If you want to book a meeting at sea, instead of at a hotel, here are some differences between the two venues that you should be aware of.

Arrival time: It is common for meeting and event planners to arrive at a hotel a day or two before a big event, but with a cruise ship you can arrive an hour or two before the meeting participants.

Reserving rooms: Unless you charter a ship for your group cruise, you will need to coordinate with the cruise line in advance to secure the meeting space you need on the day and time you need it. Otherwise, another group may already be using the space.

Saving money: The cruise ship includes things like AV equipment and themed décor, so you do not have to budget for these items separately like you do for a hotel. You can either keep the extra cash or use it to offer incentives or fun activities, such as additional onboard amenities or shore excursions.

Promoting differences: A cruise ship offers different options than a hotel, so you can advertise these when promoting the trip. For example, you can mention that participants choose from a vast menu for all three meals, or that there is a wide range of activities available, or that participants will be able to visit several different destinations without extra packing or travel hassle.

Because cruises exude luxury, many businesses mistakenly believe that incentive cruises are beyond their budgets. Many may not even consider a cruise event or ship charter as a business incentive due to the “cost” of the cruise. However, incentive cruises are really no different than other forms of business incentives. For example, the cost to secure accommodations for a group at a hotel can range significantly. Some hotels and resorts are much more expensive than others. This same concept applies to cruise events. When businesses opt for meetings at sea, the business can find a price point that will be right for them.

The type of cruise a businesses chooses should be based on the needs of the company as well as the participants. Businesses rewarding a few employees with a business incentive such as a ship charter may desire a more luxurious cruise, while businesses treated hundreds of employees to a cruise event may opt for a more basic cruise package. Not only can a cruise easily fit in the budget of almost any business, but an incentive cruise can be very motivating for employees. Even when businesses have a price point to meet, they should still consider an incentive cruise as a viable option.

Oftentimes, businesses overlook the small things when trying to determine what type of incentives will work best with their employees. For meetings that do not require travel to some exotic destination or if a budget simply will now allow travel at the present time, there are other ways to reward employees and express appreciation. One of the most overlooked ways in which to show employees how much their work is appreciated and to provide motivation for continued dedication is food. Businesses that select food as one of their incentives need to ensure they plan the incentive meals properly.

Providing food as an incentive or reward can keep a business' costs low if planned properly. While catering is ideal if a business' budget permits, the business can purchase and serve the food themselves. Businesses may want to plan to serve either breakfast or lunch to employees before or after a meeting. Breakfast foods such as juice, coffee, muffins, doughnuts, and bagels are staples. A business could have a lunch delivered, such as hot sandwiches or pizza, and give employees the opportunity to relax while having lunch. Incentives do not always have to be grand gestures or expensive trips. Sometimes the small things can say thanks in a significant way.

If a business or organization typically plans incentive meetings within the same city in which the business is located or only a few hours a way, employees will probably not be as motivated to earn a spot on these trips. Even meeting venues in cities that are on the opposite coast of the U.S. may not be the enticing motivator businesses hope they will be. While some employees will be intrigued by travel within the states, many ambitious, top-rated employees have their sights set beyond the U.S. The types of employees that will most likely be the top producers in a company typically have dreams of faraway destinations.

While traveling to distant lands can be expensive, there is a way that businesses can offer this travel without overburdening their budget. An incentive cruise is an excellent way to offer this international travel to deserving employees. While incentive cruising, businesses can hold productive and profitable meetings at sea while allowing employees the opportunity to travel the world. A ship charter is often less expensive than land venues, and an incentive cruise helps employees to network and build relationships. A ship charter to a distant land could be the thing a business needs to highly motivate capable, competent, and talented employees.

When companies desire to plan incentive travel for top-performing employees, they often choose meeting venues such as hotels and resorts. While there are many benefits that hotels and resorts can offer, these meeting venues often come with a hefty price tag. For budget conscious companies, this presents a real dilemma. They have to figure out how to reward employees without burdening their budget. Instead of choosing more traditional meeting venues, consider an incentive cruise. An incentive cruise can be more affordable than a hotel or resort because of their all-inclusive amenities. From accommodations to entertainment, everything is included in a ship charter

All-inclusive amenities offered with a cruise event include things such as ocean view suites with butler services and complimentary beverages. Incentive cruises also offer participants a wide variety of dining venues with gourmet cuisine, complimentary transportation, and in-suite dining is complimentary as well. Entertainment and recreational activities such as fitness classes are also complimentary. Compared to land venues, businesses can save as much as 40 percent with meetings at sea. An incentive cruise can be easy on a business' incentive travel budgeting program. When businesses desire to save money, choosing a cruise event with all-inclusive amenities may be the answer for which they have been searching.

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.

When planning corporate meetings and conventions, reserving shuttles to carry your participants from their hotels to the event location, from the event location to planned excursions or between multiple venues is generally taken for granted as part of the meeting planning process. Meeting and event planners automatically add a line for shuttle expenses to the event budget and usually assume this service is a must, even if the hotel is barely two blocks from the convention center. It would appear that having a shuttle has worked its way onto the essentials list, right along with tables, chairs and lighting.

While there be some circumstances where shuttles truly are a must, this additional expense is often unnecessary. Most cities with meeting and conference venues have plenty of hotels located within walking distance of event locations, as well as well-established public transportation systems that can easily and economically carry event participants to different venues or excursions. Most event venues also have dining options in close proximity.

Considering that most companies are still looking for ways to cut event expenses and many are on the lookout for easy ways to go green, cutting shuttle service out of your list of musts is an easy way to accomplish both goals. Before reserving shuttles for your next corporate event, take a moment to determine whether or not they are truly necessary. If most venues are in close proximity to one another and hotels are just down the street, shuttles may just be an extra expense that you can easily avoid without participant complaints.

There are two driving forces behind the push for stay-cations: the current economic crisis and the green movement. As individuals and families are feeling the pressure of financial hardships and increasing numbers of people are committing to lowering the impact their lifestyles have on the environment, the world of vacations and travel is changing. More and more people are opting for cost-effective day excursions or nearby travel destinations that require less transportation and inflict less damage on the environment, while still being filled with fun activities and opportunities to make lasting memories. This new form of vacations is being called stay-cations by some, and companies are beginning to jump on the bandwagon to apply this idea to their incentive travel programs and corporate events.

The benefits for companies that opt for incentive travel destinations and corporate event locations that are nearby include significant cost savings, particularly in regards to transportation costs, and a positive public image that shows a commitment to limiting your company’s carbon footprint. Both of these can be very enticing and are often enough to convince a company to bypass exotic locations and opt for staying close to home. This can certainly help a planner keep things under budget, but it also puts additional pressure on the incentive travel or event planner to come up with an enticing nearby destination and appealing entertainment options that will please participants who may be accustomed to boarding a plane and heading to an exotic locale.

Incentive travel planners are well aware of the many reasons they must keep a watchful eye on the costs associated with incentive travel programs. The company paying the travel expenses will naturally require a detailed list of expenditures and will have a budget that you must stay within, as well as greatly appreciating your efforts put towards saving money without losing quality. However, with all of this emphasis placed on how much incentive travel packages will cost the company, it can be easy to overlook the expenses that the participants will incur.

In some cases, this may be an insignificant detail that does not affect the participants’ ability to enjoy their travel award to the fullest, but for some incentive travel winners, the costs involved may prohibit them from taking full advantage of this opportunity – or from participating at all. It is one thing to arrange a luxury vacation for well-compensated executives who can afford to indulge in room service for every meal at high-end resorts, but it is quite another to arrange a satisfying travel package for hardworking salespeople or staff members who may not have high salaries.

Incentive travel planners should keep this in mind when selecting destinations and would do well to do a bit of basic research on area prices to ensure that affordable meals and entertainment options are available.

Parallel to an overall cultural shift towards buying local and taking local vacations, many companies are also shifting towards planning meetings closer to their headquarters and forgoing high profile resorts and hotels. There are multiple reasons for meeting locally, as well as a number of benefits that may not be immediately recognizable, but can serve your client companies well. As a meeting planner, you need to be aware of this shift and anticipate the needs of your clients as they take steps to save money and time by moving their meeting locations closer to home.

Opting for more affordable options that offer a good value for their money, including well-equipped meeting facilities, necessary amenities and lower transportation costs, allows companies to hold meetings, complete trainings and achieve their goals while spending less time and money doing so. The time saved by hosting a meeting at a drive-to location allows more time for completing tasks and doing business, and assists companies to stay within their budget during difficult economic times. By selecting smaller, nearby cities that are within driving distance, companies can also significantly lower their travel expenses, making their meetings more cost-effective.

Meeting locally can also offer excellent image management opportunities by showing that the company is supporting local businesses and vendors, particularly if you make it a point to ensure local catering and other services are used whenever possible.