Value proposition: Mexico’s diverse resorts provide excellent solutions

Byline: Ben Chapman

Incentive travel planners know that every group presents a unique set of challenges, but it’s hard to imagine a problem that can’t be solved by the resorts of Mexico. “They get it,” says Bill Boyd, president of Irving, Texas-based Sunbelt Motivation and Travel, referring to his resort partners south of the border. “They’ve been working in the incentive market for decades. They’re extremely professional, and they’ve got something for everyone.”

Whether you’re looking for a luxury experience, or trying to stay within a tight budget, Mexico’s resorts succeed, because they offer a variety of familiar, yet exotic, experiences. And today, the resort portfolio down south is more diverse than ever. Here are the stories of three highly successful, and very different, incentives held this year in Mexico.

Smart Spend

Working with a limited budget was a challenge for Mark Bondy, partner/president of VIKTOR Incentives & Meetings in Traverse City, Mich., who in January of this year held a week-long incentive for about 600 high-volume customers of his client in the building supply industry. He found success at the Aventura Spa Palace in the Riviera Maya, located south of Cancun on the Yucatan Peninsula. With 1,266 guest rooms, 95 spa treatment rooms and seven restaurants, the sprawling Aventura offers plenty of activities and a great location, says Bondy, who serves on the board of the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives. The adults-only resort sustained damage from hurricanes in 2005, but was fully operational by November of that year, following extensive repairs to the grounds, guestrooms and restaurants.

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For most of the trip, incentive winners were free from scheduled activities. During the day, some visited the resort’s pools, beach and spa, while others took part in invite-only activities held by the program sponsors, such as the three-hour snorkeling or fishing cruises that departed from nearby Puerto Aventuras and sailed along the Yucatan coast near Playa del Carmen. Others played golf at the Jack Nicklaus Signature Golf Course at Moon Palace Golf Resort or at the Playacar Golf Club. In the evenings, guests were free to take their dinners at any of the Aventura Spa Palace’s restaurants.

Each night at sunset, a segment of the group met by invitation for a rooftop cocktail party with the company’s executive hosts; by the end of the trip, all the participants had attended the intimate gatherings. “We tried to build a feeling of community,” Bondy explains. “The cocktail parties were very important for that.” The entire group also received modest room gifts of beach bags containing beach towels.

Feedback on the trip was very positive, from both sponsors and attendees, Bondy says, reiterating that it was a great value, with costs less than $2,700 per person for the entire week, including airfares from all over the United States.

Improving on Last Year

Where do you take 670 top achievers who have been almost everywhere? That was the question facing Patricia Tovee, account manager of travel solutions at Minneapolis-based MotivAction. “With a long-term client like this one, you have to make sure each trip is better than the last,” she says. “That can be difficult.”

Allotted a budget of $3,000 per participant for a four-night, five-day trip, the execs at MotivAction decided to take this group of dealership managers to the 422-room CasaMagna Marriott in Puerto Vallarta. They staggered the arrival of the guests in three groups, based on their geographic location in the United States, Tovee says, “because breaking the group up allowed us to use a friendlier venue.”

The key to crafting a memorable experience is to utilize special opportunities presented by the resort and region. Upon arrival, guests enjoyed a meet-and-greet where resort staff offered nonalcoholic fruit-punch beverages, beef and chicken taquitos and complimentary massages. Later that night, attendees had a fiesta with a Mexican buffet, mariachis and folk dancers. Festivities were further enlivened by the addition of a few stalls where artisans demonstrated local techniques of pottery making, weaving and silversmithing.

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On one day of offsite activity, some attendees chose to take a boat trip along the shore of Banderas Bay to the islands of Los Arcos for swimming, snorkeling and beach time at Playa Las Animas. Others opted for a city tour that included a visit to the malecon (or boardwalk), a tour of the arts and crafts district, and time for shopping. Both activities were organized with the help of Big AL DMC, a local destination management company that ensured a dose of authentic Puerto Vallarta flavor.

The group’s farewell gala was exceptional, Tovee says. “We had cocktails by the sea, and the resort set off wonderful fireworks. That was our signal that it was time to go to dinner in the ballroom, which was a delicious four-course meal with wine.”

The sponsors of the incentive were more than satisfied, the planner reports: “They said it was another lovely year.” And, according to surveys completed by the incentive winners who participated in the trip, the attendees enjoyed themselves as well.

The White-Glove Experience

One of Arnold Light’s favorite clients is a highly successful, specialized marketing company, and their annual incentives for top sales people are a highlight of his business. There’s only one problem: “They’re late every year,” says the CEO and founder of The Light Group, in White Plains, N.Y. “This time, they had us booking in November for a sales incentive in February. Frankly, I didn’t know where to put them.”

Working with a budget of about $5,000 per person for 30 participants, Light wasn’t lacking in money. But he was short on time. And because of the rush, many of the resorts Light was familiar with were already booked. After a flurry of inquiries, he was finally able to find space for the group at the Grand Bay Hotel, A Wyndham Luxury Resort in Isla Navidad, near the small city of Manzanillo on Mexico’s mainland Pacific coast.

By all accounts, the group lucked out. “The Grand Bay is a little-known resort, but it really is a five-star facility,” Light says. Incentive winners stayed in large, well-appointed suites that had fine fit and finish, he notes, with expansive bay views, oversized bathrooms of Mexican marble and Jacuzzis. The resort’s public spaces also are luxurious, with superlative service to match: “Every time you turned around there was somebody there to help you,” he says.

Light was able to easily arrange on-site activities at the 198-room Grand Bay. “The resort has a spa, four restaurants, a beach and a pool,” he explains. “So there was plenty to do.” But off-site activities were needed as well, so Light worked with Hectours Ground Services and DMC, a local company, to create memorable experiences with little lead time, including a catamaran sail to nearby Playa Tenacatita, where guests sunbathed and snorkeled.

The Light Group’s quest for quality extended to room gifts, which were sourced from local artisans. “Every night, the guests received a different pillow gift,” Light relates. One night it was small paintings made by a local artist, complete with handmade frames; on another, it was small sacks of locally roasted coffee beans, along with two handmade coffee mugs.

Though quickly planned, the excursion was a success. “The president of the company said we met his expectations,” Light says. “And we got e-mails from attendees saying that it was the best trip ever.”

Planner

Resources

Riviera Maya

Aventura Spa Palace

www.PalaceResorts.com/

Resorts/AventuraSpaPalace

Amstar Destination

Management Company

www.AmstarMexico.com

Puerto Vallarta

CasaMagna Marriott

Puerto Vallarta Resort

http://Marriott.com/property/propertypage/pvrmx

Big AL DMC

alcarden@prodigy.net.mx

Isla Navidad

Grand Bay Hotel–Isla Navidad Resort–A Wyndham Luxury Resort

http://Navidad.WyndhamHotels.com

Hectours Ground Services and DMC