When our clients feel passionate about a program, they share their successes with the trade publications. Want to know more about us and what we do? Here are a few articles about our company, programs we’ve managed and what we’ve been up to.
Rocking the Boat on the Legends Cruise
“For me, life doesn’t get any better than last week’s Rock Legends Cruise aboard Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas –an amazing lineup of 21 bands performing day and night. It was like Woodstock at sea; four days of peace, love and rock ‘n’ roll.”
“With that many artists I needed to sell a lot of tickets, so Liberty made the most sense,” she said, but Pam [Myers] was taking a highly calculated risk aided by Landry and Kling, one of the best cruise event planners in the business. Their job is to take people like Myers, analyze their needs, run the numbers, and coordinate with the cruise lines. After determining and getting the best ship, their ongoing services include planning show schedules, mealtimes, menus, port stops and the designs of everything from web sites to the daily programs onboard and even the cocktail napkins.”
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November 12, 2011, FoxNews.com
We Rocked the Boat
“It all started with an idea by Pam Myers, vice president and treasurer of NAHA, who had a vision for a benefit concert for her 4-star rated charity organization. She found 20 famous bands willing to play for her cause (the bands were compensated for their participation) but she had no idea how to organize a concert of that scope.”
“Someone suggested doing it on a cruise and luckily Pam found Landry and Kling, a company that specializes in helping people plan special events on cruise ships. Pam says ‘Landry & Kling provided us with invaluable guidance. While others told us our vision was too big, Landry & Kling helped us through each challenge to launch this outrageous fundraiser festival — at sea.”
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November 8, 2011, CruiseMates Newsletter
Religious Meetings Ride the Wave
“Planners of religious meetings at sea say ships offer the enticing advantage of having everything they need in one package—facilities, meals, entertainment and changing locations at interesting ports of call. There are also added benefits of time and cost savings—the price can come in up to 40 percent less in some cases, according to Jo Kling, president of Miami’s Landry & Kling Cruise Events—over traditional hotel and other land-based meetings.”
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November 2011, MeetingsFocus Mid-America
Businesses Cruise More to Meetings — Literally
“Interest is growing partly because, when comparing apples to apples — including meals, entertainment, presentation equipment and meeting space — an all-inclusive cruise ship event saves 20 to 30% on cost, according to cruise event services company Landry & Kling.”
“Cruise ships are also venues for continuing education courses, product launches and national meetings. Landry & King’s list of cruise customers includes Microsoft, Aflac, Harley-Davidson, Land O’Lakes, Mastercard International and MetLife.”
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November 28, 2011, CNN.com
Taking the Guesswork Out of Planning a Cruise-based Meeting
“Meeting planners must be able to successfully juggle multiple responsibilities and keep track of all the details – little and big. Major meeting bumps can arise when even the tiniest detail falls through the crack.
Having a system in place that lets you track various aspects of your meeting – from event registration to floor plans – is the best way to manage details and avoid unforeseen meeting snafus. ”
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October 2011, Meeting Focus Blog
Business Incentives
Cash isn’t Always King
“With organizations grappling with the challenge of doing more with less, planners must be able to justify proposed motivational programs and demonstrate ROI.
Now, meeting planners have more ammunition when it comes to proposing non-cash prizes and trips for incentives. Recent industry reports indicated that “tangible incentives” – incentives that carry monetary value but are non-cash in nature such as merchandise – are more attractive to employees.”
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October 2011, Meeting Focus Blog
The ‘New’ Cruise Meeting
“‘It was a really balanced event, with a lot of meeting content, camaraderie, and time off the ship,’ says Landry, adding that ‘people had time to share ideas because they were together more than they would have been had they done a land program.’ But planners needn’t fear that a meeting on a ship means trapped executives—there is more flexibility to accommodate scheduling conflicts than planners might expect, according to Landry.
‘In the old days—maybe 15 years ago—we had to encourage people to tailor the meeting to the ship, but not anymore,’ says Landry. ‘There is real meeting space now; you’re not meeting in a coffee shop or something.’”
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October 2011, Successful Meetings
Cruise Meetings Get an Upgrade
“Landry often sits down with clients and goes over their program budgets from earlier years line by line, pointing out how they could save by doing a cruise program.
Those planning international incentives would do well to remember that the U.S. dollar is king onboard. ‘There’s no fluctuation in exchange rates to worry about,’ says Landry, based in Coral Gables, FL. ‘Your costs won’t change, even if you’re planning two years out.’”
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September 2011, Successful Meetings
Cruise Incentives 101
“Incentive programs have been coming back, and shipboard programs are no exception. ‘We’ve seen an increase in both serious inquiries and business,’ says Joyce Landry, CEO of Landry & Kling, a facilitator of cruise meetings and events.
The good news for planners considering the high seas is that a cruise incentive program often can be comparable to a luxury resort program and cost less. Line-item hassles like audiovisual equipment rentals, venue staging, third-party video production, catered meeting breaks, and child care don’t come into play on a ship, since they’re included in the package.”
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September 2011, Incentive Magazine
Get Onboard!
Why More Planners Are Taking Meetings to Sea
“It so happens that in 2011, in the wake of a severe recession that wreaked havoc with meeting budgets, cruise meetings make more sense than ever before, says Joyce Landry, CEO of Miami-based Landry & Kling Cruise Event Services, which helps corporate clients plan meetings at sea.
‘When you do a cruise today, you can give attendees that feeling of pre-recession abundance again,’ she says. ‘You can make them feel pampered again because there’s no scrimping going on. On a ship, you can give attendees a great experience at low cost.’”
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September 2011, Corporate & Incentive Travel Magazine
Don’t Miss the Boat
Cruise Your Way to Incentive Success
“Lance Wieland, then an independent meeting planner, had long resisted the idea of a cruise. Then he needed a fresh, unique idea for a high-end incentive program for a group of 200 top insurance sales executives from around the world. Working with Landry & Kling, a well-regarded cruise specialist, he chartered the Seabourn Spirit for a five-night cruise from Athens to Istanbul. “It was the most incredible experience, and the highest-rated program we’ve ever run…It was an education about what cruising could do for us,” Wieland says.
Read More.
September 2011, Smart Meetings Magazine
Smooth Sailing
All-Inclusive Cruise Meetings Keep Budgets On an Even Keel
“Landry says planners who have had to scale back during the recession are looking for ways to deliver the traditional wow factor for less. “
‘But when you do a cruise, you can give attendees that feeling of pre-recession abundance again. You can make them feel pampered again because there’s no scrimping going on. On a ship, you can give attendees a great experience. And you can do it at a lower cost.” [Includes sidebar featuring Landry & Kling's Top 10 Ships for Meetings]
Read more.
May / June 2011, Insurance & Financial Meetings Management
Cruises: Not Just for Vacation
“When a destination doesn’t have enough hotel rooms for a special event, cruise ships can play a vital role.
For instance, when President Obama attended the Summit of the Americas in Trinidad in April 2009, cruise ships, serving as temporary hotels for the media and diplomats, could be seen in the background of reporters covering the story.
And when Jacksonville, Fla., approached the NFL about hosting Superbowl XXXIX, it brought in five cruise ships to meet the requirement of providing a minimum number of hotel rooms close to the stadium.
In both cases, Landry and Kling, one of the country’s leading cruise ship charter consultants made the arrangements to bring in the ships.”
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April 2011, FOXBusiness
Cruise lines see market growing for incentives and meetings
“Kling, whose firm will mark 30 years in the business in 2012, said corporations and companies with incentive programs are continuing to minimize expenses by finding ways to get the most bang for their buck.
‘The budgets for meetings and incentives are there,’ Kling said. ‘But with cruising, many businesses are just now seeing the advantages that a cruise ship offers. Activities, entertainment, sports events and food are all included, for example, and we’re seeing land resorts that are now trying to mimic what the cruise lines have had all along.’” [Includes sidebar featuring Landry & Kling's Top 10 Cruise Ships for Meetings & Group Events]
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April 18, 2011, Travel Weekly Magazine
Cruise Lines Get a Boost From Increased Meetings Business
“Jo Kling, president of Landry & Kling, the Miami-based cruise event specialist company that will mark its 30th anniversary next year, says the upturn is almost double over last year… ”
March / April 2011, Insurance & Financial Meetings Management
High Seas Meetings & Incentives
“Corporate and incentive cruise event services company Landry & Kling put together a 42-person sales meeting/ incentive program for the Brunswick Corporation, which is headquartered near Chicago. The Lake Forest, IL-based recreational products company is well-known for its bowling, billiards, fitness and marine products, including Mercury Marine…
Explains Filip Pawelka, a marketing manager for Brunswick, ‘One of the main deciding factors was also the overall cost of such a meeting on a cruise ship,’ Pawelka says. ‘When compared to previous meetings we conducted in several locations around the world, the cost was comparable or even below…’” [Includes sidebar featuring Landry & Kling's Top 10 Cruise Ships for Meetings & Group Events]
March 2011, Corporate & Incentive Travel Magazine
Hold your business meetings on the lido deck
“Immersing executives in exotic ports of call is inspirational and contributes to team-building, adds Landry, who once bused 800 conference attendees to Catherine Palace near St. Petersburg to dine on caviar.
‘You’re going from place to historic, beautiful place; everything is prearranged, safe; no one has to put their hand in their pocket to pay for anything, so there’s a sense of letting go and being free,’ she says. ‘It beats the hotel convention centre’s rubber-chicken dinner every time.’”
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February 2011, The Globe and Mail
Cruising Alaska
“Alaska is a tremendous value right now—you can negotiate much better than in the past,” says Joyce Landry, CEO of Landry & Kling Cruise Event Services, a Miami-based company that specializes in cruise meetings. “I recommend taking advantage of the situation because you are not likely to see these prices again. Alaska has a very limited season, so lines traditionally demand top rates in that market.”
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February 2010, Meetings Focus Magazine
Set Sail
“As cruise ships have changed, so has the understanding and recognition of what you can do with the ship. It is like going to a hotel, but the hotel is moving,” Kling says.
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September 2010, Smart Meetings Magazine
The Cruising Difference, Setting a New High-Water Mark
“Planners are thinking that they are not going to be able to do their normal event, and that’s true — that’s why it is so successful,” affirmed Josephine Kling. “You don’t do the same thing in the same way on a ship that you do in a hotel, and it’s that difference that excites you. What brings forth innovative thinking is not having people in the same old, same old environment.”
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August 2010, Corporate & Incentive Travel Magazine
Cruise Control
Shipboard incentive programs offer all-inclusive value.
“When you look at the budget challenges facing meeting planners today, it’s the perfet time for people to consier cruising,” says Josephine Kling, CEO of Seasite.com and co-founder of Miami-bases Landry & Kling Cruise Event Services. “We can prove that in any category of ship relative to hotel, you can save up to 30 to 40 percent by choosing a cruise over a hotel program.”
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July, 2010, Meetings South
A “Floatel” Can Help When You’re Short on Hotel Rooms
“If a destination were to build enough hotels to accommodate a large event, it would overload their infrastructure and would be unsustainable after the event,” Landry says. “Hotels support the idea of floating hotels because it doesn’t crash their rates going forward.” And for meeting planners, she adds, “this opens their eyes to new possibilities. They can meet in a place they wouldn’t necessarily have thought of. It’s instant infrastructure.”
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June 2010, Meetingsnet.com
Carnival Present’s Pinnacle Award to Landry & Kling
“Landry & Kling Cruise Event Services, a cruise-only meeting and incentive travel agency based in Coral Gables, FL, has been inducted into Carnival Cruise Lines’ ‘Pinnacle Club.’
Landry & Kling, which was one of Carnival’s top 10 group producers, was presented with a highly detailed replica of a Carnival ‘Fun Ship,’ and joins an elite group of agencies who meet a certain sales criteria and exhibit excellence in promoting and selling the ‘Fun Ship’ cruise experience.”
February 2008, Travel Trade
Using Five Cruise Ships as Super Bowl Hotels
Once Jacksonville won the chance to host the big game, it was up to Landry & Kling to attend to all the details of arranging for the ships.
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March 2005, Meetings & Conventions Magazine
The Top 10 Women Incentive Leaders
“The good news is that this disparity seems to be less pronounced in the incentive industry than in many others. Women are well represented in top positions at many incentive houses, destination management companies and industry associations, and they are gaining ground in the traditionally male-dominated special markets divisions of manufacturers.
The 10 women profiled below are among the best and brightest minds working in the performance field today.”
Read more part 1: Overview
Read more Part 2: Landry & Kling profile
May 2006, Incentive Magazine
Cruise and Schmooze
“Companies have traditionally favored hotels and resorts when they wanted to reward top-performing sales representatives, giving them vacations in sunny places like Arizona, Florida and Hawaii, with golf, tennis and water sports among the allures.
But for the last decade, the cruise industry has been campaigning hard for some of that business and has been winning corporate converts.
Industry officials contend that cruises are less expensive than comparable resorts because the cabins, conference rooms, meals and entertainment are all included in the price. In addition, some of the smaller ships afford companies privacy and networking opportunities that they may not get on land.
”Companies want to share sales figures and product plans with the team they’ve brought on board,” said Joyce Landry, head of Landry & Kling”
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May 2006, New York Times
Poker Nuts… Come Aboard
“Mr. Ward also suggested contacting agencies like Landry & Kling…which specialize in organizing interest-group cruises.”
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January 2005, New York Times
