Client Caltex Australia
Venue Grand Hyatt Beijing
Organiser Events with Moore
Group size 450
Date May 2-9
 



The brief
Caltex hosts its top performers each year for a five-day incentive trip. Last year’s event was held in Las Vegas and organisers were looking for an equally dramatic, but very different experience for the group. The trip is a chance to reward the group, meet with top management and motivate them to reach next year’s targets.
 
Challenges
Local DMC, Destination China, was brought in to handle transfers, provide advice on entertainment options and act as a liaison with suppliers and authorities. “Destination China did exceptionally well,” says Shane Moore, director, Events With Moore. “China can be challenging as things change. You can get approval for something and then in two weeks’ time you are no longer able to do it. It is important to move with the changes and find ways to work around them.”
 
Execution
The group arrived in four main waves to a dragon dance followed by lunch and group check-in at the hotel ballroom. For the arrival night, Grand Hyatt transformed its paths, driveway and passageway around the hotel into a Beijing food street. Buffet stations, cultural booths on kite-making and calligraphy, and traditional decorations provided an atmospheric introduction to the city.
 
The next evening proved a highlight of the trip – a welcome dinner on the Great Wall of China. Grand Hyatt set-up tented kitchens so the banquet could be prepared on-site. Traditional Chinese wooden chairs were used and table centrepieces featured paper umbrellas embellished with golden dragons. The dinner included a Shaolin monk performance, fan dance and fireworks. On the third evening the group visited The Back Lake, an area where locals go to eat and party. Three restaurants were chosen and the group moved freely around the area throughout the evening.
 
The gala dinner was held at The Great Hall of the People. “There was some concern we wouldn’t be able to top the welcoming dinner, but once people walked in they were speechless,” says Moore. “We included a ballet performance, 20-piece orchestra and a special act flown in from Australia.” After the dinner, the group partied in the hotel ballroom until the early hours, entertained by Australian Idol winner Guy Sebastian.
 
The hotel’s Cantonese restaurant, Noble Court, was opened for a private breakfast each morning. While the incentive winners attended seminars, spouses and families enjoyed special sightseeing and shopping tours, as well as a specially arranged kids’ club.
 
Comment
“Beijing is a fabulous destination, it has the wow factor,” says Moore. “Dinner on the Great Wall of China was an amazing experience that floored the group and all of them responded with top marks for this experience. Grand Hyatt Beijing is one of the best collaborations we have had with a hotel, they were absolutely brilliant.”