Soon after a multinational technology company contracted with Landry & Kling to use a ship for their annual scientific sessions on computer game development, reservations from their target audience just poured in.

Planners had expected about 150 attendees -- computer science faculty from universities all over the country who pay their own travel expenses to attend this high-level networking meeting. But when a Disney Wonder cruise was announced as the meeting venue, a higher-than-normal proportion of targeted invitees eagerly signed up to pay, not only for themselves, but also for family members, bringing the group total to 350 passengers – a 233% increase.

The 4 night program included an overnight at Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort in Orlando where they had meetings all morning prior to embarking the ship. To accommodate the additional variety of meeting needs for the keynote speakers, researchers and technology specialists in this field, Landry & Kling negotiated a 24-hour hold on all of the ship’s Conference Center rooms plus others as needed.

All together, there were 22 meetings scheduled aboard ship during this short trip, including 2 or 3 hours of meetings nightly after dinner. Sessions ran from 8 am in the morning to 11:30 pm at night, with breaks just for meals and a few afternoon hours at leisure in the ports of Nassau and Castaway Cay to enjoy the sun.

But they loved it! Attendee feedback was very enthusiastic about the camaraderie of “all being in the same boat” during this meeting at sea, and the ease of making valuable new contacts in their field during meals—where no one had to be concerned about the check. As a result, they are already reviewing future opportunities for their next meeting at sea.

Feel free to call us for some ideas to produce similar happy results for your organization!