ESR

480+ corporate events · 5 years

Incentive Travel Trips for Top Performers

Reward your best people with incentive travel they'll work all year to earn. We plan the trip with you and run the awards night ourselves.

A group of top performers at a sunset dinner on a resort terrace

Why corporate incentive travel works

A trip is a goal people can picture, and that's why it motivates more than a bonus line on a pay stub.

Incentive travel is a reward trip for people who hit a target: sales reps, top dealers, a service team that beat its numbers. As an employee travel incentive, it works best when the goal and the trip are announced together. The company sets the goal and the qualifying period. Winners travel together, usually with a spouse or guest, for a few days of rest and a celebration at the end.

A corporate incentive travel program has two jobs. Before the trip, it keeps the target in view all year. During the trip, it shows the winners that the company noticed. If the winners are a sales team, see our events for sales teams for the kickoff that announces the goal and the year-end celebration.

Winners and their guests on a guided desert tour at golden hour

Incentive trip ideas we can build around your group

  • Resort and rest. A quiet resort, a spa morning, free afternoons and one big dinner. Good for teams that are tired after a hard year.
  • Wine country. Napa Valley tastings, a private dinner at a winery and a slow pace.
  • Desert and golf. Scottsdale, with golf, a desert jeep tour and evenings by the pool.
  • City and nightlife. Las Vegas or Miami, with shows, a private dining room and late nights.
  • Florida beach and golf. Naples, Palm Beach or the Keys, with a beach day, a golf morning and a sunset dinner.
  • Executive retreat. A smaller group, a few working sessions and more private time.

You pick the feeling of the trip. We build the days around it.

These are incentive travel destinations we'd suggest for a U.S. trip. Hawaii and Aspen work too. For trips where local suppliers, guides and venues need to be booked on the ground, our destination management team handles that side.

What one team covers

You get one plan and one contact for the trip, from the first flight to the last transfer.

  • Destination and hotel. We shortlist places that fit your group size, season and budget, and hold a block of rooms.
  • Flights and transfers. Our group travel management covers the flights, arrivals and airport transfers.
  • The program. Excursions, free time and group dinners in a schedule people can read on one page.
  • The awards dinner. Stage, sound, screens and a show caller, the same as we run for events at home.
  • Something to do together. Our simulators, VR and AI photo booth can travel with the group for a contest on the last night.
  • Communication. Save-the-dates and a trip page that keep the goal in front of qualifiers all year.

The trip should feel personal, so we add names to welcome gifts, room drops and the screens at dinner.

Our incentive travel planner compares hotel options and a room-block contract

What shapes the quote

You'll know the full cost of the trip before anyone books a flight. Every trip gets a custom quote. We don't publish prices because two trips are never alike.

  • Number of travelers and whether plus-ones come.
  • Destination, season and number of nights.
  • Hotel level and room types.
  • Flights from one city or many.
  • The program: excursions, dinners, the awards night.
  • AV and interactive stations for the event part.
How we quote

Events where we ran the program

These events show the parts of corporate incentive trips that we run ourselves: the program on stage and the evening around it.

A speaker on a tripod stand covers rows of seated guests at a presentation
Awards dinner sound

Audio Support for an Indoor Presentation and Seated Program

This seated program ran in a hall with high ceilings and hard surfaces, like many hotel dining rooms. We set speakers on stands along the rows and checked sound before guests arrived, so every row heard the presenter.

Los Angeles, CA

What the trip can look like

These shots show the moments a trip is built around.

  • Qualifiers arrive at the hotel and pick up welcome packs
  • A resort pool area set for a private group afternoon
  • A long table dinner at a winery in Napa Valley
  • A top performer receives an award on a small stage at dinner
  • Guests race on a simulator during the farewell party
  • A group photo on a guided desert tour

Contracts and documents

You see every contract before you sign it.

  • Hotels send a group contract with room block terms and deadlines. We read it with you and point out the dates where unused rooms start to cost money.
  • For the event part, we send insurance documents to venues and organizers on request.

Where incentive trips go wrong

Here's where incentive trips go off track, what each problem costs and how we avoid it.

  • Every hour is booked.

    Winners feel managed, not rewarded. We leave free afternoons and one late morning.

  • The goal was announced late.

    People can't chase a trip they heard about in October. We plan the launch and reminders with you at the start.

  • The awards night is an afterthought.

    A hotel mic and a slideshow on a TV kill the best moment of the trip. We bring a real stage setup.

  • Room deadlines missed.

    The hotel releases rooms or bills for empty ones. We track the block against the qualifier list.

  • Plus-ones left out.

    Spouses sit through sales talks. We give them their own program.

Incentive travel planning, step by step

You'll know what happens at each stage, from the goal to the flight home.

  1. Step 1: You set the goal

    • Who qualifies, for what, and by when. We help with the rules if you need it.
  2. Step 2: We propose places

    • Two or three destinations with dates, hotel options and a quote.
  3. Step 3: We launch the trip

    • A save-the-date and a trip page for your team.
  4. Step 4: We book

    • Rooms, flights, transfers, dinners and excursions.
  5. Step 5: We build the program

    • A daily schedule, the awards night and any contests.
  6. Step 6: We travel with the group

    • Our team is on site from arrival to departure.
  7. Step 7: We close it out

    • Final costs, photos and notes for next year's trip.

Who travels with your group

You stay with your winners. Our people handle the rest.

Incentive travel planner. Builds the trip with you and manages bookings and changes.

On-site lead. Travels with the group, runs the daily schedule and solves problems on the spot.

AV technician. Sets up the awards night: sound, screens and microphones.

Operators. Run the interactive stations if you bring them.

An on-site lead greets travelers at a hotel lobby desk

Trips from anywhere in the U.S.

Your winners can fly in from any city. Our team works from two bases, Los Angeles and Orlando (office at 310 N Orange Ave), and coordinates flights from every home airport.

Two bases

Los Angeles and Orlando

West CoastEast CoastAll 50 states

Our team and equipment travel with the group to any U.S. destination.

Orlando office: 310 N Orange Ave, STE. 201, Orlando, FL 32801

Questions

What is an incentive travel company?

Incentive travel firms and agencies plan and run reward trips for a company's top performers: destination, hotel, flights, program and the awards event. We run the event part with our own team and equipment.

How does an incentive program work?

The company sets a target and a qualifying period, tracks results and announces the winners. The trip is the reward at the end. The section on why incentive travel works above covers the details.

Do you plan group or individual trips?

We plan group incentive travel: one trip for one group of winners. Individual incentive travel, where each winner picks their own trip, is a different format, and we focus on group trips.

Which trip suits our team?

The one that matches the group. A sales team that travels all year may want a quiet resort. A young team may want a city. Tell us your season, and we'll suggest destinations that fit.

Can we offer travel incentives for customers?

Yes. Some hospitality and travel companies and manufacturers reward their best clients or dealers with a trip. The planning is the same.

Where can I read more about how these programs work?

Our guide on what is incentive travel covers goals, budgets and timelines.

How much does an incentive trip cost?

Every trip gets a custom quote. It depends on group size, destination, nights and the program. Send us the basics and we'll reply right away.

Start planning your trip

Send us your group size, a rough date and what the winners did to earn it. We'll come back with places and a quote. Share the number of travelers, dates, departure cities and budget. Add the type of trip you have in mind and whether plus-ones will come. Or call +1 213 912 1010