Corporate Travel Destinations

More and more businesses are tightening their budgets, but that leaves an opening for businesses willing to offer inventive travel to their staff, partners, suppliers, customers, and/or political contacts. Here’s what you really need to know when you start planning your incentive travel options:

• As the competition retreats into walls of financial security, you get the opportunity to step up your relations with workers, vendors, suppliers, and other contacts. Use it or someone else will.
• If you do decide to invest extra in incentive travel options to redefine your business, make sure everything else is suitably classed up. A chain is only as strong as its weakest link, so building a strong link next to several weak links is not a good idea.
• Make sure that the offers are given to the right people. Employees tend to enjoy competitions, but some suppliers or partners might take umbrage to finding out that a peer was invited on a company-sponsored vacation when they were not.
• Be sure to target partners or vendors that look like they have more than just the bottom line in mind, and look carefully at employees that are worth far more than they are being paid. Both are likely to look at other options when they get the chance.

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?

When most business people think of exotic corporate travel, they start to conjure up passports and visas that are required to travel to some far flung exotic location. Instead, consider some of the more interesting and exotic corporate travel destinations within the U.S. such as:

Las Vegas – There are few destinations within the borders of the United States that have as much variety to offer business travelers as Las Vegas. Even Atlantic City takes a distant second to this jewel in the desert.

Hawaii – Sun-drenched Pacific islands that have been included in countless movies and television shows for their raw natural splendor are obviously the very definition of exotic. That does not mean that Hawaii is not affordable, though a plane ride or cruise will be required due to its location.

Alaska – Looking to cool things down a bit? Try ice fishing in Alaska or simply booking a hotel with an amazing view of glacier-capped mountains and pristine forests blanketed in snow.

The Florida Keys – Florida’s keys are amazingly gorgeous, and full of history. Add to this the number of quality hotels offering inclusive travel options, and the Keys are a particularly exotic yet practical domestic destination.

The Grand Canyon – Looking for a great getaway that still has creature comforts and is perfect for outdoor meetings? The Grand Canyon in the northern section of Arizona is affordable and awe inspiring.

European river cruising is generally considered a summer affair, largely due to the inclement weather that is common across much of Europe during the winter months. When most travelers are considering a cruise, they are most often looking for sunny, warm weather that allows them to explore ports and lounge in the sun when on board. While this is not an option in much of Europe during the dreary months of winter, Spain is still enjoying sun and welcoming weather, even while some countries are covered in snow or experiencing freezing winter rainstorms.

This makes Spain group river cruises an ideal option for corporate travel planners who like the idea of European river cruising, but need to plan winter travel. It is particularly appealing for those who are planning a corporate cruise for participants that live in areas that have cold winters. The participants will enjoy having the opportunity to escape the cold and spend time in warmer weather, while the travel planner will enjoy the ease and convenience of planning a corporate cruise on one of Spain’s rivers.

River cruising is most appropriate for smaller groups, since river barges are considerably smaller than oceangoing vessels. Group river cruises are particularly appropriate for executive retreats, incentive travel programs and small corporate meetings.

If you are searching for a unique, fun team building experience that will fit your budget and can take place anywhere you choose, look no further than the Corporate Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp. Whether you are organizing a corporate training at your company’s headquarters, or are looking for an exciting new option for entertainment at your next corporate event, there is nothing quite like a Rock Camp to get things rolling.

The consultants from the Corporate Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp will work with you to create a package that fits your needs and budget, including one-, two- and three-day options. All musical equipment is provided and no prior musical experience is necessary. This is the type of team building experience that everyone can enjoy and participate in, while also allowing employees at different levels to participate equally in decision making and goal setting.

The rock star counselors are members of touring bands and use that experience to assist your team in learning to work together as they choose a song to perform and rehearse. Some of the recognizable names who have participated in the Rock Camp as counselors include Brian Wilson, Slash, Steven Tyler and George Thorogood. The experience culminates in a confidence-building stage performance where your participants will be rocking out alongside their counselors and in front of their colleagues.

For more information, visit www.RockCamp.com.

The picturesque nation of Tunisia boasts miles of pristine beaches on the Mediterranean Sea along its northern and eastern borders, Algeria as its neighbor to the west and Libya to the southeast. As Africa’s northernmost country, it has the distinctive characteristic of having both part of the Sahara desert and beautiful Mediterranean seaside resorts within its boundaries. With each passing year, Tunisia becomes more popular as a tourist destination, particularly for history lovers, beach enthusiasts and fans of Star Wars movies.

Tunisia’s rich culture and numerous sites of historical importance are the result of its many inhabitants over the ages, including Phoenician, Byzantine, Berber, Roman and Arab cultures. Some of these sites include the Bardo Museum located in an Ottoman palace, the El-Jem Coluseum and Kairouan, which is an Islamic holy city. With a variety of festivals throughout the year, villages where visitors can shop for traditional handicrafts and its diverse geography, Tunisia has something to offer to any type of traveler. This makes it an ideal option for corporate events, executive retreats or incentive travel programs.

Participants are sure to enjoy the many leisure options available, including lounging on the beach, shopping for blankets, rugs and copper pieces, taking a tour of Star Wars filming locations, exploring ancient villages or browsing in open-air souks when not in meetings.

Are you planning your next team meeting and are in search of a new, exciting venue? If so, why not consider Puerto Rico? There are several reasons to look at this island destination that has been dubbed La Isla del Encanto (the enchanted island), including beautiful scenery, great hotel venues and a plethora of local attractions.

With San Juan being a hub for many airlines, Puerto Rico is often the first stop for travel to the Caribbean. Also, as a U.S. commonwealth, the U.S. dollar is Puerto Rico’s currency and U.S. citizens do not require passports. These added benefits allow travelers to experience a land that is unlike any other area in the U.S. without the hassles of foreign travel.

Whether it is a meeting to further engage your clients, a teambuilding trip to rejuvenate your employees or an executive retreat, the Hotel Condado, El San Juan Hotel, Marriott, Hilton or Ritz-Carlton are all excellent venue options that are located in San Juan and offer corporate discounts, small and large meeting rooms, and all of the amenities you expect from topnotch meeting venues.

After your participants have met their goals and objectives, take an overnight trip to Culebra Island, which is accessible by ferry or a 15-minute plane ride. Here you can take jeep rides through the dunes, visit the Culebra National Wildlife Preserve and the Bioluminescent Bay, or sunbathe on any of the eight exquisite beaches, including Flamenco Beach, which is ranked #2 on a list of the top 10 most exotic beaches in the world.

For oceans of information, visit www.landrykling.com or www.seasite.com or call 800-448-9002.

As a single stop on a corporate cruise or a standalone destination for your next corporate meeting, conference or event, San Francisco has a wide variety of offerings and is sure to delight your participants. Most famous for the Golden Gate Bridge, the island of Alcatraz and cable cars, some of San Francisco’s other popular attractions include Fisherman’s Wharf, Chinatown, Pier 39, Golden Gate Park, the Cable Car Museum, Ghirardelli Square, Mission Delores and the Historic Ships Pier. Visitors will also enjoy world-class cuisine and shopping, as well as a wide variety of productions housed in historic theaters.

Each of San Francisco’s neighborhoods has distinctive characteristics, such as Lombard Street that zigzags down a steep hill in the Russian Hill neighborhood, the lively nightlife and rainbow flags in The Castro, and steep staircases leading to amazing views in the Telegraph Hill neighborhood. Affordable tours are available and can be arranged with group discounts as part of your event itinerary, and an excellent public transportation system makes getting around this diverse city a breeze.

There are three major airports and a cruise terminal servicing the San Francisco area, offering expanded options for transportation, and corporate event and travel planners can choose from historic hotels or major chains when selecting a venue and accommodations for attendees.

Airport hotels almost always get a bad rap and, other than the convenience and close proximity to the airport, most travelers see little positive about staying in them. This is even truer when it comes to actually holding a conference, convention or corporate meeting in one. Ask most planners and they are sure to say that they and their clients would rather use a downtown property, and don’t even get them started about the noise from the planes flying overhead. However, it turns out that many airport hotels really do not deserve this reputation and recent full-scale renovations have many competing quite successfully with their downtown counterparts.

An excellent example of this is the Hilton Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Mall of America, located just three miles from the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. This 300-room hotel has 22,000 square feet of space for events, including a 7,500-square-foot ballroom and nine meeting rooms. As an added bonus, the hotel is adjacent to a wildlife refuge, which offers excellent views from many of the rooms and meeting spaces and – perhaps most importantly – makes the entire area a no-fly zone. The wildlife refuge also has a 125-seat auditorium and 8,000 square feet of event space located in its visitor center, increasing the possibilities for planners that opt for this destination.