< PreviousM eeting planners need to consider many issues, including the crucial one of choosing the right location. From airport accessibility and venue accommodations to entertainment and cultural experi- ences, what a location offers to both attendees and planners is paramount for an event’s success. And Miami, FL – with its array of resorts and unique venue offerings, cultural attractions and overall natural beauty – is the quintessential destination for corporate and incentive gatherings of all sizes. Miami is known as the gateway to Latin America, says Gladys Mezrahi, founder and president of Indigo Events: “With more direct flights than any other city in the U.S., it is one of the pieces that Miami has to offer. The other element to consider is the overall experience of a meeting, and how we can make it more appealing and can create that sense of, ‘I want to come,’ as opposed to ‘I have to,’ [then] definitely Miami is the place.” “Miami’s got a flair,” says Beth Miller, meeting planner and director of global accounts at ConferenceDirect, “The culture, food, vibe is like no other. The beaches, waterways, swaying palm trees, a mixture of retro and cosmopolitan, just makes everything exciting and different.” During her career as a meeting planner, Miller has executed many Miami-based events. “Miami has a cool vibe with a Latin Miami BY KATHY SINGLETON A Year-Round Destination for Memorable Events Adobe Stock 50 April 2023 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.com DESTINATION REPORTinfluence,” she says. “You can create themes easily around the local culture and surroundings. You can have meals on the beach, even have your conference right on the sand. Something about the surrounding water, soft breezes, warm, comforting air and bright crystal colors add special touches to meetings.” As Nathalie Cadet-James, founder and CEO at Luxe Fête Event Planning and Design Studio, adds, Miami is a location that meeting and event planners should consider because it is a city with world-class accommodations, beautiful beaches and a vibrant multicultural vibe. “These are ingredients for a memorable event experience,” says Cadet-James, who recently hosted a corporate group at the Faena Hotel in Miami Beach for a three-day offsite retreat. “Mornings started with breath work, sound bath and yoga sessions on the beach at sunrise, followed by a tra- ditional Cuban breakfast in one of the hotel’s beautiful restaurants,” Cadet-James says. “Our breakout sessions in various areas of the property made attendees feel like they were on vacation. Our final night of the event, we started at an off-property location and then walked a few blocks (led by flamingo-clad stilt walkers on Ocean Drive) to a full-moon beach-party at the Faena Hotel. No one wanted to leave. Everyone felt the lifetime memories we cre- ated. And most important for us, we watched an environ- ment that we created foster genuine connections. Miami makes that easy.” TheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | April 2023 51Two Convention Centers Near Cultural Hot Spots As Carol Motley, senior vice president of conventions sales and services at Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau (GMCVB), explains, Miami and Miami Beach also have state-of-the-art convention centers to meet planners’ needs. The Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC) fea- tures four main exhibition halls, with 491,654 sf, including an elegant 60,000 sf ballroom. “Meeting planners will find the Miami Beach Conven- tion Center (MBCC) district includes the 5.8-acre Pride Park, across from the MBCC, offering incremental unique event space,” Motley says. “The campus is also home to Miami Beach Botanical Gar- den and several other attrac- tions for event attendees to enjoy at their leisure or pro- gram as part of their event.” MBCC General Man- ager Freddie Peterson adds that the MBCC has been renovated to include a new grand ballroom, four junior ballrooms, almost 500,000 sf of exhibition space, an expanded Grand Lobby, pre-function areas that are bathed in natural light, up to 84 breakout rooms and about 800 roof-deck parking spaces. “The MBCC campus includes two new event spaces: Venu, a space for elegant private events and upscale meetings, and Rum Room, a 1920s restaurant with an enticing tapas-style menu and local South Florida rums,” Peterson says. “The MBCC is proud to have earned Global Biorisk Advisory Council (GBAC) STAR Facil- ity Accreditation and LEED Silver Certification as part of the venue’s $640-million-dollar expansion project, which includes many environmentally friendly features.” In addition to its many meeting spaces, the MBCC is located near amenities that make it a seamless experience for attendees, including fine dining, beaches and world-class cul- tural attractions. This makes planning events outside of the MBCC effortless and creates a stronger draw for attendees. Motley also points out that Lincoln Road, which is a short walk from the MBCC, offers eight blocks of walkable outdoor din- ing and shopping that has become a staple for visitors in Miami Beach. A soon-to- be $60 million reimagining of Lincoln Road will add new fountains, green space and unique event venues. “For those food-loving delegates, Lincoln Road now offers the culinary event smorgasbord – a culi- nary fusion event to offer new dining options,” Mot- ley says. “It bills itself as the nation’s largest open-air market. … These attractions Courtesy Photo Photo courtesy of the GMCVB The Miami Beach Convention Center (MBCC) MBCC’s Four Sunset Vista Salons have 19,714 sf of meeting space combined. 52 April 2023 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.com Greater Miami & Miami Beach is a global destination where our meeting venues place attendees near iconic beaches, multicultural neighborhoods, best-in-class hotels, Michelin- starred restaurants, shops, culture, entertainment, and more. It is also centrally located to Miami International Airport (MIA), the gateway to the Americas. Choose from various meeting spaces including the award-winning reimagined, Miami Beach Convention Center. Enjoy meeting in a tropical metropolis, adding golden sunsets, warm sand, and unique experiences to your meeting itinerary. Contact our sales team at MiamiMeetings@GMCVB.com or MiamiMeetings.com to check out our great incentives available for a limited time. MEET IN GREATER MIAMI AND MIAMI BEACH © Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau — The Official Destination Sales & Marketing Organization for Greater Miami and Miami Beach Miami Beach Design District Maya Hayuk, Wynwood Walls Corporate&IncentiveTravel_Print_8.125x10.875_MEETING GRID.indd 12/16/23 4:57 PMGreater Miami & Miami Beach is a global destination where our meeting venues place attendees near iconic beaches, multicultural neighborhoods, best-in-class hotels, Michelin- starred restaurants, shops, culture, entertainment, and more. It is also centrally located to Miami International Airport (MIA), the gateway to the Americas. Choose from various meeting spaces including the award-winning reimagined, Miami Beach Convention Center. Enjoy meeting in a tropical metropolis, adding golden sunsets, warm sand, and unique experiences to your meeting itinerary. Contact our sales team at MiamiMeetings@GMCVB.com or MiamiMeetings.com to check out our great incentives available for a limited time. MEET IN GREATER MIAMI AND MIAMI BEACH © Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau — The Official Destination Sales & Marketing Organization for Greater Miami and Miami Beach Miami Beach Design District Maya Hayuk, Wynwood WallsChris Weinberg, founder and chief experience officer at Chris Weinberg Events, says that her company’s corporate and incentive events always include a combination of several days of events both at the host hotel and off-site experiences around Miami. Some of Weinberg’s Miami favorites include the following: • A day or night on a party yacht cruise on Biscayne Bay. Great food and drinks and a DJ or band, combined with a slow ride to see the Miami skyline or view the stunning homes of the rich and famous on the islands near Miami Beach is always a hit. • Having a private experience at one of Miami’s world-class sporting venues, complete with players hired to interact with the attendees, using the player locker rooms and stadium facilities is a memorable experience. Major League Soccer (MLS) football club Inter Miami was cleared last year to commence construction on its $1-billion stadium, called the Miami Freedom Park. The new complex will transform a city-owned golf course near Miami International Airport into a complex featuring a 25,000-seat stadium for Inter Miami, a retail village, a 750-room hotel, and other structures. • Wynwood Arts District, home of the famous Wynwood Walls, is filled with art galleries, graffiti walls, and a plethora of breweries and restaurants. A guided walking tour appeals to all types of groups, as well as a mini food and wine festival at the Wynwood Walls. • Little Havana is another area where art and culture meets food. Attendees, Weinberg says, “can experience a walking food tour, or a history and cultural tour, to learn all about one of the oldest neighborhoods and how the Cuban diaspora built this area into what it is today.” • The Florida Keys is a chain of islands a couple hours drive from Miami, where attendees can enjoy snorkeling and diving, ecotours, walking trails, world-class sport fishing, great food and amazing sunsets, flanked by the Gulf of Mexico to the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. • The South Beach area in Miami Beach offers a variety of beach-themed day activities for large groups as well as night time “club experiences,” where one can rent an entire club for an experience with DJs, musicians and performers (such as aerialists), combined with amazing food and beverages. This is another great experience for a large group. “We have world-class venues in Miami to bring a large group and this is a must if the budget allows,” Weinberg says. Examples include a themed dinner at the historic Biltmore Hotel in Coral Gables or The Alfred I. DuPont Building in downtown Miami, which can host a 1920s prohibition or Great Gatsby themed party. There’s also the Perez Art Museum or the Knight Concert Hall at the Adrienne Arsht Center for an evening of art, entertainment and formal dining. Making Miami Memorable: 6 Planner Ideas C o u r t e s y o f H a w k s C a y Re so rt P h o t o c o u r t e s y of th e G M C V B P h o t o c o u r t e s y o f t he GM C V B Photo courtesy of the GMCVB 54 April 2023 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.comare great resources for planners looking to organize creative activities beyond the footprint of traditional meeting spaces.” Planners can tap into the same memorable experiences that draw leisure travelers to Miami and Miami Beach. “Our multicultural neighborhoods like Little Havana and Little Haiti showcase the traditions, sights, sounds and foods reflective of our diverse and international commu- nity,” Motley adds. Miami and Miami Beach Offer Some 64,000 Hotel Rooms Another thing planners can count on in Miami and Miami Beach is global-hotel brands calling the destination home. For example, the Arlo Wynwood, which opened last year, is a 217-room property and is one of the first opened in the cultural district. In addition, there’s the new Loews Coral Gables Hotel, opened last year, with 242 guest rooms as well as a spa, a fitness center and a rooftop pool fea- turing city views. “Also, the new Elser Hotel & Residences, which features 646 rooms and suites, all just steps from museums, parks, Art Deco South Beach, the Miami Design District and Wynwood, offers planners expanded options,” Motley says. “In total, Miami and Miami Beach is home to more than 64,000 rooms.” At the Trump International Beach Resort, the meeting space is spread across two floors in the building, making for quick access to all breakout sessions. The layout also keeps the meeting events separate from the leisure activities. The Ocean Ballroom has views of the ocean, and the Bay Ballroom has a panorama of Miami from Aventura to Bal Harbor. With 22,000 sf of function space to choose, planners can find the right fit for each group. Outdoor options include a lawn space for activities, two pool decks for cocktail receptions and the beach with the open-air Gili’s Beach Club restaurant serving as a unique location near the sand. The resort has recently completed several renovation projects, including updating all pool and beach cabanas, adding a pool-level spa-cabana, a refresh to the Aquanox Spa with enhanced spa treatments. And it offers live enter- tainment and recreation activities, including pool DJs, live singers and musicians at dining outlets and the lobby, water sports, Zumba classes and more. At Trump National Doral Miami, meeting planners have a choice of more than 100,000 sf of reimagined meeting space, including more than 75,000 sf of outdoor space. In addition to state-of-the-art audiovisual equipment, groups have access to full-scale production services. Events are complemented by modern accommodations and world-class catering. The resort also offers four championship golf courses, including the famous Blue Monster, which hosted the PGA Tour for 55 consecutive years, and most recently the 2022 LIV Golf Miami Team Championship. Additionally, groups can enjoy four Har-Tru green clay tennis courts, retail shops and a full-service spa. It also offers different themed yoga and meditation classes every month on the lawn of the Blue Monster, which can offer groups a relaxing break. In nearby Aventura, the JW Marriott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa boasts a new conference center, featuring 120,000-plus sf of flexible spaces, 40 flexible meeting rooms, two grand ballrooms and vast outdoor terraces and venues. Courtesy Photo Trump National Doral Miami boasts more than 100,000 sf of reimagined meeting space. TheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | April 2023 55 There are also currently many building and construction projects in Miami, creating additional traffic considerations when planning. CHRIS WEINBERG Founder and Chief Experience Officer, Chris Weinberg EventsThe new conference center offers its own porte cochere and kitchen. The award-wining resort also offers several outdoor terraces with unique features and views of the golf course. In addition to the new conference center, JW Marri- ott Miami Turnberry Resort & Spa underwent renovations throughout. A complete $300-million resort-wide renova- tion added the new 16-story Orchid Tower and 325 guest rooms and suites. Two of the resort’s championship golf courses, Soffer and Miller, have been updated, and there’s the new five-acre waterpark, Tidal Cove. Of course, The Biltmore Hotel is an ideal meeting and event venue, located in the historic Coral Gables neighbor- hood. With 23 various meeting spaces, including the hotel and the adjacent Conference Center of the Americas, The Biltmore Hotel, features more than 75,000 sf of indoor and outdoor meeting space. The 11,280 sf of outdoor event space offers environments for gatherings of all types. It includes grand terraces and private outdoor cabanas, which are ideal for breakout sessions. Making the Most of Miami, While Avoiding the Snowbirds Weinberg advises meeting planners that Miami is still some- what seasonal with the best weather from December to March, so there are a lot of snowbirds who rent for a month or more during this time, creating traffic at different times of the day. “There are also currently many building and construction projects in Miami, creating additional traffic considerations when planning,” Weinberg says. She also advises planners check the Miami Events cal- endar online to see what large events are scheduled, such as Art Basel Miami Beach in December, South Beach Wine and Food Festival in February, the Ultra Music Festival in March, and others. During such events hotel rates usually increase. “Depending on the size of the group, contacting the Miami Beach Chamber of Commerce (MBCC) or the Greater Miami Visitors & Convention Bureau (GMVCB), who have staff to assist with recommendations, is a great idea as well,” Weinberg says. For those planning meetings in Miami, Mezrahi suggests looking into the big festivals that are already scheduled, so planners can piggyback. “For example, if the group consists of foodie lovers, there is the South Beach Wine and Food Festival,” she says. “Or if the group enjoys art, there is Art Deco, Art Basel, etc. For a unique experience that only Miami has to offer, consider The Boat Show, or even the Model Volleyball tournament; and for the Latin lovers, there’s nothing like Calle Ocho to experience the music and the flavors of the Hispanic culture.” C&IT Photo courtesy of the GMCVB South Beach 56 April 2023 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.com DESIGNED FOR THINKING BIG HOME TO CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF COURSES, A TROPICAL POOLSIDE OASIS, AND AN IMPRESSIVE ARRAY OF VENUES. WE SET THE STANDARD IN LUXURY MEETINGS & EVENTS. 4400 N.W. 87TH AVENUE MIAMI, FL 800.713.6725 TRUMPHOTELS.COM/MIAMI Trump National Doral Miami features more than 100,000 sq. ft. of indoor meeting space and 75,000 sq. ft. of outdoor event space, exceptional services, and unique venues. The magnificent Crystal Ballroom, with stunning outdoor terraces overlooking the famed Blue Monster, provides an engaging and intimate atmosphere. For larger functions, the DJT Grand Ballroom and Patio is elegantly designed, ideal for functions with a maximum capacity of 2,000 attendees. Home to 643 deluxe guestrooms and suites, four iconic golf courses, a world-class spa, premier dining, and unparalleled amenities, we set the standard of excellence for gatherings of all sizes. For a unique experience that only Miami has to offer, consider The Boat Show, or even the Model Volleyball tournament. GLADYS MEZRAHI Founder and President, Indigo EventsDESIGNED FOR THINKING BIG HOME TO CHAMPIONSHIP GOLF COURSES, A TROPICAL POOLSIDE OASIS, AND AN IMPRESSIVE ARRAY OF VENUES. WE SET THE STANDARD IN LUXURY MEETINGS & EVENTS. 4400 N.W. 87TH AVENUE MIAMI, FL 800.713.6725 TRUMPHOTELS.COM/MIAMI Trump National Doral Miami features more than 100,000 sq. ft. of indoor meeting space and 75,000 sq. ft. of outdoor event space, exceptional services, and unique venues. The magnificent Crystal Ballroom, with stunning outdoor terraces overlooking the famed Blue Monster, provides an engaging and intimate atmosphere. For larger functions, the DJT Grand Ballroom and Patio is elegantly designed, ideal for functions with a maximum capacity of 2,000 attendees. Home to 643 deluxe guestrooms and suites, four iconic golf courses, a world-class spa, premier dining, and unparalleled amenities, we set the standard of excellence for gatherings of all sizes.W ith spectacular views of the Sonoran Desert, surrounding mountains and stunning sunsets, Arizona is a beau- tiful destination for corporate meet- ings or incentive experiences. The stunning scenery of the Grand Can- yon State helps set the stage for what is to come. And luckily Arizona offers a plethora of splendid entertaining locales — complete with wonderful accouterments that surprise and delight at every turn. “Cocktail hours outside on picturesque patios offering sunset views, delicious southwest cuisine to taste, as well as local wine from some of the state’s wineries, are just some reasons why Arizona is a great option,” says Lisa Foster, event planner and owner of Stylish Events by Lisa in Phoenix, AZ. “Arizona offers something for everyone. We also have amaz- ing five-star spa and golf experiences for attendees if they have any down time while in Phoenix for an event.” Stylish Events by Lisa is a full-service event planning com- pany, offering event planning, design and logistics for many corporate and social events. Foster and her team have coor- dinated an array of business events in Arizona and beyond — from company holiday parties, to nightly receptions at con- ferences, to even traveling with their corporate partners and providing destination services for them out of state. Arizona BY MAURA KELLER A Scenic Setting for a Grand Event Courtesy of Visit Arizona 58 April 2023 | Corporate & Incentive Travel | TheMeetingMagazines.com DESTINATION REPORTHere are five ideas to help plan a successful corporate and incentive event in Arizona: Choose the right location: Arizona offers a variety of beautiful locations for corporate events, such as the Grand Canyon, Sedona, Scottsdale and Phoenix. Consider the purpose of the event and the size of your group when selecting a location. Plan outdoor activities: Arizona is known for its beautiful natural landscapes and outdoor activities. Consider incorporating activities such as hiking, kayaking and hot air balloon rides into your event to give your team a memorable experience. Incorporate local cuisine: Arizona is known for its unique cuisine, such as Southwestern and Mexican dishes. Consider incorporating local flavors into your event menu to give your team a taste of Arizona. Provide transportation: Arizona is a vast state, so it’s important to provide transportation for your team to get around. Consider hiring a charter bus or shuttle service to ensure that everyone can travel together safely and comfortably. Plan for the weather: Arizona can have extreme temperatures, so it’s important to plan for the weather. If you’re planning an outdoor event, consider scheduling it during a cooler time of day or providing shade and water for your team. Tips For Meeting in Arizona Courtesy of Visit Tucson 1 2 3 4 5 Tonto National Monument in Roosevelt, Arizona TheMeetingMagazines.com | Corporate & Incentive Travel | April 2023 59Next >