Meeting News - January 7, 2008 - (Page 38)

Incentive Insider: Florida Edited by Elizabeth West elizabeth.west@nielsen.com Left to right: Emerald Coast beach, Palm Beach shopping, Miami architecture, and Key West sunset. The Art of Style, From Miami Sizzle to Coastal Escapes Much more than just sun and fun, Florida incentives deliver pampering and panache The brushstrokes of history, nature, and culture that have created Florida provide rich and varied possibilities for incentive programs. It is a stylish destination that offers more than endless sunshine. “The perception of Florida is a sun-and-fun destination, but layered in with the great weather that all regions share are distinct cities with diverse styles. Each area has its own personality and set of amenities that offer a particular experience to an incentive group,” said Paget Kirkland, owner of Palm Beach-based Kirkland Event & Destination Services Inc., which handles incentive events in all parts of the Sunshine State. Miami vibrates with a tropical energy that offers both Latin inﬂuence and celebrity chic. Undeniably, the hot spot of the moment is South Beach, where sightings of young Hollywood are frequent in the clubs, restaurants, and hotels of the Art Deco District. Along with a dine-around in the ultra chic restaurants of Lincoln Road or renting out a hip nightclub for the evening, groups can partake in South Beach’s architectural offerings. “The whole area is on the National Register of Historic Places, and the Art Deco Society has wonderful guides who can do a walking tour, or one by bicycle or coach,” says Teresa Harrington, president of Ancomp Inc., a Boca Raton-based destination management company serving Florida. Miami’s Latin heart beats in a multitude of experiences for incentive groups. There is a tour of the graceful Spanish-style architecture of Coral Gables or an evening at Fairchild Gardens on Biscayne Bay—beginning with cocktails as sounds of Spanish guitar music ﬁll the garden and moving on to the ballroom for a Latin-ﬂavored dinner and salsa dancing. Or, a walking tour of Little Havana’s Calle continued on page 40 Incentive Report: Palm Beach Home Away From Home for Realtor Group Mansion hopping and upmarket shopping let winners “live it up” For four days last May, Weichert, Realtors brought its annual real estate agent incentive program to Palm Beach, as it has done every year for the last decade, because the 188 winners and their guests never tire of the posh destination. Staying at The Breakers, the group makes abundant use of both the venerable resort and Palm Beach County. “The activities that this particular group looks forward to are ultra high-end shopping, water sports, beach relaxation, and upscale spa treatments at The Breakers,” said Kevin Dunn, director of marketing and creative services for Wyckoff, NJ-based Hakins Meeting & Incentives, the trip’s organizer. 38 MeetingNews January 7, 2008 Because many of the attendees are the same year after year, Dunn’s team has to strike a balance between the group’s favorite pastimes and new activities. Annual must-haves include the shopping shuttle to locales like Worth Avenue, famous for its ultra upscale shops, and a private tour of mansions unavailable to the public, which Dunn makes fresh each year by choosing different mansions and bringing in special guests to accompany the group. Last May, the author of Palm Beach: Then and Now, Maureen O’Sullivan, joined in, signing copies of her book and answering questions about the area’s history. Other years have featured a reception and dinner at Donald Trump’s Mir Lago estate and a dinner cruise on the Intracoastal Waterway on a 170-foot private yacht. “Everyone loved that, because they could peer into the backyards of the mansions on the water,”said Dunn, adding that the goal of a Palm Beach incentive is to leave winners feeling like they lived the experience. “With Palm Beach, the ﬁrst thought they have is ‘old money’ and some of the most prized real estate in the country. If you do a mansion tour, get them on a yacht, then take them to Worth Avenue, the attendees leave the area with a really good ﬂavor of what Palm Beach is all about.” — Heidi Waldrop Bay www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

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