Twice each year our team, the Experient Sales Network gathers in a different destination for a long weekend of learning and networking. We have educational sessions about the latest developments in our industry (meetings and conventions), how to provide the very best value to our clients (we get better and better every year) and how to build our business. We get the opportunity to get acquainted with a new destination and its hospitality partners (hotels and suppliers) so that we can make first hand recommendations to our clients. We get some great time together … every time we get together it’s like gathering with your favorite relatives during the holidays. And we always find time for a lot of fun.
This time our meeting was held in San Juan, Puerto Rico. I’ve heard about Puerto Rico for years, but this was my first visit. It won’t be my last.
I arrived in San Juan, Puerto Rico last Wednesday night … late. We were hosted by the Intercontinental San Juan Resort and Casino for our main meeting which sits on the Isla Verde beach. I knew that the rest of the week would be crazy busy so I went out for a walk/run on the beach. Needless to say it was spectacularly beautiful. Also, hot and very humid. I’ve gotten used to training in the mild San Francisco weather and it was much more difficult in the heat and humidity. One of my colleagues from Florida says youpretty much have to train indoors for a good part of the year. But I was glad to get outside anyway and take in some of the great scenery.
After my beachy outing, I went down to have breakfast. I started running into a number of my cohorts who had also arrived early.
As the week progressed, I did several informal Mac training sessions. As a self employed person, without IT backup, having a Mac with Apple support has been a lifesaver. But getting up to speed is a bit of a process. So I helped a couple of my colleagues make the switch a little easier. So even though Julie Schaecher (from San Diego) and I were working here … we were working with our swimsuits on in the tropics. Sweet!
As the afternoon progressed, more and more of our group started to arrive. Naturally we ended up at the pools, drinks in hand, hugging each other like long lost family and catching up. The party really started when Clay Ellis (from Washington, DC) showed up. He has such fun energy.
Our first official event was a reception and dinner that night at the Ritz Carlton, San Jose. We had poolside cocktails and hors d’oeuvres …
… followed by a beautiful dinner of typical Puerto Rican fare. There was the de rigeur spit roasted pig, a variety of tasty salads including an ‘El Yunque Rainforest Salad’, plantains, steak with mojo sauce (to name a few of the items).
Plus some tiny tasty desserts. There was some awesome little tres leches cakes and I particularly loved these guava flans.
After our dinner, we went over to the Holiday Inn which is in the midst of transforming itself to the new Verdanza Hotel. It’s a really hip retro styled hotel that is going to open on December 4 of this year. They served us more tiny tasty desserts …
a fancy espresso bar and a regular bar for after dinner drinks ….
and more music. The outside band was playing some sensuous jazzy rhythms.
… while the inside band was playing more lively music, kind of reminded me of Mardi Gras. 
Of course the highlight is always the time we spend together. We know how to have a good time and we don’t waste any time getting down to the business of fun. 
Finally, we were back at the lovely Intercontinental for a restful (if short) night of sleep. 
