The economy's coming back, and with it the opportunity for each and every business to reclaim its piece of the pie. After years of sluggish sales—and maybe even sluggish sales teams—companies must do all they can to inspire their top potential earners to beat the competition in the race to regain market share. Incentives are a big part of that, and increasingly, top brass is realizing that it's going to take more than a day on the links or a trip to the spa. While the work may be harder to qualify for incentive trips, the rewards themselves are getting oh-so-much sweeter.
"I have noticed that people don't want your basic incentive any longer," says Robert Tuchman, president of New York, NY-based event planning firm TSE Sports & Entertainment. "They want to create something that's going to be completely different and unique. Incentive budgets are finally returning to pre-2001 levels, and people are willing to spend more to create an amazing, well-remembered experience."
To fulfill these expectations, planners should consider alternatives to the regular five-star resort and spa on a golf course. These five fabulous incentive destinations will make memories attendees won't soon forget.
The Ice Hotel
QUEBEC, CANADA
Inspired by the original Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi, Sweden, but more conveniently located for U.S.-based groups, Canada's Ice Hotel is constructed entirely out of 12,000 tons of snow and 400 tons of ice. But it's not your average igloo: Ice candelabras (powered by fiber optics) hang from 18-foot ceilings; it has a cinema, a chapel, hot tubs, and fireplaces (remarkably enough). Needless to say, winter and ice are the main themes here, and so the hotel offers relevant teambuilding activities for groups, including igloo construction workshops and ice sculpture and carving workshops, as well as such snow sports as dogsledding, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and snow-shoeing. The hotel can also customize its 10,000 square feet of meeting space (for up to 600) with company logos carved in ice. There are 32 rooms and suites, with furniture carved out of ice, as well as 15 cabins that can accommodate up to 100 people each. Francis Masse, president of Quebec City-based Masse Corporation, an Internet consultancy, has brought incentive groups both for day visits and overnight stays at the Ice Hotel and says, "The environment creates a real kind of excitement—it became the high moment of our year." Still, the icy atmosphere can be tough to take, especially for those who aren't necessarily arctic enthusiasts. "For someone who doesn't like winter," Masse admits, "It can be a challenge." Also for those inadequately outfitted: "The typical attorney with his fancy shoes will have a hard time." For those who just can't stand the heat—or lack thereof—backup rooms are available for reservation at the hotel's main lodge, which is built of more traditional materials, such as wood.
COST: Lodging starts at $229 per person including a cocktail at the Ice Bar, accommodation, breakfast, and dinner.
AIRLIFT: The resort is located 30 minutes west (by car) of downtown Quebec City. Quebec's Jean-Lesage International Airport is served by Continental, Northwest, and Air Canada as well as other regional airlines.
Ariau Amazon Towers
AMAZON, BRAZIL
"It's a true Amazon experience," says Michelle Anseeuw, vice president of global sales for Coconut Grove, FL-based meetings and incentive company Valorem Group. "You feel as though you've really arrived in the middle of nowhere." And, in a sense, you have. The Ariau Amazon Towers hotel is hidden deep within the jungles of the Amazon along the Rio Negro (Black River), about 35 miles northwest of Manaus (one of the Amazon's two main cities, with an international airport with direct flights from Miami). Guests must travel by boat or helicopter from Manaus to reach the hotel, which is a collection of seven towers built on stilts at the rain forest canopy level and connected by catwalks 70 feet above the ground. But the remote treetop hotel offers ample amenities, including 250 apartments and suites with private baths and verandas, an amphitheater to seat 150, two restaurants for up to 350 each, two swimming pools (also built at canopy level), two satellite towers, and Internet connections.
Ariau has hosted a wide variety of corporate meetings and events by companies such as Compaq, MasterCard, and Sony Pictures, and just last year Microsoft brought a 150-room sales meeting/incentive. Previous guests also include Hollywood celebrities, past U.S. presidents, and corporate executives, so it's safe to say the environment is not as daunting as it seems. "It's more a sense of danger than any actual danger, as long as you follow the guidelines given to you," says Anseeuw. "For example, if your guide says, 'Don't dive here because there are piranhas,' don't dive there." But be prepared for some interaction with the natives. "There are parrots and monkeys," Anseeuw says. "Monkeys walk right up to the bar and will even drink out of your glass if you let them."
Located at the foot of the Anavilhanas Archipelago (comprised of 280 islands), the hotel offers a lot of sightseeing options as well as activities including fly-fishing, diving, and boating. Attendees should be inoculated for diseases including malaria and yellow fever and should secure a visitor's visa prior to departure.
COST: Starts at $380 for four days and three nights, including transfers, accommodations, excursions, and bilingual guides.
AIRLIFT: The Eduardo Gomes International Airport in Manaus receives direct flights from Miami and connecting flights from Sao Paulo.
Ngorongoro Crater Lodge
NGORONGORO, TANZANIA
Perched on the edge of the Ngorongoro Crater—the remnant of a gigantic volcano that collapsed some two million years ago—near the Serengeti National Park, the Ngorongoro Crater Lodge features 18 suites with architecture inspired by Masai mud-and-stick manyatta, or homesteads. Each suite has its own private viewing decks and butler service. The accommodations are luxuriously appointed with four-poster beds, beaded chandeliers, gilt mirrors, and a variety of antiques. The lodge is just one of several deluxe stops along the luxury safaris planned by the family-owned Micato Safari company, based in Kenya, with offices in New York City. Micato Safaris has taken groups from 12 to 1,200 (divided into smaller groups) on treks through East Africa to observe the abundant wildlife by day while staying in very posh country-club-like accommodations by night. The crater serves as something of a haven for large East African animals such as lions, elephants, and zebra, which are less shy of the all-terrain vehicles than in other parts of Africa.
"For everyone who goes, it's really a 'Wow, I can't believe this,' experience," says Stamford, CT-based group travel consultant Peter Telep, who's taken several companies, including GE Capital, on safari in Africa. "If you read the American newspapers, you probably wouldn't go anyplace in this world. Of course Africa has third-world problems, but you do not see them when you're on safari." Other things you apparently don't see are mosquitoes and snakes. Although travelers should take precautions against malaria prior to departure, Telep says, "I never saw a single mosquito during any of my visits there." And Dennis Pinto, son of Micato's founders and the director of Micato Safaris USA, says he offers to pay $100 cash to anyone who spots a snake while on safari because they are so rarely seen.
Telep says the safari itineraries are probably best for groups of 50 or fewer, and counts as the only drawback a slightly repetitive menu of Americanized safari food with British accents, such as baked beans at breakfast.
COST: The cost varies by itinerary but starts at around $4,500 per person, including airfare.
AIRLIFT: Micato Safaris will arrange flight itineraries from most major American cities.
Dubai
UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Oil was discovered in Dubai in 1966, and in the years since, the Arab emirate has become an epicenter of opulence. Although located in the turbulent Persian Gulf region, Dubai's selection of luxury-service hotel properties is, frankly, unrivaled. It's home to the famous 202-suite Burj al-Arab Hotel, which claims to deliver seven-star service in what it calls the most luxurious setting in the world. Constructed in the image of a giant boat's sail, the Burj features a two-tiered ballroom, an amphitheater, and several boardrooms and breakout rooms. Dubai also hosts the usual suspects in luxury living, including a Ritz-Carlton and a Fairmont, and rumors circulate about an upcoming Four Seasons. There is also Madinat Jumeirah, a resort complex comprised of two hotels, several private rental villas, a traditional souk (or indoor market), a full-service spa, and a conference center (with a 1,000-seat amphitheater and a 432-seat auditorium), and some 42 restaurants, all connected by waterways that are navigated by abra, or traditional water taxi. The shopping in Dubai is some of the best in the world.
Although the culture of Dubai is rooted in Islam, the dress code is liberal compared to that of other Arab nations and alcohol is served in hotels. The subtropical climate is pleasant during all but the summer months of the year (May-October), and no advance visas are required (they can be purchased upon arrival at the airport in Dubai).
COST: Very expensive throughout.
AIRLIFT: Daily nonstop flights began this year on Emirates Airlines from New York's JFK airport (the airline has plans to expand this service to other U.S. airports), or passengers can connect daily through major European hubs.
The Gamboa Rainforest Resort
PANAMA CANAL
The Gamboa Rainforest Resort offers all the wonder and excitement the rain forest features in a controlled setting. The resort offers several education exhibits that showcase the flora and fauna of the jungle, with pathways and trails leading to each display. The resort also includes a freshwater fish aquarium, orchid and botanical gardens, a butterfly nursery, turtle and iguana nesting areas, and a reptile exhibit, as well as guided tours of the actual surrounding vegetation. As a result, attendees are the middle of the rain forest but feel as if they're in a regular U.S. resort—everyone speaks English and the U.S. dollar is accepted everywhere.
"Compared to Costa Rica, for example, Gamboa is less expensive but you're still in a four-star resort," says Valorem's Anseeuw, who's taken incentive groups from General Motors and Novartis to Gamboa. "They treat the area with insecticide so there's no problem with insects or mosquitoes, and you can take ecological tours, boats up and down the canal, and visit Monkey Island where you can feed the monkeys in their natural habitat."
COST: Rooms start at $120 per night and the resort offers a variety of packages, including golf and spa.
AIRLIFT: Less than a three-hour flight from Miami, serviced by all the major airlines.