The Grand Tour

When you really want to salute your sales stars, a European holiday blends the best of all worlds. History, culture, entertainment, scenic beauty and more await the salesperson who has worked hard to reach a top spot. As American incentive groups make the trip across the Atlantic year after year, they return to well-traveled watering holes that never disappoint. But Europe offers more than traditional romps up castle ramparts. An incentive trip to the Old World can also satisfy appetites for the new and the unusual.

To keep sales managers and incentive planners keyed in to the very latest in what Europe has to offer, Selling Power contacted European tourism offices, incentive houses, independent consultants and U.S. companies to develop a snapshot of the continent that keeps American business coming back for more. While such traditional stops as London, Paris and Rome still entice, the experts tell SP that U.S. companies increasingly leave the well-beaten path. For the more, Monaco, St. Moritz and Italy’s Amalfi Coast are enticingly romantic and breathtakingly beautiful.

Dream On
Face it: A first-time trip to almost any major European capital is the stuff of American dreams. If they’ve never been, most of your salespeople likely want to go. “A big part of our business is tried and true. Besides Hawaii and the Caribbean, the mainstream destinations are the major European cities,” says Steve Aasgaard, vice president of incentive travel for BI Inc. in Minneapolis. Judy Jackson, director for product services at Fenton, Missouri-based Maritz Travel Company, agrees: “What are still hot are the major capitals.”

The perennial magnets – Rome, Paris and London, as well as Lisbon, Madrid, Vienna and others – boast unrivaled name recognition.

Paris drew a group of about 25 Reebok outlet store and district managers, and as many guests, for four days last April. They dined and danced aboard the Bateau Mouche during an evening cruise along the Seine. A memorable daytime excursion took the group to Versailles, the opulent summer residence of kings, just outside Paris. After three nights at the Concorde Sainte-Lazar Hotel, one happy planner commented: “My most memorable experience was on the last morning of the trip when the wife of a store manager approached me in tears saying this was the best experience she and her husband ever had,” recalls Kara Duffin, marketing specialist for Reebok’s retail division.

Ed Lamoureaux, president of E.L.M.C. Inc. in Chicago and the incentive consultant who mapped out the Reebok trip, heartily recommended Paris, but not only because the City of Lights is one of his favorites. “Paris is a great motivator and a very attractive destination to relatively inexperienced international travelers,” he says.

So motivating in fact that some store managers, who qualified by reaching sales and dollar goals, went to great lengths to get to Paris. “The stores in the running definitely were scratching and clawing for every sale they could get,” Duffin says, “and Paris still has a positive impact. We’re currently in the sixth month of this year’s program and 50 percent of our Paris winners are in the running for our trip in 2000.” Destination? Costa Rica.

City Lights
Urban hubs remove some guesswork from planning an incentive trip. The popular European stops offer some of the world’s best hotels, restaurants and sightseeing. For your private reception, choose from glittering halls, historic homes and celebrated museums.

Picture the possibilities: Your group celebrates success with Italian food and song during a gala evening at a rooftop restaurant overlooking St. Peter’s in Rome. You roll out the red carpet for your people at a royal feast in Henry VIII’s Hampton Court Palace. Your top achievers don Highland dress for a traditional Scottish banquet and night of dancing in a historic castle.

And when your group visits old sights, getting around can provide a welcome new twist. Would a hot-air balloon ride over Italy’s Tuscany spice up the trip? What about a descent on Norway’s Flam Railway to the bottom of the wild Flam valley to warm up the team for a cruise through a cool Norwegian fjord? Would a bird’s-eye view of the Mediterranean coastline from a helicopter or seaplane make their hearts soar?

A six-carriage nostalgic luxury train, called the Majestic Imperator, transports a growing number of incentive groups back in time as they roll between major cities in central Europe.

During a seven-night tour lavished on one American telecommunications company’s top producers, the train ranked as a top highlight, says Carlo Huber, an executive at Xceed Inc. in New York, discussing the client on condition the company remain unidentified. Aboard the Imperator, about 45 salespeople and their spouses breakfasted one July morning in 1998 as the train ran from Vienna to a Formula 1 Grand Prix race in southern Austria. That afternoon, the group returned to the Imperator to dine and dance their way to Venice.

“The people loved it,” recalls Huber, operations director of Xceed’s performance group, which planned the trip. “To impress a high-demand client like this one is not easy. It was amazing – that says a lot. The class and the service were exceptional. I would do it again any day, anywhere.”

While small groups can rent individual carriages to attach to another train, groups as large as 150 can lease the entire Imperator, says Michael Von Rosen, a partner in the train and head of its U.S. promoter, Imperial Journeys Inc. The fee to rent the train? $429 per person roundtrip between Vienna and Salzburg, breakfast and dinner included. As Von Rosen puts it, “The whole idea is to make this an unforgettable transfer.”

By train or motorcoach, U.S. incentives groups often cover as much ground as possible. For groups headed to sunny Italy, trips frequently pack people off to Rome first, then Florence. Or Florence, then Venice, says Stefano Marzocchi, vice president of operations for European Incoming Services (EIS) in Boston.

In the lake district north of Milan, private neoclassical villas with beautiful gardens and water views tantalize groups looking for a memorable party venue. Along the Amalfi Coast, a highlight can be a sumptuous dinner on a chartered cruise of the coastline dotted with small towns built into the rocks. “Italy is a hot spot for incentives,” Marzocchi says. “It’s a well-known destination that sells itself.”

A Road Less Traveled
But lesser-known locales sell too. Dangle a trip your salespeople wouldn’t take on their own, and they’ll pull out all the stops to get on board. That’s what The Hartford discovered when it announced something off the well-trodden path as its travel reward. Why Monaco? The insurance company wanted to inspire with the unusual. At first, agents wondered if the tiny principality on the Mediterranean between the French and Italian Rivieras offered enough goings-on. It did.

“Everyone thought it was wonderful,” says Terri DiGiro, meeting-planning manager for The Hartford. “The venues were magnificent. It was just a magical place for us.” About 200 of the company’s top-producing agents, plus spouses, stayed at the Monte Carlo Grand Hotel for five nights last May. Says DiGiro of one black-tie gala lit up by fireworks at the Monte-Carlo Sporting Club, “People are still talking about it.”

ERA Real Estate also tends to reward its top producers with travel outside the mainstream. As a follow-up to popular trips to Greece and Banff, Canada, ERA eyed Monaco because of its sizzle. Says Lori Jordan, event manager for Cedant Corp., parent company of ERA. “Monaco has a touch of panache, class and glamour.” The top agents basked in glamour galore – dining and dancing one night in the museum housing Prince Rainier’s private collection of 100 vintage cars and carriages. About 50 top producers each brought a guest for the five-day stay at the Grand Hotel last fall.

It’s Only Money
But wait! If you think such glamour spots as Monaco are just too pricey to consider, think again. Group incentive trips won’t necessarily bust the budget if you follow a few money-saving tips.

The Monaco tab? The trip may cost $2,000 to $3,000 per person, says Stephanie Reyna, ERA’s director of awards and recognition. If that sounds expensive, comparatively it’s not. That price tag roughly matched the cost of a recent trek to a Palm Springs conference, Reyna says.

What’s more, Monaco more than paid for itself. To qualify, the five top-volume performers each sold $28 million to $42 million in property in 1998. And ERA insists its travel prizes set the company apart from some others, serving as a recruiting tool that lures stars away from the competition. “We treat people like royalty so they’ll keep doing what they do and go back and talk about the travel and say how wonderful we are as a company,” Reyna says.

Europe’s sun-washed shores may warm up some sales forces, but when Bell Atlantic Mobile wanted to send its top performers somewhere they wouldn’t go on their own, the company chose snowy St. Moritz, Switzerland. “People loved it,” says Carol Pilone, manager of recognition for Bell Atlantic Mobile in Bedminster, NJ.

A few years back, the company compared the cost of skiing in Europe to the expense of ski venues on this side of the Atlantic. Guess what? The price of Aspen, CO, failed to beat the tab for St. Moritz.

In early 1998, Bell Atlantic Mobile packed off its 100 top salespeople to frolic in the Swiss Alps. And did they ever. Indeed, the holiday hit such heights the company lined up a 1999 return trip. The sales force applauded the encore heartily. About 150 producers, an increase of 50 percent, sold enough wireless phones and services to qualify. In 1998 and 1999 winners each brought a guest.

“We had a lot of repeat winners. It motivated them to perform again,” Pilone says. “The 1999 trip was the best ever. It’s a great destination. The people are very friendly. The country itself is beautiful.”

With the Alps as the backdrop, the group competed in their own mini-Olympics at St. Moritz, two-time host of the Winter Olympic Games. For nonskiers, horseback riding and horse-drawn sleighs beckoned. Among the highlights, a Swiss family of singers helped indelibly etch memories of dinner at a circa 17th-century chalet. From another restaurant, spectacular views of the Alps and surrounding valleys competed with a fireworks display and strolling musicians.

On both Bell Atlantic Mobile trips, the food and service at the Badrutt’s Palace Hotel awed everyone, says Nunzio Tarantino, president H&A America Inc., the New York incentive house that planned the travel. “St. Moritz is the best place I’ve been, I think. It has a lot to offer.”

From its mountains to its sun-washed shores, the continent has a lot to offer. But to sample Europe, an incentive trip doesn’t have to cost a fortune. Take Ireland, says Robert Craig, vice president of I.T.S., an Illinois incentive travel company. Keeping costs down helps explain why the Emerald Isle enjoys a rising profile as a destination for American incentive groups.

“You get excellent value for your dollar,” says Craig. He explains he can map out a five-night trip to Dublin for about $1,200 per person, airfare included. That’s about 50 percent less than comparable incentive travel to several other major European cities. “Many of our clients look at their budget, and Dublin always comes in at a much smaller cost,” Craig says.

Money’s not everything, though. Ireland lures U.S. business groups to take in its magnificent landscape, relaxed pace and friendly people. With its distinct blend of urban and rural flavors, Ireland makes it easy to get a taste of a city – Dublin – then wrap up the trip with a serving of the countryside. Soak up dramatic scenery, thatched cottages and grand manor homes. “I’ve never run a program to Ireland where there wasn’t 100 percent satisfaction,” Craig says.

Planning Tips
Incentive travel works. When the carrot is travel or merchandise, nearly nine out of 10 sales incentive programs inspire sales teams to come within 10 percent of company goals, according to a 1999 survey by the Incentive Federation, an industry alliance. Considering Europe as a prize? The following guidelines may save you some headaches – and some money.

A typical incentive trip to Europe can run for five days and runs $2,000 to $3,000 per person. But you can do some trimming. It depends on the season and the extras, but Europe can favorably compare to some popular domestic sites. With airfare included, the per person cost of a five-night incentive stay at a deluxe hotel in Biarritz, France, didn’t exceed the price of comparable travel to Pebble Beach, CA, says Penny Wing, president of Incentive Travel Inc. in San Diego. “You get a lot for your money in Europe,” she says.

Reduce your expenses by giving your group time to explore on their own. Get a big bang for your buck by booking air travel midweek. Or avoid traveling at the season’s height. Most groups travel in warm weather, but cold temperatures won’t mar a trip to a city rich in culture and may slash your costs as much as 25 percent, one planner says.

If you put the program together by yourself, get information from the tourism offices that most European countries maintain in the U.S. Many of the bureaus employ incentive specialists.

For the novice, pitfalls can abound in the often complicated field of European-travel planning. Thousands of details go into mapping out an incentive trip abroad. Book the hotels, venues and air travel, and the planning has just begun. What’s the popular alternative? Hiring a consultant or company specializing in incentive group travel. Specialists say several dozen American incentive companies have experience in Europe.

To ensure a well-executed trip to Europe, rely on a destination management company (DMC), especially one familiar with the U.S. incentive market. A DMC will help you negotiate a culture and a community by locating hotels, services and venues. A DMC will create unusual events featuring local performers.

From its cultural surprises to its culinary delights, the Old World can satisfy incentive travelers of many stripes. If you want your sales force to go to the mountaintop, a reward of Europe might just spur them to new heights.