The Caribbean remains one of the most popular
meetings and incentive destinations, and for good reason.
Excellent tourism infrastructure, easy accessibility, and
beautiful beach landscapes make it an ideal place to meet. The
extensive meetings offerings you'll find here - from palatial
resorts and charming boutique properties to increased airlift
and improved ground transportation - continue to evolve as
well. Here's a closer look at a few destinations and properties
that are doing just that.
The Dominican Republic Ministry of Tourism also wants planners
to know that the destination offers immense value for
U.S.-based groups. Any business meeting held in the Dominican
Republic is tax deductible for U.S. citizens, and the exchange
rate between the U.S. dollar and the Dominican peso remains
favorable.
The country's pristine white-sand beaches and historical sites
are also a major draw. "The Dominican Republic is appealing
because it's accessible and affordable, and the real pull is
that much still exists as it did when Columbus came in 1492,"
says Magaly Toribio, marketing advisor for the Dominican
Republic Ministry of Tourism. "Our vast resources have been
stridently protected and sustained to attract generations to
come."
The island is also home to a number of new and planned hotel
properties. Last December, boutique property Eden Roc at Cap
Cana opened. The 34-bungalow, all-suite hotel is the anchor
property of the 30,000-acre planned community of Cap Cana, only
a 20-minute drive from the Punta Cana International Airport.
Small meeting groups can gather inside the hotel's
753-square-foot Corallina Conference Room, which has two
breakout rooms across the lobby. For outdoor events and
receptions, groups can use the 5,380-square-foot Pool Terrace
or the indoor/outdoor Caletón Beach Club.
Also close to the airport is the 124-room Four Points by
Sheraton Puntacana Village, which has a 1,615-square-foot
conference room for meetings, a business center, and
complimentary high-speed Wi-Fi access in all guest rooms.
In December, the 200-room, beachfront Westin Puntacana Resort
& Club is scheduled to open in the Playa Blanca area of the
Punta Cana Resort & Club Complex with two main meeting
spaces - the largest of which will measure 1,582 square feet.
Other features of the resort will include a full-service spa, a
24-hour business center, a hand-rolled-cigar bar, and an
expansive outdoor pool area.
Next year, the Caribbean will have its first JW Marriott
property open in Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican
Republic. The 131-room hotel will offer 6,300 square feet of
meeting space, and will occupy the first seven floors of a
15-story tower that is currently under construction above the
existing Blue Mall Santo Domingo.
All-inclusive resorts are also catering more to meeting groups
than ever before. At the adults-only Barceló Bávaro Beach
Resort, which completed a $330-million renovation in 2011,
meeting groups can utilize an on-site convention center that
can host up to 5,000 delegates. In Punta Cana and Bávaro Beach,
RIU Hotel & Resorts has a total of five all-inclusive
properties within its RIU Punta Cana Complex. They include the
610-room Riu Palace Bávaro, which opened in December 2011 and
has a 12,916-square-foot convention center that can accommodate
up to 1,000 delegates; and the 612-room, all-inclusive Hotel
Riu Palace Punta Cana, which has a total of 10,456 square feet
of meeting space.
The Westin Grand Cayman's Renewal
On Grand Cayman, meetings groups continue to be drawn to the
island's natural beauty - its Seven Mile Beach is often
considered one of the best beaches in the Caribbean - as well
as its gastronomic scene, ease of access, cultural diversity,
and tax savings. "There's no tax on food and beverage here,
which is a huge savings to groups," says Marti Trieschmann,
director of sales and marketing for The Westin Grand Cayman
Seven Mile Beach Resort & Spa. "It's also one of the safest
islands in the Caribbean, and is known as the Caribbean's
culinary capital." Trieschmann says that the isles' access to
exceptional destination management companies such as Red Sail
Sports and décor experts like Celebrations are also invaluable.
At her property, Trieschmann says she is seeing shorter meeting
time frames spread across more days. "Many groups are doing
meetings that last only two to three hours, but holding those
shorter meetings over the course of four days." She also says
many groups have opted for holding meetings on the beach
instead of in the boardroom.
In January, The Westin debuted the first phase of a
multimillion-dollar resort renewal that will enhance all of its
343 guest rooms and suites, all public spaces, meeting spaces,
fitness center, pool and beach areas. To date, renovations to
the property's rooms, public spaces, pool area, and additional
beach cabanas have been completed. Renovations to the hotel's
restaurants, spa, and meeting spaces are expected to be
complete by the fall. In total, the property has 9,000 square
feet of indoor space and 60,000 square feet of outdoor event
space.
Barbados Adds Radisson
In May, the beachfront, 124-room Radisson Aquatica Resort
Barbados, located on Carlisle Bay, opened following an
$8-million renovation. The property is situated within a marine
reserve and is also home to a historic 200-foot-long Victorian
Pier that was recently declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
With access to nearly two miles of beach, the hotel also has
5,872 square feet of flexible meeting and event space that can
accommodate up to 200 attendees.