report reducing their rates by 10.2 percent, which mirrors properties worldwide. However, more of our hotels have maintained the 2008 rates–38 percent of domestic properties did not raise prices in 2009. This makes “Buy American” much easier for the domestic planner who is looking to book incentive groups locally.

Even though financially things are tough around the world, that doesn’t mean that you can’t send people on worldwide travel. If you have properties with which you have great relationships already, they may be willing to reduce rates for especially large bookings. These days everyone is fighting for business, so you might as well take advantage of it–find the hotels that have lowered their rates and reward their good sense with your business.

If you are looking for a top-notch group travel choice that is both easy and affordable, look no farther than the As in your phone book–Aruba. Prized for the accommodations, food, nightlife, and local customs, there is another reason seasoned meeting professionals keep coming back to Aruba for their incentive travel needs. The tiny island paradise is so friendly that the hotels and other businesses help each other help the visitor. If one hotel can’t help you make arrangements, they will send you to someone who can, even if it is a competitor.

This makes Aruba the perfect choice not only for incentive groups, but also for meetings, conventions, continuing education conferences, and many other groups that meeting planners encounter in their daily lives. Here are some other advantages to booking events in Aruba.

Accessibility. Aruba is located in the Caribbean, so it’s a short flight from the southeast United States airports. Aruba is also a popular port of call for cruise lines, so if you are considering a cruise meeting, you could include a stop in Aruba as part of the plans. Continue reading »

For professional meeting planners, The Peabody Orlando is the ultimate destination for all grand events and meetings in Orlando. One of the iconic meeting hotels in Florida, it is a brilliant example of southern hospitality combined with outstanding service. Currently, this hotel is under going a huge $450-million expansion plan, aimed at building the largest US non-gaming hotels that will make Orlando and Central Florida – the hub of meetings and conventions.

The Peabody hotel is known for its incomparable blend of top-notch service, facilities and strategic location. The new meetings hotel, can access the 7 million sq. ft. area of the adjacent Orange County Convention Center.

The tall marble halls, regal palm trees and beautiful waterfalls are an integral part of the multi-award winning Peabody hotel. And even when the expansion process is under full swing, business will be normal for the hotel in general.

Currently there are 891 guest rooms and 57 suites in the landmark hotel. In fall 2010, after the expansion this numbers would rise to 1,641 ultra-modern rooms that include 120 suites. All rooms are equipped with ultra luxuries like a Peabody Dream Bed, dual-line telephones with data ports, HD plasma televisions, Internet connections, voice mail, teleconferencing facilities, and et al.

An area of 210,000 sq. ft. would replace the present 57,000 sq. ft. meeting space and event center. This will feature the 55,000 sq. ft. Peabody Grand Ballroom. About 2,100 cars can be parked in the massive 7-story parking space. And if you are too tired after a grueling meeting, 80 deluxe getaway rooms are available for a retreat. The guests will have the option of relaxing in the spa and athletic club. The two new swimming pools – an Olympic-style heated pool and a tranquil grotto pool will have a pool bar and poolside cabanas. There would be a children’s pool too. Continue reading »