Group vs. Individual Incentive Travel: Pros and Cons
Incentive travel programs are an effective way to connect, motivate, and engage participants while delivering unforgettable experiences and maximizing your return on investment. While group travel programs have long been a staple of the incentive industry, individual incentive travel (IITs) are becoming increasingly popular as organizations look to reward qualifiers with the power of choice.
Both types of incentive travel are a motivational tool used to reward employees, partners, or clients for achieving specific goals or performance targets. There are many benefits of both and the best fit for your organization depends on your objectives. In this blog post, M&IW’s incentive travel experts detail the pros and cons of each.
Group Incentive Travel
Group incentive travel involves organizing group travel experiences to a desirable destination as a form of recognition and reward. In addition to the achievers and their guests, members of the executive team often attend as well. The goal of these trips is not only to reward top achievers but also to create connections and build stronger relationships between attendees and with the organization.
While most group incentive trips include free time or “days at leisure” to allow space for relaxation or individual preferences, planned events within the trip may involve all participants, either as a whole or in small groups. These events focus on shared experiences and fostering camaraderie, again going back to the goal of creating connections. While common agenda items include dinner receptions, gala awards ceremonies, small group dine-arounds, and immersive destination activities, personalizing and customizing these experiences is crucial for success.
Pros of Group Incentive Travel
One of the strongest benefits of group incentive travel programs is the opportunity to build relationships with peers and executives. There are also opportunities to celebrate achievers’ success—awards ceremonies, for example, or dedicated recognition during a reception—which inspires loyalty and improves employee engagement not just during the travel program but also after returning to work. Unstructured time facilitates informal networking, with these interactions proving as valuable as structured activities.
While group programs can also include onsite learning opportunities, such as seminars or other educational sessions, these are becoming less common as attendees prefer to separate these trips from work and focus on relaxing and rejuvenating. They also don’t allow as much opportunity for connection as social events.
Finally, group incentive travel programs held on an annual or semi-annual basis are especially beneficial. They keep employees and partners motivated and engaged throughout the year, ultimately increasing your bottom line. They’re also an excellent branding opportunity, allowing you to build excitement and turn your incentive program into a can’t-miss event every year.
Cons of Group Incentive Travel
As exciting as group incentive travel is for the qualifiers, it may alienate non-qualifiers if the same qualifiers attend year over year. This can be countered with an engaging incentive contest marketing strategy that includes a leaderboard so participants can actively see their standing.
Another con is that participants can’t choose the destination. If it’s somewhere they’ve already been or simply aren’t interested in, they may not be as motivated to qualify. There’s also the potential for scheduling conflicts where even if someone does qualify, they’re unable to attend. Combat these by traveling to a new destination each year, or if it’s a repeat destination, stay at a different resort and include new, custom events during the trip. For achievers with a conflicting schedule, have a backup plan in place so they still get the recognition they deserve.
Finally, many organizations with group incentive travel programs feel pressure to “outdo” previous programs. Take the pressure off by partnering with a third-party agency like M&IW to guide you to the latest and greatest in incentive travel.
Individual Incentive Travel
Individual incentive travel programs are also a way to recognize and reward employees, partners, and customers. But unlike group incentive, achievers travel on their own and choose their own destinations and itineraries. There are many ways IITs can be implemented, from a choice of pre-planned travel packages to entirely customizable “your stay, your way” trips where the only limit is the budget.
Pros of Individual Incentive Travel
The biggest benefit of individual incentive travel is the ability to customize the experience to match the qualifier’s preferences. These programs fit all lifestyles and interests, and because there’s greater flexibility in when the trip can be taken, participants can schedule around any preexisting conflicts.
IITs may also seem more rewarding because they’re more like vacations. Unlike group incentive travel programs, where attendees are still with colleagues and leadership, IITs are a true break from work without any pressure to network or talk shop. And since executives don’t attend, their time away from the office isn’t impacted.
For organizations, IITs avoid the hassle of managing logistics for large groups and offer greater flexibility in terms of destinations, timelines, and more. When partnering with a third-party agency like M&IW, IITs are also more hands-off than group travel programs; we provide updates on trips booked and taken as often as requested while also offering concierge-level service to travelers.
Cons of Individual Incentive Travel
Unlike group incentive travel, IITs aren’t ideal for relationship building or networking, which is often one of the biggest goals of an incentive program. While some participants may prefer this, many organizations find the benefits of connections made on incentive trips last long after the trips themselves. However, hosting a small in-person or virtual celebration after qualifiers are announced and before travel is redeemed still gives you an opportunity to recognize participants and allow them to connect with each other.
While individual incentive travel can be easier for organizations to manage, it may come at a higher cost per person for the same level of experience. When traveling with a large group, you often receive discounts on everything from flights to room rates to excursion costs. There may also be additional inclusions such as spa or dining coupons for participants. When all travel is booked at the individual level, you can’t take advantage of group discounts and inclusions.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t ways to make IITs cost effective, especially when working with a third-party agency, but you should generally budget more per person or reduce the number of qualifiers compared to a group travel program of the same caliber.
Maximizing Your Incentive Travel Programs
Whether your objective is relationship building or relaxation, connections or celebrations, incentive travel programs can be completely customized to meet your needs—and your participants’, too! In addition to managing travel logistics, M&IW’s incentive team also manages associated qualification contests or promotions.
Contact us to explore the possibilities and elevate your current or future incentive programs. Already an M&IW customer? Contact your Customer Success Manager to discuss how you can add an incentive program to your event portfolio.
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Contributor
Tracy Norum, CMP, CITP, CIS
Sr. Director, Incentives & Engagement
Meetings & Incentives Worldwide, Inc.