Press and News

Guam, Pacific Islands: An Incentive Travel Destination

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Those who are familiar with American history will know the United States has fought wars in Guam, the Pacific Islands, twice for control of the island and American territorial recognition. The first, the Spanish-American War, became the first time the United States held occupation over the island. America then briefly lost the island to Japan the day after the Japanese invaded Pearl Harbor, as they simultaneously invaded Guam. Fortunately, the United States regained control at the Battle of Guam in 1944. For much of its history, Guam, in the Pacific Islands, has been a strategic naval hub and port station, and remains so today. What many do not realize is over the years, Guam has quietly become a beautiful and enjoyable resort and vacation destination. You can soon find out how wonderful and mesmerizing the small island is through your company’s business incentive travel.

The Pacific Islands are home to thousands of islands in the Pacific Ocean, some of which have become awesome tropical vacation destinations—Guam among one of those tropical resort islands. Although it is home to a U.S. Naval port, Guam is also embedded with several wonderful hotels and resorts along its beaches. Not only can you relax on the beautiful white sand beaches and dip in the clear waters, if you wish, you can partake on several adventurous excursions, including scuba diving, parasailing, and even skydiving for the extreme sports lovers. For those who prefer or also enjoy their sports games to be on land, Guam is home to seven world-class golf courses. The island also has a desirable nightlife climate, with plenty of places to go for fine dining, dancing, and social gatherings.

Because of having been colonized by several different ethnicities, including Indonesians, native islanders, Spanish, Asian, and American, the culture of Guam is quite diverse. For those who enjoy historical and cultural landmarks, Guam is full of iconic statues and commemorative constructions of famous peoples and battles that helped shaped the island as it is known today. Guam also came under heavy religious influence, especially from Catholicism, and is home to one of the most wondrous cathedrals in the world—the Dulce Nombre de Maria (Sweet Name of Mary) Cathedral Basilica—erected in 1669.

Several tropical island vacation locales are offered through our business incentive travel program, but many of those might not have the interesting history and influence of Guam, in the Pacific Islands. Of course, all of our tropical destinations are magnificent and unique in their own way, but we are confident that you will fall in love with the history and culture of Guam as much as you will love the scenic virtues and beaches of this lovely island.

Incentive Travel Companies Keep Employees Motivated

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Extended work hours, lack of annual bonuses or raises, reduced or rescinded employee benefits—these are some of the many issues workers are facing with an unstable economy and an overhaul in government regulations, forcing businesses to cut back. When you reduce or take away any of these benefits from an employee, that employee will eventually become disgruntled. When workers become disgruntled, they become unmotivated, and consequently, their work habits and productivity begin to wane. As a business owner, you cannot afford unproductive employees because it will end up hurting your revenue and bottom line.

How does a business owner keep employees motivated? One solution would be to offer your workers an incentive travel program, which is provided by an incentive travel company, such as ours. Incentive travel programs serve several purposes. For one, it is viewed as a reward for hard work and success. Most employees enjoy being rewarded for a job well done because it signals that their superiors are recognizing their hard work. They feel important and valuable to the company. Second, it is a vacation—all expense paid—and an escape from the hardships of a perpetual workweek, and the doldrums that sometimes come with it.

One cannot overstate how important a vacation can be to workers. It is an adventure to an exclusive and always beautiful part of the world that guarantees not only fun, but also refreshment and relaxation. When workers come back from a wonderful vacation, they often feel rejuvenated, and ready to get back to work with a new outlook. It breaks up the previously mentioned perpetual workweek, which makes it easier to put in considerable time to get your job completed when you come back.

In addition, it is a valuable commodity for which to strive. If an employee knows how hard he or she needs to work, or what he or she needs to accomplish in order to achieve an incentive travel program, said employee will likely do whatever it takes to make sure the work is completed on time, and in sufficient manner.

If you are a company owner looking for resources to keep employees motivated, consult incentive travel companies, such as our own proprietorship, to learn more about how incentive travel programs work.

How to Motivate Employees

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Keeping employees motivated is essential to the success of a business, at any level. More often than not, and especially in larger companies, managers and executives often fail to realize when an employee becomes discontent. When an employee becomes discontent, his or her work habits suffer, and the job he or she is tasked to perform becomes slack, and eventually hurts the company before anything can be done to fix the situation. Consequently, this employee is usually let go for perceived laziness or insubordination. However, in truth, who is to blame?

Many who read this are probably more likely to empathize with the disgruntled employee, who probably worked hard for a considerable period, bet felt lost in the shuffle, and decided, since no one recognized the hard work he or she put in, that the long hours just simply was no longer worth the effort. Others may read this and think to themselves that the frustrated employee is paid to perform a duty, and that duty was not completed consistently, therefore he or she should be released for not holding up their end of the bargain. After all, since when did we become a society that needs to be recognized for every good deed, and that performing our job is a duty that requires constant goading to perform?

Whatever side of the fence you fall on, the fact is that today’s workforce needs motivation. The following should provide an excellent idea on how to best motivate employees.

Offering workers corporate incentive travel programs is a wonderful way to motivate employees. It is true that the workforce has been putting in more hours, and pay has not increased in accordance with the longer hours worked. Providing bonuses is certainly an option, but why not offer employees who work crazy hours to get their job completed in exemplary manner a vacation destination to a beautiful and fun city? This way, employees get to refresh themselves by either relaxing or taking part in fun and adventurous extracurricular activities, or perhaps both.

Motivating employees through corporate incentive travel programs will accomplish two important aspects to a worker’s routine—they will work harder toward achieving goals in order to attain the incentive travel program, and it provides an escape from the stress a daily grind at the office creates.

Travel expertise combined with extensive knowledge of resorts and hotels allows Incentive Travel Solutions to offer a variety of destination proposals to choose from. Contact us today to see how we can work within your budget to create an exciting and rewarding experience for your employees.

european incentive travel

Europe: Good Values, Great Destinations

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Corporate Incentive Travel Magazine Logo

President and Founder of Incentive Travel Solutions, Kevin Devanney, was interviewed by Corporate & Incentive Travel Magazine for their January 2012 edition.  (article below)

By Karen Brost

The impressive view from the Mandarin Oriental, Prague, a former monastery,includes the historic Prague Castle.

When planning meetings and incentive programs in Europe, it sure helps to know the territory. “About 90 percent of what we do is in Europe,” says Kevin Devanney, president and founder of Incentive Travel Solutions in Charlotte, NC, “so we’re pretty familiar with the market.”

Devanney explains how the current financial situation in Europe is impacting meetings and incentives. “The dollar has strengthened in 2011 just slightly, and it’s helped a little bit with business to Europe,” he says. “That’s certainly a positive for us and for Europeans in the incentive travel business. I think Europeans like a strong euro, however it really helps them when the dollar strengthens because they certainly see an uptick in business. The hotels and DMCs all survive primarily off the U.S. business.

“Spain, Italy, England and France are the big four incentive destinations in Europe,” he continues. “Meetings-wise, you can throw Germany into the mix, because there’s so much commerce and business taking place there. If you’re including meetings, Germany raises the bar a little bit. We do a little more in Germany for that fact.”

Spain

Devanney says that Barcelona was a popular destination for a lot of American companies in 2011. He explains why: “No 1, they have great restaurants over there. The influence of Gaudi on the city of Barcelona (also) has a big impact. You see that through the entire city.” Antoni Gaudi was a celebrated Spanish architect in the late 1800s and early 1900s whose innovative designs continue to capture the interest and imagination of visitors to the city today.

A few of Gaudi’s most famous works can be found near the 98-room Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona, which opened in late 2009. The hotel is located on the city’s prestigious Passeig deGràcia in an area filled with fashionable boutiques and restaurants.

One of the Barcelona hotels Devanney likes is El Palace, a 125-room luxury property set in the heart of the city. “It’s a five-star property that has some meeting space and is in a fantastic location. It was recently renovated, and it’s a great location for incentives,” he says. The building was constructed in 1919 at the height of the city’s cultural renaissance, and the hotel continues to reflect an air of Old World elegance.

Enthusiastic attendees arrive at the Barcelona airport on a recent incentive trip arranged by Incentive Travel Solutions.

 

 England

“London is very strong right now,” Devanney comments, citing Prince William and Kate Middleton’s wedding, the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee upcoming in June as well as the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. “In 2012 we’ve got some interest from our clients for all of those reasons,” he says. “It’s not necessarily for the Jubilee or for the Olympics, but because the city will be really decked out and highly decorated through the year in anticipation (of these events). It’s really a great location.

“They’re doing a lot of building,” he continues, “but some of the old hotels like the Grosvenor House and Claridge’s are still fantastic hotels. There’s a brand new InterContinental and Four Seasons. All of the hotels along Hyde Park have recently renovated, like the Hilton and the Sheraton. That location is great for both meetings and incentives.”

The 420-room Grosvenor House, A JW Marriott Hotel, has been hosting royalty, celebrities and business leaders since 1929. “It has a 19th century ice rink that was incorporated into the hotel,” Devanny says. The ice rink was converted into what is now known as the Great Room, billed by Marriott as the “largest hotel banqueting space in Europe” with nearly 20,000 sf of space. In total, the hotel offers more than 60,000 sf of meeting space including 31 meeting rooms.

Claridge’s, which has a heritage dating back to the 1850s, is one of London’s most iconic hotels. Of its 203 guest rooms, 67 are suites. Half of the hotel’s accommodations are decorated in an art deco style, and the rest are Victorian. As proof of just how chic this historic hotel is, it features a series of rooms and suites designed by Diane Von Furstenberg.

The Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane opened in early 2011. Located in the heart of the city’s prestigious Mayfair area, it features 147 guest rooms, 46 suites, and more than 8,500 sf of meeting space, including the Heritage Travel Group based in Angels Camp, CA. His company is currently in the process of planning several European sales incentive trips, one of which will be held in St. Moritz. “Sometimes people play down Switzerland as being too predictable, and they’re usually mistaken,” he says. “This is going to be a fun mix of the summertime in the Alps and the heritage of the Olympic Games there.” One of the group’s stops will be to see the historic bobsled tracks that have been used for Olympic events.

Tichenor noted that Switzerland also has a heritage of group travel. “It began with Thomas Cook taking groups to St. Moritz,” mountain range in the Swiss Alps, is being developed into a year-round destination. The expansion project calls for the construction of six four- to five-star hotels, including The Chedi Andermatt, a 50-room, five-star property expected to open in time for the 2013 winter season.

Kevin Devanney

Kevin Devanney President & Founder of Incentive Travel Solutions, Charlotte, NC

 

“For companies that really want to raise the bar and continue to raise the bar for their top performers, they understand that Europe is a destination that is worth the increasing cost.”

 

Europe Is a Top Choice

The German Convention Bureau reports that Europe is the most important foreign destination for U.S. planners, and that approximately 50 percent of all foreign events staged by U.S. planners take place in Europe.

For Devanney’s company, the percentage is much higher. “We will probably have about 90 percent of our incentive business going to Europe this year,” he notes. “I think it’s great. I think the dollar has strengthened and at the same time, people are recognizing that it’s not fluctuating that much. It’s just something that we live with now. For companies that really want to raise the bar and continue to raise the bar for their top performers, they understand that Europe is a destination that is worth the increasing cost to keep their top performers motivated and coming back for next year.”

Golf Tournaments: Fun and Networking for a Worthy Cause

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Incentive Travel Solutions, a Charlotte, NC based Company, invites you to discover how a golf tournament can be a great way for your meeting attendees to interact and give to a community at the same time.  Kevin Devanney, President of Incentive Travel Solutions says, “Golf is a great way to have fun while strengthening business connections and even supporting a worthy cause. This year we had clients who wanted to give back to the destinations that were hosting us.  So we designed their annual golf tournament to raise money for charities at their President’s Club trip”.   “Many of the Caribbean Islands are wonderful destinations with beautiful resorts, but the islands themselves are sometimes immersed in poverty.  Just a little help from incentive groups can go a long way in helping some needy families”.  Devanney provided some tips for staging a successful golf event.

• Establish your goals: Think about your objective for the day. Is your tournament a corporate, competitive, or charity event? Once you’ve chosen the type of tournament you want to host, you can decide how to make it a success.

• Pick a tournament format: Four-man scramble is a popular choice, but there are lots of other options. About.com defines more than 150 tournament formats and other golf games, and The Complete Book of Golf Games is another great resource.

• Create a tournament website: A website is a valuable tool for publicizing your tournament, acknowledging its sponsors, and promoting the charity that will benefit from the program. A website also allows participants to register quickly and pay their tournament fees ahead of time. For tournament website creation tools, consider TournEase, Golf Digest Planner, or GolfRegistrations.com.

• Inform players of tee-times: It is a good idea to send out reminder emails/mailings of participant tee times and teams. Reminders should be delivered to players a week in advance. Also mention any events being held post-tournament.

• Let participants pick teammates: Allow players to pick their teammates. Offer a sign-up sheet on the on-line registration site. Make teams and tee times available for perusal on the site.

• When teeing off: On the first green have the starter announce the names of each player about to tee off. For corporate events, announce the company each player is representing. Recognition is always an incentive.

• While on the course: Everything a golfer may need while on the course should be readily available. Extra equipment should be kept on-hand in case it is needed. Refreshments and snacks should be offered periodically to each player. Golfers should be given any refreshment they choose and snacks should be prepared in a way that is comfortable to be eaten while on the course.

• Post-tournament: When the tournament comes to an end host an after-event ceremony or dinner. This will give both the golfers and guests the ability to interact with one another. The winner of the tournament can be announced at this time as well as a cause summary of the event.

• Get lots of feedback: On the day of the big event, make sure you’re out on the course mingling with the players. Get their impressions and record their ideas so you can make improvements for next year. It’s also a good idea to survey participants after the event for their comments and suggestions.


• Hole Sponsorship: Partner with your most important suppliers to sponsor the 18 holes on the course.  This gives them some well need exposure to their important clients and raises money for the local charity.