SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | MOST POPULAR |  RSS | | REPRINT
|
Affordable Travel
December 01, 2008
Incentive trips can be as luxurious as ever, in spite of the weak dollar
By Harriet Edleson
With the dollar still well below par with the euro and the British pound, planning a European incentive challenges even the most experienced incentive buyers. Yet, there are ways to find value in a world of less than appealing exchange rates.
"In order to go to Europe now you’ve got to look for an angle," says Ann Gilmartin, president of Wings Unlimited Inc., a Darien, Conn.=based meeting and incentive planning company. "European hotels are hurting because people aren't going."
In addition, there are attractive alternative destinations that make sense in today's economic climate. European cruises, Ireland, Monaco, South Africa, Thailand and Cambodia, and Argentina are among the destinations and products that are luring incentive planners with favorable exchange rates, hotels bookings in dollars, locked-in exchange rates or, in the case of cruises, all-inclusive bookings in U.S. dollars. Some foreign hotels and resorts are offering bookings in dollar rates as a way to attract corporate incentive groups that might not otherwise choose that particular destination.
"The dollar is so weak against most other currencies," says Michael Campbell, vice president of incentive house USMotivation in Atlanta. Planners need to get "more bang for your dollar," he says, suggesting Thailand, Cambodia, Argentina or Monaco.
When Dayle Russell, senior manager, special events, Ricoh Corp., of West Caldwell, N.J., was planning an incentive trip for March 2008, she decided on South Africa, because it appealed to her dealers and she was able to structure an affordable trip for 60 couples. An exchange rate of almost eight South African rand to a dollar helped, too.
"We normally take more people," says Russell, but with the cost $2,000 to $3,000 more per person than for past trips, she decided taking a smaller group to South Africa was the way to go. The six-night trip included three nights at the Table Bay Hotel in Cape Town and three nights with the group split between the Sabi Sabi and Londolozi lodges for safari.
Yet, planning for 2009, Russell found a way to return to Europe in October. The challenge was how to "do it cost effectively," she says. The solution was to charter Windstar’s Wind Spirit, a motorized sailing ship that carries 148 passengers in 74 cabins. She estimates the price is $500 to $600 per day, all paid in dollars, plus air and shore excursions. The seven-night itinerary includes Lisbon, Portugal; Malaga and Valencia, Spain; and Gibraltar. "Our industry [multifunctional document systems] is very competitive. You've got to have a good trip."
Corporate incentive planners would do well to consider these options when developing incentive trips through 2011.
Monaco: To attract business that might go elsewhere, the Monaco Government Tourist Office is offering guaranteed dollar packages to corporate incentive groups interested in bringing a group to this principality situated just east of Cannes and Nice, France's Mediterranean resorts and west of San Remo, Italy.
"This isn't something new for us," says Cindy Hoddeson, director of meeting and incentive services, Monaco Government Tourist Office. During the past three years, whenever the dollar loses ground against the euro, the tourism authority has instituted dollar packages. "It has definitely delivered us business that we would not have seen."
The packages include stays at any hotel in Monaco with daily buffet or American breakfast and food and beverage at the hotel, for bookings through December 2009. Air, airport transfers and excursions are not included. The dollar packages are expected to extend through 2010.
Says USMotivation's Campbell, "Monaco delivers three countries in one destination"—Monaco, nearby Cannes, France, and San Remo, Italy. The price tag can be $3,600 per person plus air for three nights.
Ireland: Some five-star properties in Ireland that target incentive buyers are quoting rates in U.S. dollars, and other hotels are guaranteeing exchange rates through 2008 or even 2009, according to Marie McKown, business tourism executive for Tourism Ireland. A typical incentive trip to Ireland can be six nights, with three in Dublin and three in Killarney.
"We provide bundled land packages," says Brendan McMenamin, vice president, sales and operations for JQ Incentives, Cape May Court House, N.J. Ireland, which is the size of the state of Maine, is a five-and-a-half-hour flight from major U.S. gateways such as JFK and Newark Liberty. The price ranges from $5,000 to $15,000 per person for a six-night incentive plus air. Properties include the Killarney Park Hotel and Ashford Castle, but each program is tailored to the client's needs.
South Africa: With the dollar fairly strong against the South African Rand (US$1 to 7.74 at this writing), Cape Town combined with a safari is "a buy," says Philippa Durrant, managing director of the DMC Group, New York City—based destination management specialists. For example, two nights on safari and three in Cape Town is a typical South Africa incentive package. The safari portion includes a stay at deluxe private game lodges that bring travelers close to the wildlife.
One is Sabi Sabi, a private game preserve where safari participants are likely to see giraffes, zebras, elephants, lions and leopards in the wild. In Cape Town, the Mount Nelson Hotel, an Orient-Express property, greets travelers at the foot of Table Mountain. Dragonfly, a destination management company in South Africa, offers a five-night incentive package priced in U.S. dollars. Price for 2009 is $2,531 per person, double occupancy, plus air.
Thailand and Cambodia: With a favorable exchange rate (US$1 to 33.650 baht), Thailand is gaining ground as an incentive destination, says USMotivation's Campbell. With Bangkok hotels priced at $300 or less per night, incentive travelers can stay at the Peninsula, and visit Angkor Wat, the wondrous ancient ruins of a temple in neighboring Siem Reap, Cambodia, as part of their itinerary.
European Strategies
Other attractive options can be found worldwide. Even for countries using the euro, incentive planners can ask for guaranteed dollar rates or to lock in an exchange rate, says Eve Sotnak, a senior buyer with Carlson Marketing Group, in Minneapolis.
One company locked in a rate of 1.3 euros to US$1 for a stay at an Italian hotel for April 2009, when the rate at this writing is 1.58 euros to US$1, a better deal. Yet, says Sotnak, "There's always a bit of a gambling element to this. We ask if [hotels] can give us a guaranteed dollar rate, and if not, if they can lock in an exchange rate," particularly in Europe because of the strength of the euro and the British pound.
Separately, Orient-Express Hotels offers locked-in rates of 1.45 euros per dollar for its hotels in Italy, Portugal, Spain, France and St. Petersburg, Russia, for arrivals in 2008 or 2009. Its luxury trains, such as the Royal Scotsman, are priced in U.S. dollars.
Fairmont Hotels & Resorts offers dollar rates at several incentive destination properties, including the Fairmont Monte Carlo (starting at $1,239 per person for 2008), the Fairmont Le Montreux Palace in Switzerland (from $1,401 depending on the season) and the Fairmont St. Andrews ($1,500 per person), at Scotland's famed home of golf.
|
SAVE | EMAIL | PRINT | MOST POPULAR | RSS |
|
|
| Back to Marketing Index |
|
|
