Improving Your Incentive Trip: To Beach or Not to Beach…
We all have the best intentions when it comes to choosing the perfect destination for our next trip. The unfortunate reality is that days are short, inboxes are full, and our natural tendency is to default to what has worked in the past, and let’s be honest, that’s usually a beach. There is no one-size-fits-all incentive trip, and selecting a motivational destination is a mix of both art and science. Here are some questions you can ask yourself and your team to think about destination selection in a new way, and maybe change things up a little for your next trip.
How are you determining your next incentive trip destination?
• Are the voices and opinions of the executives and other stakeholders coming through so loud that you struggle to ignore them?
• Are you basing destination options on ease of planning?
• Are you relying on existing partner relationships and not pushing yourself outside of your comfort zone?
• Are you thinking about where you personally would like to go next?
• Are you offering new destinations that expose attendees (think about repeat winners) to new experiences (beach vs. mountain, history vs. metropolitan, domestic vs. international, etc.)?
What would your attendees say?
Take a look at the list below and make a note of what is most important to your group. If you aren’t sure, consider sending out a survey or asking around.
• Would international destinations be plausible for your audience?
• Look for opportunities to mix in engaging cultural/authentic experiences.
• Find ways to get involved with new local communities, such as fundraising events.
• Try new shopping experiences or gifting events that involve custom-fitted or personalized merchandise unique to the destination.
• If there are golfers in the group, is there a unique course that can persuade them to trying a new destination?
• Historical/Natural attractions can help guide particular groups away from the usual beach to cross something off the bucket list.
• Are there any special events that are once-in-a-lifetime chances that also takes your program to a new location?
The expertise of a good incentive travel company can be extremely beneficial in destination selection. They are the pros on destinations, flight options, and “incentive-quality” hotels. They’ve traveled to most places, seen resorts inside-and-out, vetted terrific activities, and built strong local partnerships. They know the hot-list of new openings and the properties with not-so-hot service. Best of all, destination scans and site selection are free of charge, so what have you got to lose? Give us a call!
Looking for more tips on improving your incentive trip? Check out the other 8 tips in our eBook “Tips to Improve an Incentive Travel Program”.
