Category Archives: Our Destinations

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Oman Incentive Travel – Summer in Salalah

Incentive Travel in Oman – Salalah in Dhofar

If you want your team to experience a mountain team building adventure or a desert safari, you usually have to arrange your trip to Oman from October – April each year. Some companies in GCC countries find it easier to travel between May and September. They travel to Salalah for relief from the heat in other parts of the Arabian pennisula. Why? The Khareef. The remnants of Asia’s monsoons spray a cooling mist all over Dhofar and transform an area that is normally desert and rocky mountain into tropical oasis. Companies from around the world can take a leaf out of the book of companies in the gulf region and offer memorable and affordable summer incentives  and retreats in Salalah. Hotels and resorts in Salalah are more affordable than those in Muscat even in off-season.

Salalah – A Comfortable Oasis for Summer Incentives

Salalah, a coastal town, is much cooler than Muscat and Nizwa, the focus of our last blog about Oman. It’s a tolerable 28 – 30 degrees Celcius even during the hot summer months in Oman. Here is a glimpse of Salalah:

Located in Oman’s southern Dhofar region, in Salalah you’ll enjoy the contrast and beauty of mountains, watefalls, caves, cliffs, and the Indian ocean. Known as the Garden City in the Land of Frankincense, legend has it that ancient beauty the Queen of Sheba travelled to Salalah in search of this treasure. Here is a more in-depth tour of Salalah, taking in the city and surrounding areas:

Salalah Adventures

In Salalah, you can enjoy a variety of beach and water based activities including diving and surfing. Desert and mountain based adventures including caving also await you. If outdoor adventures are you forte, your team can go for an off-road adventure and then camp out at Jebel Samhan and other mountains nearby.

You also have the option of going dune bashing, participating in a series of team challenges in the desert and cammping out overnight at a Bedouin camp in the desert at Rub Al Khali – Empty Quarters, the world’s largest desert with spectactular 300′ dunes.

Giving Your Team a Sense of Oman’s Rich History and Culture

At Salalah Museum you can explore ancient Arabian history and culture. At Al Balid Archaeological Park, a UNESCO heritage site, you’ll view archaeological finds and learn about marine history at the Frankincense Land Museum. There are a number of anceint souqs for you to explore including Haffa Souk (the oldest and largest), Al-Husn and Al Hafah. A visit to the gold souk and the the frankincense souk are a must. An orienteering treasure hunt combined with a team shopping challenge is the perfect way to explore a souq. In Salalah you’ll also find the tomb of Biblical prophet Job (Nabi Ayoub). Be sure to build time into your itinerary to see the Taqah Fort in the nearby village with the same name.

CNN Tour of Salalah – Eco Tourist’s Dream

Let Executive Oasis International Take Your Team to Salalah, a Coastal Oasis

Even during the summer you can enjoy incentive travel and facilitated business team building in Salalah, Oman:

(c) Photo Credit: (c) Reehan

(c) Photo Credit: (c) riy

(c) Photo Credit: (c) usr.c

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Real Business Case For Incentive Travel

Real Business Case For Incentive Travel

Texas Roadhouse CEO Continues to Champion Bottom Line Value & R.O.I. of Team Building Retreats & Incentive Travel


by Anne Thornley-Brown, President, Executive Oasis International

In April 2009, when the AIG effect was in full force ( http://bit.ly/aigeffect2 ), Texas Roadhouse CEO G.J. Hart stood up to a CNBC reporter’s scathing criticism and ridicule of his decision to proceed with the company’s annual retreat in the midst of a recession:

Please note, all videos have short commercials before the interviews:

Video: http://bit.ly/incentivetravel8

Here, G.J. Hart discussed his decision, defended the bottom line value of incentives & retreats and stressed the importance of building opportunities for giving back to the community into the itinerary:

Article: http://bit.ly/teambuildingroi6

Podcast: http://bit.ly/incentivetravelroi5

He discussed the company’s business strategy here:

Video: http://classic.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=748206824&play=1

G.J Hart’s stand earned him a lot of press coverage and, eventually, media respect and positive coverage. An ad campaign giving the same extent of exposure and coverage would have cost a small fortune.

A year later, the company is enjoying even stronger corporate performance:

“Amid the frenzy that enveloped the meetings industry early last year…..Texas Roadhouse CEO G.J. Hart unwittingly became one of the lone voices to articulate the business value of meetings, events and incentives.”

http://bit.ly/incentivetravelroi3

At the time of writing, Texas Roadhouse is holding the company’s annual Managing Partner Conference for 1,100 managers and their guests in New York City. Giving back to the community is always an important part of the company’s retreats and incentive trips:

http://bit.ly/incentivetravelroi7

His efforts seem to be paying off. Here is a video interview with G.J. Hart this week about the explosive growth of the company and its strong stock market performance.

Tough economic times are not slowing down the expansion of restaurant chain Texas Roadhouse

http://classic.cnbc.com/id/15840232?video=1467575226&play=1

CNBC seems to have warmed up to G.J. Hart. The company’s business strategies are clearly paying off and they are exploring the possibility of international expansion.

The Texas Roadhouse experience highlights the fact that the right business strategy supported by strategic team building and incentives to reward top performance can pay-off with a stronger bottom line.


Related:

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Corporate Incentive Travel: Luxury Making a Comeback

Luxury Incentive Travel Making a Comeback

Emirates Palace, Abu Dhabi

Corporate Travel Trends: Luxury is Finally Affordable

by Anne Thornley-Brown, President
Executive Oasis International

For this blog entry, I’ve decided to take a totally different approach and share some good news headlines. The AIG effect is fading. The luxury corporate travel market finally seems to be recovering.

Part of the reason for this is that luxury hotels are now providing very attractive packaging and pricing for corporate meetings or adding value at existing price points. Consider these recent stories:

Benchmark Hospitality International’s Top Ten Meeting Trends for 2010

Trend #3Extreme Price Sensitivity, with Hotels once again competing for Meetings Business with Aggressive Package Pricing.

The recession and the AIG effect caused many traditional hotels to turn to midsized corporate meetings to fill their rooms. Although not an uncommon strategy for hotels in a recession, the severe business climate of 2009 helped re-educate traditional hotels on the merits of aggressive meeting package pricing with its high perceived value.

Companies are finding that they can stay at luxury 5 star properties in the USA, Canada, the Caribbean, Asia, and the Middle East for the same price as a 4 or 5 star hotel.

Luxury Hotels What AIG Effect?

While dealt the hardest blow during the economic meltdown, luxury hotels are not down for the count. For an increasing number of buyers, the unprecedented value now offered by top properties is just too good to ignore.

There are signs that luxury hotels have been able to cut into the business that might otherwise have gone to a hotels in a lower-tier category. Greg Champion, chief operating officer for Benchmark Hospitality, which operates hotels primarily in the four-star category, is among those feeling the heat from the top tier.

“It’s now more competitive between properties than it’s ever been,” he says. “We’re now competing head-to-head with five-star properties. Everyone talks about the AIG Effect, but there are a lot of planners out there who say, ‘If I can stay at a five-star for the same price as a three- or four-star, why wouldn’t I do that?’”

If luxury hotels are seeing a rise in meetings business, it’s safe to say that a big motivator is the smorgasbord of value-adds on the table, everything from rate discounts to packages offering reduced attrition, free breakfasts, spa discounts, suite upgrades and more.

This CNBC Interview with the CEO of Ritz-Carlton echoes similar themes:

Video: Ritz-Carlton CEO Discusses Luxury Travel Industry

Top 10 travel trends in 2010

3. Upmarket all-inclusives

Money is still a major issue for people — even at the luxury end — so we’re looking for value more than ever: upscale packages are desirable as there aren’t any hidden costs or room service extras above and beyond what you’ve already shelled out.

4. Eco luxe

Hotels are starting to become more and self-sufficient wherever they can and travelers are considering the environmental credentials of a hotel more — this is constantly on the increase so hotels going the extra mile to lower carbon emissions.

Up & Onward: Luxury Travel on the Rise Says Virtuoso

A recent survey of high-end retailers revealed that 81 percent of Virtuoso travel retailers’ future bookings were up compared to this time last year. Eighty percent say sales are up over the last three months, while 55 percent say revenues are higher than this time last year.

So what business is increasing? Over half stated that leisure and corporate travel bookings are expected to rebound in the next six months.

Trella del Mare, Ain Al Shockna, Egypt

Luxury hotel chains around the world from Toronto to Dubai are seeking to increase capacity in the luxury sector for what they feel will be a market on the upswing.

Canadian hoteliers are actually now projecting a shortfall in the luxury hotel sector:

Canadian Hoteliers see Gap in Luxury

It is only a matter of time that pricing will rise to pre-recession levels. Savvy companies are making their plans for the rest of 2010, 2011, and even 2012 to lock in these favourable rates and offerings.

Executive Oasis International specializes in:

We work with a number of luxury properties that currently have favourable pricing and packages for meetings, incentives and retreats.

As long as there is some flexibility in your dates, at some properties, groups of 20 – 40 people can have exclusive use of the resort for the entire duration of their stay.

Please contact us for details.

More:

Seems that great minds think alike.

I just saw this:

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Are incentive travel programmes appropriate for companies that have experienced downsizing?

Incentive Travel After Downsizing

Are incentive travel programmes appropriate for companies that have experienced downsizing?

  • Has your company recently gone through downsizing?
  • Are you thinking that, under this scenario, an incentive travel programme would be inappropriate?

Your top performers need to have their efforts recognized now more than ever. This is probably one of the worst times to cut your incentive travel programme.

If you’ve recently laid off workers and your organization is leaner, employees that remain behind face some significant challenges. Everyone will have to have to do more with less and work a lot harder to achieve results, particularly in a turbulent marketplace. Some employees who remain behind will feel discouraged, demoralized and afraid of the possibility of futher layoffs. You don’t want your top talent to jump ship.

It is, therefore, PRECISELY at this time that companies need incentive travel programmes to reward top performers who produce outstanding results despite the challenges.

Investing in incentive travel is most important during stressful times and they will have a higher payback and measured bottom line impact (e.g. retention of top talent, lower risk of turnover, improved morale). It is one of the most leveraged investments a company can make during turbulent times with no downside. Incentive travel pays for itself out of the increased revenue that your team generates.

You can offer incentive travel even if you are facing budget constraints. Here’s how:

  • Instead of going overseas, stay at a local resort or hotel.
  • Opt for a smaller property
    There are even small inns, lodges, timesharing units, and resorts where your team can have exclusive use at a fraction of what you would pay to stay at a large resort.
  • Take top performers out for a nice dinner and have them and their spouse stay for 1 night at a local spa in your city
  • Stay at a local 4 star resort instead of a foreign 5 star resort.
  • Rough it

    There are affordable options like campsites, dude ranches, and summer camps in off-season

So, instead of asking:

  • can we afford incentive travel?
  • can we justify an incentive travel programme at this time?

Ask:

  • how can we afford to shelve our incentive travel programme when the members of our team have to work a lot harder to achieve results and they really deserve recognition for their extra effort?