Incentive travel has proven to be a very important and cost effective way to motivate entire groups of people, but many people have shied away from incentive cruises because of the perception that cruises are simply too expensive. If this sounds like you then go grab an accountant and crunch some numbers and you will probably find that it is almost impossible to beat a cruise once everything is considered properly. Here’s what you need to look at:
• Cruises are generally all-inclusive, a fact that means less time is spent planning. How many hours of company time can be saved by not planning everything? Add them up and add them to the scales of financial feasibility.
• A cruise gives people the chance to relax 24/7 from the time they arrive until the time they depart. Put a dollar value on the relaxation factor and add that to the equation.
• Since cruises are almost uniformly all inclusive, there is no risk of issuing a company credit card nor is there a problem to be had when the recipient(s) discover that they should have brought cash along with them and feel that the ‘gift’ is now costing them money.
• The value attached to an employee, partner, supplier, or other person that is singing your praises to their colleagues versus the cost of advertising to those people in the same manner. Nothing beats word of mouth advertising for a reason, and cruise incentives are extremely cost effective even if only measured in this one way.

Some meeting planners are dead set against ever serving alcohol at one of their events, while others think it is integral to certain social functions and see no issue with letting the liquor flow at certain events. There are pros and cons to the inclusion of alcohol, but it is largely accepted as an appropriate addition to events of a social nature, evening and weekend events, and a variety of other occasions.

Before adding alcohol to the offerings, it is important to check with your client to determine if there are any particular reasons that it should not be included. For example, there may be cultural or religious reasons why alcohol should not be served at all, or should not be served on certain days or at certain times. Additionally, some clients may fear that having alcohol at a work event will tarnish their image, and in some cases they might be right. The public can be rather unforgiving when it comes to their perception of a company crossing the wrong line. When it comes to alcohol, they may see this as an unnecessary expense or as inappropriate, depending on the type of company hosting the event.

In general, including alcohol is not an issue – and will likely be expected, depending on the type of event – but it is always best to avoid making assumptions and ask your client directly.