Throughout the year, we event professionals have the opportunity to attend some major exhibitions – all designed to inform us about potential venues and activities, which may well suit our globe-trotting clients.
I consider myself to have one of the best jobs in the world! After all, who wouldn’t mind packing a suitcase to head to Miami, and then to a world-renowned exhibition where you get to find out about all the best hotels and venues on the global scene?
Joking aside, the trips we at CCD accept or attend are very carefully picked around what we know our clients are interested in. America still has a huge appeal, be it for incentive travel, hosting major conferences, or other corporate hospitality.
Miami is an excellent destination for business, with great flight access. A note of caution, however, is that arriving into Miami International Airport can feel incredibly stressful because of the amount of cruise passengers and the lengthy security. Allow extra time.
Miami is an all year round destination. Some would say to avoid hurricane season, but Miami has not experienced the full force of a hurricane for years. Personally I love Miami.
For trip ideas, we visited the Wynwood Walls. This is an area of Miami that is being regenerated by local artists. We also took a speedboat trip to Star Island, where the rich and famous live.
And so it was, that following a superb insight trip, we moved on to IMEX Vegas. IMEX America has been running for a good few years now and attracts more than 3,000 Exhibitors from every sector of the global meetings industry. The goal is to match buyers with suppliers that can do business together.
For me, it was three crammed days of meetings with hoteliers, attractions, business executives – and all creating a wealth of ideas about future trips and locations for our CCD clients. To name a few, I met with World Disney World Swan and Dolphin Hotel from Orlando, the Bourbon New Orleans Hotel Collection, Ritz Carlton Abu Dhabi, Viceroy Chicago, Business Events Toronto, Accorhotels Greater China, and Four Seasons Las Vegas.
My real ‘take-away’ from this superb event is that there are some exceptional venues popping up around the globe at the minute and that event professionals like us will be working hard to ensure we constantly have our finger on the pulse.
I’m particularly keen to share some of my recent insights with the pharmaceutical sector, or those who are in investment banking etc, and looking for high-end meeting locations or superb incentive travel.
The first leg of my trip was to Miami, accompanied by nine other agents hand-picked from around the UK. Our hosts this time were from Hyatt Hotels – a firm we regularly work with to find locations for our CCD clients. During our packed schedule, we visited three different styles of Hyatt properties.
Winter Settings for Events and Incentives- Rekjavik 
