Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 45

Heading somewhere tropical
First Come,
First Served
" Motivating and
retaining employees
is more important
than it's ever been
given where we are
right now. "
- Stephanie Harris,
president, Incentive
Research Foundation
Mike Schugt, president of Teneo Hospitality Group, says
capacity is going to keep being a hot-button issue.
" What we're seeing is that in Florida, Arizona, Southern
California, parts of the Carolinas and going up the west
coast there is a real capacity issue in the first four months
of 2023.
" Incentive are booking shorter term, there's no doubt
about that, " he says. " At the same time there are companies
that usually book in the first four months of the year for
incentive events. That's what it was like pre-Covid. The
problem is now that they are finding lack of availability.
They are now stretching events into May and June and also
going to second-tier destinations to make their incentive
meetings work. "
Like Harris, Schugt sees flexibility as key for planners.
Bermuda and Beyond
Eric Gavin, chief commercial officer with
Benchmark|Pyramid Luxury and Lifestyle spoke to us
from a site visit to one of the group's newest portfolio
members, Cambridge Beaches resort, a 100-year old
colonial cottage-style resort of 83 rooms. " Perfect for
incentives, " says Gavin.
" Bermuda is a great option for incentives from the U.S.
It's just a 90-minute flight from Boston, " he says. " Incentives
really kept going in Bermuda as a lot of financial
institutions have headquarters here. "
Gavin says that " for our portfolio of our resorts, the
driver in the incentive market, our booking pace for 2023
is up 30% over the same time [compared to what was
booked] in 2019 for 2020. "
" We are seeing groups coming back smaller, though, "
Gavin explains. " Large groups are about 40 to 50 percent
of pre-Pandemic rates, but they are steadily increasing. "
He sees a silver lining for incentive planners in a
perceived pull-back of pent-up leisure demand as colder
months ensue.
Like Harris and Schugt, Gavin sees availability in
warmer destinations as being an issue.
" We are seeing compression in 2023 when you look at
destinations like Florida, Texas and Hawaii having very
little availability, " he says. " Planners who have not booked
2023 yet are going to be limited, " he says. " Rates are going
to hold and be very strong. "
Gavin agrees with Schugt that incentive planners will
have to " look at alternative destinations until we get back
into normal booking cycles. "
For incentive planners, Gavin recommends partnering
with " transparency. " " That is key, " he says. " We need to
know what rates you can afford so we can work together
to discuss what your needs are and what your budget is.
If you give us rates, we'll have an easier time assessing
availability. "
He adds that as the industry hyperdrives itself back to
normal productivity, " flexibility is going to be key. "
45
@smartmeetings
Sunbathing on Beach
" People are looking at things a little more outside the box
because of availability, " he says. " Clients are looking to find a
different level of value by going into some different destinations
and places they wouldn't normally book. "
For instance, booking an event in Boston or Maine in
June or July rather than the Caribbean in first quarter
months. Schugt mentions great hospitality-driven cities like
Charleston and states like Rhode Island as offering incentive
planners options beyond Cancun, Hawaii and the Caribbean.
" You'll get an experience every bit as equally awesome
by trying a different type of hotel or moving your dates or
locale and trying something new so you can get better
value, " he says. " We are doing a lot of coaching with incentive
planners, using a collaborative approach to help them
be flexible with dates and other options. "

Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue

October Cover
Table of Contents 1
Table of Contents 2
Online Exclusives
Bright Perspective
Founder/CEO's Letter
Dash of Smart
Dash of Smart
Essential List
Smart Buzz
Smart Recap
New & Renovated
Essential F&B
Smart Moves
Smart Chat
Meetings MBA
Work Smart
Healthy World
Smart Tech
Smart Style
Feature: Airline Outrage
Feature: Incentive Hyperdrive
Feature: Oh the Destinations You Will Go
Destination: Tennessee
Destination: New England
Destination: California's Central Coast
Site Inspection: Louisville, Kentucky
Site Inspection: Birmingham, Alabama
Site Inspection: Reno, Nevada
Smart Space
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - October Cover
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Cover2
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 1
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 2
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 3
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Table of Contents 1
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 5
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Table of Contents 2
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 7
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Online Exclusives
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 9
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Founder/CEO's Letter
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 11
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Dash of Smart
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 13
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Dash of Smart
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 15
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Essential List
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 17
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Smart Buzz
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 19
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Smart Recap
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 21
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - New & Renovated
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 23
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Essential F&B
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 25
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Smart Moves
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 27
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Smart Chat
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 29
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Meetings MBA
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 31
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Work Smart
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 33
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Healthy World
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 35
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Smart Tech
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 37
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Smart Style
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 39
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Feature: Airline Outrage
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 41
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 42
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 43
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Feature: Incentive Hyperdrive
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 45
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 46
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 47
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 48
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 49
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Feature: Oh the Destinations You Will Go
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 51
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 52
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 53
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 54
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 55
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 56
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 57
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Destination: Tennessee
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 59
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 60
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 61
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 62
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Destination: New England
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 64
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 65
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 66
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 67
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Destination: California's Central Coast
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 69
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 70
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - 71
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Site Inspection: Louisville, Kentucky
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Site Inspection: Birmingham, Alabama
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Site Inspection: Reno, Nevada
Smart Meetings October 2022 Digital Issue - Smart Space
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