Travel opens the minds eye. Times are tough, and now more than ever, employees need their minds opened in order to keep them motivated, productive and appreciative. Recently, the editor-in-chief of Travel and Leisure Magazine reported on the significant number of workers comprising the workforce worldwide in the travel industry. As an employer, by traveling, you are not only single handedly stimulating our economy, you could be inspiring and feeding a soul, or a family of souls if an employee turns his/her mandatory trip into a family opportunity.

The JW is located within the Ko’olina complex of resorts twenty-five minutes west of Honolulu and includes its own private lagoons and gated entry. It is self contained, yet offers most everything you would need to enjoy during a Hawaiian stay, including options through the concierge to travel around the island. In the interest of keeping your business party together, staying here and avoiding the nightlife of Honolulu-Waikiki increases the odds that all employees will show up in the morning to the events you’ve planned for them. As Forrest Gump would say, that's all I'm gonna say about that.

There are 18,000 square feet of meeting facilities at the JW which are adorned with the sort of tropical touches that will make you feel the distance between you and the mainland, yet professional enough to keep you focused. The catering menus offer tropical Hawaiian selections for breakfast, lunch, dinner, break snacks or even boxed meals to go. Selections start at $19 per person. Of course the fancier you get, the higher the price will rise, but the JW reputation is known worldwide for delivering quality accommodations, food and entertainment.

Meeting space at the property is flexible in that it offers boardroom-like facilities for smaller meetings (10-15 people), and can accommodate up to 2,000 folks in convention-style rooms. The property is open and airy while traveling between meeting rooms, guest rooms, and restaurants. Many of the meeting rooms also have private outdoor lanai’s where breakfast, lunch and dinner can be served seated or buffet style. The catering menu is to die with macadamian nuts and pineapple appearing almost everywhere for a local touch.

Also, the JW Marriott is connected by a walking path to the Marriott Vacation Club/Beach Club. This property is family-friendly in that most rooms are condominium-style with 1-3 bedrooms and full kitchens. The Marriott Beach Resort has water slides, jacuzzi’s, planned kids’ activities and other group events such as luau’s, morning yoga, face painting, fish feeding, and hula lessons. Both properties allow access to the Ko'olina Golf Club, and if you play tennis, bring your racquet and shoes. If you choose to bring your family, the best option is to book a room at the Beach Club and walk over to your meetings along the ocean path to the JW.

Perusing the prices of AV equipment available for meetings was on par with most luxury hotels. It would be much less expensive to bring your own power cords and cables if you your meetings require laptops and internet access. There is also an access fee of $150 to connect to the internet if you need to be online. Bottomline: Keep these additional expenses in mind when you budget for this sort of trip.

If you have any questions, Terri Hyden the onsite Event Manager was most helpful and informative and surely can assist planning your Hawaiian destination event. Terri.Hyden@marriotthotels.com

For your convenience, you may begin planning your trip with the Marriott links below.