Incentive Travel Takes a Beating

Extravagant gatherings have been in the headlines recently. The media coverage of bailout recipients has caused even healthy companies to follow suit in scrapping incentive trips and even some routine conferences and meetings.

Incentives – those prizes and trips used to motivate sales, reward and/or recognize accomplishments -- are in trouble. Incentive travel is big business to our hotel industry – especially our resorts. Nationally, it generates about $13 billion dollars a year, creates jobs, and generates tax revenues. This figure doesn’t include the huge value of other meetings/corporate travel.

The misconception by the public means that even legitimate trips are being labeled “junkets” and thus tarred with the same irresponsible brush. Not only is the hospitality industry impacted by this erroneous perception, but also affected economically by the cutbacks are the small businesses that rely on corporate gatherings, as well.

The flip side is that many sales people have come to look forward to these trips, to think of them as part of their compensation. For some, it is the only vacation opportunity they can afford to take advantage of during the year.

Most pundits expect incentive travel programs to return once the criticisms die down in the press and the economy improves. This may not happen until 2010, however. The fear now is that the overall impact may have larger consequences in the future on how companies plan meetings and where they are held.

So, South Florida, what percentage of YOUR business is incentive travel?