Is it becoming more difficult to come up with new, exciting meeting venues, unique excursions and entertainment options or enticing destinations? If so, it might be time to take advantage of an untapped resource that just might have been right under your nose all along. As a meeting planner or corporate event planner, you have a built-in focus group just waiting to be tapped for suggestions.

If you work as a meeting planner for a particular company, your colleagues are the perfect group of people to provide suggestions regarding possible meeting venues, what type of entertainment they would like at the next corporate event and which destinations would be most appealing for incentive travel programs. If you are an independent planner, you can still take advantage of participant input by tapping the folks that attend the events you plan.

The folks who attend your meetings and events are exactly who you would want to speak to anyways, since this is the group of people to which you are providing a service and trying to impress. Most meeting and event attendees will be more than happy to participate in making future events more interesting or fun, and they will likely be delighted that they were asked their opinion on the matter.

Create a simple survey to disseminate around the office or at your next event, asking easy questions about venues, entertainment, excursions and destinations that they would find interesting. Giving predetermined options is a good way to avoid having everyone suggest Monaco when your budget would be more fitting for Miami, but even if you provide options from which they should choose, be sure to also leave some space dedicated to their suggestions. You might be surprised with how many great options they come up with that you may have never even considered.

Meeting and corporate event planners are always in need of fresh ideas to use as icebreakers. Meeting and event participants attend so many functions with icebreakers that there is a good chance they have already participated in all of the old, tried-and-true activities that have been popular over the years. Because of this, the best way to mix things up and show your attendees that this will not be yet another boring meeting or event filled with hackneyed icebreaker games and team-building activities is to come up with fun icebreakers they have likely never participated in before.

One such icebreaker would be building houses of cards. Building card houses takes patience and teamwork and is a great way to encourage your participants to get to know one another and learn ways to work together well. This is a very manageable activity that can be completed in small groups, which also means this icebreaker can be used to break your group into smaller working groups or breakout groups.

In order to successfully implement a card house building activity, you will need as many large, flat surfaces as you have teams. Your meeting or conference tables will likely work fine for this. You will also need several decks of cards per team, keeping in mind that it can take more than a deck of cards just to build a single-level card house, depending on the size. If you would like to indulge your team’s competitive spirit, you can make this a competition and give prizes for the largest, tallest, strongest or most unique house of cards.

Icebreakers are a fun way to get people talking and interacting at the beginning of a meeting, team building experience or conference. Whether you are planning a group cruise as a team building trip for a staff that regularly works together or a conference with folks who have never met each other, icebreakers are a great way to get things going. Since cruise ships provide a unique environment in their own right, it can be even more enjoyable to employ unique icebreakers that are far removed from the ordinary choices of name games and activities of that ilk.

Icebreakers for group cruises can easily take place in a meeting room, just as they would on land; however, sending your attendees off on a trek around the ship will help them become familiar with the layout, meet some of the crew and create a fun cruise atmosphere right from the beginning. And, all of this can take place while they are getting to know their fellow participants and working together as a team. One ideal option that provides all of these benefits is a scavenger hunt. Scavenger hunts do not require tons of materials or time to plan and are simple to implement. All that is required is a list of items to give to each team and a conversation with the appropriate crew members to make sure they know what is going on.

You simply send each team off in search of cruise-related items, such as drink umbrellas, something that has the cruise line’s logo on it, a napkin from the buffet or other similar trinkets. Providing the winning team with a prize that is also related to the cruise, such as an onboard activity or shore excursion will increase the fun even more.

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If you plan meetings and events for the SMERF (social, military, educational, religious, fraternal) market, you may want to consider adding self-catering accommodation options to the lodgings available for your events. While this is clearly a non-issue if your meeting or event is taking place on a cruise ship or if you are hosting your event at a hotel and offering on-site lodgings, this can be a rather appealing option for other situations. For example, if you are planning a meeting to be held at a community hall or a conference at a convention center, you may want to consider adding self-catering options to the list of lodging possibilities for out-of-town attendees.

One of the main reasons for offering self-catering accommodations when working with the SMERF market is that this type of event participant is more likely to be traveling with their partner or family than other types of event attendees. Accommodations that have kitchen and laundry facilities can make the non-attending partner and other family members feel more at home and allows them to keep food and drinks readily available, rather than having to leave their lodgings every time they want a snack. This also allows your SMERF participants to enjoy the convenience and savings of dining in for some meals, if they prefer.

Seasite.com makes it easy for event planners to source and plan a cruise event. They provide search tools that help you identify the right ship, meeting space grids that show you how the ship fits your needs, and other great planning resources.

We all know that plants assist in cleaning indoor air and are nice to look at, but can they really improve meetings in a way that is meaningful and worth the effort?

Plants can be used in both temporary and permanent meeting locations; however, using them at various venues requires meeting planners to transport the plants to different locations and to find a place to store and care for them when not in use. This is going to be too much of a hassle for most meeting planners who already have plenty to manage, but if you plan on-site meetings that are held in regularly used meeting rooms plants may be a viable option.

Aside from cleaning the air and creating a healthier environment, plants are also perfect for creating a more relaxed meeting venue and taking away some of the sterile feeling that is common among nondescript meeting spaces. Dull, drab meeting rooms with little décor and stale air drain the energy of attendees quickly and make for a very long meeting; however, by adding a few well-placed plants to the room, you can create a more welcoming environment that is more comfortable and energetic, which can lead to greater productivity. Plants are also inexpensive, which makes them a much more affordable option for livening up a room than more expensive options, such as new furnishings or artwork.

If you are planning a meeting or conference in a popular tourist destination, such as the Caribbean, South America, Australia, Hawaii, Spain or Greece, you can rest assured that you will have plenty of interested participants that will certainly attend. However, you may be concerned about how good their attendance will be once they are at the destination and have to make the tough choice between attending meetings or spending the day at the beach and shopping for souvenirs in open air markets. Your attendees are naturally going to be tempted by pristine, sandy beaches, the warmth of the sun and the draw of local villages and sites of cultural interest. Because of this, it will take a bit of planning to ensure that your attendees participate fully in your meeting or event.

One way to encourage them to attend planned functions and to ensure them that they will also have plenty of time to explore the area is to provide a schedule that clearly defines blocks of free time. This will provide them with a visual reminder that they are there to work, as well as play, and will let them know that you have planned plenty of free time for their enjoyment. You may also want to consider scheduling a free day within the first few days of the event, rather than only towards the end. If they see that they have to wait until the end of the week to hit the beach, they will be much more likely to play hooky from meetings to sneak away to the shore.

Another way to ensure attendance at important events is to plan a group cruise event.  Cruising is extremely popular with meeting attendees, and meeting planners can plan structured events at sea around the cruise itinerary.

When we think of cruise ships in the corporate meeting and event planning world, we usually think of business meetings at sea, conferences held while traveling up the coast or incentive cruises that stop in multiple ports. However, we often overlook the many benefits of using cruise ships for stationary events – as floating hotels, which allows you to take advantage of simple, convenient event planning and reap the money-saving benefits of hosting your event on a ship without ever leaving port.

Whether you are looking for accommodations for out of town participants, a large venue for a conference or trade show, or several smaller meeting spaces for an executive retreat, employee training or award ceremony, you may want to consider a cruise ship venue. Just as you would when planning an event at sea, this allows you to take advantage of one upfront cost and easy planning for catering, equipment, décor, meeting spaces and, if needed, accommodation. Hosting a meeting or event on a docked cruise ship can be particularly cost-effective if your company or client is headquartered in a port city. Attendees can then be responsible for their own transportation to and from the venue and the need for arranging lodgings will be minimal.

Hosting your next meeting or event on a cruise ship in port will add a unique appeal for attendees and can result in significant cost savings for your client or company.

The Columbia Winery label is easy to recognize from seeing it in nearly every retailer that sells wine and listed on most restaurant’s wine lists. You can use this widespread recognition to your advantage by planning your next corporate event or business meeting in the winery’s gorgeous Victorian mansion, which is surrounded by a lovely English garden. The winery is located in just a short drive from Seattle in the Woodinville Wine Country and is within minutes of upscale shopping, dining and entertainment options. The 3,744-square-foot event space can accommodate up to 225 people as is or can be divided into two rooms, each of which can accommodate up to 90 guests.

To make the planning process simple, the winery offers an exceptional in-house catering service, which provides delicious cuisine complemented by Columbia Winery wines. The winery also boasts state-of-the-art technology and 140 parking spaces for your attendees to ensure a successful event. A complimentary wine tasting at the winery’s tasting bar can be incorporated into your event planning or, for a more personalized experience, you can also treat your participants to a private wine tasting hosted by an official Columbia Winery educator.

The Columbia Winery is also ideal for private events if you happen to have a client looking for an elegant venue for a wedding reception or anniversary celebration.

To begin planning your next corporate meeting or event at the Columbia Winery, visit the website at www.columbiawinery.com or call 1-800-488-2347.

Whether your corporate event lasts for two days or two weeks, there are bound to be certain points where participants begin to get edgy, stress begins to take its toll, or energy and attention begin to wane. Even in the most interesting meetings this can happen, which can lead to lower productivity and decreased satisfaction among attendees. This is why savvy corporate meeting and event planners have begun to include spa treatments in their event schedules. These luxury extras are an excellent addition to meetings and a great way to perk up attendees, relieve stress and prepare them for a few more hours at the table.

This growing trend is particularly popular at resort hotels that house spas on the premises, which also makes the inclusion of spa treatments much easier to organize. When the equipment and staff necessary to conduct spa treatments is already in place, only minimal planning is required to provide this added luxury to your event. Popular options for spa treatments during meeting breaks include chair massages, foot massages, head massages and mini, instructor-led yoga sessions and stretching breaks.

If your venue does not have an in-house spa, you can still incorporate spa treatments into your event with ease by finding a local, mobile team of spa service providers or contracting with a local spa that can send over staff and equipment.

Whether you are planning a day-long corporate event or an event that takes place over a number of days, you will more than likely be asked to schedule some sort of entertainment into the itinerary. In the case of multi-day events, you will need to consider activities and entertainment options for several different time slots, since naturally there will be downtime between meetings or at the end of the day. While scheduling organized outings, entertainers, social functions or other entertainment options will certainly be necessary, you may want to consider interspersing planned activities and free time during periods of downtime throughout your event.

There are a number of advantages associated with designating certain days or evenings as free time to allow the attendees to plan their own activities. The most obvious and significant advantage is the money that will be saved, followed closely by the fact that allowing for free time means fewer events for you to plan, which makes your job easier. Experiencing significant cost savings and having less planning to do is reason enough to schedule in free time; however, there are also additional benefits of opting for self-styled entertainment options.

Scheduling in free time is sure to please attendees who would rather explore the city, go out for a drink or retreat to their rooms after a long day of meetings. It also allows you to avoid risking folks not showing up due to lack of appeal or simply being too tired after the day’s activities.