MEETINGS AFLOAT! Uses Tampa LinkedIn Group to Drive Attendance at Hospitality Event

Tampa, FL, USA; March 21, 2011 — MEETINGS AFLOAT! Executive Yacht Charters (www.meetings-afloat.com), a Tampa Bay yacht charter service, is staging an “Open Boat” hospitality event onboard its premier charter yacht, “Dolce Vita,” on Friday, March 25, 2011.  The hospitality event for MEETINGS AFLOAT! will also be a networking event for members of the “Tampa Bay Business Networking Group” on the LinkedIn business/professional social network.

The yacht will be docked at the Tampa Municipal Docks, immediately behind the Tampa Convention Center, near the Sail Pavilion on the City’s Riverwalk.

According to Captain Paul Warren, VP and Yacht Master for MEETINGS AFLOAT! (www.linkedin.com/company/279127), “We’ve invited local meeting planners, tourism officials, hospitality industry executives and business leaders who belong to the local LinkedIn group.  It’s an opportunity for them to experience our yacht first-hand and begin to visualize holding meetings or their own hospitality events onboard our yacht.”

“Our LinkedIn membership has been very valuable in helping us to gain recognition in the Tampa business community.  Thus, we’re pleased to offer our luxury venue for face-to-face networking that solidifies their on-line LinkedIn relationships,” Warren continued.

Brian French, Moderator of LinkedIn’s Tampa Bay Business Networking group, working with MEETINGS AFLOAT! extended an invitation to his group’s members regarding the event.  He says, “We try to provide our group’s members with frequent opportunities to get together in person to make new business contacts.  We’re excited about the level of participation we expect from our members for this event.”  LinkedIn is a business and professional networking Website that boasts over 90 million members worldwide.

Warren noted that over 50 members of the LinkedIn group have indicated their intention to visit the yacht and meet other local business executives.  The response, he said, was an indication of how strong a sense of membership and involvement people today gain from their use of social media.

“Dolce Vita” is equipped with state-of-the-art business tools including an onboard laptop computer, a 32” LCD display screen, a digital annotation tablet, wireless Internet access and an onboard printer.

For further information about yacht charters from MEETINGS AFLOAT! (www.meetings-afloat.com), please call (877) 860-MEET (6338)/Toll Free, e-mail to info@meetings-afloat.com or visit our LinkedIn profile at www.linkedin.com/company/279127.

NOTE TO EDITORS:

MEETINGS AFLOAT! Executive Yacht Charters is a unique yachting service operating in the Tampa Bay, Florida area.  Utilizing the Motor Yacht “Dolce Vita,” a 45-foot long CHB flybridge sedan trawler, MEETINGS AFLOAT! specializes in providing meeting space for business and non-profit organizations wanting to host “off-site” meetings from their own facilities.  “Dolce Vita” has a US Coast Guard-regulated capacity of 12 persons.  The yacht is equipped with a state-of-the-art audio-visual setup including

• an on-board notebook computer + printer
• a flat panel LCD  computer display
• a digital pen tablet for drawing and document mark-ups,
• a high-speed wireless Internet connection, and
• a surround-sound home theater system w/DVD-CD changer

MEETINGS AFLOAT! also represents a variety of other power and sailing yachts that are available for charter.  Some offer larger guest capacities, overnight accommodations, or alternate cruising areas.

M/Y “Dolce Vita” meets all the US Coast Guard requirements for operation as an uninspected passenger vessel.  Captain Paul Warren, Vice President of MEETINGS AFLOAT! and the skipper of “Dolce Vita,” holds a 100-Ton Master’s License issued by the US Coast Guard.

Photo:

Motor Yacht "Dolce Vita"

Motor Yacht “Dolce Vita,” a 45’ CHB Seamaster Flybridge Sedan Trawler