Organizations both large and small are assessing the impact they are making on the world and developing corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies and programs to address how the company will be accountable for environmental, philanthropic, and volunteer initiatives. As companies are placing greater emphasis on sustainable business practices, this is your opportunity to align your next event with these goals. Destination meetings and sales incentive trips that include these practices create more loyalty, make attendees feel good about their choices, and add value.
Here are three opportunities to align your company’s corporate social responsibility initiatives at your next destination meeting or sales incentive event.
1. Going Green Is Universal
Meeting attendees appreciate efforts that mirror how they are already practicing conservation in their daily lives, such as reducing, reusing, and recycling programs. Therefore, it is important for hotels and resorts to maintain recycling and waste separation initiatives. Other green features include water conservation equipment to irrigate green space and vegetation to protect natural resources. In an effort to reduce paper waste, resorts providing digital platforms such as televisions and tablets can inform attendees of resort offerings and local information. Additional environmentally friendly hotel practices include avoiding the use of plastic straws, implementing mindful towel and linen usage policies, and using glassware, plates, and utensils at snacks and meals. Strategies like these continue to gain traction among hospitality giants.
2. Find Opportunities to Conserve, Protect, and Support the Community
Responsible travel efforts take on many forms, from protecting wildlife to supporting community initiatives. Several AMResorts locations are certified by the Rainforest Alliance and demonstrate their commitment to going green in a variety of ways. One of AMResorts newest locations, Dreams Macao Beach Punta Cana, is undergoing its certification and is dedicated to reducing the impact of its activities on the planet and local communities. Purchasing products through local vendors supports the local economy. Educational programs and national holiday celebrations preserve the local culture and enrich your meeting attendees’ experience.
3. Add Volunteer Activities to the Agenda
By tapping into attendees’ hearts and minds, charitable efforts enhance their experience as well as promote brand loyalty and employee engagement. Volunteer activities provide hands-on opportunities to make an impact on the local area. For example, local beach cleanups and the collection and distribution of donations to local schools are two activities your attendees can participate in during your next offsite meeting.
Dreams Macao Beach Punta Cana is committing to engaging in social responsibility programs when it opens February 2020. From hotel sustainability practices to local beach cleanups, the resort staff is eager to support the local community and welcome meeting planners and their attendees to this 500-suite luxury haven.
Socially conscious meetings and events done right can be rewarding for everyone involved, including the resorts and their teams, local communities, meeting planners, and event attendees. These corporate social responsibility best practices bring plentiful opportunities and benefits to the entire industry and the communities they touch.
About AMResorts
AMResorts® branded properties welcome thousands of meeting attendees annually and know the power a seemingly simple act can have on protecting the oceans and beaches its resorts call home. AMResorts’ 66-plus award-winning locations are committed to minimizing their environmental impact within the resort destinations. AMResorts® collectively provides sales, marketing, and brand management services to eight individually unique resort brands and is continuously raising the all-inclusive concept to a new level of luxury with its signature Endless Privileges®, Unlimited-Luxury®, and Unlimited-Fun®. Located throughout Mexico, Jamaica, Curacao, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, Panama, St. Martin, and Spain, these resorts provide every meeting attendee with premium accommodations, desirable locations, and extraordinary inclusions. For more information on AMResorts branded properties’ and the meeting and sales incentives capabilities, visit AMRmeetings.com.
About the Author
Kristen Struys is the Marketing Manager for the Meetings and Incentives segment at AMResorts, an Apple Leisure Group business.
