"Deep in the Heart" Spring Retreat
The new JW Marriott with 1,000+ rooms, a 26,000 square foot spa and 140,000 square feet of meeting space played host to this year’s Site Texas Spring Retreat. Attendee’s were not disappointed as a busy itinerary included a custom fitting of Maui Jim Sunglasses, enhanced by Maui Jim Reflections powered by redbuttontv. This was followed by some wonderful educational sessions, an offsite dinner at the Hotel Valencia on San Antonio’s famous River Walk and a supplier tradeshow.
With a gathering of over fifty buyers and suppliers, the group was able to network effectively and take home a number of important learning points from the agenda. These included “Meetings & Incentives at Sea”, “Green Meetings”, “Convention & Visitor Bureaus” and “Social Media”.
Doyle Girouard of the Cypress Group led off the retreat with a general session that addressed the current position of our industry. Mr. Girouard talked about the future, the goals of business, strategy, social media and true strategic partnerships. The audience contributed throughout and was particularly upbeat as the results of the Oxford Economics Study “The ROI on Business Travel” were disclosed. You can download and view this presentation from our Industry News page.
With the sun setting on a glorious first day, Capers DMC laid on first class coach transfers to the River Walk and the Hotel Valencia who hosted a group dinner with paella cooking stations. This was followed by an industry game show segment before a tour of the hotel culminated in a visit to the Presidential Suite with stunning views of the river. A notable aspect of the hotel is their collection of blown glass oranges signed by the famous movie, tv and sports celebrities who have stayed there. Take a look at them in our photo gallery below.
Monday morning began bright and early as some twenty suppliers exhibited at the buffet breakfast, before the concluding breakout sessions and closing luncheon. Ray Riley of Citizens Inc was the proud winner of a 2-night inaugural sailing on Royal Caribbean’s “Allure of the Seas”, while Jill Heyerdahl of JH Travel Incentives, Inc won a super trip within the Marriott Caribbean and Mexico portfolio of hotels.
Overall, buyers and suppliers alike unanimously agreed that the day and a half retreat had been of outstanding value in all facets - from education to networking and from improved destination knowledge to value and return on time invested.
