Innovative corporate incentive travel programs to wow repeat earners

Would your repeat earners say your incentive travel program is exciting year after year? What wowed them last year could feel routine today. Strategize to keep your trips from getting stale.

If your incentive travel program aims to build loyalty, prioritize innovative trip design that features fresh ideas, bold destinations and exclusive experiences that keep repeat earners excited.

Designing a program that appeals to discerning “frequent flyers” requires constant but careful evolution. Impactful corporate travel incentives focus on experience, personalization and emotional connection. They blend meaningful event traditions that inspire a sense of belonging with novel experiences your attendees could never access on their own.  

Continuing to motivate top employees and channel partners ensures a competitive advantage by reinforcing the relationships that drive results and boost bottom-line finances.

Why incentive travel still works 

Back in 1963, when ITA Group initially launched as a corporate travel company, travel incentives were still relatively new. Now they’re non-negotiable. Employees expect high-value trip opportunities, especially in leading industries like automotive, finance, insurance, manufacturing and technology.  

Recognition fuels performance. How an organization demonstrates appreciation influences who wants to work there, employee engagement levels and the pace of achievement.

Cash rewards, gift cards and curated merchandise catalogs have their place in a well-designed incentive program. But research shows that nothing impacts retention quite like a luxury trip. That’s because travel rewards move beyond transactional tools to form deeper connections and enrich corporate culture. 

Organizations that offer incentive travel programs satisfy participants' psychological needs like:   

• A desire for exclusive experiences 
  
• The opportunity to network with other high performers and leaders 
  
• Proof of achievement they can share with colleagues, family and friends
  

Making lasting memories on an incentive trip tied to brand values reinforces why they work hard to win, year after year.  

Related: How to revamp an incentive travel program to motivate channel partners.  

Understanding what repeat earners really want

Knowing your audience is especially important for designing an effective program. Everything from the destination choice to thoughtful room drops should reinforce why earners matter to the brand.  

As an example, let’s focus on the financial services crowd. In our years of working with this group of high achievers, we understand their mindsets and tailor trips accordingly.   

Detail-oriented

High-quality, organized itineraries build trust. Busy finance professionals see customized incentive trips as a welcome break from their daily decision-making. They appreciate a clear and concise communications plan. Provide an easy, dynamic registration process that's integrated with air travel and mobile app to streamline trip-prep. 

Entrepreneurial and self-motivated: Highlight extra enhancements for top-tier earners like suite upgrades, flight upgrades, an extra night, etc. Leverage a microsite with dashboards to showcase their standings. This keeps motivation high for qualifying and standing out.  

Relationship driven

This audience wants to share stories and swap ideas. Collect information during registration that will speed up connections. Ask about activity interests: adventure-seeking, cultural immersion or relaxation. Adding icons to name badges tied to these preferences facilitates networking. 

Value-conscious

Time is money. For the brand, trip ROI can be calculated against strategic objectives. But for attendees, a trip should bring them closer to their individual goals. Give them great “out of office” content that shows colleagues and clients they’re excelling. This group might like Instagrammable moments captured by a professional photographer. 

Related: Use data to inform every phase of incentive travel, from trip qualifications to post-event analysis. 

4 innovative ways to redefine travel incentives

Repeat earners deserve distinctive experiences. When ITA Group event design leader Erica Lalk is asked how to continue to excite groups, her answer is simple: Make it feel fresh.  

Each event should be incomparable to the last. This extends beyond the destination choice. Here are four ways to refresh or redefine your incentive travel program:  

1. Embrace local themes

Choose a destination or property that lends itself to immersive cultural activities, adventure travel or wellness-oriented offerings. Look beyond popular vacation destinations like Hawaii and Rome to places like Puglia. Our buyers recommend this mostly undiscovered gem in southern Italy, where olive tasting pairs well with the wineries, historic villages and coastal views. 

Related: What incentive travel can look like in Puglia, Italy. 

2. Put personalization at the forefront of trip design

Allowing participants to tailor incentive trip activities or extend trips empowers attendees to make memories on their own terms. Anchor collective experiences around a few large group events and build more free time and choice into agendas. Even chill-time can be customized, with VIP pool cabanas stocked with their favorite beverages 

3. Integrate eco-friendly elements or community-based volunteerism

An incentive experience shouldn't feel like a corporate service trip. However, thoughtfully integrating “give back” elements encourages the mood-boosting rush for attendees while tying the event to a shared sense of purpose. When we incorporated high-energy, hands-on volunteer activities at Atlas Kinder Village into a trip to Morocco, positive feedback proved impact across multiple audiences.  

4. Gamify the experience

Incentive winners are known for their competitive spirits. So, it makes sense for programs to tap into their desire to win. Build gamified trip qualifications or flexible reward tiers into the earning structure. Rewarding location check-ins, picture posts and other frequent, accessible activities engage a deeper segment of the audience, according to Incentive Research Foundation dos and don’ts for gamifying incentive travel.

Related: See why strategies like these are also effective for building excitement with Gen Z earners. 

Redefine your next incentive travel experience 

Designing incentive travel programs that evolve keeps repeat earners engaged. However, continually reinventing feels impossible for event teams struggling under demanding workloads. 

That’s why event marketers should maintain elements that build loyalty and focus on incremental refreshes that blend personalization, purpose and destination-specific experiences into each incentive trip.

Explore how our expert-designed incentive travel solutions keep top performers excited to pack their bags, year after year.

Discover more wow-worthy ideas from our world-class incentive travel magazine.