Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, September 19, 1993                   TAG: 9309160031
SECTION: BUSINESS                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.                                LENGTH: Medium

MORE WORKERS TAKE THE KIDS ON BUSINESS TRIPS

One solution that has emerged for the scheduling problems faced by two-career couples and single parents is that more workers today are packing up the kids and taking them along on business trips.

Not only does this create family time once work obligations are done, but it also allows for a more economical way to vacation in resort destinations.

"There seems to be a trend developing here," said Francine Mason, spokeswoman for the Greater Fort Lauderdale Convention and Visitors Bureau. "Just based on the number of calls into our office, more people indicate they will bring children along to meetings."

And meeting planners, hotels and convention centers in South Florida are scrambling to make business travel with children easier on the parent who must spend part of the trip working.

The Florida League of Cities, which held its annual convention at the Broward County Convention Center last month, brought about 1,300 people into Fort Lauderdale for three days, including about 250 spouses and 50 children of delegates.

"We have found that more and more delegates want to bring their families along and we plan for spouses and children's activities," said Virgie Parker, meeting coordinator for the Tallahassee-based association.

The League contracted with Fort Lauderdale Showcase, a meeting planning group, to handle activities for families of delegates, which ranged from trips to Ocean World to Water Taxi rides to baby-sitting services during the delegates banquet on the last night of the convention.

"In today's marketplace, if you're not involved in the family market, you're missing the boat. And this is a viable market for us," said David Feder, sales and marketing vice president at the Boca Raton Resort and Club.

Last week the resort unveiled an expanded children's program, mainly because of the growing number of kids visiting the resort with a parent who is attending a meeting on site.

"It used to be we'd only see kids on holidays or during the summer. Today we see more kids year round," Feder said.

At Marriott's Harbor Beach Resort in Fort Lauderdale, the hotel's recreation staff tailors its "Beach Buddies" children's program to the needs of meeting attendees, said recreation director Pam Reuter.

"The demographics have changed today, people like to travel as a family today. And we just try to keep the kids moving and entertained so they don't get bored," she said.

But while more families may be taking trips related to a parent's work, the sluggish business travel market isn't showing signs of improvement, travel industry experts say. And President Clinton's tax bill, signed into law last month, will put yet another curb on business spending, they predict.

But the number of kids participating in their parents' business trips is on the rise.

According to the Travel Industry Association of America, 210 million business trips were taken in 1990 and 12 percent included children.

In 1991, the last year for which statistics are available, that figure rose to 22 percent of 212 million business trips.

One factor behind the increase, according to association spokeswoman Shawn Flaherty, is that more people seem to be combining vacations with business trips.

And recently, airlines introduced special fares that would encourage a business traveler to take along a child, such as TWA's free companion ticket offer announced last month. And Continental is offering up to 20 percent off for children on some fall travel.