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Planning a successful off-site meeting: Alaska hosts a large number of national and international conferences each year, but many local businesses and organizations also hold off-site meetings for their employees.

Article Excerpt
Twenty-seven days of meetings, food, lodging and transportation for 400 delegates flying into Anchorage from all over the world. It's just another day at the office for meeting planner Robyn Langlie. But the annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), held this past May, had a few requirements that Langlie doesn't see every day in her business.

"Security was a big concern," said Langlie, who works for Visions Meeting and Event Management, a USTravel company. Past IWC meetings were marked by demonstrations and intense international media attention. Langlie also had other challenges with an international delegation--including several different languages, cultural protocol and dietary preferences.

Alaska hosts a large number of national and international conferences each year, but many local businesses and organizations also hold off-site meetings for their employees.

Getting people away from their phones and e-mail, whether to a meeting room in a local hotel or a resort in another city, reduces distractions so staff can focus on the business at hand. Langlie says some of her clients prefer to hold meetings in a remote location where everyone has to travel. For those clients, the additional cost of travel and...

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