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Travel Insider: Ten Steps to Building a True Incentive Travel Program
October 13, 2008
By Brian Martenis
An incentive travel program is really like couturier. It must be one of a kind, personal and must fit the client perfectly. Here are my 10 steps to make sure your program is just that:
Step 1: Know your audience. The wise planner always sizes up the group and designs for the group as a whole as best as he can. What is the group's background? How experienced are they with travel? What is their median age? Active or passive? Will they do well on their own or require a lot of hand-holding? Who is picking up the tab? What do they envision? Do they have a vision? Do you?
Step 2: Choosing the destination. This is one of the most difficult decisions in the building process. You are now responsible to choose a place that "sizzles." It must be a destination that will hit them right between the eyes with little explanation. Very similar to the advertising business, an incentive program must be understood with little explanation. It must scream, "I know you want this!" But there are really awesome destinations in the world that might not be good incentive destinations if too much education is involved. Your job is not to provide your own knowledge of travel: It is to sell merchandise or motivate positive behavior and develop customer relationships. Is a Caribbean destination the answer? European? Asian? Not everyone has the same dream. Romance to some is Hawaii; to others, Paris; to another, romance is a roaring fire in the Canadian Rockies. Make sure you pick the right one.
Step 3: Choosing the right transportation. This one is truly painful. In the "old days," airline travel was glamorous and somewhat luxurious. I remember men in suits and ties and ladies in hats and gloves. It was special, and no one minded driving to a centrally located airport for one chartered plane. Now, everyone is more travel savvy today and most flights have the glamour of herding cattle. Everyone wants to depart from the airport closest to home and have a first-class experience. It is now your job to accomplish this as closely to the customer's wishes as possible. Which carrier provides the best service out of your best gates? You may have to deal with several depending on where the bulk of the customers come from.
Step 4: Ground transportation. Do you need transfers to the airport? Do you need transfers to the hotel upon landing in your carefully chosen destination? Can a motor coach be used? Limos? Horse and carriage? Sleighs? Try to be special, memorable and unforgettable. Every aspect of the program should be looked upon as an opportunity to shine. Be different to create that "wow" factor. Can fun be incorporated with transportation? A jeep rally or rafting perhaps? If the group is athletic perhaps hiking, strolling or even skiing. Always be creative if you can. Build your program like the artist that you are. Think out of the box.
Step 5: Dealing with the 21st Century. Back in the day, I remember people selling airline tickets in the newspaper as the name on it did not matter. I ran onto many planes with a second to spare and it was "welcome aboard." A $15 to $25 charge for bags? Are you kidding me? Not to mention no liquids, taking your shoes off and dealing with the "power trip" of some security people.
All of these factors can damage your perfectly built program. Don't "own" the inconvenience to your guests, but don't hide from it either. You must carefully document what you can and cannot do for your group. Always remember that many people are not as well travelled as you. After a couple of years now, I still see people having more than three-ounce liquid containers confiscated! You might have to budget airline baggage charges. Provide a tasty boxed lunch at check-in and a beverage after security. There is not much you can do about the creepy security "I'm just doing my job" guard, but lend a sympathetic ear. With a lack of service and food, you can get creative and come out a winner. Another opportunity to shine!
Step 6: Choosing the right hotel/resort/convention center. This is probably one of the most challenging choices you will have to make. It really encompasses most of your program's personality. It is where your group will sleep—and either really enjoy, or really dislike, their experience. It needs to be well-positioned, comfortable, safe and right for the group. A mistake many planners make is thinking that the more costly, the better. It does not need to be the most expensive. Sometimes five-star equals "stuffy" and uncomfortable. Go back to Step One and determine what makes the most sense.
Being very fond of walking, I once chose a resort once that was very spread out. Some of the older guests complained that it was a problem for them. Some single women feel more comfortable in a smaller self-contained atmosphere. I always look for a good lobby area where your guests can congregate easily. It is also good to choose a hotel that fits the size of your group. I am currently planning a program in Paris for about 75 people. Very high-end and it must dazzle. I am choosing from the intimate four-star properties to create a feeling of intimacy and quiet reserve. It doesn't "shout" luxury, but it's refined and well-positioned with a feeling of quality. It will not be the most expensive one. It will be the right one.
Step 7: Choosing the right DMC. Are we having fun yet? I love the "experts" that know the destination like the "back of their hand" because they did a program there 10 years ago. Or who know the perfect place to stay or the perfect restaurant from their trip five years ago. Unless you worked in the destination last week after a year or so of research, you do not know the destination. You need guidance and you need to know what is available. Management can change and so will quality. A venue that was once unacceptable could have changed significantly for the better. In the hospitality business, things can go downhill fast. A great hotel in 1990 could now be a dump. I have also seen a mediocre hotel or restaurant dazzle after a good expensive refurbishment. A good DMC knows these things. A good DMC knows when the shops are closed and when and where traffic will be heavy.
In Europe, holidays are very plentiful. A good DMC knows when to schedule what. You could not possibly know all you need to know in order to build a great incentive travel program there. I personally will interview several prospects. Perhaps I have used them before, perhaps not. New ones can open and be better, more energetic and have fresher ideas than those in business for a very long time. I choose the one that has the right ideas, who listens to me and gives me what I want. When I get a bunch of canned literature used for past groups, I forget about it. When a proposal arrives with new ideas, new venues and reasons why my thoughts might not work, I’m interested. I will then sit and speak with the individual I will be working with and my gut does the rest. Frankly, you either have it or you don't. A majority of good planning comes from instinct.
Step 8: Choosing the right venues. Again, your choice of venue should not be price driven. Do you really want to go through the bother of a beach Olympics or team-building-type exercises if it is really not appropriate? A beach party is. Optional activities are. Cooking classes, scotch tastings and "green" explorations are all excellent ideas, but not for the whole group. Will the entire group want to go to the top of the Eiffel Tower? Probably. Will they all want to go kayaking in the Caribbean? Doubtful. Unless it is The Louvre or the Leaning Tower of Pisa, you really have to site inspect and make sure you are offering the correct choices for your group.
Step 9: Choosing the right menu. Imagine my shock many years ago when I discovered that not everyone loved bologna and strawberry jelly sandwiches as much as I did. The mere thought of veal to some, a moral outrage! Seared frois gras (my favorite) unacceptable! Over the years I have learned to keep menus as simple as possible and abundant. In general, American groups equate quality with quantity. Accept it. And while there is nothing more succulent than spring lamb in London. red snapper on St. Martin, venison with raspberry sauce in Switzerland, you had better be very certain of your group’s taste before serving such specialties. Even beef is questionable these days. Meat and fish on the same plate is the answer. Buffets are the answer. Food stations are the answer. Five or six courses are the answer. Like everything else in life, understatement generally works best. Do not choose a restaurant by its Michelin stars unless you are entertaining gourmands, or at least "foodies."
Step 10: Choosing the right balance. Just like everything else in the world, your program must have the right balance. You must start slow and build to a crescendo. I sometimes liken it to painting a picture and keeping your colors even and true. (For more on this idea, read my previous column.) If you begin your program with champagne and fireworks, where are you going from there? I like five-night programs. Just enough and not too much. You have the opportunity for an opening on night one, a peak in the center and a closing. The other two nights can be dine-arounds or something creative.
Lay your program out in "blocks." Try to have a reason to gather the group together at least once a day. If one block seems too heavy, change the balance. Daytime activity should be heavier with more orientational value in the beginning of the program. Once your guests get comfortable with the destination, free time and optional tours are good. I like the final evening to be a bit on the formal side and memorable. Everyone feels special at an elegant party. (Need some ideas? I'd be happy to help. E-mail me at brianm@incentivewt.com.)
The Bottom Line
The successful incentive travel planner is privileged. In order to be successful at it, you will need intelligence, creativity, guile, wit, personality, attitude and you will be passionate about what you do. You need an iron stomach and nerves of steel. It will keep you up at night, and make you sick sometimes. Frustrate you beyond belief and be very scary sometimes. The balance is that you will have incredible memories; you will be responsible for very joyous occasions for people and simply create a lot of positive energy in the world. I believe it is the energy we create and give out that comes back to us. What could be better than building and managing an incentive travel program and creating some of the best times in people's lives?
INCENTIVE online columnist Brian Martenis is
Managing Director of Boutique Incentive Travel,
a division of Gil Travel. After 10 years as sales promotion director for one company and 19 years as sales incentives manager for another, Martenis was named managing Director of Boutique Incentive Travel. Brian brings to the company nearly 30 years of designing and implementing very successful incentive travel programs all over the world. Brian is passionate about every aspect of his programs and is often asked to write and speak about incentives, incentive travel and motivation.
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