For first-time planners, it may seem natural to approach incentive travel programs the same way you would any other meeting or event, with logistics at the core. Like many events have the potential to be, incentive programs are powerful levers for employee performance, loyalty and workplace culture, but one vital distinction sets incentive programs apart from the rest: They’re designed to be a reward.
“Something that doesn’t really come to you until you’ve planned an incentive and been onsite is understanding how different this is for your audience, for the attendee,” said Justin Myers, vice president, client development and marketing, Bishop-McCann. “If it’s a corporate meeting, they’re required to be there, or they pay to be there because they’re getting continuing education.
“Incentives are something that they’ve earned,” he continued. “They’ve worked hard all year to get to this point and it really means something to them. The way you treat attendees from every touchpoint is critically important to ensure that they feel that value.”
If you’re a first-time incentive travel planner, or in need of a back-to-basics refresher, here are insights from four incentive travel professionals about what differentiates incentive programs from other types of events, and advice for how to make sure your next program is a success.
[Related: Incentives Today, a Biannual Online Magazine Created in Partnership With SITE]
What Is the Science Behind Human Motivation?
“This is actually the first question that you should ask, if you’re a company and you’re thinking about starting an incentive program, or you’re a planner and it’s your first time planning it,” Myers said.
The whole purpose of a program is to motivate an audience to achieve a desired outcome, and when it comes to identifying what motivates humans, specifically, “it’s simple,” Myers said. “It comes down to recognition, achievement and purpose.
“People want to know their work matters,” he continued. “They want to know their effort is seen, and they want to know that if they achieve this exceptional level of performance, that it’ll be rewarded in a way that is meaningful and personal to them.”
A well-designed incentive speaks to two types of human motivation: the external validation of receiving recognition (extrinsic motivation) and the internal pride and satisfaction that comes with achieving one of your goals (intrinsic motivation).
In most cases, “we get more liberty to customize a program because it is so much more tailored to the client and audience,” said Laura Barnum, account director, Bishop-McCann, which allows for a bit more creativity when it comes to weaving in moments of motivation. “We might find a way to cut something else out of the budget so that we can make a different piece work, because that’s what’s really important in incentives.”
That’s where that white glove-level service comes in—the type of service qualifiers are expecting.
“In incentives, the audience mindset is just completely different,” Barnum said, “and because of that, I think the expectations are often higher because they’ve earned it. It’s a reward, and it should feel that way.”
[Related Podcast: SITE's Padraic Gilligan Talks Key Findings from the 2025 Incentive Travel Index]
High-Touch, High-Reward: Get Personal With Your Audience
In the big picture, we’re all motivated by things like recognition, achievement and purpose, as Myers said. It’s an incentive travel planner’s job to zoom in and figure out what makes each attendee want something a little bit more than the rest.
In many instances, Barnum said, figuring that out requires a thoughtful communication plan that begins with the launch of the program itself—explaining the criteria to qualify, highlighting the destination, showing off the potential experiences, etc.—to help attendees picture themselves and envision what winning that achievement would look like and mean to them.
“It kind of hard-launches the program, and then we’ll do messages from leadership along the way; touchpoints that keep everybody engaged and motivated,” she said. “Between then and the trip itself, we really try to take a focus on personal touches. Once we figure out who the winners are, we use that to our advantage by sending personal notes from our leadership team, teasers to their houses, curated touchpoints that just make it feel really thoughtful—all before they’re even onsite.”
Those personal touchpoints are even more important to include in the program design itself, so attendees feel truly seen and heard, and what you do for one attendee likely can’t be replicated for another.
“What motivates everyone is going to be different, and incentives are about looking at a group of individuals who all have very different motivations to figure out what will make them all work hard to want one reward—what is their why?” said Emily Parsons-Walker, event specialist, Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE). “But at the same time, you have to make [a program] fit for everyone without it being generic and include those points of personability for each individual so they all feel special.”
For Parsons-Walker, pre-event surveys are key to determining how to incentivize potential qualifiers throughout the year, and also to ensure she’s delivering highly personalized experiences for everyone involved once they are onsite.
“It is so high-touch, making sure every little detail is taken care of and you’re going that extra mile to personalize every attendee experience,” Parsons-Walker said. “You put a lot of pressure on yourself to make it perfect because, at the end of the day, this is an event you want your attendees to walk away from knowing they took something away from it that was more than something to post on LinkedIn. And seeing the happiness on people’s faces makes all of that extra attention to detail very worth it.”
Jaclyn Trainor, strategic account director at Bishop-McCann, also emphasized the importance of surveying your attendees and qualifiers prior to a program, as many often travel with spouses, significant others and family members who may be celebrating things like birthdays or anniversaries, and adding a special moment or celebration for them can make the experience even more meaningful—for both the attendees and the planner.
“There’s a different level of intimacy that we have with the attendees and the winners of these programs, because it is so white-glove and there are often high-repeat winners,” Trainor said. “And they’re coming back every year with their friend, loved one, parent, and they want to make sure they’re taken care of, too.”
She recommends asking qualifiers if they are celebrating anything the week of their incentive program because there’s an opportunity to make an event even more special for them if so. Just a few weeks prior to this interview, for example, Trainor had an attendee proposal at one of her programs, and because she knew in advance, she was able to organize for champagne and red roses in their room.
“Those are the things that we ended up getting privy to,” Trainor said. “And that’s when your attendees will feel like, ‘Oh, I’m really being cared for.’”
“Creating those experiences centered around what truly motivates people is when you create that joy and happiness and memorability,” Parsons-Walker said. “At to me, I feel like [incentive programs] at the end of the day are more rewarding as a planner than just doing a regular run-of-the-mill conference or meeting. This to me is, in a very small way in the world, changing lives.”
