Meeting Planning Elevated with Connect Salt Lake City

Meeting Planning Elevated with Connect Salt Lake City

Salt Lake City, Utah – Aug 23-25. Wow. Excellent two-day meeting planning bonanza at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City coordinated by Connect.

46 appointments over two days plus inspiring keynotes from ABC Good Morning America’s Anchorwoman Robin Roberts, and from former QB Peyton Manning.

Add in Salt Lake City’s gorgeous mountain views and proximity to world-class ski resorts and it was a perfect union of location and location planners. Well-planned Connect!

 

Robin Roberts keynote at meeting planning convention
Thank you to Connect and the sponsors for taking us to new heights!
Meeting Planning Sessions
Heading in to the first round of one-to-one sessions on meeting planning. Each session takes six minutes before moving on to the next!
Meeting Planning continues
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Ciao Italia – Incentive Travel Planning 2019

Ciao Italia – Incentive Travel Planning 2019

Incentive Travel Planning 2019 - Rome

Church at top of Spanish Steps (Piazza di Spagna) is the famed Chiesa della Santissimi Trinita dei Monti.

Incentive Travel Planning 2019! On a site visit to Italy to plan a turnkey incentive trip for a corporate client.

From perfect site selection and budgeting analysis, to rate negotiation and event management, I’ll be rolling out of the red carpet for a small group of high sales performers in Venice and Rome in Winter 2019.

3,000 years of culture, good food, and an appreciation of the finer things in life, packed into two of my favorite European cities. The excitement, convenience, great food and wine plus the cosmopolitan atmosphere, make these cities a terrific choice for incentive trips.Incentive Travel Planning 2019 - Venice

Before the trip even begins, I’ll make sure the best locations are booked and primed to receive this group. All transportation will be set up. The food and beverage menu will be arranged to the smallest detail, as well as function rooms and other planned events. I’m also organizing the on-site staff that will be on my team for the duration.

From turn-key incentive travel planning for groups as small as 20, to large-scale incentives for 400 participants or more I’ve got you covered with first-hand experience of ideal destinations in the US, Europe and the Caribbean.

incentive travel planning 2019 - at Piazza Mattei in Rome

Incentive travel planning 2019 – at Rome’s Piazza Mattei.

Whether you need to plan an employee meeting or reward your sales staff or clients for a great year – I deliver hands-on expertise of many years for two large corporations, TYCO and ADT.

Today my independent Travel Company provides a level of service and expertise in Incentive Travel Planning Trips and Events that have earned terrific results.

incentive travel planning awards

 

 

 

My turn-key incentive travel planning assistance includes:

Venue / Hotel site selection

Detailed venue comparisons | recommendation and management    

Budget preparation

Hotel contract negotiation

Registration services

Airline coordination

Ground Travel coordination

Food and Beverage selections

Staffing and attendee management

Coordination of activities (Sightseeing, Spa etc.) including DMC management

Coordination of dinners

Printing management of signage as applicable and badges

All Event and onsite logistical operations

Post-Event Budget Reconciling

Promotional items (design of quarterly flyers)

Welcome/Farewell gift selection and recommendation

Conference Management

Program administration

Document preparation

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?

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The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua – Notes from a client incentive trip

The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua – Notes from a client incentive trip

“…Thanks for an outstanding event! Your attention to detail and execution were spectacular!”

Great to hear those words from my client at the end of a corporate incentive travel event I organized and managed in November at The Ritz-Carlton, Kapalua in Maui.

It included golf on the phenomenal, Troon-managed Kapalua. Set amid a historic, 22,000-acre pineapple plantation, the golf courses at the Kapalua resort offer incredible views and challenging 18-hole play. The Plantation Course is noted among the best in Hawaii, and the Bay Course offers drama and ocean views.

And helicopter tours over some of Hawaii’s jaw dropping coastlines.

overlooking-Ritz-Carlton-Kapalua

Sailing and snorkeling in pristine waters.

Ritz-Maui-snorkel

Spa treatments that indulged with ancient healing and organic herbs and enchanting Luaus against a backdrop of sweeping ocean views and the lush canvass of a tropical oasis.

Ritz-Maui-Luau

From the early planning stages all the way through to on-site management, this event delivered like clockwork!

It was also a pleasure to work with excellent event partners Maui JimMaui-Jim-Ritz-MauiMaui-Jim

and and Maverick Helicopters.Maverick-helicopters

Next stop Europe!

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?

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Incentive Live Las Vegas by NorthStar Meetings Group

Incentive Live Las Vegas by NorthStar Meetings Group

Came away with some excellent insights from Incentive Live, the premier event for elite incentive buyers in North America who are booking global incentive travel programs,which was held at ARIA Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, from January 18-21, 2017.

 

Thank you to Northstar and the sponsors of this productive, interesting, amazing, educational and fun event – Incentive Live Las Vegas!
Incentive Live Las Vegas
30 one-on-one appointments, 6 educational sessions and  presentations, cool cocktail at Jewel Nightclub Aria, with superb tapas style offerings, visit to the extraordinary The Park theatre , helicopter ride hosted by Maverick, amazing , Limo transfers hosted by AWG, fun,  Top Golf experience.

All of this in just two days!

HOW CAN WE HELP YOU?

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Site Visit Sets New Heights

Site Visit Sets New Heights

Whistler, Canada – Summer 2016

Whistler has had many firsts. Not least, as a former co-host to the US Winter Olympics. But, as I arrived at its remarkable hub last week for an incentive-planning site visit, one word struck me, incredible.

It’s not just the amazing elevation at more than 2000 feet, or the two staggering mountain peaks that dwarf everything around, or the glacier like lakes and rivers, it’s something in the air and in the people that gather there, visitors and residents alike, that makes you feel both energized and at one with the outdoors.

 

site visit sets new heights at Whistler

I was greeted on arrival by Karen Carini from the Fairmont Chateau Whistler and so began our Sea to Sky journey, a scenic drive from Vancouver to Whistler and later, welcomed at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler’s Grill room for an amazing dinner.

The next day, with Cantrav Services as our host and organizer, we explored by jeep and zipline (one of my many firsts experienced on this trip) through the crisp air on Blackcomb Mountain. The view was breathtaking. Add the Peak to Peak gondola and that’s the definition of a fantastic morning.

After an exceptional dinner at the delightful Bearfoot Bistro in The Listel Hotel, we paid a visit to the unique The Kettle One Ice Room where the temperature is maintained at -32C (-25F) making it the world’s coldest vodka tasting room. “Just above vodka’s freezing point,” I was told .

Snuggled into goose down, arctic-ready parkas, with a variety of vodka shots in hand, we experienced first hand how the Ice Room’s temperatures enhance the flavor of the vodka without the alcohol burn.

The following day we set out to Cougan Mountain on Razors (another of the firsts), lunch at the Fairmont Golf Club house, visits to Audain Art Museum, Squamish Lil’wat Cultural Center and Whistler Conference Center, followed by a farewell dinner at the Portobello Smokehouse. Around the world in 80 days had nothing on me.

 

site visit sets new heights really

Takeaways:

This was not only a fascinating visit for forward planning on incentive travel options, but the unique experience that is Whistler will stay with me, as will my new friends at the Fairmont and Cantrav Services who work and play there.

Did I mention Incredible hospitality at the Fairmont Chateau Whistler?  A welcoming and visually lovely resort, surrounded by views and an award winning Robert Trent Jones, Jr. designed golf course that offers a par 72,  and 18-holes of Audubon-certified play!

And of course the exceptional planning by Cantrav Services Inc.

Now imagine all these activities under a white blanket of snow when the season changes!  Of course Razers are replaced with snowmobiles! Whistler – We’ll be back.

 

Thanks to SITE Texas for hosting 2016 Technology Summit in Puerto Vallarta

Thanks to SITE Texas for hosting 2016 Technology Summit in Puerto Vallarta

Puerto Vallarta holds a special meaning for me since my family and I have been enjoying this jewel on the Pacific coast even before my son was born, and he’s now 21!

Yes, this home to the romance of Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor in the film Night of the Iguana, was off the beaten track back when we first started visiting Puerto Vallarta. But even with all the new developments over the years, it still retains an authenticity that is both charming and captivating.

Which is why I was more than a little excited to attend the Technology Summit in Puerto Vallarta in May, courtesy of SITE Texas.

It was a predictably sunny day and I was greeted equally warmly on arrival by IVI DMC2 Puerto Vallarta who provided excellent service throughout the summit.

 

Puerto Vallarta Malecon

The drive from the Licenciado Gustavo Diaz Ordaz international airport to the Fiesta Americana on the South Shore of Puerto Vallarta is always wonderful as it takes in all the sounds sights of downtown,  before reaching the coast and its invigorating ocean breezes.

The first evening was hosted by Fiesta Americana, complete with entertainment and mime creatures.

Puerto Vallarta site visit

Day two of learning was followed by dinner on the beach at the Marriott Casa Magna.

 

Puerto Vallarta Marriott

Day three more learning followed by final dinner at Secrets PV.

All three resorts are distinctly different yet equally wonderful in their service. All three present wonderful options for incentive trips and individual travel.

Voted friendliest destination, the hospitality and friendliness of Puerto Vallarta in general, is surpassed only by its natural beauty.

It was truly an honor to be part of this summit and spend time with peers in such an exquisite setting.