If you have seen one hotel, you have practically seen them all. While hotels can be quite beautiful and offer fine dining experiences, there is nothing all that unique about staying in a hotel. For this reason, employees may not be genuinely motivated by incentive travel if the destination is a hotel in a large city. However, a floating hotel is a different thing altogether. Instead of choosing a land venue for a business meeting, consider holding the meeting on a cruise ship. The cruise ship or floating hotel is an excellent venue for meetings at sea and can offer choice business amenities and services.
A ship charter can offer companies and organizations significant savings and provide employees with a break from the everyday norm. Individuals can choose to stay in a hotel room any time they like; however, staying aboard a cruise ship is not an every occurrence. A group cruise planner can make an incentive cruise easy and affordable for a business. A cruise meeting on a floating hotel may be just the things employees need to experience a burst of creativity and innovation. Inspired by majestic, beautiful, natural surroundings, a cruise event on a floating hotel can be profitable for everyone involved.
It is no secret that cruise ships are ideal for hosting meetings and conferences. They offer a number of benefits, including all-inclusive pricing, significant cost savings over land-based events, built-in entertainment and stellar meeting facilities. With the recent growth in popularity of river cruises, meeting planners are now beginning to contemplate the feasibility of holding meetings on these smaller vessels that cruise the rivers of North America, South America and Europe. On one hand, river cruise meetings they offer an appealing option that provides a more intimate setting, a unique experience and that much-coveted, all-inclusive pricing, but on the other hand, can they provide the amenities and meeting space required for your event?
River barges and boats, by their nature, are much smaller vessels and are a far cry from the floating city atmosphere of oceangoing vessels. Intimate settings for meals, which are often prepared by and eaten with the captain or the captain’s spouse, limited onboard activities and services, and minimal free space are all characteristics of river cruising. Because of this, planning business meetings to take place during a river cruise will take some research and planning. If you are opting for a larger paddlewheel riverboat cruising a river in the South, you will likely find that holding onboard meetings is a viable option; however, some of the smaller river barges that cruise the rivers of Europe may not have the space available to hold a meeting for more than just a handful of people – and will almost certainly have no audio-visual equipment.
If you are determined to host your next business meeting on a boat, a full-size, oceangoing cruise ship will always be your best bet, but with a little planning and preparation, a river cruise is also possible when planning smaller meetings and events.
When companies or organizations want to increase sales, production, or services, a common method of motivation is to give the players gifts that encourage them to have a positive attitude towards the hosting business. With today's economy putting a crunch onto all types of promotional gifts, some smart companies are beginning to mix business meetings with unexpected pleasures for their deserving employees or clients.
The vacation trip industry has been hit hard by the spider-web of recent economical woes. At all levels, lodgings and vacation oriented transportation options are discounted to encourage participation. For company representatives that are searching for ways to spice up their next business meeting or conference plans now is the time to explore the possibilities of hosting the next meeting rendezvous at a traditional vacation destination.
Cruise ships and large vacation home rentals are both fun money saving options over traditional business meeting plans. When a group of people can be housed in the same location with room to work, there is no reason not to explore the options of placing your team into a working vacation situation while they are on the road to take advantage of the greatly reduced vacation plan savings that are being off
The benefits of a cruise meeting includes free food, large comfortable conference rooms, after-hours entertainment, and plenty of activities to keep the attendee's family members busy, too. Another huge benefit of an incentive cruise is the cost savings. Since a cruise is all inclusive, you may save as much as 40 percent over the cost of a land based venue. In addition, the ROI of a cruise event over other types of incentive trips is typically among the highest. So sourcing an incentive cruise makes good business sense.
This year is a very good time to look into holding your next important business meeting at a desirable vacation spot getaway location or on a cruise ship.
An all inclusive cruise event can save you up to 40% compared to land based venues since so much is included. Meals, meeting rooms, A/V, coffee breaks, activities, entertainment and even room service are part of the all-inclusive cruise fare.
If you run your business meeting planning business from your home, there are several ways you can run a leaner, greener operation that will help you save money, while also lowering your business’ environmental impact. While most of us have heard of the regular tips, such as using scrap paper to make notes and recycling, there are also a number of other steps you can take.
Here are five easy things you can do to save money and go green in your home office:
1. Switch to CFL light bulbs. CFLs use much less energy and last longer than conventional bulbs. 2. Plug your computer, printer and other electronics into power strips that can be turned off when not in use. This will help reduce phantom energy use that occurs when electronics are turned off, but still plugged in. 3. Learn to love sleep mode. Every time you walk away from your computer, take a second to put it on sleep mode and turn off the monitor. It will take only a few seconds to start back up and will save energy. 4. Invest in a desk lamp. Desk lamps typically use lower wattage bulbs and allow you to save energy by lighting only your work area, rather than the entire room. 5. Purchase recycled office products as much as possible. Items like recycled paperclips are inexpensive and better for the environment than products manufactured using new materials.
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.
Hosting a business meeting on a cruise ship not only ensures stellar attendance, it also can make your job as a meeting planner simple and convenient. At the same time, your company or client can enjoy cost-savings of up to 40% over a land-based event at a resort hotel. Cruise ships are now well-equipped to handle meetings at sea and will be standing at the ready with group discounts, business meeting packages and everything you need for a successful meeting when you contact them.
Part of the simplicity of holding business meetings at sea is that the accommodations, entertainment, meals, meeting venues, audio-visual equipment and décor are all included for one upfront price and can all be arranged without having to contact multiple vendors and negotiate multiple contracts. Opting for a cruise ship meeting allows you to choose from a wide array of possible destinations, as well as offering you the opportunity to select the cruise length that will best suit your event budget and planning needs. Depending on the size of your group, you may also be able to choose a half or full ship charter, which allows for a more personalized experience.
If conducting your next business meeting on a cruise ship sounds appealing, visit Seasite.com to learn everything you need to know about hosting meetings at sea and to take advantage of convenient group cruise planning tools.
Finding the perfect destination and venue for your next business meeting may be as simple as checking out the many options available in Salt Lake City, Utah. While this small city is perhaps best known for its ties to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which is headquartered there, it is also known as a center for outdoor adventure and is overflowing with historical and cultural attractions. With smaller town charm, an easy to maneuver downtown area, nearby ski areas, a major airport and numerous major hotels, Salt Lake City, Utah has much to offer to meeting planners and participants.
For an executive retreat or small meeting, planners might want to consider accommodation options like the Haxton Manor, a renovated historic home that is now a bed and breakfast with seven comfortable guest rooms. Guests will also enjoy a living room with a fireplace and comfy overstuffed chairs in the Boar’s Head Pub Room. Nearby meeting facilities can be reserved for planning sessions and meetings, while attendees will enjoy the many attractions in the area.
For larger corporate meetings, planners might opt for one of the major hotel chains with properties in Salt Lake City, such as the Radisson, Marriott or Sheraton. Each of these accommodation options also has meeting facilities, or meeting planners could change things up a bit by reserving a theater that sits over 500 people at the MegaPlex 12 at the Galaxy located downtown.
Trade shows and conventions are ideal places to promote your meeting planning services, and are a great way to come in contact with large numbers of potential clients in a cost-effective, efficient manner. While there are many ways to advertise your business, few allow you to enjoy face-to-face contact with prospects like conventions and trade shows. As an added benefit, if you select events that are related to business, meeting planning, travel, event planning and related topics, the prospects with which you will come in contact have an increased likelihood of being members of your target audience.
This type of targeted marketing allows you to increase awareness of your services and expand your business, while staying withing your set marketing budget and avoiding incurring unnecessary costs. Advertising can be expensive, but you can rein in these costs by opting for tabling at events that focus on your market. If you plan to table at multiple events, it is well worth the initial investment to purchase a creative, professional display that is easy to put up and take down, and convenient to transport. This will cut down on your set up and break down time, and will keep your table looking organized and professional, allowing you to focus on meeting prospects and introducing them to your brand.
Many business meeting planners have taken steps to locate corporate meetings in centralized locations, which allows participants to attend meetings closer to home. This has come on the heels of pressure to limit the environmental effects of transportation and an increasing need to cut costs wherever possible.
This new consideration of locations is also an important factor in assisting your corporate clients in maintaining a positive image, particularly with everything from meeting locations and travel expenses, to the quality of food being served and additional amenities offered being reported in the news or on various online channels.
Hosting meetings closer to where participants live means using more regional transportation. While train travel and charter buses are two viable options, many clients will require air travel to accommodate tight schedules and busy professionals.
Fortunately, there is a new trend in air travel that makes this option more appealing to higher-end clientele. Major airlines, such as Delta, Northwest, United and American Eagle are now offering premium seating and service on regional flights. First class and business class seating options are no longer reserved solely for mainline flights and are quickly becoming the norm for regional subsidiaries.
This is great news for business meeting planners that cater to clients who prefer premium services, or companies that wish to offer upscale seating as part of their incentive travel packages.
