Taking advantage of the increased popularity of cruise meetings, Conferon Global Services (CGS), a major meeting planning company, has partnered with Landry & Kling, the leading cruise meetings firm, to offer enhanced services for their respective clients.
With the new service, called Events at Sea, Conferon customers arranging events on cruise ships will benefit from Landry & Kling's specific expertise, and Landry & Kling customers will be aided by Conferon services such as registration and air and hotel bookings.
"We had several clients that wanted to explore cruise-based programs," says Rick Binford, vice president of field sales at Conferon. "But increasingly, we found that cruise meetings provided unique challenges. Now, with our partnership with Landry & Kling, we can expand the market together."
Events at Sea will include two services currently offered by Landry & Kling. With ShipSelect, clients will thumb through a portfolio of more than 200 meetings-friendly cruise ships that can accommodate from 50 to 3,000 attendees. The two companies also can arrange for a whole ship to be chartered, a service that Landry & Kling said is unique among cruise meetings companies.
The other service, ShipPlanning, incorporates site inspection, on-board meetings management, on-shore activities at ports of call, and preboarding meetings or events. And, if requested, a Landry & Kling planner will accompany the group during its meeting to assure smooth sailing.
Landry & Kling customers will be able to utilize Conferon's online and call center-assisted registration services, air travel bookings, hotel bookings before or after the cruise if needed, and ground transportation to and from the cruise port.
The cruise meetings company also will refer clients who are planning land-only meetings to Conferon.
Conferon is promoting the Events at Sea program to clients through an education initiative that will explain the advantages of cruise meetings and what types of meetings would benefit from being on a cruise.