Managing Expectations

1
Managing Expectations

• Joost de Meyer, CITE, CMM
• President of First Incentive Travel, Inc.
  Orlando/Florida
• Member of SITEs International Board of Directors
  
• Frankfurt, April 23rd 2008

2
What is our business?

• Organizing incentives and group travel 90 in
  the USA, 10 in the rest of the World
• Mostly European clients
• Incentive houses sometimes clients direct
• Receive a Request For Proposal (RFP)
• Collate information
• Produce proposal for client

3
What is our business?

• Calculate costs metrics for client
• Wait for reply from incentive house or client
• If successful make all reservations, payments
  and execute the program
• Evaluate program
• Produce final financial statements

4
Who is who?

• Buyer the organizer, for example First
  Incentive Travel
• Incentive House client of buyer, for example
  Carlson Wagon Lit
• Client End user, for example Mercedes Benz
• Supplier Hotel, Restaurant, Venue, Coach
  Company

5
Challenges for Buyer

• Mostly a badly prepared RFP is sent by incentive
  house or client
• Not sufficient information on RFP
• RFP is sent to more and more companies
• Have to ask all kind of questions
• Lose time and we have little of it
• Most of them last minute requests
• Loyalty of clients is less than in past

6
Challenges for Buyer

• A lot of information is found on the internet
• Suppliers have websites with all this
  information, so it is easy to find
• Incentive houses and clients book hotels on their
  own and leave the more difficult part for the
  buyer
• Harder to make a decent profit than in the past

7
What should be on a RFP?

• The dates the program should be operated are
  they flexible with those dates?
• Number of persons
• Number of nights in the destination(s)
• The dates the program should be operated are
  they flexible with those dates?
• Number and kind of rooms. How many upgrades
  for Very Important Persons (VIPs)

8
What should be on a RFP?

• Ages of participants
• of men and women
• Previous incentive experiences and
  destinations
• What kind of industry is the client in?
  Pharmaceutical, Automotive, IT, Insurance, etc.
• Why are they organizing this incentive trip?
  Understand the program objectives and budget of
  the client
• Ideas about program active or less active

9
What should be on a RFP?

• Rating of hotels they want to use
• Budget is it including air or only for the
  land-portion
• Competition of other destinations mostly at
  least 2 - 3 other destinations are offered to
  client ( end user)
• Competition of other suppliers maybe 3 or
  more different incentive companies submitting
  proposals
• Kind of your price break-down? One total
  package price per person or line-itemized pricing
• Nowadays a proposal should be with text AND
  pictures

10
What should be on a RFP?

• Be creative! Provide value-add (local
  information about the destination, weather,
  special holidays, etc.)
• When do they want the proposal back? Meet the
  deadline!
• When can you expect a decision?
• Who will be your contact at the incentive
  company?
• Have not only e-mail address and office
  telephone number, but also the mobile telephone
  number of your contact. We work in a 24/7
  business

11
Meeting expectations Clients?

• Require unique proposal
• Has to be creative
• Not too expensive
• But best value for money
• Need proposal tomorrow
• Detailed program with lot of pictures
• Require options in hotels, restaurants, venues

12
Meeting expectations Clients?

• Pressure on budgets
• Now with strong Euro more value for money in
  countries

13
Meeting Expectations Suppliers?

• They want the business in the quiet/low seasons
• Suppliers want to make a great profit and little
  work. Buyers do most of it
• Hotels want to have the clients for more than
  rooms only minimum FB
• Suppliers need more and more waivers against
  liability
• Restaurants want minimum turnover with groups
• Restaurants want more than one seating

14
Meeting Expectations Incentive Houses?

• They have to please the end client
• Competition from other incentive houses mostly 2
  others
• Have to come up with several proposals to
  different parts of the world
• Last minute requests
• Have to make extensive proposals
• Pressure on margins

15
Meeting Expectations Buyers?

• Have to do most of the work
• Suppliers are mostly difficult to reach
• Many times voicemails and mostly do not return
  the call
• With City Wide conventions hotels are only able
  to work with housing bureau
• Housing bureaus are very difficult to work with
  no commission, no loyalty points
• Hotels have strong attrition rules

16
Meeting Expectations Buyers?

• Transportation is the weakest link and causes
  most of the complaints
• With large groups in town, coaches are rented
  outside by local coach companies
• Difficult to find qualified staff
• Pressure on profits
• Buyers work with marketing companies for
  representation in several countries
• Have to send proposals a.s.a.p. but afterwards it
  takes a while before decisions are made by client

17
What are the solutions?

• Better understanding of each others problems
• Greater cooperation between all parties concerned
• Better education within the industry
• Workshops like this one to determine what the
  daily challenges are
• Leading role for organizations as SITE to discuss
  these challenges and find solutions

18
Still possible to be successful?

• Be ahead of the mainstream
• Educate yourself and your staff
• Visit tradeshows
• Become a member of SITE and be active. Only
  membership is not sufficient to be successful
• Excellent website and information for client
• Build good relationships with suppliers
• Pay on time

19
Still possible to be successful?

• Be creative
• Be responsive
• Be trustworthy
• Talk to your partners (incentive house, client,
  supplier) and not only via e-mail
• Build relationships
• It will always be a peoples business, although we
  have e-mail, blackberries, mobile, internet

20
Final thoughts

• I hope you learnt something which you can take
  away and use in your daily business
• It is a constant battle to please every partner
• Stay positive
• It is a great industry to work in. Be
  passionate!!
• Success in your business
• If you have questions, you can also e-mail me at
  joostdm_at_firstincentivetravel.com
• Thank you for your presence