Executive Group Travel Blog

Gifting Experience:

An important aspect of every incentive trip is the gift process.  Many companies provide a thank you gift for each attendee and others only for the internal corporate qualifier who attends the trip.  It's an additional way to show your appreciation for your employees' hard work and leave them with a memento from the trip.  

Maui Jim has become the leader in this category and provides a top notch on site experience.  The product is around $200 in budget per attendee, it's easy to transport, has low minimums (~24 pairs of sunglasses) and usually fits within the beach and/or tourism theme.   Their display and experience is simple and quick to setup but leaves a lasting impression on each attendee.  They have the ability to custom the cases and cleaning cloths to provide a branded look.  And the best part is they handle all of the customs, taxes, and shipping proocess!

Unfortunately its usually not a product you can offer each year to the same group of attendees.  Some clients choose to work with Maui Jim every other year, some every three years.  Fact is people lose sunglasses so its easy to keep Maui Jim in rotation for your President's Club.  Maui Jim does run into a few competitors in the sunglasses market with on site experience but we have found Maui Jim is a step above the competition.  Most of the rest of the competitiors on site experience is performed by a third party, not the brand itself.

Market Demand:

Given the current demand in the incentive market it is never too early to get started on your 2018 incentive trip or sales kickoff event.  The next 3 months is your ideal time to get that contract negotiated.  Busy hotels such as The Breakers in Palm Beach, Fairmont Bermuda, and Ritz Aruba are already booked out into 2019 for busy dates.  Many repeat conferences and company events book out 3 years ahead to secure ideal dates and meeting space, especially in the finance and insurance world. 

We recommend focusing on your RFP process 18 months before your next incentive trip or sales kickoff event.  The larger your room block and meeting space needs, the longer time you need to give yourself to secure space.  This is especially true if your dates are not flexible.  For needs over 200 rooms we recommend almost 2 years ahead of time if you are looking during a busy time in that destination.  If you wait until 14 months before you are going to run into an influx of other meeting planners/internal event teams submitting RFP's which forces quick decision turnarounds (1st versus 2nd option holds), drives up prices, and makes negotiations tougher. 

The Island:

Providenciales is a beautiful island in Turks and Caicos that is just a quick (2-3 hour) flight from the East Coast. 

What makes Providenciales so impressive is the small boutique hotels which minimizes the crowds on the beach.  Unfortunately this boutique feel makes this island a tough fit for incentive travel.  There is only one 4 Star + hotel that has over 200 rooms and that is an all-inclusive family packed Beaches resort.  The average hotel size is around 60 rooms and most are owned condos placed in a rental pool.  For small incentive trips under 40 rooms this island is great option with white sand beaches, 18 hole golf course, boating options, serene spas, kayaking trips, windsurfing lessons and endless amounts of culinary options.

Highlights Include:

• World-Class Wall Scuba-Diving
• Grace Bay Beach - White Sand and Crystal Clear Waters
• Winter Whale Watching
• Off-shore Snorkeling

Recent Changes:

The One & Only Club Resort in the Bahamas completed renovations in 2015 and the property continues to Wow guests.

Already an impressive 5 star resort, the recent changes only increased the value for both independent travelers and incentive travel.  If you have the budget for this property, this is a no-brainer with world-class golf, inspiring culinary cuisine, unique Versailles gardens and pool, intimate and private accommodations and award-winning spa.  The upgrades to the Hartford Wing and addition of the infinity pool and Ocean Grill increases the allure for the millennial traveler.  

Three main upgrades to the property:

• New Ocean Infinity Pool
• Hartford Wing Upgrades
• Ocean Grill Opening

Hotel Selection Process:

As a travel consultant one of the hardest parts of our job is hotel selection.  There are many options out there but there are so many factors that go into that process from budget, location, weather, airlift, availability, room categories, meal plans, meeting space, concessions and more. 

For a small 100 person event you can find yourself contacting over 20 properties to find the perfect fit.  For a 300+ person event during busy season you can increase that number to almost 50 properties.  That is a lot of emails and communication between each property.

Incentive Travel:

Costa Rica is truly an amazing place.  Is it the perfect destination for incentive travel?  This all depends what your company is expecting from an incentive trip.  Costa Rica should not be viewed as a beach destination but instead a vacation for those looking for either adventure and activity.  The pools are great, wildlife abundant, views memorable, food tasty, and the culture inspiring.  

A Rating:

"Checks all the boxes," "Constantly investing in improvements," "No is not in their vocabulary," "Surfset class was an amazing start to a day full of meetings" 

Overall I would give this resort an A rating which is rare given my high expectations.  From the minute you enter the lobby you are impressed by the staff welcoming, cleanliness, and overall Texas charm.  Each day the resort provides a tasty complimentary drink by the check-in counter, throughout the spa and in the sports club (Arnold Palmer, peach iced tea, etc).   The lobby has a great seating area with views of the pool and golf course which also doubles as a great spot to enjoy lunch, snacks throughout the day or drinks in the evening.  Many guests enjoyed the comfort of the lobby lounge and were found escaping their rooms and working from this area.

Limited Daily Options:

Many companies who are new to incentive travel insist on direct flights for their President's Club trip.  For NYC, Dallas, Miami, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Chicago based companies a daily direct flight is easy to come by for most of the Caribbean.  But for the rest of the US, including major cities such as Boston and San Francisco reality is that most airlines only fly to the Caribbean on weekends, at best.  And this only applies during the busy season. 

Hotel Competition:

Executive Group Travel's Review of Four Aruba Hotels.  Stay tuned for upcoming reviews on Aruba group restaurant options and DMC's 

Mitigate Surprises:

One of the most important aspects of the planning of incentive trips and sales kickoff events is budgeting.  The key to all budgeting is mitigating surprises. We found that utilizing Google Sheets and sharing a detailed budget spreadsheet with your clients is one way to make sure there are no surprises when the final checks are written.