25 Aug 10 Could a Cruise Meeting be In Your Organization’s Future?
Cruise meetings are a time honored and tested alternative to holding meetings in more traditional locations, yet they strangely remain a secret. The tendency of cruise meetings as an alternative to land-bound meetings is puzzling, especially with the amazing incentives and tantalizing prices being offered by cruise lines. Could a cruise meeting be right for your next event? Maybe, but ask yourself these questions first:
• Are you and your guests looking to see amazing views? Some people just like the same old boring office interiors all day, but they won’t get that on a cruise ship. On the other hand, many people will actually benefit from the creative art designs on most cruise ships as it can get the mind working in new ways.
• Are you ready for 5 star meals and entertainment? Cruise ships have an amazing assortment of top-quality restaurants and amazing night clubs. Add to this gyms, pools, and other activities, and you really have two choices: schedule some downtime or run the risk of people being a little late to meetings because of all the entertainment. The good news is that alternative meetings are available as are group-specific mixers or bar nights.
• Are you ready to be pampered? This is more of a trick question because just about everyone says yes! That is what you and your guests will get when you plan cruise meetings. It sure beats hotel service at the same price by an unbelievable margin.
Tags: Art Designs, Assortment, Creative Art, Cruise Lines, Cruise Ship, Cruise Ships, Downtime, Gyms, Hotel Service, Incentives, Lines Cruise, Mixers, New Ways, Night Clubs, Office Interiors, Pools, Quality Restaurants, Star Meals, Trick Question, Two Choices
23 Jul 10 Can Your Company Afford NOT to Hold Cruise Events?
If you have been looking at cruise meetings as an alternative that is not cost-effective, then you may be missing out on some of the math. Here is how you should be looking at the whole picture: even if your company does not pay for the meals and entertainment of participants at a meeting or event, then someone else might. IF given the choice between a cost effective cruise or a compensated hotel with continental breakfast, which would you choose? That’s right, you’d go with the cruise ship, and that is exactly what other people would do 9 out of 10 times.
When you consider all that cruise ships offer, they are truly a bargain destination for meetings. Those that look only at hotels and conference centers might forget this, and may be completely insensitive to the fact that they are actually costing their customers, partners, clients, suppliers, colleagues, or even branch offices to incur expenses simply to participate. This might be the cause of barriers to successful events and productive meetings, so be sure to evaluate your strategy carefully in this regard.
Also remember that cruise events are typically cost effective when measured against landlocked alternatives. The all-inclusive prices can often be lowered when booking multiple cabins, and there are plenty of compensated bonuses to be had. These bonuses, such as a massage in the spa, can be used as incentives to further enhance the profitability and success of a cruise.
Tags: 9 Out Of 10, Bargain, Colleagues, Continental Breakfast, Cruise Events, Cruise Ship, Cruise Ships, Hotels, Incentives, Massage, Math, Participants, Productive Meetings, Profitability, Regard, Spa, Success
09 Jul 10 The Value of Great Gifts
Businesses often find that offering affordable trinkets as incentives makes participation at meetings and events more personal. Furthermore, the trinkets and gifts often prove to be tangible reminders of the relationship between the participant and host, but that means that there is a potential for both good and bad gifts to make an impression. Here is how to decide which kind of gift or trinket you need to consider:
Saving is good, but too much of a good thing is a bad thing – It is important to stay on a budget, especially for a company looking to enhance their bottom line. It is also possible to be too frugal, and that can ruin the investment in the meeting or event itself while still costing money.
Branding – If a company buys trinkets and wants recipients to know where they came from in a year, then they need to associate that item/trinket with the brand. This is easily done with simply adding a logo, which is rarely expensive.
Buy in bulk – It might be intimidating to look at pricing for branded or even non-branded trinkets until you discover that bulk prices are available for almost everything.
Needs and appropriate gifts – Choose gifts that will be appreciated. A USB key might be great for a meeting of staff accountants, but the IT gurus probably have more USB devices than they need and are unlikely to appreciate anything but the most high-tech of gizmos.
Tags: Bottom Line, Budget, Buy In Bulk, Gizmos, Great Gifts, Gurus, Incentives, Investment, Meetings And Events, Money, Participant, Participation, Personal Gifts, Relationship, Staff Accountants, Tangible Reminders, Trinket, Trinkets, Usb Devices, Usb Key
23 Dec 09 When Las Vegas Fails, You Win!
Have you noticed that your company is no longer sending you to Las Vegas, Nevada for conventions, business meetings, or stress-break weekends? Las Vegas has noticed.
- During the first three-quarters of year 2009, the Las Vegas visitor head-counts are down 3.9% that they are aware of. All visitors to the area are not counted individually in this estimate.
- During the first three-quarters of year 2009, unemployment is registering at 13.9% for the unemployed that are still able to get unemployment benefits.
- During November 2009, the city of Las Vegas ranked number 5 in the United States for housing foreclosures. This number is down from their rankings of the number one city for foreclosures almost every month since year 2007.
- The Las Vegas school system is cracking. As unemployed people turn to colleges for new skills, the colleges cannot handle the overloads. Classes overfill quickly then become unavailable. As families leave to keep their student funding, foreclosures continue, and elementary school registration drops.
What does this mean for company who is planning their next business meeting? GO!
The greater Las Vegas area is offering wonderful incentives to business travelers all over town, in all types of industries. Great efforts are being made to attract enough money to ride-out this economic disaster. Consumer services everywhere are upgraded as the old minimum-wage employees are replaced by unemployed college graduates. There has never been a better time for business travelers to host a meeting in the Las Vegas area; economic disasters breed great service and bargains.
Tags: Bargains, Better Time, Business Meeting, Business Meetings, Business Travelers, City Of Las Vegas, Conventions, Economic Disaster, Economic Disasters, Enough Money, Foreclosures, Incentives, Minimum Wage Employees, School Registration, Three Quarters, Unemployed College Graduates, Unemployment Benefits, Vegas Area, Vegas Nevada, Vegas Visitor
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