How are you navigating your groups through volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity—in other words, the VUCA state currently in place across the globe? For the annual Smart Meetings Incentive Experience in the Islands of the Bahamas this week, we welcomed the three top minds in researching trends in motivational program design.
Annette Gregg, CMM, MBA, CEO of Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE); Stephanie Harris, president of Incentive Research Foundation (IRF); and Greg Bogue, chief brand and experience officer at Maritz, graced the stage at Rosewood Baha Mar, first as a panel addressing top meeting professionals’ questions about budgets, security and generational preference shifts. We broke down the action items for you.
1. Source New Destinations
While top performers are generally saying they want to go new places, that isn’t necessarily a sign of “beach fatigue.” For example, the Caribbean is a top trending destination, but getting the group out to one of the other 700 islands if they have been to the resorts on Nassau, Paradise Island for multiple years is a way to mix it up and engage the transformative power of novelty.
2. Schedule Free Time
Another trend outlined in the Incentive Travel Index produced by SITE and IRF that could be a win-win is the desire on the part of earners to have more free time in agendas, something that is basically free to provide.
3. Budgets Must Outpace Inflation to Grow Cultures and Outcomes
Read More: Budget Cuts Target Travel Marketing: What It Means for Meeting Professionals
While budgets have long been a concern for planners, the pressure of tariffs and disrupted supply chains impacting gifting and aluminum for trade show booths makes any cost savings a welcome opportunity.
While on average, incentive budgets are growing, programs can only expand to motivate goals beyond sales and build culture in a remote work environment if the bottom line is rising faster than inflation.
4. Personalize Programs for Maximum Impact
Despite global research indicators, the surest path to a program that truly inspires people to perform at the highest levels is to ask them what they value. This plays into the demand for hyper-personalization, something creative planners are using AI to research and deploy at scale.
5. Use AI Event Technology to Support Human Interactions
Harris cautioned that while event technology can help us be more efficient, only human touch allows people to feel seen. “Get a little retro, go ‘Little House on the Prairie’ on them and pick up a phone to put participants first,” she encouraged.
Read More: Balancing the Human Touch and AI in Hospitality
6. Communicate Early and Often About Safety
Gregg singled out communicating about the safety of a destination as an area where proactive touches can be effective. News headlines can group large geographic areas together when disruption hits and being the first to add context before attendees start Googling can result in greater participation and outcomes.
Read More: PCMA Convening Leaders Put Balancing Safety and Comfort in the Spotlight
7. Align With Leadership to Measure the Right ROI/ROE
Understanding what matters to executives—sales, retention and aligning values—and using that outcome to prioritize spending decisions and measurements is the strategic way to manage scope creep and be seen as an essential investment rather than an expense.
“What you really are are transformative agents,” Bogue concluded. “Consider what residue you want to leave on the brains of participants.”
A Memorable Backdrop
Staging the Incentive Experience in the stunning Baha Mar Resort collection was an intentional decision to create an environment where everyone felt pampered. As Graeme Davis, president of the three resorts that make up the property—SLS, Grand Hyatt and Rosewood—explained, the destination is the luxury resort of choice.
While totaling 1,800 guest rooms and a 200,000-square-foot convention center that was home to a lively basketball tournament the week we were in-house. It is filled with intimate spaces and experiences with an assist from Island Destination Services, which also provided white-glove airport drop-offs and pick-ups. Memories of a “Flamingle,” time to mingle with a flock of friendly flamingos, packing school supplies for local children while sharing grade-school stories, and a private Junkanoo performance and demonstration will keep the adventure top of mind for years to come.
