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MIAMI, FL (May 17, 2010) – A driving force in the cruise meetings and incentives business, and widely known as an innovative entrepreneur, Joyce Landry, CEO of Landry & Kling and co-founder of Seasite.com, was named to the Forum Governing Group of the Women's Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
“It is a real privilege for me to serve on the governing group and have the opportunity to help set the tone and policy of the organization going forward,” states Landry. “As a certified women’s business enterprise (WBE) for the last four years, I have experienced firsthand the benefits of membership as well as the credibility it brings to a business. I am excited about leveraging that knowledge to help WBEs develop their capacity to meet corporate needs and gain a better understanding of how to compete in a diverse procurement environment.
“In the interest of fostering diversity, many corporations and government agencies track their spending with women-owned and other diversity suppliers. Working with companies like ours for meetings and incentive travel programs, which often involve sizeable budgets, helps major corporations reach their required threshold of spending with diversity businesses to qualify for government contracts.
“It is my goal in serving on the board to assist in creating opportunities to connect corporate buyers with certified WBEs and be an advocate of women-owned businesses as suppliers to America's corporations,” added Landry.
To achieve WBENC certification, companies go through a rigorous, multi-faceted business application and review process, which is nationally accepted by thousands of major corporations and a select group of government entities. In 2006, Landry & Kling received their national certification as a Women’s Business Enterprise. Landry says that being a certified member has on various occasions provided the added edge in winning the business of Fortune 1000 companies.
According to G. Nancy Allen, President of the Women's Business Development Center (a regional partner of WBENC), Landry was invited to participate in the Forum Governing Group because she is a great advocate for women-owned businesses and truly represents the membership by engaging in business locally, nationally and internationally. “With her in this high ranking position, the Florida women business enterprises that are part of WBENC now have a voice with the national office as well as the national corporations that sponsor WBENC.”
Of the 10,000 members of WBENC, only 70 are chosen to serve on the governing group. Throughout her two-year board term, Landry will work to further the synergy between corporate members and WBEs through committee and task force participation as well as taking an active role in the organization’s global growth and expansion into Europe.
About Landry & Kling and Seasite.com
Landry & Kling Inc., cruise event specialists and pioneers of the meetings-at-sea concept, provides turnkey solutions and custom cruise logistics for ship buy-outs, incentive cruises, all kinds of meetings-at-sea and dockside ship charters for global events. Landry & Kling recently launched Seasite.com, the first online cruise platform for meeting and event planners. For oceans of information, visit www.landrykling.com or www.seasite.com or call 800-448-9002 to speak with a Cruise Advisor.
About WBENC
The Women’s Business Enterprise National Council is the nation’s largest third-party-certifier of businesses owned and operated by women in the United States. WBENC is a resource for the more than 700 US companies and government agencies that rely on WBENC’s certification as an integral part of their supplier diversity programs.
WBENC’s national standard of certification is a meticulous process including an in-depth review of the business, its records and an office inspection. The certification process is designed to confirm the business is at least 51% owned, operated and controlled by a woman or women. Visit www.WBENC.org for more information.
It's a well known fact that cruising for groups, meetings and incentives offers outstanding value with savings of up to 40 percent off land-based venues, but is it right for you? According to a recent report in Corporate Meetings & Incentives magazine, 34 percent of their readers had booked a cruise for an incentive event and an astonishing 72 percent said they planned to book one – an unmistakable indication of where the industry is moving.
If you are planning a group cruise for your next incentive travel event, you may be considering whether chartering a ship would be a more appropriate option than booking reservations on a cruise containing unaffiliated passengers. It may or may not be, contingent on a number of issues.
Initially, it is valuable to understand your alternatives. When chartering a cruise ship, you frequently can pick between group, half-ship and full-ship charter options. Full ship charters clearly allow for the most freedom, customization, exclusivity and prestige, while group-level charters will probably be most economical.
All of these alternatives has pros and cons; but, they each present distinctive advantages for those event planners deciding if chartering a cruise ship is their top option.
In order for chartering a cruise ship for your next meeting at sea to be a good goal, you will need to have a definite number of attendees, a good idea of your event space requirements and the funds to make a significant financial commitment upfront, usually guaranteed by a letter of credit.
As soon as these things are in place, your next job is selecting the optimal cruise ship to fit your incentive event needs. This will need to include appropriately-sized meeting spaces, overall costs that are within your planning budget, a suitable itinerary and an overall quality that suits the level of service and prestige required by your meeting at sea client.
If you are planning a corporate incentive travel package, make it easy for yourself and delight your attendees when you go to Seasite.com start sourcing cruise event package.
Cruising can provide an excellent travel perspective to incentive winners. An incentive cruise offers a variety of ships from which to choose, and luxury amenities such as spas, gourmet dining and sports facilities, in addition to meeting rooms.
Planners will appreciate the pricing structure, as well. Cruise meetings typically offer a savings of as much as 40 percent over land based hotel venues, since everything is included in one price.
Incentive travel buyers may choose one of three cruising options:
All inclusive pricing allows incentive buyers to get more for their budget on sea than on land, thanks to the all inclusive aspect of cruising.
Seasite.com, the first online group cruise planning portal, allows planners capitalize on the value of cruise meetings and incentives. Cruising can slash the cost of land based venues by 25-40%, allowing planners to persevere with today’s shrinking budgets. Why not make your next corporate incentive event a meeting-at-sea ? Take a look at Seasite.com today!
