Business with a View

Mixing meetings with playtime

By Sarah Muñoz

What happens when you get the most vibrant landscapes, exciting excursions and almost limitless variety of convention space in one friendly and safe destination? You get lots of happy meeting planners, that’s what.

Value, quality and versatility are the trademarks of the corporate retreat, meeting, incentive and convention options found in Los Cabos. By providing top-tier hospitality and service, state-of-the-art facilities and audiovisual equipment and nature always just steps away, Los Cabos has risen to the top of corporate favorites. Miles upon miles of golf greens, fishing outings and off-road excursions are just some of the many options available for down time, while hotels of all sizes don’t just offer some of the best accommodations in the hemisphere, but lots of choices for work and play.

Los Cabos has a modern international airport that welcomes thousands of visitors each day. As an added advantage, it has implemented Global Entry kiosks for travelers — the first airport in Mexico selected for this U.S. Customs and Border Protection program. Global Entry allows pre-screened, pre-approved travelers to enjoy expedited clearance upon arrival, thus foregoing the usual, longer immigration process.

Armed with all these benefits, plus widely spoken English, Los Cabos has become a premier spot for meetings and incentives — so much so, that it was chosen to host the seventh G-20 Summit in 2012. This important global meeting welcomes the heads of government from Mexico, Japan, the U.S., Germany and other industrialized nations to address worldwide economic development.

Space Galore
Meeting and convention space in Los Cabos is among the most generous and modern in Mexico, with an increasing variety of choices. The sophisticated Cultural Pavilion of the Republic, a $40 million project in Cabo San Lucas, is among the destination’s latest options for business and pleasure, with a unified space that offers an eyeful of the Arch and a great location just minutes away from some of the area’s most popular hotels and resorts. With several of its buildings now open to the public, the Cultural Pavilion will, upon completion, boast six structures along with restaurants, a library and enough meeting space to host a small army.

Many of the area hotels offer a wide range of options for any type of event. Hilton Los Cabos Beach & Golf Resort, for instance, has 375 rooms and a vast list of ballrooms; its largest, El Dorado ballroom, can fit up to 800 people reception-style and provides five Breakout Rooms. Hilton Los Cabos features five spacious outdoor terraces, plus expansive pool and beach areas for private occasions.

The Westin Resort & Spa, Los Cabos, has more than 11,900 square feet of interior meeting space in more than a dozen meeting rooms, so planners can choose to have banquet events, classroom-shaped pow-wows or U-shape presentations. They can also request plenty of outdoor activities, including a putting challenge.

Even the East Cape has its share of meetings facilities. Hotel Buena Vista Beach Resort has its own convention center that welcomes up to 250 people; a small or mid-sized company can easily book the entire property taking over its grounds while enjoying some of Baja’s prettiest landscapes. Best of all, any type of corporate retreat, team building or pre- and post-meeting activity provides an ideal escape, whether it’s an ATV rally or fishing tournament.

Grand Diversions
Los Cabos’ hotels and resorts offer a huge variety of activities for groups of all sizes, but there are also quite a few ground operators and destination management companies (DMCs) that provide expert assistance in all stages of planning a successful meeting or corporate retreat. For example, Advantage Marketing & Incentives (AM&I) Los Cabos provides invaluable service and know-how in the creation of incentive programs, theme parties, team-building activities and any other type of group event, tackling groups of 1,500 as easily as they deal with a gathering of 200. AM&I Los Cabos can help with anything from arranging local cell phone rentals to catering and putting together a golf tournament. 

Another established name in the region is Terramar Destinations, which can whip up anything from a wedding to a huge corporate gathering. Terramar covers all aspects of planning, ground services and specialty programs, including media production, budget management and all the tiny pre-and-post details that go with pulling off successful events — even getting special “thank you” gifts for attendees.

Another choice: Transcabo, which can put together cultural excursions, outdoor adventure activities, dine-arounds and other meetings and corporate choices. This full-service DMC excels in both business and leisure choices, arranging everything from Jeep safaris to customized theme shindigs. And like other ground operators and DMCs in the area, Transcabo uses the beauty and bounty of Los Cabos to great effect, allowing business visitors to fully enjoy the fishing, golf, ATV, zip-lining, spas and other great choices of this world-class destination.

For additional information on meetings and conventions, visit www.TIME2CABO.com, the official Web site of the Los Cabos Convention & Visitors Bureau.

Business and Incentives Quick Reference Chart

To continue learning more about the fine hotels, resorts and condos in Los Cabos, please visit: www.VisitLosCabos.org or click here for a complete quick list of accommodations.