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.
Even if the money is available for corporate travel incentives such as ship charters, this type of travel may simply not be feasible for one reason or another. Oftentimes, trips are complicated to plan due to scheduling conflicts. However, businesses must still hold essential meetings with their employees on an annual, semi-annual, or quarterly basis. To make these meetings more enjoyable and memorable, businesses may want to consider other types of incentives. When the travel itself or the location of the meeting is not necessarily an incentive, there are other ways that businesses can motivate employees and show their appreciation.
Favors can make excellent incentives. As a rule, incentives given to employees at meetings should somehow relate to the task at hand. The majority of items distributed as incentives should be useful and relevant to the meeting. A few of the incentive items should be things that will simply make the employees or meeting participants happy. For example, coupons or vouchers for free coffee or dessert at a local coffee shop is a great way to make employees feel appreciated. Other types of incentive products that are well-received include things such as pens, notebooks, coffee mugs, and shirts. These items should be branded with the business' corporate logo.
When companies choose a hotel or resort located in an urban area for their incentive travel, there are a variety of places for travel participants to dine, shop, and be entertained. However, the logistics of getting everyone to the locations they desire to be can be quite hectic and expensive. Travel participants may not take full advantage of the incentive travel simple because traveling between locations is simply too perplexing. When companies choose an incentive cruise for their employees, these problems can be avoided. Because shopping, dining, and entertainment is all located on the ship, many of the logistical nightmares associated with land venues can be circumvented.
On board a ship charter, there a number of dining, shopping, and entertainment options. From gourmet to buffet, participants can enjoy a variety of delicious cuisines. Cruise ships even offer pizza on a 24/7 basis. In addition to numerous types of palatable fare, a ship charter offers exceptional shopping adventures. Items found on most cruise ships include things such as clothing and apparel, jewelery and watches, perfumes, and even candy. If cruise event participants think that dining and shopping opportunities are infinite, they will be equally impressed with the number of entertainment options available on-board the ship charter.
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.
The sad truth is that most workers do not actually throw themselves into their work these days, and many only hold on to their job because it is inconvenient or difficult to replace them. This is the situation in many businesses simply because they lack a meeting planner that knows how to turn meetings into the bright spot of any day. Here’s how:
Make meetings more interactive – Most people hate being ignored. Try to insure that everyone is listened to at a meeting by including time for each department to comment on various proposals or ideas.
Set aside time for brainstorming – If ideas are needed, then let those ideas be generated in an open environment free of critique and negativity. Nobody likes having their ideas shot down, and nobody knows when a sub-par idea will inspire someone else to come up with a good idea.
Offer small rewards for participation – Even things as silly as branded pens or a USB memory key can substantially impact how participants feel about a meeting. Never overlook the opportunity to build morale and loyalty with branded products bought at bulk prices.
Remember that loyalty is something that can spread just as easily as a bad attitude. A good meeting planner can kill the latter with the former simply by planning meetings well.
Meetings themselves can be incentives, especially when they are held in exotic locations or on group cruise events, but that is not always practical for run of the mill meetings. There are other ways to make average meetings a bit more interesting than they have been in the past with proper incentives. These same ideas have proven to be very popular in meetings that are non-compulsory as well. Here are three ideas for anyone looking into ways to liven meetings up:
Favors or gifts – inexpensive gifts or favors are a great way to keep participants happy and on-task. These favors should probably be a combination of useful items that relate to the meeting or business in general along with one or two gifts that simply make participants happy. Vouchers for coffees at the local coffee shop are great examples as they are inexpensive and appreciated.
Branded products – Pens, notebooks, USB memory keys, shirts, caps, coffee mugs, and other items that are stamped with the corporate logo make for great ways to liven a meeting up and add morale to a room. Consider offering on or two very special branded products to those who perform the best or meet some special criteria.
Offer something tangible – One reason that many people do not like meetings is that many meetings go nowhere. Offer tangible results and check back in on those results and see how the mood can liven when those who are frustrated now feel engaged.
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.
Are you looking for something a little different than trust falls and guest speakers for your next team building event? If so, you might want to consider a murder mystery weekend, murder mystery vacation or murder mystery cruise. There are several outfits offering a variety of murder mystery events around the country and on cruise ships, providing plenty of options from which to choose. Some companies will design corporate murder mystery events specifically for your company in the location of your choice, while others offer affordable, pre-arranged adventures that your team will love.
If you choose a murder mystery group cruise for your next corporate event or team building trip, be aware that there are different types of murder mystery adventures to be had. On the one hand, you have organized cruises that require all participants to study for a role and bring a costume for their character. This can be incredibly fun and is a full-immersion experience; however, this might not be the best option to fit your needs. This type of environment means that other passengers may be constantly interrogating your team members and your staff’s energy will be focused entirely on their part in the mystery.
For corporate events and team building experiences, it is likely a better idea to choose murder mystery events that are organized in a way to allow for plenty of free time and limited participation. For example, some murder mystery cruises have regularly scheduled murder mystery meetings and suspects are available for questioning during scheduled meals. In addition, investigation updates are delivered to cabins each day to keep guests up-to-date on developments.
This type of murder mystery event allows for easy scheduling of corporate meetings, team building activities or other group events, while still allowing your participants to fully enjoy the fun and excitement of solving a murder.
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.
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.
