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INCENTIVE SERVICES ARRIVAL
AND DEPARTURE TRANSFERS The warmest welcome to Rio de Janeiro with open arms and heart is what you can always expect for your clients and guests upon arrival. Deluxe air conditioned coaches are waiting to transfer your guests to their hotel, with professional local guides in attendance, to provide assistance and welcome kits with information about the Marvelous City and local customs, as well as make any special welcome announcements your client may wish. A very strongly recommended enhancement for arrival transfers is to provide Customs and immigration facilities, so that guests simply have their passports stamped at specially designated booths and walk through the terminal to waiting coaches. A separate van transports the luggage to the hotel in advance, so that there is no delay when the guests check-in. On arrival at the hotel, your guests are escorted to the hospitality desk to collect their room keys, during which time they will be served with a refreshing welcome drink. As most scheduled flights from Europe and North America arrive early in the morning (between 5:30 am and 8:00 am) and the normal check-out time at most hotels is noon, rooms are seldom available before 1:00 pm, particularly during high season (Christmas to mid April and July). It is therefore recommended to book rooms from the day before arrival, and at the same time negotiate a number of rooms for day-use free of charge, for the day of departure. This allows your guests to go directly to their rooms, upon arrival, as well as relax right up to the time they leave the hotel. A number of airlines are pleased to provide a special check-in desk at the hotel, for large groups. Luggage is tagged, departure tax collected and boarding cards are issued, so that when the guests arrive in the airport, they can go directly to passport control to have their passport stamped and then proceed to the departure lounge with the minimum of delay. This is an option worth battling for, to diminish or even avoid the tedious security check at check-in, in the airport, for departures on US based Airlines. This involves sealed luggage transport and dislocation of security officer(s). DURATION: Average 45 minutes inside airport, plus 25 minutes to one hour in coach depending on traffic. (Rush hour is from 6:30 am to 9:30 am during weekdays and several major through fares become one-way making for round-about approaches to hotels). Note: If the group is arriving by charter and if there is flexibility in choosing arrival time in Rio, suggested is 10:00 am to 1:00 pm to avoid congestion at airport and on roads and to assure room readiness at no extra cost. CONSIDERATIONS: If anything is to be brought into Brazil other then personal-use items of the passengers themselves, then import/export laws may apply. All AV equipment, printed matter, gifts, plaques, latest-model display of manufacture merchandise, fall under this proviso depending on quantity. Detailed information is available at the nearest Brazilian Consular Office. You must check thoroughly into these aspects or run the risk of having important items impounded. If desired, we can arrange customs brokerage to handle the papers involved. ENHANCEMENTS: *
Have guides to give out welcome gifts - suggested: "Bonfim"
good luck ribbon tied around wrist, or a "figa" (fist with
thump sticking out) necklace, either in wood or semi-precious stone. *
Special signs with company logo on buses - Head-rest Covers, with
company logo in buses. *
Welcome cocktail with samba trio and mulata dancing girls at hotel
check-in. *
Customs and immigrations facilitation. *
Embarkation tax collection at hotel or handled directly by BGT. *
Welcome kit with company logo. * Customs brokerage for temporary importation of equipment and merchandise for program use.
Due
to the particular demands of incentive clients, a hospitality desk is
essential and particularly so in an environment where the language
represents a barrier and knowledge of the local customs is necessary.
Highly experienced staff can be assigned for 8-hour shifts, to man the
desk (s) in a reserved area of the hotel. The main function is to
provide a link between the guests and the city helping with
reservations, giving helpful suggestions for shopping, dining out and
optional tours etc. DURATION:
8 hour shifts, but these can be combined and staggered so that the desk
is kept open for what ever period the client desires. CONSIDERATIONS:
ENHANCEMENTS:
Several
types of special transportation can be arranged for your group during
the stay in Rio. *
Helicopter - and/or Limousine Service for company VIPs. *
Shopping shuttle service. (Charter of motor coach for 4, 6, 8 or 12
hours period) to the primer-shopping district and shopping centers, with
specially prepared map indicating pre-established stops and schedules.
Fully escorted for maximum assistance to your guests. *
Evening shuttles for transport between the hotel, restaurants, disco and
nightclubs. Fully escorted by our highly experienced staff. *
Special coach, "Jardineira", old fashion styled coach with
open windows and wooden benches for ex. a city tour to the antique part
of Rio de Janeiro. CONSIDERATIONS:
ENHANCEMENTS:
For
large groups a dine around provides an ideal way for guests to dine in
restaurants favored by the locals. It is a must on at least one or two
nights during your program. Your guests will experience the authentic
"Cariocas" hospitality and the satisfaction of dining well in
very pleasant surroundings. Rio
de Janeiro has many excellent gourmet restaurants offering a range of
regional and international dishes. As few of these restaurants are
geared to tourists, one of our guides will always accompany the guests
to assist them throughout the evening. There are several ways to operate
the dine-around: Unlimited
budget. If your budget is unlimited your guest can simply order what
they want and your pay the bill at the end of the evening. Money
packets. Each guest can be given currency based on the amount you wish
to budget. Any additional cost above this amount will be paid by guests. Special
menus. This choice is definitely indicated when large groups are going
to each restaurant, as an "a la carte" service in Rio is
rather lengthy. A menu can be put together, within a determined price
range, with beverage, main dishes and desserts. besides offering
budgetary advantages, the menus will have to be printed in your guests
language/English and can be
distributed as souvenirs. Creativity
is always the key and this can apply to determinate who dines where. Sign
up. The hospitality desk has copies of all the menus, and is well-versed
on the atmosphere and cuisine of each restaurant. Guests simply come by
the desk at their leisure and sign up for the restaurant that captures
their fancy. Transportation can be by motor coach or specially chartered
taxis. The
surprise element is a brilliant way to avoid the trivial "Could you
please make sure I am going to sit next to... or I would rather not sit
next to...etc" and ensures that the group mix. Normally the
distribution is determined at send-off cocktail party in the hotel or
else where. Here
are some suggestions of the devices that can be used, but creativity is
the key in order to suit the mechanism to the "personality" of
exactly your group; *
Ladies can be given roses - the color determines the restaurant. *
Colored sizzle-sticks are used in drinks - an announcement is made and
participants are called to board the motor coaches according to the
color of sizzle-sticks. *
Colored pieces of papers are distributed at the entrance, and guests are
asked to write their names on them. These color-coded name-badges then
determinate the restaurant. If the group has previously been divided
into subgroups for operational reasons, this division can be maintained. *
During the previous day(s) a competition can be held, and guests can be
assigned restaurants according to their scores. *
At the send-off cocktail party, colored chits can b e fished from a
bowl. The color determines which restaurant. * Or, simply, bit-by-bit, the group is escorted to the coach loading area and boards which ever coach they choose, having no idea where it is headed.
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