Travel Insider: Travel, Take Me Away from Recession Woes February 23, 2009
By Brian Martenis
Incentive travel programs serve many purposes on many levels. And in a shaky economy with a new unproven administration, continuing war and the like, what better time to offer up a magical respite to your most important clients? Think about it. You need to let your best customers and employees know how important they are to you—if you're going to survive, that is. So give your chosen people a brake from winter's chill—or even just from the 21st Century's harsh reality.
The Lasting Allure of Travel
Maybe it's just me, but ever since we turned the 2000 corner, it seems that life has gotten a tad more trying. Remember when people actually dressed up to get on a plane? When flying was a glamorous privilege? When the short hop from Philadelphia to Bermuda would include a tasty luncheon with free cocktails? Now you're being strip-searched with your privacy invaded on every level—displaying the potentially embarrassing liquid toiletries you carry and high-tech X-Ray machines showing pretty much everything else. (If I sound a bit irritable here it is because I am. I really resent this.) So let's just settle on the fact that the magic of flying has flown. And if it's not a sneaker bomb, it's packaged as a flock of geese!
Happily, the romance of travel remains true, regardless of transportation challenges. Human beings are amazingly adaptive and resilient. People will not allow TSA "abuse" or threats of terrorism—nor acts of god, war or wayward birds—to keep them home. We have proof of this over and over. The strength of travel, and therefore incentive travel, is so strong that one would be foolish indeed not to take full advantage of it.
Consider the recent "Miracle on the Hudson." The U.S. Air flight bound from New York to Charlotte, N.C. belly-flopped into the Hudson river, and the people simply walked out onto the wings and (fairly) calmly hopped into rescue boats. The fact that there was reportedly no panic and mostly just controlled silence shows that people have gracefully accepted possibilities in life and can react fairly well. I saw many people interviewed and the majority were ready to board another flight for Charlotte. (I wonder if U.S. Air gave them a free cocktail.)
Right Travel, Right Price
Having established the fact that people will pretty much walk through fire to get to a destination, examine the next factor. People will do almost anything to escape the numbing cold of winter and the sweltering heat of summer. Capitalize on this fact. People will generally want to "beat it" from any weather extreme, increasing their appreciation of a well-timed reward. Plus, with careful planning, you can reap in some great travel deals that won't put a damper on your purse.
Always look at the world map with a geographers mind. For example, the south of France and Monaco are roughly in line with the Carolina's. Summer is hot, crowded and pricey. But from mid-September to December, the weather is excellent, the crowds are gone and the prices reduced. I have seen people on the beach in late November in Nice, as well as Marbella in the south of Spain. The same is true in Italy. Early November in Florence is simply gorgeous and you can walk right in to see "David." In July, you will wait for hours and pay top dollar.
At the same time, taking advantage of the "real" weather can work as well. I did a program one February once that was centered in Innsbruck, Austria. Each day I was loading coaches of people to the best ski resorts that exists in the world or day trips to Salzburg, Neuschwanstein and Venice. It snowed daily and all agreed it was one of the best trips ever. The expense of the skiing was offset by the fact that the tours were very much off-season. And the crowning glory of the trip was that since you flew into Munich, Germany to get to Innsbruck, we were able to spend the final night at Kempinski Hotel Vier Jahreszeiten in Munich. Awesome and affordable.
Positive Momentum
The recession is going to be around for a while. Incentives are more important to business than ever, yet one would be most naïve not to recognize the fact that business owners will have a difficult time recognizing this and budgeting for it. Remember it's all about keeping your relationships going. It is about staying close to your employees and to your customers. The same recession is affecting the hotel, hospitality and travel industry. For planners like me, the good news is that when a group comes our way, our negotiation power will be greater.
You must believe that all of the current drama in the world is an annoyance and not a long-term reality. Business is out there, you just have to look harder to find it. Stay as positive as possible and we will all come out better people on the other side. Ready for the next challenge?
Questions or comments? E-mail me at brianm@incentivewt.com. I'd love to hear from you anytime.
Editor's Note: Read all of the strategies and best practices from Incentive's Survival Guide at www.incentivemag.com/survivalguide. New articles daily!
INCENTIVE online columnist Brian Martenis is Managing Director of Incentive Worldwide Travel. After 10 years as sales promotion director for one company and 19 years as sales incentives manager for another, Martenis was named managing Director of Boutique Incentive Travel. Brian brings to the company nearly 30 years of designing and implementing very successful incentive travel programs all over the world. Brian is passionate about every aspect of his programs and is often asked to write and speak about incentives, incentive travel and motivation. He can be contacted at brianm@incentivewt.com.
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