Overall St. Thomas and the USVI's overall have struggled in the MICE space.  The reason behind this is the high number of timeshares compared to hotel rooms.   In 2017 they ran some great incentives to drive tourism to USVI's but most of this focus was on leisure travel instead of incentive travel.  

Conde Nast: The U.S. Virgin Islands Will Pay You to Visit in 2017

Here is a quick review of the main hotel players in the MICE market in St. Thomas.

We have wrote about this a few times in the past but it's a popular and important question.

There are three main decisions to help narrow down your initial planning. 

First, how many people are you expecting to attend?

Second, what is your per person budget or what is the overall trip budget?

Third, based on the budget, where do you think you want to go and what month of the year?

Due to the Zika concerns throughout the Caribbean and South Florida plus the uncertainty in Europe, the market has seen a rise in Incentive Groups in destination with ski mountains.  Many companies are deciding to stay domestic for 2017 and/or 2018 and a ski trip is a great option for companies looking for a unique experience.

These destinations have endless options for activities from the obvious skiing and snowboarding but also tubing, snowshoe, cross country skiing, snowmobiling and even dogsledding in some locations.  Most of the properties below also have world-class spas and fitness facilities.  The pools are heated and open year-round, the hot tubs being especially popular.

They do a great job providing those guests who aren't hitting the slopes an opportunity to still enjoy the destination with aspres ski parties, wine or whiskey tastings, Gondola rides, and cooking lessons.

Top Players In The Market

Anguilla continues to blow guests away each and every visit.  The sand is pure white, the water crystal blue, food is mouth-watering and culture is friendly and laid back.  The one challenge for Anguilla is the limited airlift directly into the small Anguilla airport.  Most guests arrive to St. Maarten, take a 3 minute bus shuttle to the private boat dock or 10 minute walk, take a 20-25 minutes speed boat (both private or small group) over to the Anguilla boat dock, exit through Anguilla Immigration and Customs, then take a quick taxi to their hotel.  The experience can take as little as 45 minutes but it's still alot of movement for only 3-4 nights.  Airlift is starting to improve in season through San Juan transfers.  The minute you touch land in Anguilla you will immediately realize the journey is worth it.  The resurgence of major brands in 2016/2017 will lead to a continued growth of leisure and MICE Travel.  The three brands, Four Seasons, Belmond, and Auberge bring a 5 star level of service to match the five star properties.  

Here are a list of some of the best fit Incentive & MICE properties.  For a true meeting, Anguilla is not the right fit location due to the lack of meeting space.  There isn't one true traditional meeting room/AV setup on island.  For incentives, its a great fit with golf, horseback riding, catamaran trips and even swim with the dolphins in the ocean.  

1. Dubai - "Low Investment $$" Dubai continues to be a new, hot player in the incentive market.  The Dubai Tourist Board has invested in increasing Incentive Travel over the last 4 years with continued focus going forward.  Over 71,000 new hotel rooms are expected to be built by 2020.  There are many direct flight options from major cities all over the world so great solution for worldwide companies.  The activities options are vast and unique from spending the night glamping in the desert to skiing indoors to sand boarding and even extensive camel tours.  Obviously the travel time and cost of F&B are two of the drawbacks.  CIT touches upon the increase of travel in mid-range locations in January's report on Incentive Travel Report: Top destination trends for 2017.

 This location is emerging as one of the top destinations in Europe as tourism is booming in Portugal. Incentive travel is especially on the rise in this memorable European Destination.  One of the biggest draws to Lisbon is the value for your money and ease of travel.  There is so much to experience in Lisbon and the surrounding areas that you will be planning your next trip back before you even leave.  You are able to explore the unique culture, amazing food, lively nightlife, world-class golf and tranquil beaches while not breaking the bank. 

Quality mobile technology is useful for personal and professional use, and we thought we would show off some of our favorite gadgets of 2016. The products we selected had to be useful, practical and portable to be considered. The modern business traveler should be well-equipped to be able to work and play hard and smart, and deserve tech that does the same. Here are our 5 favorite gadgets of 2016

Event and trip planning can often be a long, tedious and complicated process that causes a great deal of stress. With so many variables, from managing flights and hotels to keeping track of RSVPs, staying on top of responsibilities can be a challenge. Planning for a large group only makes this even more complicated. Fortunately, there has never been more thorough event management systems than there are available today. Here is a quick breakdown of a few of the most popular options!

Branding at an event is considered necessary for any incentive trip. Many companies spend anywhere between 5%-10% of their budget on branding, depending on the scope of the event.

Here are some way to cut that budget by using technology and social media.  Some of the old school branding will never change and is important at Gala dinners and in meeting rooms.  But there are a few new branding techniques that are very low budget but can have a big impact on your next incentive trip.

Strategy:

Many software/tech companies host their first incentive trip when they are in the midst of an aggressive growth stage.  During this time one qualification strategy might make sense given the overall headcount and trip budget.  Over time and company growth you might find that qualification strategy no longer makes sense for your long-term corporate incentive strategy (See blog post on qualification strategies). 

Don't be afraid to continually look at your current incentive program and analyze the ROI of the program and how to increase that ROI.  Each company chooses different ways to measure the ROI of their incentive program but here is a good in depth research report on the topic:  Determining the Return on Investment of Incentive Travel Programs.  For those looking for a lighter read: Why You Should Measure Incentive ROI