Incentive trips offer a unique chance to connect and inspire your top performing employees. You've spent a lot of time planning out the details of the program, but have you given enough thought to the location?
What goes into choosing the destination for an incentive travel program is more than just a "cool" or pretty location. Travel times, budgets, access to activities and cultural connection are all important factors to consider.
Choosing the right location will help ensure your incentive trip is not only fun but also stays within budget, matches your company goals, and ultimately incentivizes your team to continue to perform.
This article will cover the key things you should consider when choosing your next incentive travel destination, including:
Who is attending your incentive trip? What are their motivations, interests and goals?
It's important to deeply understand WHO is coming on your incentive trip before you decide the where. It's more than just choosing from a list of top incentive travel destinations.
If most of your attendees work remotely and will be meeting for the first time in person, it is also important to consider what kinds of activities and venue layouts will help them connect.
If you're not sure what your audience likes to do, survey them before you select a location. Ask questions around how much time they want to relax, what kinds of activities they like, how often they want to network with their colleagues, dietary restrictions, and more.
Lastly, it's important to consider where your team is mainly located. Are they open to long flights or travel days to get to experience a new place, or would they prefer something a little closer to home?
By better understanding what your team prefers, you can narrow down your initial destination options.
Understand the benefits of incentive travel for your team.
Now that you have an idea of what your team likes, you can start to map out your budget and goals for the incentive travel program.
Your goals should include things like:
Things to consider while planning your budget include:
Your budget and goals should guide everything that comes after (with your audience in mind at all times, of course).
Now comes the fun part: finding a location.
Your incentive travel program should feature a location that teams want to travel to - ideally somewhere they haven't been before or wouldn't easily book a trip to. If your team lives in San Diego, a trip to Orange County may not exactly motivate them. But a trip to the Bahamas? Now we're talking.
Several things need to be considered when looking at properties and incentive travel destinations:
Laying out a list of your top priorities will be key here. Weigh all these points against one another to help you select not only the location but the right venue.
Wondering where to start looking? Our recommendations for top incentive trip destinations include:
Overwhelmed with the possibilities? GoGather can help you research and select the perfect venue for your trip. Inquire with us here.
Once you've narrowed down your venue options, it's time to craft your itinerary.
We recommend selecting 3 venue options to create mock itineraries around.
Remember how we said a week at the spa probably wasn't ideal for an outdoorsy team? This exercise gives you the opportunity to really hone in on which venue will be best for your guests.
Tailored itineraries are important for multiple reasons. They offer a structure to your event to ensure your guests are getting the most out of their time. They also help you make sure you're hitting your goals with each aspect of your trip.
Things to consider as you create your itinerary:
Overall, it's important to keep your agenda interesting yet flexible so guests can enjoy some time to themselves to relax while still feeling like they're experiencing everything they want to.
Some of our favorite activities we've hosted on incentive trips:
Need help crafting the perfect itinerary for your incentive trip? GoGather can brainstorm with you on the best options for your team. Inquire with us here.
There's nothing like a local to help you discover the best hidden gems and rates for your trip. Try to leverage an events company with resources or connections in the area you're looking to host your incentive trip.
These resources can help you source venues, find local gifts, discover exciting outings, partner with local charities, and more. Plus, they can help translate where needed.
So much goes into the planning of an incentive trip that it can often get overwhelming. But making sure to select venues based on your overall goals and budget, while keeping your attendees' needs in mind, will help you narrow down options.
We recommend keeping a checklist of questions to compare venues, from their location to price to abundance of activities. This will help you stay focused and choose venues that actually make sense for your event.
If you're still overwhelmed by the prospect of choosing the right venue, reach out to our team to discuss your incentive trip and brainstorm potential properties.
Your incentive trip, managed. From venue sourcing to every last detail, GoGather helps companies create memorable and effective incentive trips. Our team of event experts will help you identify your goals, craft your budget, source your venue, and plan all the details from agenda to gifting. We do all this so you can spend more time focusing on your attendees, and less time sweating the small stuff.