Corporate Travel Destinations

If you are in search of a family-friendly destination for customer appreciation, employee appreciation or incentive travel, you may want to consider sunny Newport Beach in Southern California. This seaside town has attractions that appeal to all ages and great weather throughout the year, making it an ideal location for a family vacation. While sunbathing, swimming or surfing at the beach are some of the most popular – and most obvious – attractions, other outdoor activities include boating, jet skiing, rollerblading and bicycling, and the equipment for each can be easily rented right on or near the beach.

Once families have had enough of lounging on the sand and building sand castles, they can head to the popular Toy Boat Toy Boat Toy Boat toy store on East Coast Highway, where they will find games, activities and toys for kids of all ages. If parents prefer a little adult time to play golf or shop, teens can be dropped off at the Balboa Fun Zone, or the entire family can spend the day there enjoying a variety of activities, games, restaurants and beaches.

There are also plenty of family-friendly dining options for quick snacks or full meals, as well as coffee shops, snack bars and cafés within easy walking distance of hotels and the beach.

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina is one of the most popular travel destinations in the South. With world-class golf courses, beautiful beaches, resort hotels, fabulous shopping, exquisite dining options and a plethora of entertainment, visitors to Myrtle Beach are never at a loss for how to spend their time, which means that your event attendees will have plenty of options for evenings and free days while attending your corporate meeting or event.

As for meeting space, Myrtle Beach is home to several hotels that can accommodate small- to mid-size groups, as well as the Myrtle Beach Convention Center, which offers 250,000 square feet of customizable space to meet your needs. Part of this space includes a 100,800-square-foot exhibition hall that has no columns and can be divided into three separate spaces. All meeting spaces are equipped with high-speed, wireless Internet access, and the exhibition hall has water, cable and electricity available throughout. The Convention Center also has a banquet kitchen that is able to cater full-meal events with up to 5,000 in attendance, 1,400 parking spaces, and 402 guest rooms in the newly opened Sheraton Myrtle Beach Convention Center Hotel on the same property.

Located just three miles from the Myrtle Beach International Airport and walking distance to dining, shopping and entertainment, the Myrtle Beach Convention Center is as convenient for your participants as it is for you as a planner.

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.

The beauty of the Smokey Mountains is just one of the attractions of the Knoxville area. The convention center has 500,000 square feet of space to utilize for meetings, trade shows, or other industry needs.

The Holiday Inn Select is just 25 paces from the Knoxville Convention Center. That certainly makes it a challenge for any visitor to get lost on the way back to the hotel. The hotel is also within walking distance of several local attractions such as Market Square, the University of Tennessee, and the Knoxville Museum of Art.

A mild climate is another attractive feature of the Knoxville area. It is easy to plan team building events here that might be impossible to conceive in a harsher climate. Sports minded convention attendees can take a break and visit the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame or attend a sporting event at the University of Tennessee.

A riverboat cruise could be exactly what your clients need to decompress after a long day of meetings. Would you consider offering a trip to the Knoxville Zoo or a round of golf at one of the cities 13 golf courses as part of your incentive package? There is a lot happening in Knoxville, don’t miss out.

No taxpayer wants to see her hard-earned dollars being wasted by companies on the public bailout dime. Misused funds are one way American businesses got into their current predicaments in the first place. However, nixing meetings just because they look like they are in a “fun” place–and companies getting bailed out should not have any “fun”–has created tensions not only in the companies who are canceling their meetings, but with gaming community hotels and convention services, and the meeting planner.

As understandable as the restrictions are, they are largely unwarranted. Gaming communities, Las Vegas included, are hurting for business right now and have become flexible and cost effective for business meeting needs. Other considerations, such as travel within the city, large room blocks, and good meal choices, are also good for companies pinching pennies–much of Vegas is within walking distance, food is less expensive than other cities, and there are excellent choices of hotel rooms. Continue reading »