“Bleisure” travel is quickly gaining in popularity, as more business travelers are doing away with the traditional, all-work-and-no-play mentality of work trips and instead finding a happy medium between business and leisure travel. Lima, Peru, for instance, is an international hub for many business travelers and is a quick 1-hour flight from Cusco and Machu Picchu. Groups staying at the JW Marriott Lima or brand-new Courtyard Lima Miraflores for business can easily turn their business trip into a bleisure trip by extending their stay a few days to include a visit to the JW Marriott El Convento Cusco. Meeting planners can even organize the trip so that sessions are held at both locations, while also incorporating time for attendees to explore the surrounding areas.
Prevue spoke with Cecilia Rispa, destination sales manager, for the JW Marriott El Convento Cusco about how meeting planners can start incorporating bleisure travel into their next meeting in Peru.
Q: How do the Cusco and Lima properties work together to offer attendees a complete bleisure travel experience?
Rispa: Whether it’s just one person or an entire group, our teams at the JW Marriott Lima and JW Marriott El Convento Cusco work together to coordinate seamless travel experiences from one destination to the other. Groups or individual travelers staying at our sister properties, the JW Marriott Lima and Courtyard Lima Miraflores, can easily plan a stay in Cusco, either ahead of time with our sales executives or on a whim via the Concierge. From hotel reservations to booking flights, access to museums and planned excursions to Machu Picchu, our team can arrange everything.
Q: How does the bleisure travel concept at both properties incorporate the local culture?
Beyond sightseeing around Cusco and visiting Machu Picchu, we take the experience to the next level, offering activities such as harvesting tours through local farms, picnics in the Sacred Valley, culinary seminars on property where attendees learn about native ingredients and how to cook local dishes directly from our chef. Of course, activities always depend on how many days a group has at its disposal, but regardless, attendees can expect a travel experience founded on authenticity.
Q: Can you give an example of how the two properties have worked with groups in the past?
Absolutely. We’ve had corporate groups visit both the JW Marriott Lima and JW Marriott El Convento Cusco in one trip to Peru. Being sister properties, it’s easy to negotiate packages that include stays at both. We once had a group of 120 attendees travel between both properties over a period of six days. The itinerary included meetings at both properties and also factored in time to explore each.
