Gamification, done properly, can go a long way to increase attendee engagement at meetings and events, while also adding loads of fun. Courtesy of Valerie Bihet

Looking to boost engagement at meetings, appeal to younger attendees and provide better metrics to sponsors and other key participants? Gamification may be the way to meet all of these goals — and more.

For those who are unfamiliar with this buzzy term, “Event gamification is the idea of adding game-like elements to your event in order to increase engagement of attendees,” says Scott Winstead, founder of MyElearningWorld, a web portal that provides gamification services to companies. “Essentially, you’re adding game-like elements to a non-game scenario to achieve a targeted outcome.”

When using gamification, companies provide attendees with games, polls, quizzes and other tools — often ones they can play on their electronic devices — before, during and after an event. When a person completes a task, they receive some kind of reward. “The mechanics that make up a great game are points, badges, leaderboards and trophies,” says Sam Caucci, founder & CEO of 1Huddle, a gamification platform for workforce training. With platforms that use points, the person or people with the most points at the end of an event will win some kind of prize — often something substantial, like an iPad, Peloton bike or Airbnb stay. People may also be able to redeem points for goods and services.

Leaderboards, which show the names of the people who have scored the most points, similar to the display on arcade games or pinball machines, allow participants to compete against one another over the course of the event, which appeals to their competitive spirit and can even make them feel like an event VIP, says Vaibhav Jain, founder & CEO of Hubilo, a virtual and hybrid event gamification platform. Badges and trophies provide a similar feel-good award.

Gamification can be done at in-person events almost as easily, and doesn’t have to involve technology. Many planners have already done simple in-person gamification through team-building exercises. “We do a lot of escape rooms, trivia games, painting contests, flash mobs [and] photo booths,” says Valerie Bihet, director/founder of the Miami-based corporate event planning firm VIBE Agency. Teams win points or other rewards for answering the most questions in a trivia game or coming up with the most creative photos. “These are all types of gamification,” she says.

While people of any age can get into gamification, it may be particularly important for companies looking to boost participation among younger event attendees. According to Caucci, “It’s believed the average millennial will have spent over 10,000 hours on game platforms before they’re 21 years old. Gen Z is not going backward. Building upon the behaviors and preferences these consumers already have provides tremendous opportunities.”

If older attendees push back, “People will say, ‘I’m not a gamer, that’s a young person thing,’” Caucci says. “Remind them that if they do crossword puzzles, play or follow sports closely, or engage in other competitive activities, they are gamers.” He also compares event gamification to frequent-flyer miles or credit card reward points. “You’re sprinkling gamification on top of a business process or a consumer process,” he points out. “You’re using points and levels to make the pursuit of a business outcome more fun and more sticky.”

Why Gamification?

Gamification’s most important role is increasing engagement. “We have little kids inside us,” Bihet says. “The best way to learn something is to have fun.” Providing engaging speakers, interactive activities and information people can use to do their jobs better is critical to making any event successful. “But in the delivery, you need to find some tricks to engage your audience. Gamification is one of them.”

Gamification was already taking off in corporate, education and other settings before the COVID-19 pandemic. However, it became more of a necessity as planners watched engagement dip during Zoom trainings, and virtual conferences and trade shows. “At first, [virtual meetings were] a welcomed change for many, as working from home and not being forced to attend such events was a breath of fresh air,” Winstead says. “However, as these virtual events increased, online fatigue set in. Turns out, it’s a lot easier to go through the paces and stop paying attention when you’re sitting on the other end of a screen at home.”

Event organizers began turning to gamification to make it easier for event attendees to engage with the content at virtual events. “By design, in-person events garner more involvement and participation just by attendees being physically present,” Winstead says. “Virtual events, on the other hand, lend themselves to disengagement, as it’s just viewers watching on a screen. And as we, as a society, get more used to viewing content in small tidbits on apps like YouTube, expecting a viewer to tune in to an event where they’re just watching speakers for long periods of time with no engagement is just setting your event or meeting up for failure.”

Gamification can help with many other kinds of outcomes as well. During a large five-day event, Hubilo’s gamification platform helped attendees exchange greetings and ideas on message boards, set up meetings, network and share what they’d learned on social media — on top of the leaderboard and other fun elements to make the event more enjoyable and memorable.

Melissa Park, global event producer with Melissa Park Events, notes that gamification can also be used to measure knowledge and understand user behavior. This means it has important implications for employee training meetings or events where brands are trying to learn more about their target consumers. Because gamification is typically deployed using digital tools, it can be a powerful way to quantitatively measure engagement.

Sam Caucci, founder & CEO of 1Huddle, says gamification is a great way to engage younger and older attendees who like challenges. Courtesy of Sam Caucci

Gamification Delivers Results

Park is one of the many events planners who has seen gamification deliver powerful results. “For a tech client’s virtual conference in 2020, we used gamification to encourage participation across all elements of the virtual event,” she says. “Attendees received points for participating in each event element, such as three points for session attendance, two points for completing a survey or leaving a comment/question in a session’s chat roll, five points per sponsor booth visit and one point per photo booth visit.” Those points could be redeemed for event-branded swag in the platform’s online store. She saw a massive spike in the length of time attendees stayed logged into the event and the number of elements they actively participated in previous virtual events.

Pre-COVID, 1Huddle worked with the International Franchise Association to gamify an annual convention with more than 5,000 attendees. The group’s goal was to turn the whole convention into one giant game to increase engagement with the educational sessions, and create more of a sense of community among attendees. “They used 1Huddle to create a daily competition around the content for the day,” Caucci says. “The game opened every day to educate people about what was happening that day and provide a recap of the day before.” A leaderboard showed the names of the people who participated the most, and the winners got prizes from sponsors — giving those companies extra exposure. Not only was there more attention paid to educational content at the event, attendees could use the app to interact with exhibitors, so they saw a boost in engagement as well.

The gamification effort was a huge success. “We saw close to 70% of attendees download, log in and play,” Caucci says. It seemed to meet the goal of increasing socializing among attendees as well. At the happy hour, people recognized the names of people who had appeared on the leaderboard and felt more comfortable approaching them.

When the company switched to a digital convention in 2020, it worked with 1Huddle again and got similarly positive results. “We even left the game on [after the event ended] so people could continue to engage with the content,” Caucci says.

Gamification can also provide an opportunity for attendees to participate in a pre-check-in process, watch videos and access documents before the event ever starts, Bihet says. All of these activities can go toward earning points that can be redeemed for prizes or recognition throughout the event.

Games can provide attendees with the opportunity to do something totally new and different, or it can be very familiar. One of Winstead’s recommendations is to customize a bingo game for a meeting. “This will require you to tap into company culture a bit,” he says. “Create a bingo card with common terminology your company uses. This could range from corporate jargon to silly things such as ‘Sorry, I was on mute’ or other phrases we use in Zoom meetings. Distribute bingo cards to attendees before the meeting digitally. Set a prize for whoever can get bingo first by marking off the card as they hear the words and phrases from their card. Attendees will work hard to fill their cards, meaning they will be tuned in to every word the speaker utters. And someone eventually shouting “bingo!” will add a layer of fun to the event.

Valerie Bihet, director/founder of VIBE Agency, right, says successful gamification requires planners to find the right platform for the game. Courtesy of Valerie Bihet

Don’t Let Gamers Game the System

Gamification can be a boon to event managers, but it can also be a distraction or lead to real problems. “It’s like a recipe in the kitchen,” Bihet says. “If you put too much oil in your mayonnaise, it will not work. You need the right proportion of everything to make it work right. Too much gamification can kill the gamification.”

When looking into creating a game, one of the top things leaders need to reflect on is their goals. “Like all elements of your event, gamification needs to serve a purpose,” Park says. “If you throw it in for the sake of having it or as an afterthought, attendees will be able to tell, and you will receive a very low participation rate. To guarantee success, you need to ensure that the way the game is set up and delivered is simple, easy to follow and fun.”

In other words, you need to have a goal in mind. “You want to make sure that the gamification is focused on your targeted outcome,” Winstead says. “Don’t let the rewards, badges, etc., overshadow what you’re trying to achieve. The gamification elements need to have an obvious connection to the information you are trying to convey. Otherwise, it’s just a game.”

So, the challenge should be thoughtfully calibrated to the target audience. “If a game is too hard, people quit,” Caucci says. “If it’s too easy, attendees will quickly get bored with it.”

Once the game is set, it’s vital to establish rules and make sure they are clearly explained to event attendees from the beginning, Bihet says. A feeling that the game is rigged or unfair will also quickly turn people off from the experience.

“A lot of people know how to hack the system to get on top of the leaderboard,” Jain says. “You have to make action items in such a way that people can’t do that.” There also needs to be some type of penalty for people who break the rules. To ferret out potential problems or pitfalls with a game before they become overwhelming, Jain recommends planners try it out at a small event first. Learn what the issues are, or where the gaps lie, and come up with solutions to fix them before taking the games to a major gathering.

One of the mistakes Caucci sees people make is focusing the game too much on the company’s needs rather than the players’ needs. 1Huddle works with call centers, and Caucci has observed that gamification designed to motivate people to make a certain number of calls a day quickly falls flat because they don’t help the player achieve their personal objectives. Instead, planners should think about the needs of the attendees and how they can dovetail with the desires of sponsors, senior executives and others. “Look at your reward program. Are they rewards that people crave?” Caucci asks.

Does the game engage people’s minds and provide them some level of autonomy? “The best games allow the players freedom to choose,” Caucci says, pointing to the popular online game The Sims as an example. “There has to be a certain level of strategy so the player feels like they control the outcome.” In an event app, attendees might be given multiple ways to earn points based on the activities that help them learn, network or achieve their own goals at the gathering.

Avoid Gamification Problems

On a more practical note, Bihet advises planners to do a thorough search for the right platform before implementing an online game at an event. Get recommendations from colleagues, and ask about things such as engagement levels, feedback from attendees, how easy it is to use and the level of customer service if something goes wrong.

“If your tool relies on Wi-Fi, make sure you have ample allocation of high-speed internet within your space,” Park says. “I’ve seen way too many failed attempts due to the Wi-Fi signal not being strong enough for the number of attendees using it, which is not only embarrassing for the host, but can also negatively impact a speaker’s entire session if they were reliant on a poll’s results for their presentation.”

One of Bihet’s tips for making gamification more engaging is to tie it into popular culture. A game based on a popular television show such as “The Masked Singer” may do more to pique people’s interest than a run-of-the-mill activity. “Be alert for these trends,” she advises. “Everything is about experience.” That’s especially true right now, when people feel like they’ve been missing out on experiences for the last few years.

Gamification is definitely something that takes careful planning. “This isn’t something you can do to spice things up last minute,” Winstead says. “Ensure that you have a well-thought-out plan for how you will include gamification elements so that they make sense and add to the event, rather than detract from it. Poorly planned gamification can lead to chaos and result in meeting failure.”

From there, have fun. Games should be entertaining as well as educational. There are no reasons planners can’t have just as much fun dreaming them up as attendees have playing them. C&IT

Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood’s Guitar Hotel beckons attendees.

They may say, “What happens in Las Vegas, stays in Las Vegas,” but one secret that’s not kept is just how successful meetings and events are when being held in one of the country’s most popular destinations.

But it’s not just Las Vegas that’s a hot spot for meetings, literally any city that offers gaming and all the high-class amenities that come with gaming resorts do well with attendance numbers, be it Atlantic City, the Bahamas, Connecticut or in the Poconos. “Gaming cities and resorts have vast appeal,” says Greg Jenkins, a partner in Long Beach, California-based Bravo Productions. The company has staged meetings and events in gaming resorts for more than two decades. “Foremost, these cities have more than an ample amount of hotel rooms, along with large convention centers — and convention and meetings space at each of the properties.”

Debbie Anmuth-Hunt, president of Abington, Pennsylvania-based Eventive Productions Inc., has been producing meetings and events for more than 20 years, and frequently uses resorts in Atlantic City, as well as Mount Airy Casino Resort in the Poconos and Wind Creek Bethlehem, for clients’ programs. “These are great because the entertainment is built right in,” she says. “While these properties are gambling properties, there are so many more options. As a planner, we can absolutely plan group activities, but it’s also good to give attendees downtime after the program ends for the day, and attendees don’t have to drive anywhere to see a show, go to a great restaurant or find something else fun to do.”

This past year, Mount Airy hosted one of her client’s events during the pandemic, and the property was selected specifically because of the size of the ballroom and outdoor activity options. “The staff was able to create a safe environment for our guests during the program, and also host a variety of networking events outdoors by the pool and on the golf course,” Anmuth-Hunt says. “There were about 125 people for this one. Lower than a normal year, but we offered a hybrid option during COVID-19. Attendees who were comfortable going out had a variety of restaurants to choose from, and the casino floor as well. These resorts offer so many options for guests.”

Mount Airy Casino Resort’s casino boasts more than 1,700 slot machines. Photo by J.C. Getz Creative

Benefits of Gaming Resorts

Gaming resorts typically offer a full range of in-house services, including audiovisual, prop and floral departments, lighting and technicians, catering, planners to coordinate banquets, and a concierge to help arrange for group team-building and recreational activities, to name a few. “Gaming resorts also provide an entertainment appeal for attendees,” Jenkins says. “The resorts have celebrity A-list performers with shows each day of the week, there’s theme attractions within each hotel, shopping, restaurants serving diverse cuisine that will appeal to everyone’s palate, and of course — the gambling.”

Plus, the resorts are a city within a city. An attendee does not necessarily need to leave the hotel to be engaged throughout their stay. “Some of the most popular activities attendees like to do outside of meeting times are golfing, spa treatments, shopping or sightseeing some local attractions,” Jenkins says. “For example, a tour of Hoover Dam is popular for Las Vegas attendees. For the more adventurous attendees, off-roading in ATV rentals and zip lining over Fremont Street at SlotZilla are options.”

Anmuth-Hunt notes her clients’ programs are all different, with each having a different level of downtime. But, no matter which gaming resort she chooses, there is always something for everyone. “I enjoy working with venues like these gaming resorts that have a variety of options,” she says. Venues that offer flexible meeting space, but also have restaurants on-site, golf, spa and other activities makes it easy to plan a group event or offer options for guests during their downtime. “With some, we are planning events even after sessions are over, and with others, people are more on their own,” Anmuth-Hunt says. “With the Atlantic City gaming properties, there is shopping and the beach. We have even planned morning activities on the beach. With a resort like Mount Airy, there is a beautiful golf course, and we’ve planned group activities there as well.”

Las Vegas is No. 1

H. Fletch Brunelle, vice president of marketing and sales for the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA), thinks Las Vegas is the ideal destination for hosting corporate meetings and incentive travel because of the extensive offerings and experiences that planners, exhibitors and attendees simply won’t find anywhere else. “With 150,000 hotel rooms and 14 million sf of meetings and events space, Las Vegas offers a value proposition unlike any other destination, with something for every budget and taste,” he says. “Add to that state-of-the-art facilities, world-class dining and attractions, endless entertainment and sports options, and it’s clear why Las Vegas has been named the No. 1 trade show destination for 26 consecutive years.”

After all, Las Vegas is home to unparalleled restaurants, unique entertainment options, world-class sporting events and venues, premier shopping and spas, and fantastic golf and outdoor activities. All of these options provide great opportunities to continue networking outside of the boardroom or trade show floor, or unwind when business is done for the day. “Our hospitality professionals are among the most experienced in the world, so not only do planners enjoy the ease and convenience of choosing between ample exhibit and accommodation spaces, but they can also rely on the expertise and world-class care that only Las Vegas can provide,” Brunelle says. “Planners will also likely see a boost in attendance if they choose to host here. On average, attendance increased by 9% when conventions rotate to Las Vegas, proving that the venues, amenities, accommodations and entertainment offered here can’t be found anywhere else.”

Kellie Jewett, vice president, project management for Beaverton, Oregon-based Opus Agency, also has been planning events in Las Vegas and at gaming resorts for well over two decades. “One of the primary benefits of hosting our programs at these resorts are really the opportunities they offer to the attendees as well as the creative programming we can do as event organizers,” she says. “We see a lot of our partners and sponsors hosting after-hours receptions and networking events in conjunction with our program. Since most gaming resorts also offer renowned restaurants and celebrity shows, they are a draw to attendees and advantageous to those hosting.”

Bravo Productions has staged numerous events in Las Vegas, from a year-end company event to a product launch for a mobile carrier, to an awards event for a paper, plastic and janitorial services association. For the latter, the awards event was held at the Wynn Las Vegas in conjunction with the association’s annual convention and trade show for 2,000 attendees. “One of the appeals was hosting the function in a city where attendees could remain in a resort and be entertained, or if leaving the premises, have a plethora of options to choose from,” Jenkins says. “The group’s historical trends show that Vegas has always been a popular destination for their attendees.”

As part of the program, entertainment included a hypnotist. Part of his delivery was comedic, which set the tone and made attendees feel comfortable — then randomly drawing 10 names from a raffle drum to come on stage to be a part of the hypnotist’s show. “Audience members were skeptical at first, however, as the show progressed, the attendees were intrigued by the performance,” Jenkins says. “It went over extremely well to much applause and positive feedback.”

Chandra Allison, senior vice president of sales at The Venetian Resort Las Vegas, notes the Venetian Convention and Expo Center offers 2.25 million sf of meetings space, providing flexibility for meetings and events of all shapes and sizes. “We’re committed to creating innovative and inspiring spaces and experiences,” she says. “Being a fully integrated resort gives meeting professionals innovative options for engaging their attendees outside of the traditional meeting space, with everything from restaurants to lounges, and even our 5-acre pool deck for events.”

It’s no secret that Las Vegas was built to handle large events. The destination is constantly investing in infrastructure and facilities to continue to be the top destination for trade shows year after year. “In addition, there are so many entertainment, dining and unique venue options that are available,” Allison says. “Not only that, but with a warm and dry climate for most of the year, groups can program group activities at outdoor venues, including Red Rock Canyon, Valley of Fire, Lake Mead, Mt. Charleston and more.”

One of the most appealing elements of MGM Resorts in Las Vegas is the sheer amount of options available for meetings and events of all sizes. “While many planners are aware of our robust convention spaces at Mandalay Bay, MGM Grand and The Mirage, many may not know we offer a seamless luxury experience at Bellagio, ARIA, Vdara and Park MGM that provides a convenient way to build out dynamic, creative programming across multiple resorts,” says Stephanie Glanzer, senior vice president & chief sales officer for MGM Resorts International. “This luxury meetings district is particularly attractive to our smaller and mid-size corporate groups, which make up a large part of our business.”

She adds that Las Vegas has always been a city that continues to reinvent itself, and each time attendees return to the destination, even if their events are annual, their experience is completely different every time. “They might discover a hot, new restaurant, a new show, a new attraction or even entirely remodeled rooms,” Glanzer says. “Additionally, the level of service guests and attendees will find here is unparalleled to anything else in the travel industry.”

Deanna Burgess, CMP, CEM, CRME, corporate vice president of sales for Station Casinos LLC in Las Vegas, notes the company has a variety of properties that can host events, including ballrooms, intimate lounges, music venues that are perfect for presentations, outdoor terraces for breakouts, and sprawling outdoor spaces to mix and mingle. “With more than 320 days of sunshine yearly, the climate in our desert destination makes it easy to host event indoors and outdoors all year long,” she says. “Business travelers enjoy the convenience of Las Vegas being open 24/7 as well.”

Talking Stick Golf Club offers 36 holes of championship golf on courses designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Moore. Photo by D2 Productions

The Allure of Atlantic City

The famous Atlantic City Boardwalk with its iconic Steel Pier is often a reason why planners choose to host events in Atlantic City, as guests can not only enjoy gaming, but they can enjoy a nice walk, run or bike ride along the ocean during their downtime.

The Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Atlantic City regularly hosts conventions and meetings thanks to its 150,000 sf of meetings and events space. There are also a variety of venues available to amplify programs, such as the Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena, which can stage general sessions of 7,000 people or 300-plus-booth trade shows and expo events. “The continuous energy of Atlantic City is what attracts people to the destination,” says Donna Ward, vice president of sales at the resort. “There is something for everyone, and the opportunity to have any experience at your fingertips is what sets us apart from other cities known for their meetings and events.”

Another iconic gaming resort in Atlantic City is Resorts Casino Hotel, offering 64,000 sf of flexible space, which features 24 meetings and events rooms, 14 of which will have natural light and Atlantic Ocean views. Also, the new Resorts Conference Center added 12,500 sf of technologically advanced conference space. Eateries run the gamut from quick bites at Famiglia Pizza and Ruby’s Dinette, to fine dining at Capriccio Italian Restaurant and Dougherty’s Steakhouse & Raw Bar.

As for gaming, the casino offers 80,000 sf of slots and table games. Meanwhile, at Jimmy Buffet’s Margaritaville Entertainment Complex, Margaritaville Café and LandShark Bar & Grill — the only year-round, beachside restaurant in Atlantic City — are both available for private parties.

Liz Lathan, CMP, CMO of Haute Companies, held a corporate meeting earlier this year at Atlantis, Paradise Island, and appreciated the many activities. Courtesy of Haute Companies

Almost Paradise

Atlantis, Paradise Island in the Bahamas offers groups built-in entertainment offerings, a multitude of restaurants and bars, and gaming options — even by the pool — all in one convenient location. Plus, there is ample indoor and outdoor meetings space across a variety of venues that can accommodate groups of any size. The resort also offers unforgettable authentic Bahamian experiences to groups of all sizes, including complimentary opening reception entertainment with traditional Bahamian fire dancers, limbo dancers and Junkanoo rush performers. Therefore, meeting attendees are drawn to Atlantis as a place to relax and enjoy the Caribbean while experiencing Bahamian culture and nature. “In addition to the award-winning Atlantis Casino, the resort also offers a variety of other amenities that meetings groups can take advantage of, including 5 miles of white-sand beaches, a diverse dining selection from fine dining to Bahamian cafes, shopping, spa, golf, multiple pools and more,” says Bryan Gay, senior vice president of group sales for Atlantis Paradise Island. “With so many attractions, experiences, dining and other amenities, the resort is an ideal mix of work, play and relaxation.”

Liz Lathan, CMP, CMO of Haute Companies, held a corporate meeting earlier this year at Atlantis, and appreciated the endless supply of meetings and gathering locations, both indoors and outdoors. “We were able to keep all of our activities outdoors to take full advantage of the incredible scenery and the property,” she says. “We put our educational sessions in the mornings and at night so we could enjoy the outdoor activities and team building during the sunshine hours of the day.”

Additionally, the property’s safety protocols were also incredibly appealing to the company. “As the Bahamas requires everyone to have a negative test to enter, we were able to feel a sense of security around our group,” Lathan says. “We masked while indoors and in public areas, and were able to enjoy being outside with our private group during the day.”

During downtime, meeting attendees took advantage of Dolphin Cay, hosting behind-the-scenes tours of the fish hospital and the marine mammal center, along with some other incredible back-of-house experiences, including meeting the K-9 security team. “We also planned small group activities one afternoon, giving our participants the opportunity to choose paddleboarding or kayaking with the dolphins, feeding the stingrays, snorkeling in the ocean or lagoon, hitting the casino and/or the spa, enjoying the waterpark and enjoying non-motorized watercraft on the lagoon,” Lathan says.

Perfection in the Poconos

Mount Airy Casino Resort in Mt. Pocono, Pennsylvania, offers more than 25,000 sf of flexible events space, able to be artfully arranged to host anything from small, intimate board meetings to large corporate retreats. Plus, the meetings and convention center includes a state-of-the-art video wall to make sure virtual attendees are involved in all aspects of the event.

Outside of the meetings and convention center, guests can experience signature restaurant options, including Guy Fieri’s Mt. Pocono Kitchen; the award-winning Bistecca by Il Mulino; a Sports Illustrated-recognized, lakefront 18-hole golf course; a rejuvenating spa, salon and exercise facility; a luxury, indoor/outdoor pool; and a covered deck and tented area. And for those so inclined, the casino boasts more than 70 table games and nearly 1,700 of the hottest slots in Northern Pennsylvania. “The picturesque Pocono Mountains provide the perfect backdrop for a wide range of events,” says Glenn Cademartori, vice president of marketing for the resort. “As a peaceful, relaxing and secluded destination, Mount Pocono is perfect for regrouping and/or relaxing as a team or an entire company.”

Those are just some of the reasons Anmuth-Hunt chooses to host meetings at the Pocono resort. “For all events, the in-house team also includes an executive chef who can organize and provide the best food and beverage for the occasion at hand — whether that be a continental breakfast or a formal, multicourse dinner,” she says.

Roll the Dice in the Florida Sun

The Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood’s events center boasts 120,000 sf of meetings space, including a 38,000-sf carpeted exhibition hall that can host trade shows, conventions, large corporate groups and social fundraisers. “Beyond the excitement on the expansive gaming floor, the integrated resort also features award-winning restaurants, a world-class Rock Spa & Salon, a state-of-the-art Hard Rock Live, and 18 acres of water recreation,” says Mark Tascione, director of sales and catering. Being within close proximity to three international airports — Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Miami International Airport and Palm Beach International Airport, also make it a great choice for national and international groups.

An Arizona Gem

Talking Stick Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona offers 113,000 sf of flexible indoor and outdoor meetings space, which includes the nearly 25,000-sf Salt River Grand Ballroom. Its casino offers more than 50 table games, 800 slot machines and poker tournaments almost every day. Dining includes six unique restaurants, such as Tash, for Mediterranean-inspired tapas, seafood and meats; Orange Sky, for dishes inspired by earth, water, air and fire and offering 360-degree views of the surrounding landscape; and Ocean Trail, which offers classic New Orleans-style meals.

Other amenities include golf at Talking Stick Golf Club, which offers 36 holes of championship golf on courses designed by Ben Crenshaw and Bill Moore; and the Spa at Talking Stick, voted one of the 10-best spas in Scottsdale by USA Today.

Secrets of Success

Like planning any meeting, convention or event for gaming resorts, the planner must start off with defining his or her goals and objectives. “Depending on those goals, a gaming resort might be ideal, or may not be the best fit to support those goals or for their audience demographics,” Jenkins says.

Questions to ask include: What appeals to the group? How many people attended previous meetings? Are there enough rooms? How were the gaming resort services? What activities outside of the meeting will appeal to your group, and does the city offer those options? What are the takeaways you want attendees to leave with after the meeting or event at a gaming resort? “Understand that cities such as Las Vegas operate with union labor,” Jenkins says. “A planner must know what provisions they can bring to a meeting, and what they must secure through the resort. For example, one might be able to bring in their own show director, but all lighting, A/V and technical support must be secured through the venue. Those costs can be steep and should be configured into the budget at the onset of planning the function.”

Planners of events in gaming resorts often say their attendees got distracted by the activities and attendance suffered in classes. Jewett says planners shouldn’t fight the distractions, but embrace them. “Attendees will always be lured by all the resort has to offer,” she says. “Finding a way to incorporate them into the programming and leveraging them to your benefit is a win-win.”

One thing that meetings planners need to keep an eye on at gaming resorts is that attendees aren’t all over the place and too overwhelmed by their surroundings that they miss the important parts of the meetings. Or conversely, that they don’t get the chance to take advantage of what’s available.

“You need to have balance — balancing meeting time, networking time and downtime,” Anmuth-Hunt says. “Many of our clients select these types of resorts because of the abundance of things to do. But if a meeting attendee is stuck in the meeting room for three days straight, they will not be able to get the full experience. So, having the correct balance of educational sessions, networking opportunities and downtime is key. We typically will send out information on the property prior to the event so attendees can take time to look at what’s available and what they can do. We also will offer some group activities that we set up for our groups only. This gives them the chance to enjoy a resort activity while networking with their peers.” C&IT

The Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort and Swan Reserve together offer a total of 350,000 sf of meetings and events space. Courtesy of Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort

Optimal airlift, plentiful entertainment and opportunities for team building abound in Orlando, Florida, says Leona Labruyere, CMP, director of events with EMPG, LLC.

“Orlando simply checks all the boxes for our conferences,” Labruyere says. “As an event executive, Orlando provides me with fresh and exciting opportunities.”

Labruyere’s company chose Orlando for a late winter 2022 annual conference due to its easy accessibility for East Coast members, and the driving distance for those living in the Southeast. “By making it as easy as possible for our attendees to travel to a destination, we find they are happier once they arrive.”

Adding to the appeal of Orlando as a convention destination is a long list of hotels with large ballroom spaces that provide meetings planners a variety of choices for conference venues. “A convention center layout is simply too large for our needs and budget,” Labruyere says. “Our conferences are best fit within a specific hotel that can accommodate our ballroom space requirements, as well as our room block needs. Due to our targeted member group, quality catering and hospitality is essential, which is something that I scrutinize during the initial site visit and conversations.”

Labruyere chose the 781-room Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld for the 300-attendee conference, and she effused over the hotel team with which she worked. “It is clear when you walk onto a property for the first time and witness cheerful team members working harmoniously together that they are cared for and enjoy a balanced work culture. Longevity and tenure speak volumes, and many have been at the property for more than 20 years. When you talk with just about any team member, the joy in their voices and energy they have is contagious. Their positive energy shines through during an event, resulting in happy attendees.”

Following a major meeting space expansion in 2019, the Renaissance now has more than 200,000 sf of flexible meetings and events space, including three ballrooms ranging up to 36,288 sf, and a plethora of breakout spaces. “Each of the ballrooms are easily conformed to create appropriate spaces for any event and are easily accessible with the atrium-style floor plan of the hotel,” Labruyere says. “Each of these spaces are near one another, so if multiple ballrooms are needed, the walking distance is short in comparison to other properties.” She adds: “The Peninsula Ballroom, which is the newest, offers what I would call ‘smart meeting space’ that can be configured into different sizes to meet any needs due to the airwall placement and capability. The reception desk offered an extra lockable storage office behind the desk, along with a small meeting room with floor-to-ceiling glass walls for private conversations. Due to the atrium layout, all the ballrooms have easy access to the outdoors and open floor plan lobby. Restaurants are all near one another — Tradewinds, Boardwalk, Mist Wine Bar and Starbucks — and the hotel also has two beautiful outdoor event locations adjacent to the pool area. Depending on your specific event needs, these are perfect locations for a welcome cocktail reception or a mid-size dinner to allow attendees the opportunity to enjoy a bit of fresh air and Florida sunshine.”

Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld now offers 161,000 sf of meetings space after a major expansion in 2019. Courtesy of Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld

An on-site FedEx Office for shipping and last-minute printing requests, the Privai Spa and oversized, well-appointed guest rooms — which will undergo a complete renovation in 2023 — are among the other things Labruyere cited as assets for her event. But one other detail was essential for her group: quality catering.

“Our attendees are discerning of food and beverage, so it was important that the hotel provided unique experiences during our conference,” Labruyere says. “They did not disappoint, creating two custom menus that included items that are not on their standard banquet menus. The care that they took for developing these menus was unparalleled and, trust me, our members noticed. In our post-conference surveys, many said, ‘Best conference food ever.’ That says a lot.”

Labruyere applauded members of the Renaissance team that helped ensure the success of her event. “We could not have completed our event without these true professionals,” Labruyere says. “We compiled 60-plus hand-written notes, along with gratuities, and submitted them to all the team members at the hotel that touched our event. It takes a village to pull off an event, and we wanted people to know how much we appreciated them for making our event such a success.”

Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek offers more than 50,000 sf of flexible indoor and outdoor function space. Courtesy of Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek

Open for Business

For more than a year now, the message from the state of Florida to meetings planners and vacationers alike has been loud and clear: We’re open for business. Any pandemic-related rules that were in place to mandate social distancing, limit capacity or restrict non-essential travel were ended in early fall 2020, when Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Phase Three of the Plan for Florida’s Recovery was put into effect. Perhaps no U.S. city has benefitted from the aggressive reopening plan as much as Orlando. Plus, during the pandemic, projects continued, producing a roster of new facilities, upgrades and expansions. Among the most notable:

The Caribe Royale Orlando completed a $127 million renovation that not only gives the property a contemporary new look, but adds the 50,000-sf Palms Ballroom. All 1,215 one-bedroom suites have been reimagined, and new amenities and services have been added, plus the reception building has been redesigned with new check-in desks and technology, plus a large Starbucks and new lounge, the Rum Bar by Bacardi. The property now has 220,000 sf of total meeting space, including four ballrooms and a bevy of breakout rooms.

In 2021, the Hyatt Regency Orlando completed a $20 million renovation of its meetings space that touched five ballrooms, more than 100 breakout rooms and all foyer space. The 315,000 sf of versatile meetings and events space now has a contemporary design that highlights the natural colors of Florida and includes new carpet, wall coverings, artwork, lighting fixtures and seating with communal tables. A new Regency Lounge is perfect for reception or dinners for up to 70 people, with doors that open onto an outdoor patio. Two large LED walls were added at the registration desk that groups can use to customize messaging for attendees.

As part of an ongoing renovation to be completed this year, Orlando World Center Marriott is fully renovating its 2,010 guest rooms and Grand Ballroom, and will add 24 additional breakout rooms, providing a total of 450,000 sf of flexible events space, including indoor and outdoor options. A new waterpark opening this year, River Falls, features three waterslides and a 575-foot lazy river, and the resort’s new nightly poolside Laser Light Show can be customized for group events.

The Walt Disney World Swan Reserve is the newest addition to the Walt Disney World Swan and Dolphin Resort. It’s a standalone, 14-story building featuring 349 guest rooms — including 149 suites — that adds almost 16,000 sf of indoor meeting space, featuring two ballrooms and almost 14,000 sf of outdoor space. Including the existing Swan and Dolphin wings, the resort’s total meeting space has ballooned to more than 350,000 sf.

And, JW Marriott recently debuted a second flag for the brand in the area, the JW Marriott Orlando Bonnet Creek Resort & Spa. The location, at the edge of the Walt Disney World Resort property, calls for a different approach from the elite JW name, to capture some of the family market headed to the Disney parks. This means Family Suites, custom-designed for multigenerational groups, and family activities such as a rooftop 9-hole mini-golf course, a rock-climbing wall and a conservatory with daily children’s activities.

Caribe Royale Orlando recently completed a $127 million renovation that brings its total meetings space to 220,000 sf. Courtesy of Caribe Royale Orlando

A Warm-Weather Destination

Although the new JW Marriott has a smaller meetings footprint than might be expected for a 516-room, business-oriented hotel — 50,000 sf of event space — the overall package was “very impressive” for James Walsh, marketing events manager for the North American Partners in Anesthesia. For the company’s first annual Clinical Leadership Summit since the start of the pandemic, held early this year, Walsh needed a warm-weather destination with nonstop flight options, a hotel partner that could roll with attrition, and a setting that would appeal to a special demographic. “I work with a lot of physicians, and they have a very particular kind of taste in what they want to experience at a hotel,” Walsh says. “They want an elevated feel, nothing dated; they want to feel they’re being catered to and, being who they are, they don’t want to stay at a Disney resort. At the JW Marriott, there are no pastel greens, so it doesn’t look like a Florida retirement home. It gave me neutral tones, so the space felt very modern, and although it’s technically on the Disney property, there’s not a trace of Disney.”

Walsh continues: “It’s a resort that will impress everyone. Yes, a big portion of that is that it’s a brand new space — you can tell hundreds of people haven’t stayed in your room yet. It’s a great space, and not a huge property with a disconnect between sleeping areas and where you have your conference.” But a lot of the service Walsh received was simple reassurance that all was going to go smoothly, and then delivering on that promise. “It wasn’t until I got there that I realized how much support I was going to receive from everyone, that we were all in this together. It never felt like things were my problem, and when I needed someone to talk things through with, my event manager … was right there to support me. She was my right-hand, my go-to for everything.”

Walsh notes that, until the start of the event, he didn’t know for sure how many of the scheduled attendees would show up. “Flights were getting canceled, so I didn’t know how to get the order right on food,” Walsh says. “I was anticipating 10% to not show up, but we actually had more arrive than we expected and needed more food. Every person on the hotel staff and in catering talked to me, said ‘Hello,’ and we had a lot of comments about good the food was.”

The measure of a successful conference? “I came out of the event and every single one of my executive leaders came back to me and said, ‘We’re doing this event here next year, right?’”

Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek offers more than 50,000 sf of flexible indoor and outdoor function space. Courtesy of Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek

Plenty of Entertainment Options

Nearby, the Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek was the setting for a conference that also took place early this year. Anne Campbell, CMP, team lead, events and awards at Ohio National Financial Services, was deep into final preparations for an 80-person Agency Builders Conference set for late winter. “The hotel [was] absolutely wonderful in providing solutions to any concerns we raised as we return to meeting in person,” Campbell says. “The Wyndham is a great match for us with the meeting space we need, where even with a smaller group, we can still be the big fish in the house. Almost all of the meeting space is on one level, separate from the hotel and leisure space. There is a wonderful, nice-sized foyer outside of the ballroom that we love for breaks, and [we had] our group breakfasts and lunches in a sunny inside area that walks out to the pool deck, so our guests experienced the beautiful Florida sunshine even when they were indoors.”

The 400-room Wyndham Grand Orlando Resort Bonnet Creek is located on an inholding within Walt Disney World, and offers more than 50,000 sf of flexible indoor and outdoor function space, including the Ponce de Leon Ballroom, which can be divided into seven sections. The resort is one of the few properties both managed and owned by Wyndham; a Wyndham-managed time-share is adjacent, and guests of both properties can use the facilities — pools, restaurants and bars — of the other.

Naturally, Orlando’s weather is a prime drawing card for the Midwest-based attendees. “Florida is very inviting in February,” Campbell says. “We have found Orlando to be a great city for this annual conference due to its unique offerings. Our attendees like the fact that airport transfers aren’t very long. Additionally, while this conference is mostly business, we try to go off-site for dinner one night, as well as host group activities one afternoon to build in some leisure networking time for our attendees. Disney Springs offers a variety of options for an off-site dinner venue, and Orlando provides so many recreational opportunities that it’s actually hard to narrow down to just two to three choices.”

Extracurricular activities included a golf scramble at Disney’s Lake Buena Vista Course, and a group went to EPCOT one afternoon. “We made the decision to not invite spouses this year to allow more social distancing in room sets for both business sessions and meal functions,” Campbell says. “The hotel gave us the choice to have attendant-served buffets and break stations, which we happily took them up on. Our [convention services manager was] extremely helpful in coordinating with all in-house departments so we only [had] to worry about getting her the information and know she [got] it in the right hands.”

This year’s gathering was the company’s first in two years, and the hotel went “above and beyond” to work with the group when they weren’t ready to meet in person in 2021. “This experience was so positive, not only did we contract for 2022, but we also contracted for 2023,” Campbell says.

Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center now offers more than 500,000 sf of meetings space. Courtesy of Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center

Great for Large Events

Of course, with its wealth of large meeting properties and entertainment options, Orlando is also a prime target for city-wide events, a major reason Tanya Feldman, senior account executive with ITA Group, chose the city for a manufacturing company’s 9,100-attendee Franchisee Conference last August. “Several factors make Orlando very attractive — the size of hotels and meeting space, the family draw, good airlift and partners who do a good job with large groups,” says Feldman, who adds, “One of the biggest is the options for entertainment for a large group. We have used Universal and SeaWorld in the past, and this time we used Magic Kingdom. It was definitely a team effort between all parties, including Disney Event Group and ACCESS DMC, but the event was a huge hit.”

The client’s conference was originally set for 2020, but in June of that year, it was moved to 2021. “The biggest impact that the pandemic had was that we needed to have multiple back up plans in place — it was a constant moving target. We joked that we had plan A, plan B and plan C — and probably a few more — and we didn’t know which one we were going to use until the day of.”

ITA Group used the Gaylord Palms Resort & Convention Center as the base hotel, with overflow going to Orlando World Center Marriott and four Disney resorts. Guests staying at Gaylord Palms enjoyed the fruits of a just-completed, $158 million resort expansion. The project added more than 100,000 sf of new meetings space, more than 300 new guest rooms and new outdoor meetings spaces, including a terrace venue and an event lawn. The resort’s water park was expanded with an “action river” attraction that guests can enjoy when taking a break or finished with meetings. In total, Gaylord Palms now has 1,718 guest rooms and more than 500,000 sf of meetings and events space. “The new guest rooms and meeting space have only increased the value of this property for group business,” Feldman says. “I would also highlight their F&B capabilities. We were a complete buy-out of the hotel, but had several other properties as well, so our F&B numbers were closer to 9,000 and they delivered. They were flexible throughout the planning process and willing to work together to make sure that it was a positive experience for everyone.”

Feldman adds, “We have a strong partnership with Gaylord Palms, and they continually deliver an amazing experience for us and our attendees. They have buy-in from their general manager and senior leadership on down. One thing that really stands out is their willingness to listen. Very rarely, if at all, do you hear ‘We can’t do that,’ or ‘No.’ I know that not all of our requests are easy or even realistic, but I appreciate that they are willing to have a discussion around the topic and come to an agreement that is acceptable for everyone.

Feldman concludes: “They are completely invested in the success of your event. During a very challenging time in our industry, it was great to know that it truly was a partnership.” C&IT

Celebrity Cruises assures planners that its health protocols mean attendees can meet and sail safely.

Imagine sailing aboard a luxury cruise ship, where every day promises a new adventure in an ever-changing landscape … an effortless, resort environment, only on water instead of land, where attendees and planners can escape to the far away together.

For Nancy G. McAllister, who held her meeting for a group of 90 on Celebrity Equinox late last fall, she knew she had hit it out of the park when attendees said they couldn’t wait until the next cruise. McAllister says the sail-away party brought everyone together in the same space with the excitement to see one another again — after two long years — along with the promise of fun, sunshine and good times ahead.

Layers of Added Protection

In an industry hard-hit by the turbulence of the global COVID-19 pandemic, cruising’s comeback has been an ongoing story of resiliency, collaboration, resourcefulness — and confusion. Learning to navigate new COVID-19 norms and variants, while ensuring passenger trust in the safety of cruise travel after an unexpected, forced hiatus has been challenging at best.

Just as things seemed to be turning the corner late last year, along comes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) recommendation to “avoid cruise travel, regardless of vaccination status.” The announcement has proven perplexing to the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA) and its members, especially considering that cases identified on cruise ships consistently make up a very slim minority of the total population onboard — far fewer than on land. Also, the majority of those cases are asymptomatic or mild in nature, posing little to no burden on medical resources onboard or onshore.

In CLIA’s view: “No setting can be immune from this virus — however, it is also the case that a cruise provides one of the highest levels of demonstrated mitigation against the virus. Cruise ships offer a highly controlled environment with science-backed measures, known testing and vaccination levels far above other venues or modes of transportation and travel, and significantly lower incidence rates than land.”

Despite CLIA’s disappointment in the CDC’s decision to single out the cruise industry by raising the risk of cruising to Level 4 — the highest — “CLIA and our ocean-going cruise line members remain committed to working collaboratively with the CDC in the interest of public health and safety.”

The CDC recently downgraded the risk to Level 3.

CLIA’s response is no surprise for advocates of hosting corporate meetings on cruise ships, such as Sandra Barnhart, president of University at Sea. She was aboard Celebrity Apex, the newest ship in Celebrity Cruise’s Edge-class luxury fleet, when news broke about the CDC’s cruise travel advisory. Barnhart, whose company typically hosts 100+ meetings at sea annually for a variety of professions, looks at the bright side. “I suppose one good thing that has come from all this, is that the general public is more conscious of their own cleanliness,” she says. “We have been operating our cruise meetings on Celebrity and Royal Caribbean since June … with zero issues.”

Cruise meetings offer attendees plenty of time to network amid all the fun, sun and good times. Courtesy of Ron Gulaskey

Clearly, McAllister’s group also enjoyed their meeting at sea — so much so that several attendees registered for their 2022 cruise while still onboard “because of the high quality of food, service, cleanliness and overall positive experience,” she says. As a former IBM major meetings planner and now president of World Wings International Inc., McAllister speaks with the assurance that 40+ years of travel industry and meeting planning experiences brings, she says. She expresses her confidence in hosting meetings with the cruise line, saying: “Like the willow tree, Celebrity is incredibly adept at bending to this evolving pandemic, demonstrating the utmost understanding.”

Anthony Diaz, SVP of charters, meetings & incentives for Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd., says the change in the CDC recommendation has not impacted scheduled itineraries, nor the company’s stringent health and safety protocols, which include full vaccination of 100% of guests and crew. “Prior to our relaunch last summer, we worked with the leading experts of our SailSAFE Global Wellness Council … to develop some of the most robust protocols in the industry,” Diaz says. “Our mandatory vaccination policy is coupled with universal pre-embarkation testing of guests at the terminal, mask requirements onboard, and numerous additional layers of protection against COVID-19. As a result of our comprehensive health and safety protocols, we believe that vacationing onboard any one of our cruise ships is safer, and guests are better protected from contacting COVID-19, than in any other general population setting.”

Others say the CDC recommendation has caused misplaced concern industry wide for planners. “[But] ships are quite literally the only aspect of the travel industry that are required to report to the CDC,” says Karen Devine, CITP, founder & CEO of 3D Cruise Partners. “We know the numbers of cases on ships, however, [and] that isn’t a bad thing if people look at the stats. The number of cases is approximately 33% less than land. And no other venue — airplane, event space, etc. — requires 100% of crew/staff to be fully vaccinated and masked at all times; requires all guests [over 12] to be vaccinated; and requires all staff/crew and guests to be tested prior to and during the cruise.”

Devine suggests planners and potential cruise meeting attendees pay no attention to the headlines. “We continuously see headlines of ‘outbreaks,’ yet, when you read the article … it is so minuscule a number of cases to guests,” she says. “Most less than 1%, and none more than 2% … That’s because the protocols are working — far better than any other aspect of travel, and for that matter, far, far better than any city in the U.S.”

Diaz sums up Norwegian’s confidence in cruise travel on their fleet of ships. “We take health and safety matters extremely seriously, and will continue to work closely with the CDC and other global and domestic authorities to protect our guests, crew and the communities we visit.”

The variety of entertainment options and activities aboard a cruise ship often generates high marks on attendee surveys, planners say. Courtesy of Ron Gulaskey

Benefits of Meeting at Sea

Meeting attendees and experienced cruise planners tout the many benefits of hosting corporate and incentive travel events at sea. “From my personal point of view as a planner,” Barnhart says, “when we host at hotels, we have to transport our clients off-site to entertainment venues. I just attended a meeting myself at a hotel, and had to take a taxi two of the three evenings to restaurants. Having a variety of restaurants and entertainment in walking distance [aboard a ship] is a plus for my conferees, and greatly simplifies my planning and reduces my costs.”

The chance for attendees to bring along their families is also “perfect for cruising,” Barnhart says, since there is plenty for family members to do. “Spa, shop, sun … and the ships have camps for all ages of kids.” Barnhart recalls how worrying it was for her as a single mom to think about her two “mischievous boys in the hotel room waiting for me” when she needed to attend meetings. “On a ship, there is never concern about your children. They have amazing staff in the camps, and the kids love the experience.”

Devine wants meeting planners to know that it is possible to run a well-orchestrated meeting at sea. “The space is there; the infrastructure for meeting needs is there. The value is immense given the all-inclusive nature [including most A/V] of a cruise.

Barnhart agrees. Flexible seating and state-of-the-art technology onboard “saves us a lot of money, [as well as] not having to bring an A/V team with us.”

From her experience booking with Celebrity, McAllister says that for meetings or conventions that can be accommodated on a ship, the choice encompasses everything, while eliminating certain aspects of meeting planning, which makes a planner’s job easier. “[There are] no menus to plan, no separate venues to book, A/V is expertly done, little or zero décor to concern yourself with, ground transportation is either handled, eliminated or minimized once the cruise begins, and attendee ‘down time’ offers many options,” she says. “The onboard hotel directors offer extensive operations knowledge, with the crew expertly implementing requests and anticipating the needs of meeting planners and passengers. Should any issues occur, they’re immediately and positively addressed with solutions or alternatives.”

Barnhart concurs: “They are exceptionally well run and always deliver on their promises,” she says. “You can know ahead of time exactly what your budget will be. The service is very efficient and [someone is] always available to assist.”

Having multiple meeting venues, theaters and restaurants onboard is a key benefit for planners, says Freddy I. Muller, AVP of global corporate, incentive & charter sales for Royal Caribbean International. “Special venues such as Royal Caribbean’s neighborhoods to host top incentive winners and an Aqua Theater that provides shows unlike anything you will find on land, [and] signature shows to keep your guests entertained … Each of these activities is at no cost, again adding additional value to any meeting or incentive group,” he says.

Barnhart describes the entertainment options on Celebrity ships as “Very forward thinking, multisensory productions. [The show] ‘Crystalize,’ for instance, has a pop violinist, dancers and aerialists. The choreography is amazing.” While dazzling entertainment venues have their place, Barnhart adds, “If you simply want a cocktail and to listen to music, there are many venues with a variety of music — classical, pop, rock, all with very professional entertainers.”

Cruise ships offer an abundance of meeting spaces, and planners say there is often no need to bring along your own A/V team. Courtesy of Ron Gulaskey

McAllister found the intimate Celebrity Central Theater as perfect for the size of her group. “We also used Sky A & B for various things, beginning with onboard registration, our President’s Forum, and for our final executive board meeting.”

And let’s not forget the range of dining options as modest or extravagant as the clientele expects, Barnhart says. “The Apex has 29 restaurants, bars and lounges.” Her favorites? “For dinners, I love ‘Luminae’ in the Retreat and ‘Blue’ for the Aqua-class cabins. ‘LeGrand Bistro’ specializes in French cuisine. The ‘Rooftop Garden’ is very enjoyable at the top of the ship in an open-air area,” she says. “It’s very lovely for dinner or just a quiet cocktail. All meals are included in the formal dining room, casual cafés and the buffet area, as well as in-room dining. In addition, there are optional private, speciality restaurants for special occasions. Very importantly, they service all kinds of special needs: low sugar for diabetic needs, vegans, halal, kosher, etc.”

Devine shares a similar experience with Royal Caribbean’s services: “The F&B team was outstanding in response to customers’ needs — customizing some onboard offerings to the taste and appeal of the customer.”

For McAllister, highlights of F&B included room service that was “delivered at the requested time, always complete, hot and nicely presented.” In mentioning several outstanding restaurants, two factors stood out for McAllister: the epitome of service and the beautiful ambiance. She gives a special nod to Blue “because of the setting, the service and the imaginative, superb dishes presented on unique, beautiful dishware,” she says. “Also, there’s something to be said for a venue like Café Al Bacio that never fails to transport me to the Via Veneto with their excellent coffees and pastries.” Add the ship’s ample supplies of Ferrari-Carano Fumé Blanc — which became known as “Nancy’s wine” after previously mentioning it to the ship’s team — it’s no wonder stellar service tops the list of attendees’ feedback.

To maximize benefits, Devine advises planners to work with an expert who knows the ‘ins and outs’ of a cruise meeting at sea … someone who understands how ships work to guide and explain throughout the process. She adds: “The cruise line also loves this as they appreciate the ‘ask’ from an experienced eye that saves both the customer and the planning teams a ton of time.”

Previewing a dedicated website to planners who may be considering hosting a corporate travel and incentive program on a ship can be helpful to start the process, Muller suggests. “This will provide helpful tools and resources to get ideas flowing. Many incentives are awarded based on creativity and thinking outside the box, and we host many Symposiums at Sea for qualified planners to experience our product firsthand.”

Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. is looking toward the future with new ships, such as the Norwegian Viva, set to sail in 2023.

 What’s Ahead for Meetings at Sea

In the last two years, cruise lines have responded to organizational needs well beyond elevating health and safety protocols, meeting space and entertainment. “We are seeing a desire to focus on more than meetings,” Diaz says. “There is a shift toward prioritizing team building, connection, escape, entertainment and engagement within groups.”

Ron Gulaskey, AVP of global corporate, incentive and charter sales for Celebrity Cruises, has found the same trends among Celebrity’s clientele. “Since for many companies the attendees have not seen each other for a long time, the trend has been to book meaningful experiences such as team-building events, a give back program in one of our Shorex programs and lots of brainstorming sessions in person to revamp and excel their companies’ goals and reenergize their people. More and more participants want experiential events, and dining is a big component of that experience,” he says. “To meet this growing need, Celebrity offers one of the most unique dining events in the world aboard all ships — Le Petit Chef … is a true pinnacle of the custom 3D animation art form, beautifully choreographed with an elegant menu created by our Michelin-starred chef.” And for those attendees who want to connect with the environment, the all-suite Celebrity Flora in the Galapagos is also an incredible experience for incentive travel winners and an amazing gift to offer those attendees, Gulaskey says.

At Norwegian, Diaz finds that food halls are really resonating with guests. “They are an excellent option for guests to experience something new or the next thing in the ever-exciting culinary scene,” he says. “[This] summer, NCL will unveil the first ship of its next groundbreaking class, Norwegian Prima, where the company will debut its first Indulge Food Hall, a bustling marketplace that will invite guests to enjoy a culinary escapade featuring 11 different venues.”

Planners and attendees are excited to get back out to sea, and cruise lines are ready to welcome them back with world-class service, exciting new venues and exceptionally engaging experiences. C&IT

People who have heard Mills’ speeches say his message of strength and determination, sprinkled with raw emotion, resonates deeply with everyone. Courtesy of the Travis Mills Foundation

“Never give up. Never quit.” That’s the message retired Army Staff Sgt. Travis Mills, of the 82nd Airborne, shares as a motivational speaker. This mantra is the driving force behind his remarkable life’s journey — his raison d’être — or reason for being.

In April 2012, Mills, a paratrooper and combat infantry soldier, was leading a team checking for improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in Afghanistan when his world blew up — literally. After placing his backpack on the ground, an explosion erupted and mangled him. He remembers a flash of light, a loud boom. He screamed to the medics to help his soldiers.

In a split second, he lost both legs above the knee, as well as portions of both of his arms. This was April 10, 2012, four days before his 25th birthday. He was airlifted from Khik to Kandahar, Afghanistan, to a U.S. hospital in Bagram, Afghanistan, then transferred to Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany, then on to Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, and finally, Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. He had to undergo four amputations.

His brother-in-law was at his bedside when he woke up. “Am I paralyzed?” Mills asked.

“You took the brunt of the explosion for your guys. You’re not paralyzed, but your arms and legs are gone,” was the staggering response.

A few days were dark, he says — very dark — while he began to process this life-altering news and contemplate why he didn’t die. Also, he was self-conscious: without his limbs, the 6-foot-3-inch, 225-pound Mills was now 110 pounds lighter. Independent to his core, he thought needing help with everything would be intolerable. There were moments early on when he thought about quitting.

And then Cpl. Todd Nicely paid him a visit at Walter Reed. Nicely, also a quadruple amputee, grabbed a soda and opened it. That simple act made a huge impact on Mills, and after chatting for a few minutes, Nicely reassured Mills that he would be able to go back to living independently. Heeding this call, Mills forged forward. “If I gave up, I was giving up on my family,” he explains. “And I wasn’t going to do that.”

An incredible will to live led him to become one of only five quadruple amputees from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to survive such injuries. Each and every day, four hours of occupational therapy and four hours of physical therapy became his norm. He worked. And he worked hard.

Eventually, the grueling rehabilitation paid off. Five weeks into his recovery, he used his robotic arm to feed himself. Two weeks later, he began to walk with robotic legs equipped with microprocessors. Also waterproof, they feature a Bluetooth remote to help him drive.

Only five months after his injury, with sheer grit, Mills walked a 5K in New York City — the Tunnel to the Towers — that honors the sacrifice of firefighter Stephen Siller, who lost his life helping others on September 11, 2011.

While he struggled on his new legs, bleeding from his newly fitted prosthetics, this experience helped him realize how much he wanted to run again. After consulting with his doctors, he was fitted for running blades. Today, he hosts an annual Memorial Day road race, the Miles for Mills 5K in Augusta, Maine to raise money for his foundation.

Mills, who calls himself a “recalibrated warrior,” says he and his daughter Chloe “learned to walk at the same time.” Courtesy of the Travis Mills Foundation

I Couldn’t Fail

He credits his family as the core behind his motivation. While at Walter Reed, he and his daughter Chloe learned to walk at the same time. “I came to terms with the fact that I lived when so many didn’t. I couldn’t fail. I had to be a role model for my kids,” Mills explains. “Do I wish this didn’t happen to me? Of course. But it did, and I have had to just accept that.”

Today, Mills travels the world sharing his message of resiliency and determination with groups of all kinds. “After my speeches, I hang around to meet as many people as I can. Everyone has a story to tell. My problems are not bigger than theirs. I share mine with the hope I can help someone,” he says. “I gave a lot, but I didn’t give everything. I don’t dwell in the past, and I certainly don’t live on the sidelines. Life is all about perspective.”

It is that message, his larger-than-life personality, sense of humor and incredible spirit that groups find most inspiring. Many are surprised by the way Mills pokes fun at himself. “People listen best when they are having fun and I make sure that happens,” he explains.

“I tell jokes to disarm the situation,” he says with a laugh. “For example, `I really don’t want to bomb, because look what happened last time.’” With a robotic, bio-electric arm that turns 360 degrees, Mills frequently uses it to trick people when shaking hands.

His message is especially poignant today, as the world reels from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. “My biggest message is resiliency, and the fact that you can bounce back from almost anything with the right mindset,” says Mills, who never allowed self-pity to seep into his psyche. Instead, he chose to forge ahead with confidence and conviction that inspires people around the world.

He does not call himself wounded. “I am a recalibrated warrior,” he says, adding that what defines him is being a husband, father and empathetic leader.

His family is his world. After he was released from Walter Reed, his wife Kelsey gave birth to their son Dax, named in honor of the two medics who saved his life by putting tourniquets on all four of his injured limbs while pumping fluids into his body. “If one of those tourniquets had loosened, I would have died within three minutes,” he explains.

After leaving Walter Reed, Mills and his family relocated six times, eventually moving into a specially adapted smart home built and donated by the Gary Sinise Foundation in Manchester, Maine, the state where Kelsey is from. “A happy wife is a happy life,” he says with a chuckle.

His awards are many, including finalist for the Congressional Medal of Honor Society’s Citizen Honors Award, and 2018’s New Englander of the Year, but Mills insists being recognized by Fatherly Magazine as a Father-of-the-Year honoree means the most to him.

A self-described “small-town kid” from Michigan, he attended Grand Rapids Community College until he discovered the military offered the same camaraderie he had so enjoyed as a top football, baseball and basketball player, so he enlisted in 2006, and deployed three times. In 2012, his unit was going to Afghanistan, and while he didn’t have to go, he wanted to. “My guys were going, and I felt obligated to go as well. A month and a half later, I got blown up. I was transferred to Walter Reed where I had to learn to walk, feed myself, dress myself and so much more.”

Today, he speaks at 60 conferences a year for groups of all types and sizes, and is impressed by the corporate social responsibility focus exhibited by many. “I was at a sales conference in California, where during the day the group built 250 wheelchairs as part of a team-building activity that then got donated to a local veteran’s hospital. How cool is that?”

Audiences are captivated by his journey. “I can honestly say that while his story is one of inspiration and of a true American hero, even more compelling is his ability to connect with his audience,” says Stephen James, of SCJ Fiduciary Services. “I have seen near a hundred motivational speakers over the years, and there are only a few I found that come across so genuine and as comfortable as a speaker as he.”

Nan Pum, director of talent development at M3 Insurance, agrees. “He made us laugh, he made us cry. His story of resilience, the power of positivity and humility moved our group. He challenged the thought processes and attitudes of everyone in the room, and gave them the perspective they needed to take on their own challenges in their personal or professional lives.”

“Tough As They Come,” the book Mills wrote about his journey, has become a The New York Times bestselling memoir. The COVID-19 pandemic was the impetus for a new book that is in the works about resiliency and how to thrive in the face of adversity.

U.S. Army veteran Travis Mills says his determination to recover from his injuries, suffered in Afghanistan, came from thinking about the love of his wife and children. Courtesy of the Travis Mills Foundation

Giving Back

Mills is forever indebted to not only his family, who unconditionally supports him, but to the medics, the doctors and medical technology that have contributed to the full life he now lives. Today, he is focused on giving back and ensuring other combat-injured vets have access to the same support he received. An abandoned spa built by cosmetics guru Elizabeth Arden in 1929 was on the market for 10 years and caught his eye. He thought it would be the perfect home for his nonprofit, the Travis Mills Foundation. It is.

Converted into a retreat for injured soldiers and their families, hundreds of other “recalibrated warriors” have learned how to overcome their own injuries at his facility. Not only do they receive an all-inclusive, all-expenses paid, barrier-free vacation where adaptive activities are offered, but they are also given the opportunity to rest and relax in Maine’s outdoors. Boating, fishing, biking and snowshoeing are just a few of the activities offered.

With the hope of operating year-round, a Health and Wellness Center is also in the works that will include an indoor pool and fitness center. “These retreats help on so many levels. They include the entire family, as it is so helpful to bond with others who are in similar situations, and for our kids to see there are others like us,” Mills explains. “I will help anybody who needs help, as long as they are willing to work for it.”

Mills and his wife are also owners of Lakeside Lodging & Marina, a lodge set on the shore of Cobbosseecontee Lake in East Winthrop, Maine, that is also home to a recently opened restaurant/brewery, White Duck Brew Pub. Rental properties and a supplemental benefits insurance company are other endeavors. “I’m just a man with scars living life to the fullest as best I know how,” Mills says modestly. C&IT

The unique culture of New Orleans, rooted in music, food and history, has long kept the city atop the list for meeting planners and attendees. Photo by Todd Coleman

With a new $1.3 billion airport, an ongoing face-lift for the convention center and a fleet of new hotels offering an array of meetings spaces, this year promises to be a transformative one for one of America’s favorite destinations, New Orleans.

As the city eases away from COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, New Orleans is looking ahead to new developments that will continue to certify the “Crescent City” as a bucket-list destination for those who’ve never been, and polish the offerings to its legion of fans. Chief among its regulars: meeting planners. “New Orleans is an amazing city for hosting an event,” says Chad Carey, corporate travel & events manager for FireMon LLC, a network security platform. Ease of accessibility, plentiful nonstop flights and an array of entertainment options after dark are among the lures Carey cites. “The options are limitless — take a walk down Bourbon Street, and you’ll be greatly entertained. Whether you are interested in jazz, Southern rock or looking for an LGBTQ bar, you’ll have your choice on Bourbon Street.”

FireMon worked with New Orleans & Company, the city’s DMC, for venue recommendations, choosing the destination to host its All Company/Sales Kick Off early this year. With 110 attending in person, FireMon was also able to take advantage of an incentive/rebate offer based on the number of room nights utilized for the event. Carey adds: “We also wanted a location that embodied an interesting segment of U.S. culture, as we had about 20 international employees traveling for the event. New Orleans provides not only great food and entertainment, but also a unique view into a cultural subset of the U.S. We selected the New Orleans Marriott on Canal Street based on our budget, its location and the flexibility of their team to work with our needs. The team at the Marriott was on-point with regards to room availability, the banquet teams provided excellent service, and the food was top-notch.”

Carey adds, “The Marriott location is perfect. It’s not on Bourbon Street — which was ideal due to noise — but it’s close. The hotel’s meeting spaces have been recently renovated and are easily accessible from both towers of the hotel. F&B was willing to keep both the restaurant and bar open later due to our group being in house, which was a wonderful gesture.” The group hosted a welcome happy hour on the hotel’s 41st floor, which offered views of the Mississippi River and city lights. “Since this was the first event, staff were on-site to verify that all of our employees were either vaccinated and/or had tested negative within the previous 72 hours. This helped to alleviate the concerns of mine, and of many employees, who were reticent to attend due to the ongoing pandemic.” The 1,333-room New Orleans Marriott offers 85,877 sf of meeting space, including a 27,089-sf Grand Ballroom. Carey says the hotel ballrooms were clean, room temperature was comfortable, and A/V was excellent.

During the conference, FireMon hosted one off-site event at Bourbon Vieux, a storied bar that claims the longest balcony in New Orleans. “The staff, the food, the drinks and the entertainment were phenomenal,” Carey says. “We felt welcomed and the location provided a great view of Bourbon Street. Although the weather was a little chilly, we still had an opportunity to hang out on the balcony with drinks and toss a few beads. After Bourbon Vieux, we made our way down Bourbon Street to The Famous Door bar for an extended visit, enjoying numerous cocktails and a [great] band. The staff was friendly and truly wanted you to step in and enjoy the bar, music and city.”

When planned attendance of 300 employees didn’t work out, due to the Omicron variant rearing its head, Carey says the hotel’s events manager and group housing partner assisted with providing alternatives for the smaller group. “We had a wonderful sales experience …,” Carey says. “[One employee] was quick to offer solutions when we had to adjust our overall room nights — easy to speak with and always accessible.”

As the Omicron variant forced scheduled attendees to reconsider, FireMon opted to switch to a hybrid version of the event, causing a reduction in the number of contracted room nights. The Marriott team was flexible with favorable revised contract terms, he notes. Additionally, two of the international employees tested positive for COVID. “This required quarantine and several additional nights at the hotel. [The hotel] was constantly in contact with me to provide updates and to find out if they needed anything while they were in quarantine. This was extremely helpful, as both employees were not from the U.S. and were unaware of how our health-care system worked, in the event it was needed. She did a great job of alleviating their concerns, and mine as well. You can tell that the citizens of NOLA are proud of their town and happy to have visitors back again,” Carey says. “Southern hospitality was in full swing.”

The 1,333-room New Orleans Marriott on Canal Street offers 85,877 sf of meetings and events space. Courtesy of the New Orleans Marriott

What’s New

New on the scene is the New Orleans Marriott Warehouse Arts District hotel, formerly the New Orleans Downtown Marriott at the Convention Center, which early this year debuted a multiphased, full-scale redesign. The reimagined guest rooms include locally inspired accents to reflect the atmosphere of the trendy Warehouse Arts District, functional work areas, hard-surface flooring, new seating areas and contemporary furniture. The hotel’s former concierge lounge on the third floor has been converted into an additional presidential suite with a lounge area, a king guest room and a private courtyard that’s big enough to accommodate small events.

The 332-room facility offers 24,751 sf of meeting space, including two reimagined ballrooms, housed within a 200-year-old historic warehouse adjoining the modern hotel. With exposed brick walls and stunning crystal chandeliers, the ballrooms present an industrial, yet sophisticated and elegant ambiance for gatherings. The Warehouse Arts District is within walking distance to James Beard-winning restaurants, art galleries, nightlife, shopping and across from the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center.

After years of litigation delays, the $500 million Four Seasons Hotel New Orleans opened late last summer. It’s a three-year transformation of one of the city’s most prominent buildings, the 34-story, former World Trade Center designed by celebrated Modernist architect Edward Durell Stone, who is also responsible for Radio City Music Hall and the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts. The building — added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014 — sat vacant for years at the foot of Canal Street, just steps from both the French Quarter and the Mississippi River banks.

The New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center is in the midst of a five-year, $557 million capital improvement project. Photo courtesy of New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center

Two separate restaurants at the Four Seasons, Miss River and Chemin à la Mer, prepare regional cuisine in an elevated fashion, along with offering innovative takes on classic New Orleans cocktails. An extensive art collection featuring local and international artists is displayed throughout the building, and the 33rd and 34th floors are home to an indoor/outdoor observation deck and cultural exhibit featuring the only 360-degree panoramic riverfront views of New Orleans. It’s a spectacular venue available for private events. The hotel offers 341 guest rooms, plus 92 private residences, and 29,000 sf of flexible meetings space on one level, making it one of Four Seasons’ largest properties in the world.

Not to be outdone, The Ritz-Carlton, New Orleans, which offers 35,000 sf of meetings and events space, used the pandemic to complete a renovation of its spa and add a new rooftop suite, The Residence. The 3,200-sf, two-bedroom penthouse suite includes a fully equipped kitchen and a dining room for 10, a fireplace in the primary bedroom and a curated art collection showcasing regional artists. The suite’s 3,500-sf terrace offers sweeping panoramic views of New Orleans.

With more than 1.1 million sf of contiguous event space, the New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center remains the nation’s sixth-largest convention facility. In 2018, the convention center embarked on a five-year, $557 million capital improvement project. Completed to date: New digital signage for all meeting rooms; a new, centrally located transportation center and shuttle hub; renovation of all 35 restrooms and creation of a new linear park that converted 7.5 acres fronting the facility into a lush pedestrian park with water elements, live event spaces and public art installations.

This year, the convention center anticipates upgrading all 140 meeting rooms and overhauling the facility’s technology — cables and Wi-Fi — along with repurposing some the existing public spaces and a $40 million replacement of the center’s roof, along with other back-of-house improvements. The overall project is expected to be completed by the end of 2023.

Bourbon Street in New Orleans is world-renowned for its atmosphere, and makes the city a bucket-list visit for millions of attendees. Courtesy of New Orleans & Company

Always a Go-To Destination

New Orleans has always been a go-to site for the annual meeting of one financial services company. “The city’s location makes it an easily accessible destination for those who not only live nearby, but for those who must fly in as well,” says the regional manager, who oversees planning for the company’s Annual Top Producer Meeting. “There is a lot of culture in the city that helps to set some of the backdrop for an off-site meeting and event. When looking for a venue, New Orleans offers quite a variety in the accommodations department. Price is a concern, but we have not had to sacrifice quality due to the variety of hotels.”

For the 75-attendee gathering that took place early this year, the company chose the Higgins Hotel & Conference Center, an unusual spinoff from the acclaimed National WWII Museum, located in the Warehouse District less than a half-mile from the city’s convention center. Named for Andrew Higgins, who designed and built more than 20,000 boats in New Orleans that were used in every major amphibious assault of World War II, the museum focuses on the contribution made by the United States to Allied victory during the war. The facility has long been a popular venue for hosting meetings and events, and features several unique private events spaces, including the U.S. Freedom Pavilion, capable of seating 650 for dinner beneath six vintage WWII aircraft.

Just prior to the start of the pandemic, the 230-room Higgins Hotel & Conference Center opened adjacent to the museum, replete with specialty suites, a full-service restaurant, lounge and rooftop bar. Now part of the Curio Collection by Hilton, the hotel’s second-floor conference center offers more than 18,000 sf of meetings and events space, including the 6,566-sf Arcadia Ballroom. “We chose The Higgins because we were looking for more than just a hotel experience,” the planner says. “The hotel offered a glimpse back in time regarding our rich history within the U.S., a hotel experience we have not had in the past. The Higgins provides a feeling that takes a person back in time for a glimpse of what our previous generation sacrificed for us as Americans. The WWII décor lent itself for added conversation with our team.”

The pandemic forced the company to postpone its annual event several times. “But we stayed in contact with The Higgins and were finally able to move forward,” she says. “Planning an event was not easy during the pandemic, but the hotel’s staff was patient, understanding and ready when we were finally able to hold our event. We were given COVID protocols from the venue, as well as for the city of New Orleans. By having the protocols early on in our planning, we were able to let our attendees know well in advance what would be required of them for this group meeting. Our attendees were more than prepared to attend.”

The planner says the Higgins’ on-site event manager took time to understand her vision for the meeting and accommodated several walk-throughs to review all of the potential meetings spaces and sleeping room options. “The meeting space was more than adequate and felt warm and inviting,” she says. “The hotel was very clean, hotel staff was very polite and accommodating, the price was good and the meeting space served our needs.” She notes that the hotel’s F&B department was easy to work with, offering a large selection of food that was delicious.

The planner also notes the Rosie the Riveter-themed rooftop bar and lounge that accommodates 175 for receptions or 140 seated. “It is an inviting outdoor space for entertaining, with the downtown city lights offering a scenic backdrop. And the WWII Museum provided an incredible space to have our dinner event, rich with history,” she says. “The Higgins is a worthwhile destination and offers so much to do around the hotel, with the WWII Museum across the street where one could spend days wandering the halls of history.”

Much like New Orleans itself, one might say. C&IT

Puerto Rico offers some of the world’s most beautiful beaches. Courtesy of Discover Puerto Rico

The allure of beautiful Puerto Rico as a meetings destination shines bright, attracting wellness seekers rejuvenated by year-round tropical weather, warm local hospitality, and diverse culinary and cultural experiences — all within easy access from mainland USA. No need for a passport, customs check, currency conversion, or international phone plan when flying or cruising to the “Isla del Encanto” — Island of Enchantment. Infused with a unique culture in a festive atmosphere set in colorful surroundings, Puerto Rico offers old- and new-world charm with plenty of opportunities for relaxation, celebration and adventure.

About 100 miles long, 35 miles wide and comprising seven unique regions, Puerto Rico is the easternmost island among the Greater Antilles. Most visitors enter the island by way of the capital city, San Juan — parts of which are a UNESCO World Heritage site — rich in 500 years of indigenous, European and African influences. And where better to enjoy the home of the piña colada or savor mofongo —the ultimate comfort food of deep-fried plantains mashed with garlic and salt-fried pork or pork cracklings with butter or oil? Yet, beyond the traditional foods and craft cocktails that define the essence of Puerto Rico’s flavors, the cuisine scene’s constant evolution invites discovery around every culinary corner, cementing Puerto Rico’s status as a foodie paradise.

“We are proud the island is listed on Lonely Planet’s Best in Travel list for 2022, proving interest in Puerto Rico is still strong,” says Brad Dean, CEO of Discover Puerto Rico. “To meeting planners looking to book upcoming meetings on the island, I recommend immersing your group in many of the experiences we have. Immerse in our culture. Planners constantly tell us that they are so glad they built in free time for their attendees to explore the island or planned pre- and post-days into their itineraries. They also tell us how warm and friendly our residents are — so be sure to find that local tour guide or utilize one of our amazing DMC partners to customize an authentic experience your attendees will never forget.”

When it comes to local attractions, El Yunque Rainforest — the only rainforest in the U.S. forest system — pink salt flats and three of the world’s five bioluminescent bays offer abundant opportunities to renew body, mind and spirit. Outdoor activities on the island include the longest zip line in the Americas — “El Monstruo” at Toro Verde Adventure Park, scuba diving at several sites across the island’s waters, golfing and rainforest hiking among the plethora of available options.

For guided tours, Dean recommends SPOON, “Puerto Rico’s highest-quality culinary and cultural tourism company, to learn about Puerto Rico’s history, architecture and gastronomy,” as well as “sample both modern and traditional Puerto Rican cuisine and cocktails.” And in celebration of San Juan’s 500th anniversary, Dean cites “a new walking tour that takes attendees down the cobblestone streets to explore colonial architecture and secret pathways to learn about the island’s history as one among several transformational experiences unique to the island and traveler.”

Fairmont El San Juan Hotel offers 30,000 sf of versatile indoor/outdoor meetings space, a ballroom, theater and nine meeting rooms. Courtesy of Discover Puerto Rico

 Meeting Venues

Dean cites more than 163 hotel options on the island, and nearly 14,500 hotel rooms open and operating that are endorsed by the Puerto Rico Tourism Company (PRTC), including a total of eight, 5-star properties and 15, 4-star properties.” In addition to world-class hotels and resorts, meeting spaces range from the 600,000-sf Puerto Rico Convention Center (PRCC), to intimate coffee haciendas, historic homes, family-operated paradores, museums and rum distilleries, and all provide endless possibilities for creating magical, memorable events.

Described as “the largest and most technologically advanced meeting facility in the region,” the centrally located PRCC is “also one of the greenest,” Dean says, “with a 20,000-panel solar array and numerous other initiatives focused on sustainability.” With state-of-the-art video conferencing capabilities, an on-site lobby lounge, 152,700-sf exhibit hall and 15 meeting rooms that can be reconfigured into 28 breakout rooms, PRCC provides meeting space for 10 to 10,000 attendees. In addition, PRCC serves as anchor to the vibrant Convention Center District, with the recent opening of Distrito T-Mobile, a 5-acre complex that offers a multisensory, audiovisual and technologically advanced experience, combining the best in global retail, destination dining with 12 eateries, art, entertainment, music, technology, and hospitality, notes Dean, with proximity to San Juan neighborhoods and Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport.

Meeting services at PRCC include a dedicated Sales & Destination Support Services Team to assist with all meeting needs, such as site selection, transportation, marketing and group excursions, plus advice on activities — cultural, team building and volunteer projects that support corporate social responsibility (CSR).

 A Prime Location

The iconic Fairmont El San Juan Hotel’s prime location is one of the hotel’s unique attributes, notes Tara Leigh Dickie, director of event sales & services. It can be found on 2 miles of award-winning Isla Verde Beach, just five minutes away from Luis Muñoz Marín International Airport and 15 minutes away from historic Old San Juan. “If these walls could talk,” Dickie says, “they would share stories of 1960s society headliners crooning in the nightclub, and generations of locals celebrating life’s greatest milestones in the ballrooms.” She adds, “Fairmont El San Juan Hotel offers guests genuine Puerto Rican hospitality and a luxury lifestyle experience complete with a luxe full-service spa, world-class fitness center, retail shops, lively entertainment and non-stop gaming action at the newly renovated Foxwoods El San Juan Casino.”

Some of the many experiences on the island include helicopter tours. Courtesy of Discover Puerto Rico

The property operates under Accor’s ALLSAFE certification label and PRTC’s Health & Safety Seal. A variety of newly renovated guest rooms at Fairmont El San Juan provide several options, from suites to poolside to oceanfront villas. “In the Banyan Villa Room, the essence of Puerto Rico’s rainforests surround our guests,” Dickie says. “A one-story room features one king bed, an oversized dual-head shower, and a private terrace with direct access to the pools and beautiful gardens. Floral aromas waft over from the gardens, while guests can also enjoy the island’s nature from the comfort of their private enclosed terrace.”

With nearly 30,000 sf of versatile indoor/outdoor meetings space, a ballroom, theater and nine meeting rooms, conference organizers have a host of options for scheduling their meetings, from intimate board retreats to full-scale galas. “Our Fairmont hospitality is well known with event planners around the world,” Dickie says. Meeting attendees can immerse themselves in traditional San Juan culture from the moment of arrival, while hotel ambassadors can assist with logistics, such as airport transfers, spouse tours, off-site events and more. “Visiting delegates will have an array of exciting options without having to leave the property,” Dickie says. “Our advice: Be sure to allow time in their busy schedules to enjoy it all.” That includes the casino, with 15,000 sf of non-stop gaming action, including nearly 300 slot machines and 14 tables featuring favorites such as craps, roulette and blackjack. Guest fitness programs range from group exercise classes to private yoga instruction, to Sound Therapy and Float Fit, a group paddleboard workout.

In dining, “Crudo Sushi & Asian Plates at The Lobby are very popular right now,” Dickie says. “Here, guests have the opportunity to savor signature cocktails, sushi and more delicious Asian dishes, all by the radiant aura of our Czechoslovakian crystal centerpiece. Among our signature rolls, guests can indulge in the classic EL SAN JUAN roll made of pork recaíto, maduros, refrito and chicharrones.”

Echoing what many in the travel and tourism industry think, Dickie recognizes that “People are ready to meet again, as they have missed human interaction after all this time in quarantine and isolation,” she says. “They are tired of looking at faceless boxes on a computer screen, and are excited to go back to connect personally again with others at a beautiful location like Fairmont El San Juan.”

Another iconic venue on the island is the Caribe Hilton Hotel. Vionesse Serra, president of Serra & Serra Group, has coordinated several medical education events at the venerable resort. “The Caribbean is undoubtedly one of the most complete and attractive tourist destinations worldwide,” Serra says. “For our event, we sought a hotel that also had a historical background representative of our island. The Caribe Hilton brand is synonymous with Puerto Rico, and we wanted our international guests to have a first-class Puerto Rican and Caribbean experience at a Puerto Rican icon.”

Letty Rivero, director of sales & marketing at Caribe Hilton, cites the property’s outstanding event features, which include 652 recently renovated guest rooms with balconies, garden or ocean views and Serenity beds. “[There is] more than 65,000 sf of versatile meeting space, which incorporates two ballrooms and plenty of picturesque outdoor event spaces, inclusive of the resort’s beach, sprawling oceanfront pool area, sweeping gardens, gazebo, terraces and more,” Rivero says. “In addition to plenty of outdoor space, the hotel provides groups with the option to keep accommodations within one building or wing of the hotel to minimize interactions with other guests. Our meeting and event space is big enough to accommodate convention-sized groups, yet the property offers a true leisure feel so groups get the best of both worlds and enjoy San Juan in style.”

With so many planners seeking “unique local experiences representative of the destination’s heritage and culture,” Rivero says, “Caribe Hilton continues to look for innovative experiences that do just that. Two very popular experiences happen to be the mofongo-making and the piña colada demonstration. Caribe Hilton is the birthplace of the famed cocktail, after all.” Additional on-site group amenities include a secluded beach, oceanfront swimming pools, snorkeling and ‘snuba’ diving — a combined snorkeling/scuba diving experience for novices — Zen Spa Océano and tennis clinics at the Monica Puig Tennis Courts. The hotel’s 11 restaurants cover local and international cuisine from traditional Puerto Rican cuisine to Italian and a world-renowned steakhouse.

“We’re proud to say our team can make just about any meeting a reality,” Rivero says. “Our ‘Yes’ attitude further drives this messaging home. We enjoy seeing visions come to life before us.”

Based on her group’s experience at Caribe Hilton, Serra couldn’t agree more: “One of the most outstanding was the XXIX Annual Congress of the Ibero-Latin American Society of Diagnostic and Therapeutic Neuroradiology (SILAN). This event was attended by about 400 people from various countries in Latin America, Europe and the United States. The support we received from the hotel staff to manage the transfers and stays of our guests at that time was exceptional.”

Pictured, a cruise ship in Old San Juan. In celebration of San Juan’s 500th anniversary, a new walking tour can teach attendees the island’s history. Photo by Omark Reyes / Discover Puerto Rico

 Ease of Travel

When Ron Hersh, president of World of Travel, had to move his event location for 75 attendees from Curaçao due to COVID-19 restrictions in early 2022, the group headed to Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico Golf & Beach Resort. “The responsiveness from booking to each component of the meeting was excellent, and made for a smooth program,” Hersh says. “The group made use of golf, the casino, all food outlets and meeting facilities, and the facility, pools, beaches and level of service was top-notch.” He adds, “The feedback was excellent from all attendees. The ease of entry to Puerto Rico now and the lack of testing returning to the USA makes this a very timely selection. With no need for passports, it also opens up a wider market for marketing to members.”

Ease of travel ranked high when planning for the NHDA’s annual leadership retreat as well, according to Heather Hall, director of meetings and events. “We wanted travel to be as easy as possible for our attendees given the constantly changing travel restrictions due to COVID. With our attendees traveling from the U.S., and Puerto Rico being a U.S. territory, we thought this option would be a great choice, “ Hall says. “The hotel had an on-site transportation company that made it easy for guests to get to and from the airport, along with travel to Old San Juan for a day trip. There was also a desk dedicated to helping guests book any excursions they wished to do during their stay. The Wyndham Grand Rio Mar property offered everything we needed — beautiful meeting space, numerous restaurant choices and on-site amenities for our attendees, such as golf and spa.”

With 400 spacious rooms for up to 2,300 guests in a range of accommodations, more than 48,000 sf of flexible indoor meeting space — including 24 meeting rooms — and an additional 58,000 sf of outdoor space, Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico provides the perfect setting for hosting memorable meetings in paradise. An on-site destination management company is also available to handle meeting planner needs. Guest rooms, designed in soothing palette colors, reflect the surrounding island environment to promote an ambiance of “tropical tranquility.” Private balconies offer ocean, pool or rainforest views, while additional amenities include plush bedding, and BABOR skin care and bath products.

Wyndham Grand Rio Mar Puerto Rico Golf & Beach Resort offers golf, gaming, pools, excellent restaurants and plenty more for attendees seeking a variety of activities. Courtesy of the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar

 Plenty to Do

For on-site activities, Wyndham Grand Rio Mar features two 18-hole championship golf courses: the Ocean Course, designed by award-winning golf course architects Tom and George Fazio, situated between the El Yunque Rainforest and Atlantic Ocean; and the River Course, designed by two-time major champion, Greg Norman, that follows along the Mameyes River. “Some attendees also booked tee times — a great opportunity to catch-up with other business associates in attendance,” Hall says. “Several of our attendees used the spa during their free time, and could not stop raving about their experience.” With a 7,000-sf sanctuary of signature wellness services and luxurious botanical treatments at Mandara Spa, it’s easy to see why. Special features include Oceanfront Meditation, a Relaxation Room and steam rooms.

Additional activities include an on-property casino offering a variety of slots and table games, as well as the resort’s state-of-the-art tennis amenities featuring 13 tennis courts. Also on-site, 2-miles of beach, a 20,000-sf sundeck, and three lagoon-style pools offer more options for play and total relaxation. “The newly constructed Beach Deck provided a great location for guests to enjoy ocean views, adding an extra-special touch to our event,” Hall says. Private cabanas are also available.

With nine restaurants, including bistros, bars and cafes, dining options abound at Wyndham Grand Rio Mar, whether seeking Italian cuisine and seafood with a Caribbean twist at Palio, or scenic vistas overlooking golf courses at Iguanas Cocina Puertorriqueña. Another guest favorite, Roots Coastal Kitchen, offers Caribbean comfort food such as guava barbecue spare ribs. Or, for those who prefer a beach vibe, the Tiki Hut’s scintillating food fare offers a tropical theme with Caribbean-inspired dishes. “The restaurant options were superb at the resort” Hall says. “From newly reopened Palio — the Italian/steak place, to Roots, a casual farm-to-table dining option, to Iguanas located at the Golf Course Club House with authentic Puerto Rican flavors offering spectacular views of the mountains and resort. The restaurants also provided opportunities for our guests to host small group dinners with their colleagues. Our attendees raved about the service and food options throughout their stay.”

About the group’s overall food and beverage service, Hall found: “The food choices were great. Extensive banquet menus provided numerous options for our group receptions and dinner.” When planning the meeting menu, “I always try and choose options from the menu that offer a local flair,” Hall says. For this group, “The ceviche shots and the lobster medallions with tuna tartare were huge hits and standouts with our attendees. We chose the Taste of Puerto Rico buffet for our group dinner, which offered our guests a great variety of authentic Puerto Rican-flavored dishes to enjoy. I cannot say enough about the banquet events staff at the Wyndham,” Hall says. “Superb to say the least. From the beginning of the planning stages to the very last guest check out … the convention services manager and my daily contact made sure every detail of our contract was executed. [The] entire staff was wonderful to work with. They were professional, attentive and ready to handle any issue that came up. I would choose this beautiful location again just to work with [the staff].”

For other planners considering Puerto Rico as a meetings destination, Hall says: “It’s a great choice for those looking for a tropical location with minimal travel restrictions. With travel requirements changing literally sometimes by the day, keeping your attendees updated with the most up-to-date information helped alleviate any stress with traveling they may have had.” Hall continues, “I was able to do a site visit six months prior to our event, and it was very helpful with the planning process.”

As far as attendee feedback of their experience at Wyndham Grand Rio Mar, Hall says: “Our attendees had nothing but positive things to say about this property and the event. The resort staff was top-notch, [there was] beautiful meeting space that had giant windows to enjoy the views, a variety of restaurants to enjoy and amenities within their reach, including spa and golf.”

The one thing Hall would do differently next time? “I’d definitely consider a group excursion to Old San Juan if we were to return. Several of our attendees visited on their own and had such a great time.” C&IT

The iconic Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse characters stand in front of Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom Park.

Shaking off the shackles of a pandemic that sent business and corporate travel reeling, planners looking for rainbows will find one road to industry recovery paved in pixie dust.

Walt Disney World Resort in Florida is marking its 50th anniversary with “The World’s Most Magical Celebration.” The 18-month event kicked off October 1, offering boundless opportunities for meetings professionals looking to create unforgettable conventions, business meetings or incentive programs.

For a celebration so special, Disney is poised with a slate of new attractions, nighttime spectacles and other magical experiences. Best of all, the team at Disney Meetings & Events (DisneyMeetingsandEvents.com) stands ready to help planners tap it all and connect attendees to organizations and each other. And Disney can make that happen, whether the group is meeting in-person, virtually or as part of a hybrid event.

Corporate travel planners strike gold choosing Walt Disney World, which offers affordability, a diverse portfolio of resort and convention hotels, world-class theme park events and magical, in-park settings ready made for group functions. Incentive planners rave about the allure of the destination and how it motivates performance.

Disney Meetings & Events offers another Disney Difference — a single point of contact for everything a meeting calls for, from venue space and resort rooms, event transportation and catering, to entertainment and networking events. The Disney team can even help with event-exclusive merchandise.

“We’re encouraged by the broad interest we’re seeing across the board with associations, corporate groups and incentives,” says Maryann Smith, vice president of sales, services and events at Disney Destinations. “Planners and attendees are eager to travel again and to engage with one another.”

And what better time for planning a meeting or convention and returning to travel than with Walt Disney World Resort’s 50th anniversary celebration in full swing? Here’s a snapshot of all that’s new and coming to “The Most Magical Place on Earth.”

Maryann Smith, vice president of sales, services and events at Disney Destinations. The resort is touting its benefits as a meetings destination.

All That Glitters

Shining at the center of it all, Cinderella Castle in Magic Kingdom Park welcomes guests with gleaming gold bunting, sparkling golden embellishments, a 50th anniversary crest and other enhancements inspired by the art of Disney legend Mary Blair.

Expanded EPCOT France Pavilion Serves up New Attraction, Restaurant

The recently opened “Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure” invites guests into the flavorful world of Disney and Pixar’s Academy Award-winning film “Ratatouille.” In this family-friendly attraction, guests feel as if they have shrunk to the size of Chef Remy and are scurrying through Gusteau’s famous restaurant.

Also new to the expanded France pavilion is a delicious restaurant, La Crêperie de Paris, offering both table- and quick-service options. The attraction, restaurant and pavilion expansion are all part of the historic transformation of EPCOT currently underway, bringing a breadth of new experiences to the park as a celebration of curiosity, discovery and the magic of possibility.

EPCOT Nighttime Spectacular “Harmonious” Reimagines Disney Music

“Harmonious,” one of the largest nighttime spectaculars ever created for a Disney theme park, bursts on, around and above World Showcase Lagoon. “Harmonious” features new interpretations of classic Disney songs in more than a dozen languages, performed by a diverse group of 240 artists from around the world. EPCOT guests will marvel at this grand, powerful tribute to the unifying power of story and song, embracing new technical magic that incorporates pyrotechnics, choreographed moving fountains, lighting, massive LED panels and media in new ways. Groups can take advantage of numerous private viewing locations to host unforgettable dessert parties with a fireworks backdrop.

“Disney Enchantment” Lights up Nights at Magic Kingdom Park

Joining “Harmonious” is another new nighttime spectacular, “Disney Enchantment” at Magic Kingdom Park. This evening extravaganza takes guests on a journey filled with adventure, wonder and empowerment. Inspiring everyone to believe in magic, “Disney Enchantment” features stunning fireworks, powerful music, enhanced lighting and, for the first time, immersive projection effects that extend from Cinderella Castle down Main Street, U.S.A.

Beacons of Magic Shine at Walt Disney World Theme Parks

During the 50th anniversary celebration, icons at Walt Disney World theme parks transform at night into magnificent Beacons of Magic, coming to life with their own EARidescent glow.*

• Cinderella Castle illuminates Magic Kingdom Park with a dazzling radiance and pixie-dust sparkle.
• At Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, a warm light emanates from the Tree of Life as fireflies gather to usher in the magic of nature.
• The Hollywood Tower Hotel at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is awash in a brilliance evoking the golden age of imagination and adventure.
• And at EPCOT, new lights shine across the reflective panels of Spaceship Earth, connecting to one another like stars in a nighttime sky and creating a mesmerizing symbol of optimism.
• *Beacons of Magic available nightly at select theme parks. See DisneyWorld.com/50 for details.

Disney is offering a slate of new attractions, nighttime spectacles and other experiences for attendees to enjoy during events.

“Disney KiteTails” Takes Flight at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park

New daytime entertainment is stirring at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, as “Disney KiteTails” comes alive several times daily at the Discovery River Theater. Performers fly windcatchers and kites of all shapes and sizes, while out on the water elaborate three-dimensional kites — some stretching to 30 feet — depict Disney animal friends, including Simba, Zazu, Baloo and King Louie. These colorful creations dance through the sky to the beat of favorite Disney songs in an uplifting, vibrant experience for the whole family.

“Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind” Debuts in 2022

One of the most highly anticipated new experiences at Walt Disney World Resort will debut in 2022 as part of the 50th anniversary celebration. As part of the historic transformation of EPCOT, “Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind,” will be the park’s first “other-world” showcase pavilion. The family-friendly adventure features a new storytelling coaster that rotates 360 degrees to focus guests on the action, including the first reverse launch on a Disney coaster. Guests will learn more about the treasures Xandar has to share — until the moment when the Guardians of the Galaxy arrive, and an intergalactic chase through space and time begins!

Golden “Disney Fab 50 Character Collection” Sculptures Appear Across Theme Parks

New “Disney Fab 50 Character Collection” golden sculptures are spread across the four Walt Disney World theme parks in honor of the 50th anniversary. Fifty characters are featured in total, including Miguel and Dante from Disney and Pixar’s “Coco” at EPCOT; BB-8 and R2-D2 from “Star Wars” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios; Simba, Timon and Pumba from “The Lion King” at Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park; and Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse — dedicated to Walt Disney World cast members — at Magic Kingdom Park.

Celebratory Food and Drinks Look to the Past for New Inspiration

During its 50th anniversary celebration, Walt Disney World once again demonstrates how food and drinks can be key ingredients for a fun day at The Most Magical Place on Earth. New menu items for the celebration offer nods to the resort’s past, while pushing culinary adventures to exciting new places. These include theme park classics and some of Walt Disney’s favorite items, along with novel dishes and sips full of color, whimsy and a touch of EARidescent shimmer.

See these characters in the “Disney Fab 50 Character Collection” as golden sculptures.

“Drawn to Life” Presented by Cirque du Soleil and Disney

“Drawn to Life,” the new family-friendly show that debuted at Disney Springs on November 18, is an original creative collaboration between Cirque du Soleil, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Walt Disney Imagineering. All-new during The World’s Most Magical Celebration, “Drawn to Life” is a live acrobatic journey telling the story of Julie, a determined girl who discovers an unexpected gift left by her Disney animator father: an unfinished animation. As she dives into the inner world of animation guided by a surprising pencil, Julie embarks on an inspiring quest filled with her childhood Disney memories, brought to life through Cirque du Soleil’s innovative design and dazzling performances. For more information, visit cirquedusoleil.com/drawntolife.

Space 220 Restaurant at EPCOT: The “Height of Dining”

In an expansion of the Mission: SPACE pavilion at EPCOT, the new Space 220 Restaurant is a culinary experience offering the celestial panorama of a space station, including daytime and nighttime views of Earth from 220 miles above the planet’s surface. Guests board a space elevator for a simulated journey to the Centauri Space Station, where they experience the “height of dining.” Once they arrive, guests enjoy meals and drinks while taking in views that are truly out of this world.

Walt Disney World Resort is celebrating its 50th Anniversary with an 18-month event that kicked off October 1. Photo by Kent Phillips / Disney

Original Walt Disney World Resort Hotels Add New Pixie Dust

As Walt Disney World celebrates its 50th anniversary, Walt Disney Imagineering is continuing to enhance the storytelling at the meeting destination’s two original Disney Resort hotels, part of the Disney Resorts Collection. The iconic A-frame tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort — Disney’s first convention resort in Florida — is being completely refurbished, blending a sleek Monorail motif evoking Tomorrowland with some favorite characters from Pixar Animation Studios’ “Incredibles” films.

Guest rooms were recently reimagined at Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort with a color palette inspired by the Pacific Ocean and its necklace of islands. Their fresh new look draws on the details, textures and patterns found in Disney’s “Moana,” with characters and references to the film’s rich storytelling.

 Walt Disney World Transportation Features New Magic

Groups traveling across Walt Disney World Resort will find that getting around is half the fun. Many of the unique and convenient forms of complimentary transportation received special 50th anniversary décor for the celebration. Guests may ride in sparkling style with new artwork added to select Disney Skyliner cabins, Disney motor coaches and a golden Monorail train. Each Monorail train also features special nighttime enhancements for the 50th anniversary, with the addition of glowing lights that match each train’s specific color spreading magic everywhere the train runs across Walt Disney World.

Mickey, Minnie and Friends Dress for the Occasion

Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Daisy Duck, Goofy, Pluto and Chip ‘n’ Dale — otherwise known as the “EARidescent 8” — dress in sparkling new looks, custom-made for this special occasion. Highlights of these celebratory designs include beautifully embroidered impressions of Cinderella Castle backed by fireworks, as well as a brocade in multi-toned, EARidescent fabric — all punctuated with pops of gold. Disney characters will also make appearances at Disney Resort hotels, dressed in their EARidescent best.

To learn more or to book a meeting, visit DisneyMeetingsandEvents.com, or call 321-939-7129. C&IT

Emir Dukic is the CEO of Rabbu, a frontier flexible rental asset management company that helps real estate investors see the potential for short-term rental income. With proprietary technology, Rabbu automates all aspects of asset management and helps property managers supercharge their operations, eradicate contact and manage their assets across major rental platforms. For more information, visit Rabbu.com.

As the strongest niche market to emerge from the COVID-19 pandemic, the short-term rental (STR) industry continues its upward expansion. In 2018, the STR industry hit almost $170 billion. By the end of Q4 2021, STRs offered 30% more in annual ROI than their long-term lease counterparts.

No longer just a family option, business travelers are now showing market-changing affinity for STRs in their return to meetings and conferences activity. For corporate professionals and teams looking for incentive housing for small groups, STRs are a smarter alternative to traditional stays, offering a safeguard against hotel closures spurred by COVID outbreaks, and creating a contained, shared space for a culture-building stay.

As the meetings and conferences industry hazards a full return, short-term rental bookings will be the COVID-era change that’s here to stay.

The State of Meetings and Conferences

While most cross-integrated sectors implemented recovery strategies for the year, the business events and meetings industry experienced surprising growth. The combined scarcity of events and demand from professionals have kept the prospect of in-person events, meetings and conferences far from obsolete.

The corporate world continues to deliver information from a distance with virtual hybrid meetings and conferences, but in-person gatherings offer essential value in building and rebuilding company culture. In this next phase of recovery, that in-person interface will prove necessary for organic development, team building, and the strengthening of intra-office morale.

STRs: A Better Way to Stay

STRs have seen robust growth under the banner of a risk-free travel experience. Health concerns associated with COVID forced travelers to reconsider hotel options. That ongoing concern will expand into 2022, privileging STRs further over their traditional-stay counterparts.

STRs offer a local immersive experience that hotels, by their design, prevent visitors from realizing. With larger homes, smaller business teams can work and live together as a unit in a setting conducive to team building, brainstorming and the sharing of a meaningful experience. For event planners, the infrastructure needed for alternative forms of accommodation was already built and waiting for this market development. Working in tandem with the new preference for immersive stays, meetings and conferences organizers can streamline demand for STR accommodations, making it easy for their attendees to choose from a range of options. Corporate planners that are able to extend the STR offering will have an upper-hand in extending and improving the in-person experience of meetings and conferences, triggering quick, robust recovery and innovative growth across the sector.

 The Future of STRs

The boom of the STR market has paved the way for new and established investors to realize significant returns at low risks within their post-pandemic portfolios — anyone with an address has the opportunity to consider the lucrative path of hosting short-term guests.

As a conduit for intrastate travel, STRs have offered win-win results at the local and rural levels. Neighborhood businesses on the brink of collapse have enjoyed renewed growth thanks to STR market expansion. Now, travelers are understanding that STRs are more than just a place to spend a couple of days. Choice properties are turning into mini-module incubators where internal company innovation is hatched.

Hosts were initially blindsided with STR demand coupled with a lack of available properties due to restrictions caused by mandatory lockdowns. Short-term tenants couldn’t leave, and incoming tenants weren’t allowed to enter. It was this dilemma that created a new job position — the modern-day property manager. And now with bleeding edge technology that has proven reliable, property owners can control assets and client service demands remotely.

Remote property management equips STR hosts with unique abilities to cater to professional clientele. Working in tandem with meetings and conferences professionals, hosts in the surrounding area can optimize their STR offerings for their incoming business guests. By offering work-from-home amenities, high internet speeds, remote access control and hands-free security checks, hosts can begin to extend all the comforts of an in-hotel stay, with the added benefit of a more local and personal experience. Corporate planners can work with local hosts to similarly streamline the booking experience, listing their properties on the event’s webpage, or making it easy for guests to get in touch with the owners of popular properties.

 The Role of STRs in Corporate Rural Expansion

Seeking a balance between safe remote operations and the necessary collaborative element of an office, many companies and business leaders sought office space in rural or secondary markets. Allowing employees a space with more favorable living conditions, simpler commutes and generally more space, the rural expansion of the corporate world has been a landmark development during the pandemic.

As the expansion continues, the availability of short-term stays in those rural areas will support and spur similar rural development. Market spaces that were once deemed less accessible are now the ‘perfect getaway’ for safe conferences and meetings activity. Investors and hosts in those areas are already seeing higher-than-average returns on homes with lower purchase prices but high traveler demand. And as an asset solution, STR companies and host conglomerates have continued to improve their property management and stay offerings, optimizing for guest efficiency and quality assurance. Some hosts and host companies are offering grocery delivery and on-demand cleaning services. These revenue streams and stay options have emerged in markets that didn’t exist two years ago, making it easier for planners to follow the trend toward secondary markets and take advantage of beautiful, underused spaces for meetings.

The Mutual Evolution of Meetings & STRs

A golden opportunity exists for corporate planners to facilitate the STR experience for business teams searching for safe and engaging accommodations that will offer a rewarding team experience. Alternative accommodation space providers, along with corporate planners and business events professionals, can partner to create win-win relationships in rural areas that offer the peace of mind around health and safety that metropolitan hubs still struggle to guarantee.

The pandemic, having proved the importance of mutually beneficial business practices within communities small and large, will be remembered as a key watershed industry period in which event planning sustainability entered new realms.

Corporate planners have a new focus on circular economy initiatives, and the idea of supporting nearby vendors and fostering positive economic outcomes on a local scale remains a focus in 2022. STRs have become the perfect path to local collaboration, allowing business travel to have the greatest impact on the immediate local economy in which the meetings and conferences are taking place.

As the in-person component of these experiences comes back online, the economic impact will only be amplified. Virtual conference experiences have worked, and will continue to be an option, but the incentives of the in-person experience are already causing a rebound in business travel. As the rollout of the vaccine continues to make in-person meetings safer, the rise of STRs around corporate and conference events will be a win-win for hosts and planners alike.

The meetings and corporate events planning sector is primed to be an STR spotlight. Corporate sectors have yet to realize the existing channels and pathways waiting to be seized. Of the many developments that have come from the pandemic, the symbiosis of the corporate world with the short-term stay strategy could be one of the most influential factors in the market going forward, for planners, investors, hosts and business owners alike.  C&IT

Shaun Prime is the CEO of Remote Year, the leading platform for remote working professionals eager to experience the world with a like-minded community. To date, Remote Year has successfully launched and operated more than 80 programs in 40 cities around the world. Prime has led the company through the COVID-19 pandemic to determine resuming programs in a way that keeps attendees, staff and the host communities safe. As a result, Remote Year implemented a vaccine mandate for all program attendees and staff. Visit remoteyear.com/covid-policy for more information.

When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, it sent shockwaves through the travel industry and called into question if travel as we knew it would ever recover. With vaccination rates climbing globally, many people can’t wait to leave behind the days of isolation and see the world. Coupled with companies across the country adopting Work from Anywhere (WFA) incentives and a strong desire to connect, interest in work and travel programs is surging.

However, as COVID continues to ebb and flow throughout different countries around the world, resulting in a variety of restrictions and requirements, international work, and travel events and program planners, have been faced with the tough decision of whether or not to impose vaccine mandates for their program attendees.

Countries, cruises and tour companies are increasingly requiring vaccines, but amongst community-based travel programs for remote professionals, adoption has been slow. While the initial hesitancy to adopt such measures may have originally stemmed from a fear of appearing political or alienating groups of potential attendees, there has been an industry shift in favor of adopting vaccine mandates as a means of prioritizing the health and safety of program attendees, simplifying logistics and championing responsible travel practices.

Increased Demand for Work and Travel Programs

While the pandemic has made international travel more difficult in general, it has also created new opportunities for community-based travel for working professionals. During the past year and a half, many people became accustomed to working remotely full-time, and many wish to continue doing so in some capacity. A recent survey conducted by FlexJobs found that an astounding 97% of survey attendees desire some kind of remote work, whether that be fully remote or working in a hybrid environment. As travel restrictions have started to ease around the world, many employees want to get out of their homes and take the freedom that remote work allows on the road.

As a result, companies have been facing increasing pressure to evolve their remote working policies. Employees want the freedom to be able to work from anywhere, not just their basement or home office — and companies have adapted. Recently, companies such as Google, Unilever, Salesforce, Deloitte, American Express and Spotify have announced policies that allow their employees to work remotely from other parts of the world for one to two months each year.

With an increased interest in working from anywhere, many companies are investing in trusted work travel programs, such as Remote Year, to ensure that their employees are logging on from a stable and secure network, and are also supported on their journey — no matter where in the world they are working from. Programs and events designed for working professionals are appealing to employers, as they not only offer benefits such as co-working spaces and high-speed Wi-Fi, but they also prioritize the well-being of attendees and involve immersive travel and work experiences that help their employees grow both personally and professionally.

The community-based aspect of such programs is also appealing to those who are ready to burst from their COVID bubbles and network while traveling the globe with other professionals. When organizing community travel events and programs for working professionals, safety of attendees is of the utmost concern for planners and organizers, and has been one of the driving forces behind the vaccine mandates being implemented in the industry.

Ensuring Participant Safety

While it’s important to respect individual decisions and rights, attendee health and safety is paramount when planning any type of event or program. From concerts and conferences to immersive community-based work and travel programs, events planners need to have protocols, restrictions and crisis plans in place. The stakes are even higher when the event brings together people from around the world and involves international travel. Protecting the health and safety of attendees is a key drive for mandates — but the communities of destinations are important to consider as well. Travel companies should vie to leave positive footprints on local communities, people and economies. In economically disadvantaged communities that don’t have robust health-care systems or readily available access to the vaccine, travel groups have an ethical obligation to maintain their trust and protect host countries as best as possible.

The uncertainty that COVID created has led to significant mental and emotional stress. Vaccine mandates for work, and travel events and programs, help relieve some of that stress by providing peace of mind for attendees and event planners. Recent research conducted by Gallup found that the majority of U.S. Americans are in favor of vaccine mandates for air travel (61%) and hotel stays (53%).

In many cases, these mandates go beyond attendee vaccination, and require all staff involved in facilitating events and programs also to be vaccinated. This not only promotes staff and attendee safety, but keeps things running smoothly by reducing the risk of staff shortages.

Avoiding a Logistics Nightmare

On top of attendee, staff and local safety, organizing an experience that involves international travel without a vaccine requirement in place can prove particularly challenging when it comes to planning and execution. The rules and requirements for countries, regions and cities are constantly changing, and it feels almost impossible to keep up. Most countries now accept proof of internationally approved vaccines in order to enter the country and undertake day-to-day activities. This means that things should run fairly smoothly if everyone in your program group is fully vaccinated.

While it may be possible to travel to a place without being vaccinated, it might not be possible to do much once you get there without regular testing throughout the stay. Several European countries are currently adopting restrictions that prevent unvaccinated people from entering restaurants, bars or public events. In places where negative tests can still be used as proof of a clean bill of health, needing to get COVID tests every few days can really add up. They range from $10-$100, and validity may only last 24 to 72 hours. In some places, tests are administered by private clinics, making them potentially difficult to schedule — especially on weekends — and expensive.

Having to facilitate regular testing for program attendees can be time consuming, expensive and disrupt the event’s flow. It will also likely require additional planning on the part of events and program organizers, and possibly additional staff to assist non-vaccinated attendees with testing, while other program leaders carry on with the vaccinated attendees. While vaccine mandates may limit who is able to participate in work and travel programs and events, they simplify the logistics of group experiences.

While there is always a risk of injury or illness when traveling or attending events, increased research has shown an effectiveness of vaccines on reducing the transmission of COVID and reducing the symptoms for those who have been vaccinated, thereby resulting in reduced need for medical assistance. We’ve witnessed firsthand the difficulties presented when staff and program attendees contract COVID. These instances are stressful, taxing on our teams, difficult for our local vendors to manage, and negatively impact the experience of everyone in the program. This is why it’s essential for events organizers to implement vaccine mandates, which can help reduce the impact of the pandemic on their attendees’ valuable experiences. C&IT