Human Experience Reigns Supreme at Club Med

Amidst face masks, physical distancing, and hand sanitizer, one thing remains unchanged for most of us – our desire for human connection and experience. Club Med continues its reign as the leader in creating these connections and experiences in genuinely transformative ways.?

I spent a week at Club Med Punta Cana in December 2020 and fell in love all over again with how magical the experience is. During my stay, I was able to see firsthand the changes they've made to ensure all guests are healthy and safe while still enjoying the same Club Med experience we’ve all come to know and love.

If you haven't had the incredible opportunity of staying at a Club Med Resort, but are considering where to host your next corporate or private event, let me paint you a picture of what makes Club Med stand out as it continues to reign supreme.

The Club Med Point of Difference

?If you have been to Club Med, you know that at the heart and soul of every resort are the people that visit and the incredibly welcoming and imaginative folks that work at Club Med.?

Club Med is more than a holiday – it's a destination that places its entire focus on creating unique experiences that are all about you, your family or guests, and colleagues.

Club Med is an experience.?

It is a feeling of freedom when walking the spacious grounds, the rich sense of culture brought to you through immersive entertainment, expansive on-resort activities, mouth-watering food and of course, the friendship and sense of family you feel by the incredible Club Med staff.

Club Med is a feeling of belonging.

Club Med is about People.

Whether you have been to Club Med many times like me or are planning your first visit, you will quickly understand that you and your experience are the priority. From the moment you are greeted at the airport by a Club Med Gentils Organisateurs (a Club Med staff member dedicated to ensuring your experience is exceptional), to having the Chef de Village (similar to a General Manager) joining you for dinner, you will feel like part of the Club Med family.

?During my recent stay at Club Med Punta Cana, I was fortunate to have had a great conversation with Arturo, the Deputy Chef de Village, at dinner. After a few minutes of talking about how the buffet experience has changed to include single servings prepared for you and chefs plating your freshly prepared meats, it became abundantly clear that Arturo genuinely loves what he does. He was passionate about what he does and took great pride in knowing that his guests have exceptional experiences.?

Every aspect of your Club Med experience is guided by the remarkably genuine and enthusiastic Gentils Organisateurs (GOs). GOs welcome you to the resort with a smile,? cool beverage and cold towel, and work with you on booking resort activities that you, your guests or staff will love, from sailing, tennis, and fitness classes, to being part of a live trapeze act during the evening circus show!

Fitness GO Melanie and Paul after “Abs and Glutes”

?It was during the same recent stay at Club Med Punta Cana that I had the privilege of attending Melanie's abs and glutes fitness classes each morning – it was an experience I have shared with so many as I have never enjoyed a fitness class so much! While the workout was appropriately challenging, because of Melanie's ability to make us laugh and have so much fun, we didn't want the class to end. Honestly, who says that about a abs and glutes class?! Melanie made the experience undeniably unique, and one that I wish could be bottled up so I could experience it everywhere I go!

?Safe Together – not just a Program, but a Mindset

?Club Med has been and continues to be the destination of choice for those planning business travel, holidays, and weddings primarily because of the remarkable GOs on staff and because they genuinely care about your experience (which is and has always been a top priority).?

?In response to Covid-19, Club Med established the Safe Together program with recommendations from the World Health Organization, local health authorities, and under the guidance of an international scientific committee. The Safe Together program has established a range of enhanced health and safety protocols that include:

• protective face coverings for staff,?
• hand sanitizer available throughout the resort,?
• deep cleaning and frequent sanitizing of surfaces and facilities,?
• social distancing,?
• capped resort capacity,?
• increased amount of already-prepared single plated foods in main dining area buffets,?
• and temperature checks on arrival and periodically during the stay.?

Cameras at restaurants check your temperature and confirm your mask, with a friendly greeting!

Club Med is known for its stunning and spacious grounds. I noticed that GOs leveraged the space to make guests feel safe by ensuring that we had ample space to participate in activities, nightlife, dining, and lounging with appropriate distance and safety measures. What was most impressive was how the Safe Together program was in place with no impact on the Club Med experience.

I enjoyed speaking with Maricruz, the Onsite Group Event Manager, as we talked about the Safe Together program and how (if at all) it had impacted their GOs and visitors. Maricruz said that while it was a program designed to keep people safe, it had quickly evolved to a mindset for the GOs. Their natural desire to make your experience “the best it can be” made additional safety measures easy to adapt. "Anything to make our visiting friends and family feel their best and safest" is the overwhelming approach.

In this past year, Club Med Punta Cana hired Jordani, a Hygiene and Safety Manager, to further commit to the Safe Together program. Always thinking about the human experience – Club Med has put the health and safety of their employees and guests at the top of their priority list - once again, highlighting the fact that people and their experience at Club Med is their point of difference.

Making the Planning Process Easy

When I asked Maricruz what she loved most about her role as the Onsite Group Event Manager, she smiled and said – all of it.?

?Club Med makes it easy. Maricruz loves making the planning process easy for her visiting partners. Her role, and that of others at Club Med, is to create a unique experience that puts you and your group at ease. Each trip is planned based on your needs and desired experience. So, whether you are looking to plan a corporate event to celebrate your sales teams or host your dream wedding, Maricruz will personally oversee each detail to ensure your vision comes to life.

Maricruz is a seasoned GO who works with Meeting Planners to ensure their group’s success

I was in awe at how the Club Med Punta Cana GOs like Maricruz created smaller, special day and night entertainment that ensured the safety of all was in place while focused on including and entertaining guests. Additionally, for groups, they have invented “Worktainment”, where they help you to imagine a new way of including business into your group stay.

?Club Med has Mastered the Art and Science of Human Experience.?

These All-Inclusive Resorts have also mastered the art & science of creating unique-to-your company experiences that focus on your goals, needs and the activities that your staff will love - and you can count on the planning process to be easy.?

It's clear that the value that Club Med Resorts offer goes beyond monetary and ease of planning - but it is woven into the one-of-a-kind human experience that no other all-inclusive comes close to offering.

Club Med is about people. It's about exceptional experiences that are safe and hygienic that you, your guests, or colleagues will talk about for years. Or at least until your next Club Med experience.

?For me, I believe in the exceptional quality, value and beauty of the resorts, the experience, and most importantly, the people that make Club Med, Club Med.

Arturo Deputy Chef de Village, and Abdel Chef de Village welcome your groups with open arms

About Paul Marchildon

Paul is a Past President of the Society of Incentive Travel Excellence’s Canadian chapter and one of a select few Canadians to earn the prestigious Certified Incentive Travel Professional designation. He has been inducted into the Canadian Meetings and Incentive Hall of Fame as an “Industry Innovator,” and recently completed his Masters of Business, Entrepreneurship, and Technology at the University of Waterloo.

Footnote: All Club Med properties in Florida, the Caribbean, and Mexico are POSI-Check certified, receiving recognition from Cristal for the Prevention of the Spread of Infection.