How to incorporate an incentive trip into your franchise strategy.

Does your franchise host incentive trips for your top-performing franchise owners?

If not, here’s your call to implement one in 2026.

Incentive trips are often used to motivate companies’ sales employees, but they are growing in importance to incentivize channel partners, resellers, and franchisees.

Connecting your high-achieving locations with each other and your leadership team is invaluable and incentive trips are one of the few places you can achieve this level of connection. 

Many of our clients leverage incentive trips for their franchisees and now see them as an essential part of their franchise strategy.

Let’s take a look at how to make incentive trips work for your franchise.

Why incentive trips are essential for franchise businesses.

Incentive trips promote the growth and success of your franchise owners. Not only are you able to connect successful owners with each other, but incentive trips also give your executive leadership team dedicated time to interact with these individuals.

Four key benefits of franchise incentive trips are:

Boost franchisee performance. 

Recognizing and rewarding top performers can inspire others to step up their game. 

According to Aberdeen Research, companies that use non-cash rewards (AKA incentive travel) can see a 3x revenue increase compared to those that do not.

Business owners are often naturally competitive, so adding an element of game and reward to your overall business strategy can encourage them to work harder.

When franchisees know there’s a chance to earn an all-expenses-paid trip to a dream destination, they’re more likely to push for higher sales, better customer service, and stronger local marketing efforts.

Foster connections among franchisees. 

Franchisees often operate in silos, with many of them never meeting in person. 

An incentive trip provides a rare opportunity for high performers to meet, share strategies, and learn from each other. These connections can spark new ideas and drive innovation throughout your franchise network. 

A survey conducted by the Incentive Research Foundation found that incentive travel has become increasingly important with dispersed workforces. In fact, 91% of participants agreed with that sentiment.

This type of interaction and idea-sharing can’t be replicated virtually. Your annual franchise convention may not even be as effective, since these conferences are often focused on educational sessions and corporate updates.

When high-performers can let their guard down a bit and connect over a shared activity (ATVs anyone?), the truly creative ideas will start to flow.

Strengthen corporate-franchisee relationships.

Bringing corporate executives and franchise owners together in a relaxed setting builds trust and camaraderie. 

These trips allow executives to showcase their appreciation, gather feedback, and better understand the challenges franchisees face. Similar to the points made above, this type of interaction can often only be achieved in more relaxed, small-group settings.

Incentive trips allow you to facilitate valuable interactions over small group dinners or fun excursions.

Motivate lower-performing franchisees. 

Incentive trips aren’t just for the top percentage of your franchisees. Highlighting the achievements of top performers creates a culture of aspiration for those that might not be performing as well.

Lower-performing franchisees see the tangible rewards of success and are motivated to improve their performance for a chance to join future trips.

A study by the IRF found that 91% of sales professionals surveyed see incentive travel as “extremely” or “very” motivating (an 11% increase from the year before). Those at the bottom of performance will likely see a tangible incentive trip as a motivator to work harder and achieve as much as the top performers.

Where to begin? Addressing common objections.

Despite their benefits, some franchise companies hesitate to adopt incentive trips due to perceived challenges. Let’s address those:

Myth 1: Incentive trips are too expensive. 

While the upfront costs of an incentive trip can seem high, the return on investment (ROI) often outweighs the expense. Increased franchisee performance, enhanced loyalty, and stronger corporate-franchisee relationships all contribute to long-term growth. Plus, many costs can be offset through sponsorships or group discounts.

Also keep in mind that cash rewards are often higher than the cost spent on incentive trips. While we don’t recommend eliminating your current cash incentives, we do recommend looking at the incentive cost from a per-person perspective. An average incentive trip cost of $10k per person (or $20k per couple) may not seem like that much compared to the cash rewards you are already providing.

Myth 2: Participation might be limited. 

It’s true that incentive trips target a specific group of high performers. However, this exclusivity is what makes them so effective. 

The promise of an exclusive reward motivates franchisees to work harder. Additionally, sharing success stories from these trips can inspire others to aim higher.

We recommend announcing the trip early and providing a clear pathway to success, then reinforcing it throughout the year. Make sure participants understand exactly how to win the trip, and what benefits they get by attending. AKA – communicate, communicate, communicate!

Myth 3: Planning and logistics are overwhelming. 

While planning an incentive trip requires effort, partnering with an experienced travel or event planning company can simplify the process. Many specialize in organizing corporate incentive trips and can handle everything from booking accommodations to coordinating activities.

Myth 4: We can’t accurately measure success. 

Success can be measured through various metrics, such as sales growth among participants, increased franchisee satisfaction, and retention rates. 

We recommend setting benchmarks before the trip so you can measure success among participants and non-participants after. We understand that it’s not always a direct attribution, but being able to compare sales or performance numbers before and after the event will help you understand if the event is working.

Make sure to collect onsite testimonials to help get real-time feedback and user-generated content for future events. You can use these video testimonials for the promotion of next year’s event – and to help support your case to leadership,

Collect feedback after the trip to understand its impact and use these insights to refine future programs.

Steps to incorporate incentive trips into your franchise strategy.

Now that you’ve decided to host an incentive trip for your franchisees, let’s walk through the high-level steps to plan the trip. If you are looking for a more detailed guide to planning your incentive trip, take a look at this article.

Define clear goals. 

What do you want to achieve? Whether it’s boosting sales, improving franchisee retention, or fostering innovation, having clear objectives will guide your planning process (and help you convince leadership to spend the money).

Make sure you also outline general costs and the approach so you can have those ready when you bring this to your leadership team.

Get leadership and stakeholder buy-in.

The most important hurdle in setting up your incentive program is convincing your leadership team that it’s worth the cost and effort. Bring them evidence of the ROI and benefits of the program, and leverage this guide to convincing your leadership team to host an incentive trip.

If you’re looking to engage an event management company, make sure to also get leadership and procurement buy-in for the selection of an agency. Clearly define the role of the agency, the costs, and the outcomes you’re looking for.

Set eligibility criteria. 

Define what constitutes “top performance.” This could include sales targets, customer satisfaction scores, or operational excellence. Be transparent about the criteria to ensure all franchisees understand how to qualify.

Choose an appealing destination. 

Select a destination that excites your franchisees. Consider their preferences and interests, whether it’s a luxury beach resort, a cultural city tour, or an adventure-packed retreat.

Here are the top locations for incentive travel in 2025.

Plan engaging activities. 

Balance relaxation with professional development, all with an eye on attendee connection. Include team-building exercises, workshops, and networking opportunities. These activities add value and ensure the trip aligns with your strategic goals.

Promote the program.

Create buzz around the incentive trip through newsletters, webinars, and franchise meetings. Use testimonials and photos from past trips to highlight the experience’s value.

A great place to announce your program is at your annual convention, where you have everyone in one place and the ability for word-of-mouth to create even more excitement. 

Evaluate and refine.

After the trip, gather feedback from participants and analyze its impact on performance metrics. Use this data to improve future programs and strengthen their effectiveness.

Conclusion.

Incorporating an incentive trip into your franchise strategy can be a powerful way to drive performance, foster connections, and build a stronger, more cohesive network.

Now the hard part: convince your leadership team.

Interested in discussing the planning process with our team? Let’s connect.