Little Palm Island Resort & Spa, a five-acre island oasis, is located three miles offshore in the lower Florida Keys.

For many meeting planners, the allure of an incentive trip by or, in some cases, on the sea is not only the obvious appeal of a tropical paradise for attendees, but also how surprisingly convenient some getaways are to reach.

“You almost felt like a celebrity,” says Jamie Morton, event planner for Tech Data Corporation, of her time at Little Palm Island Resort & Spa in Florida’s Little Torch Key. “One morning I had breakfast in the restaurant. I like my coffee a certain way, and the next day I had it exactly that way — from a different server,” she marvels.

Morton brought a group of 33 for a sales incentive meeting in September 2014. She chose the location because it was a “beautiful tropical paradise close by” — an easy flight from her company’s headquarters in Clearwater, Florida and a 30-minute drive from Key West International Airport to Little Torch Key.

The resort, which is only accessible by boats that run every half-hour each way from morning to sunset, provides a front desk check-in station in Little Torch Key. “They give you a tropical drink before boarding to start your journey away from reality,” Morton remembers.

Once on the island, there are no TVs, phones or clocks, she says, although there is a small shop for last-minute sundries. Guests aren’t allowed to use their cell phones on the property — Wi-Fi is restricted to individual rooms. “It’s such a relaxing experience to be able to completely unplug,” Morton says. “You’re actually connecting with other people, engaging. It’s a freeing experience.”

“It’s such a relaxing experience to be able to completely unplug. You’re actually connecting with other people, engaging. It’s a freeing experience.” — Jamie Morton

The attendees had free time for fishing, snorkeling and receiving spa treatments, with group dinners each night and a brunch spread on the final day. The resort offers dining in the restaurant, by the pool or in the room, as well as the group dinner location on the beach. “It was private, just for us,” Morton says. “And they were still able with décor and linens to make it feel different each night.”

One special guest who strolled in during dinner was “Grandma,” a Key deer native to the area. “Almost the size of a Labrador and very friendly. Everyone thought that was the coolest thing,” Morton says.

“The attendees continue to rave about it and have fond memories of going there,” she says. Although she tried to book it again, the dates she needed weren’t available. With 30 available suites, the space can quickly fill up.

She recommends that planners who are considering the resort make it clear to attendees just how unplugged they will be. She also counsels taking advantage of the resort’s optional meal plan; à la carte can work out to be more expensive. Morton also notes that attendees who arrive with someone other than a romantic partner might find the accommodations a bit awkward — in some instances, she had to find rollout beds.

Morton notes that the planning process, from contract through execution, was seamless and the service “phenomenal. I was blown away by the staff, and the food was fantastic.”

Local Color

Melissa O’Connor, event manager for PC Connection’s sales support and marketing division, brought her incentive group of 45 to the 61-room Inn by the Sea in Crescent Beach, Cape Elizabeth, Maine, this past September. Like Morton, she was in part drawn to its proximity. “It’s semi-local,” she notes, only about three hours from the company’s main headquarters in Merrimack, New Hampshire. She also was drawn to “the uniqueness of the inn, the setting right on the bay. It’s a nice relaxing getaway for the weekend that’s more beachy than any of the Portland venues.”

O’Connor looks for the local touch for her events and this one was replete with it: kettle corn, a Maine specialty, made at the inn; a lobster ornament used as the do-not-disturb sign; and a trip on a “very old sailboat” from the Portland Schooner Company to Great Diamond Island for dinner at Dia­mond’s Edge Restaurant & Marina, followed by a Portland Discovery Land & Sea Tours rented trolley for going out in Portland.

Attendees particularly liked the opening of the sails on the schooner, she says. The boat trip included drinks and appetizers, but in retrospect, O’Connor says she would have dispensed with the passed hors d’oeuvres. (“It’s a little awkward since you have to sit, and the schooner is a little rocky,” she notes.) Diamond’s Edge has a private space for up to 55 people as well as its own dock. The attendees enjoyed a lobster bake, chicken and filet mignon in a room with a wood stove fire — a welcome retreat after the admittedly bracing time on the water.

“Be cautious of time frames,” O’Connor advises. “September is a little chilly, so July/August/early September is a good time to go. If it’s cold, the schooner might not be super enjoyable. Consider taking the schooner out and the ferry back.”

Still, the rooms with views of the sea and the warmth of the reception more than made up for the weather. O’Connor singles out the innkeepers and front desk staff for their thoughtfulness, such as keeping the bar open late for the group.

“It was nice to come back to the fire at the bar to warm up with a few drinks before bed,” she remembers. “It just makes you feel at home when you’re at a place like that.”

A Mini Vacation at the Beach

Toyota Motor Sales has been having beach meetings at Portofino Hotel & Marina in Redondo Beach, California, for more than 30 years. “When you stay on a property right on the beach, it makes it easy for the planner because there are so many options for guests right in proximity; it’s a mini vacation in the middle of a business trip,” notes Jessica Hurley-Jones, associate services manager. “The location is ideal for us given the ocean views and proximity to our headquarters office in Torrance,” she says.

Typically, Toyota puts people up at the resort, and any actual meetings take place at the company, since many meetings entail hands-on training in a company vehicle.

“It’s not a boxy hotel; it’s smaller, intimate — a real treat for people who don’t live near the beach,” she says. “Our guests from all over the country and Japan are always pleased with the location; the intimate, quaint and upscale ‘beachy’ feel of the property; and the welcoming staff.”

Attendees enjoy the onsite restaurant, BaleenKitchen, which boasts executive chef Richard Crispin, late of Jean-Georges and Gordon Ramsay at the London Hotel. The site also offers a downstairs lounge with fire pits right on the marina, she notes.

“There are other properties at the beach, but with my 20 years, it’s always been a safe location to place people,” Hurley-Jones says. She recommends being mindful of the room type and size at contract since many of the rooms have single beds, and it’s not easy to switch to doubles after the ink has dried.

Her suggestion for successful beach meetings is: “Make sure to provide enough time for attendees to explore or relax on their own. With a relaxing location on the waterfront, events that are too overproduced don’t feel authentic.”

Floating Venues

“Celebrating out on the water is sometimes frowned upon because planners feel that their guests are ‘trapped,’ ” says Kim Lefebvre, DMCP, account executive at 360 Destination Group in San Diego, California. “But I think a cruise is a great networking and celebration opportunity. As long as you do not make the cruise extra long, it gives everyone just enough time to eat, mingle and enjoy the surroundings.”

In November 2013, she took a group of 270 executives and top producers from a U.S. defense company on a corporate incentive trip to San Diego for five days. The group stayed at the San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina, which features a spectacular waterfront setting in the heart of San Diego. Adjacent to the San Diego Convention Center, the San Diego Marriott offers 75,000 sf of flexible meeting space, a 466-slip marina and unlimited recreation. It’s just a short walk to the San Diego Harbor, where Lefebvre’s group embarked on a two-hour private harbor cruise with narration and lunch on a Flagship Cruises and Events vessel. The tour encompassed the north and south harbor and Coronado Bridge, with lunch prepared on board and served en route.

Because the boat never leaves the protected harbor, “there are not the large waves or swells that cause seasickness,” Lefebvre notes. As a destination management company planner, she prioritizes providing a lasting experience of a destination above simply offering a pleasant day on the water. As such, this cruise fit the bill perfectly. “The experience on the water is not only beautiful as you cruise down the harbor and view the skyline, but it is educational as you learn about the military aspect of San Diego” — particularly appropriate for this defense company.

“This program had the best feedback of any past event,” as well as significantly more participation from top execs, she says. “The guests loved the exclusiveness of the boat experience. There were other public tours, but to have their private tour was special.”

City Boat Tours

Flagship Cruises and Events has a fleet of ships available in San Diego for various group sizes, from a small boat for a dinner party for 30 to the largest that will fit about 600. Many other meeting-friendly destinations also offer tours suitable for attendees. In Oklahoma City, for example, Bricktown Water Taxi offers an unusual teambuilding exercise in the form of a scavenger hunt with clues on the Bricktown Canal. The two-hour competition requires at least two boats, each of which holds a minimum of 15 and maximum of 40 attendees.

Elite Private Yachts, part of Entertainment Cruises, offers the two-deck Manhattan Elite for groups of 50 to 149 attendees and the three-deck Atlantica for groups of 125 to 400. Both yacht charters are exclusively for one group and provide a cruise around New York Harbor as well as the possibility of a buffet, plated meal or hors d’oeuvres; a full bar; and the opportunity to customize the experience at the planner’s discretion. The company offers similar private corporate tours in Baltimore, Boston, South Florida, Philadelphia, Chicago, Norfolk, Virginia, and Washington, DC.

In South Florida, Spirit Yacht Char­ters can accommodate up to 125 attendees for its private catamaran charter estate mansion tour of homes on the Palm Beach waterfront. The two-hour tour includes wine, champagne, beer and soda; cheese, crackers and fruit; and the ministrations of a captain and crew. The same-size catamaran can be hired for four hours from Fort Lauderdale to whisk groups away to a beach between the ocean and the Intracoastal Waterway, where they’ll enjoy water sports and a barbecue or clambake.

Biscayne Lady Yacht Charters offers planners a way to customize a 380-passenger yacht charter from Miami with the theme and food of their specifications. For example, planners can organize custom décor for a product launch or teambuilding experience.

Chattanooga’s 450-passenger South­ern Belle Riverboat can be chartered for attendees to cruise along the Tennessee River; the enclosed decks can accommodate about 350 people for a buffet. For planners who prefer to skip the open water, the Pier 2 at the Landing can seat several hundred attendees for a dockside lunch or dinner.

The Paddlewheeler Creole Queen also can be chartered privately in New Orleans to cruise the Mississippi River as attendees enjoy a Creole buffet or one of various other options.

With its beachfront location and 209,000 sf of flexible function space, The Diplomat Resort & Spa Hollywood, Curio Collection by Hilton offers an ideal gathering place for a meeting. Guests can re-energize their team and inspire creativity by hosting a meeting on one of South Florida’s finest yachts. Four hours cruising along the Intracoastal Waterway is an ideal way to foster new ideas.

Situated on over a mile stretch of white sandy beaches, Diplo­mat Resort & Spa Hollywood offers indoor and outdoor function space including the 50,000-sf unobstructed Great Hall, four ballrooms and 39 breakout rooms. The resort offers a variety of onsite amenities and activities for groups from 10 to 8,000 and is located just a short drive away from Hollywood’s historic oceanfront Broadwalk, Aventura Mall and the Vil­lage at Gulfstream Park.

Noteworthy Beach Meeting Spots

Eden Roc Miami Beach’s 70,000 sf of meeting space includes 25,000 sf of outside space with ocean views. A number of the rooms also have ocean or Intracoastal Waterway views.

The 309-room Eau Palm Beach offers 3,000 sf of oceanfront terrace with a fire pit as part of 30,000 sf of meeting space, including a nearly 10,000-sf ballroom; poolside meeting cabanas; an Ocean Ballroom and the Eau Spa.

Key Largo’s Ocean Reef Club sits on 2,500 acres and boasts its own private airport and private marina; two golf courses; tennis; croquet; and 30,000 sf of meeting space, including a ballroom that can hold 700 and a rooftop terrace for 175 with views of the marina.

The Ritz-Carlton, Naples features 42,000 sf of meeting space along with three miles of beach, from which attendees can enjoy parasailing, pedal boats and kayaks, and a 36-hole Greg Norman-designed golf course, a spa, four tennis courts and onsite tennis pros. Themed events are available such as Evening under the Gulf and Pirates of the Gulf, and the staff can set up beach Olympics and other outdoor teambuilding activities.

On the West Coast, California’s Montage Laguna Beach boasts four outdoor event spaces, each about 5,000 sf, plus a beach terrace; the 2,000-sf Catalina, the hotel’s newly renovated presidential suite, can be rented out for small meetings. Its 700-sf balcony looks out onto the Pacific Ocean, as do many of the venue’s rooms.

Paradise Point in San Diego has more than 50,000 sf of indoor space overlooking Mission Bay. An additional 30,000 sf of outdoor space offers distinctive backdrops in the form of white beaches, gardens and bayfront lawns.

Sets of comfortable bungalow-style guest rooms are clustered throughout tranquil gardens, lagoons and beaches, allowing groups to foster team unity within their own section of accommodations.

Terranea Resort, located in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, is a land unto itself. Surrounded on three sides by the Pacific Ocean with Catalina Island just across the channel, Terranea’s coastal setting embraces its Mediterranean heritage and incorporates it into every inch of architecture. From the resort lobby and outdoor gardens to the private terraces and inviting courtyards, Terranea is infused with classic California elegance.

Wild Dunes Resort has been ranked as the “Top-Ranked Southern Resort” within the “Top Destination in the USA” by Condé Nast Traveler. This beachside setting along the South Carolina low country, minutes from Charleston, is sure to inspire incentive groups.

Charleston offers quintessential low country dining experiences including seafood straight from area waterways and foods from neighboring plantations, served up in unique locales such as sailboats along the Charleston Harbor, oceanfront resort venues, neighboring barrier islands, local favorites or piazza-side with Charleston celebrity foodies.

As a top-rated meeting and event destination, Grand Lucayan Beach & Golf Resort on Grand Bahama Island is renowned for its paradise setting, exceptional amenities and excellent venues. With 20 distinct meeting and event areas totaling 90,000 sf of both indoor and outdoor space, they can accommodate any function.

Grand Bahama Island boasts incredible snorkeling adventures and some of the world’s finest collection of beaches such as the private Lucaya Beach or Fortune Beach, where treasure hunters recently found a $2 million shipwreck. Attendees also can find complete, isolated privacy in Paradise Cove at Deadman’s Reef or swing by Xanadu beach for an icy local Kalik beer and some spicy local barbecue. Or, they can explore Gold Rock Beach at Lucayan National Park, which is known to many as the most spectacular beach of all.

After all as the saying goes — what could be better than that?  C&IT