CLUB MED is synonymous with all-inclusive holidays but what few people realise is that a number of the company’s 115 holiday villages also cater for conferences and incentives.
Twenty-nine of Club Med’s locations and its cruise ship, Club Med 2, are available for conferences and another 10 villages can lay on incentive programmes.
On average, 15% of the company’s bookings from the UK come from the corporate market and this is expected to rise to 20% next year.
To try to build greater awareness of its conference and incentive facilities, the operator has launched a new brochure, Club Med Business, which lists the exact specifications of each village.
Destinations are classified by geographical zone and the comfort rating is marked from basic to very comfortable. The number and size of conference rooms available are featured along with the capacity of the rooms.
Corporate sales and marketing manager Hermione Cox said Club Med offers one of the easiest ways for agents to book overseas conferences and incentives as it provides all-inclusive packages.
The operator’s daily rates include accommodation, meals, use of meeting rooms and conference facilities, team-building exercises plus a wide range of sports and leisure facilities. Tailor-made activities are also available on request.
Companies can hire an entire village or just rent a number of villas on site, depending on the size of their group. Club Med Business can cater for groups from 20 to 800.
Twenty-three of the villages are in short-haul locations and 16 in long-haul destinations such as the Bahamas, Indonesia, Polynesia and the Indian Ocean.
Cox said the most appropriate villages for corporate bookings are those which offer easy access, such as the Opio near Nice in the South of France which is Club Med’s most popular conference venue.
“It is important for the villages to have easy access to an international airport as often a company will be flying in delegates from all over the world, not just from the UK,” said Cox.
For the first time, Opio has been closed to leisure bookings from November to March during which time it is available exclusively to groups.
A new conference centre is being built in the village, which will be completed in two years’ time. It will be able to host 800 delegates.
“Opio is a good conference venue and it is ideal for incentive groups,” said Cox.
For longer conferences, she recommends the 320-room Paradise Island in the Bahamas which has a high comfort rating and is only 10 mins by boat from Nassau harbour.
Other villages which offer extensive conference facilities are the Vittel in France, although this is not as easy to get to as Opio, and Da Balaia in Portugal.
Cox added that the company’s cruise ship Club Med 2 is popular with corporate clients. It can host up to 392 guests in 196 cabins and offers three and four-day summer cruises out of Cannes.
“This is a very popular venue,” said Cox. “In addition to several small conference rooms on board, there is a theatre which seats up to 500, a choice of restaurants and water sports facilities.”
The majority of Club Med’s corporate clients are blue chip multi-national companies such as banks and pharmaceutical businesses. Clients often take over a whole village for events such as product launches and annual conferences. The average booking is for 200-250 delegates but Club Med will take bookings from much smaller groups.
“Most of the travel agents we deal with have large corporate clients but we can also take bookings from agents who deal with much smaller groups,” said Cox. The minimum number per booking is 20.
“Ours is a very easy-sell product for agents,” said Cox. “Agents don’t have the hassle of booking all the extras clients need for a conference or incentive because we include everything and will tailor-make a package to suit each client.”
club med
Number of villages available for conference: a total of 29 plus one cruise ship, the Club Med 2.
Villages available for incentives: 10.
Maximum number of delegates: 1,000 – at Sandpiper in Florida.
Maximum number of guest rooms: 692 at Palmiye in Turkey.
Minimum number per booking: 20.
Length of stay: unlimited.
Contact: corporate sales and marketing manager Hermione Cox on 020-73483313.