Category: Vacation Travel

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Business Travel Featured Travel Tips Vacation Travel

Is a Corporate Travel Incentive Program Right for My Business?

Group of People on Sailing Boat | Employee Enjoying Corporate Travel Incentive Program

Imagine yourself on the trip of a lifetime with a loved one or a friend. Perhaps you’ve always wanted to visit the beaches of Thailand or marvel at the beauty of Alaskan glaciers. Now imagine your company picking up the tab for the entire trip. That would be amazing, wouldn’t it? These types of employee rewards are often known as corporate travel incentive programs. Developing these programs, with the help of Andavo Meetings & Incentives (AMI), Christopherson Business Travel’s meetings, groups, and incentive travel division, can be a smart business move for several reasons. Keep reading to learn more!

What is Incentive Travel?

Businesses use a corporate travel incentive as a reward for accomplishing a goal. Incentive travel rewards work just like bonuses or other motivational tactics in the workplace. They drive up productivity and reward strong work ethics. For example, a business could offer a travel incentive once an employee hits a certain number of sales or achieves a specific goal. The trips could be purely for vacation or combined with a few company events for a fun work getaway.

Why Use Incentive Travel Programs

When it comes to rewarding your employees for their hard work, you could just give them cash or another type of gift. But vacations provide unique opportunities for employees and even benefits for the company. If you’re looking for some reasons to use corporate travel incentive programs, here are a few:

Perks for Employees

Offering business travel incentive programs to your employees can have a different effect than cash bonuses and gifts. One reason it’s a great choice is that an amazing trip is a special occasion for people. It gives employees something to look forward to. It also gives them an opportunity to travel to places they might not otherwise visit and make memories with a friend, family member, or co-workers.

Once they’ve earned a trip with their hard work, they’ll look back on these memories and can use them as motivation to work toward their next trip. Those winning employees also help motivate other team members who may not have won that particular trip but realize they want to try for a future incentive opportunity because they don’t want to miss out.

Benefits for the Company

Why should you spend time and money establishing corporate travel incentive programs for your employees? You may be surprised to know that establishing such a program can offer a multitude of benefits for your company on top of being a great perk for your employees.

Boost employee engagement – One of the first benefits of establishing a corporate travel incentive program is boosting employee engagement. Giving your employees experiences encourages excitement and can be a powerful way to motivate them.

Strengthen your company as a team – If employees earn a trip together, they are able to get excited about the trip and make plans together. It becomes a focal point and highlight for the year. Earned vacations generate discussion and interest that help to motivate employees.

Draw top talent for your company and retain employees – Employees participating in corporate travel incentive programs experience increased loyalty to their company and have a higher opinion of their workplace. Incentive travel photos are often shared on social media for others to see which enhances your company’s image. When you offer great rewards like these vacation experiences to employees, you establish yourself as a positive company to work for and can generate interest for potential employees. It’s also a great way to retain employees as they work towards their next trip.

Factors to Consider when Deciding on Incentive Travel Programs

When deciding on implementing corporate travel incentive programs, there are a few things to consider. You’ll want to establish a program that delivers on its goals, provides a return on investment, and draws interest and excitement. Consider these following factors when selecting an incentive travel program:

Ask your staff for feedback – Business travel incentive programs only work if your employees want to go on the trips you’ve planned. AMI can help you identify a business travel incentive program that your employees will want to achieve. You can also survey your team members to get ideas for destinations and activities that appeal to them.

Establish the goals of your program – In our exploratory phase, AMI will help you outline clear goals that you’d like the employees to reach in order to achieve the travel reward. Because travel reward programs are an investment, having clear goals allows you to identify and assess your ROI. Keeping employees updated on their progress toward these goals will help boost their motivation to work towards them.

Explore vendors to find the perfect fit – While plenty of incentive travel companies offer packages claiming to take away the hassle of corporate travel planning, not all offerings are the best option for your company’s needs. AMI’s connections around the world deliver access to best-in-class experiences and accommodations, and each incentive trip planned is unique to your goals and objectives.

Request a Corporate Travel Incentive Planning Meeting

AMI’s incentive travel planning begins and ends with your goals, and your people, in mind. Our strategic, personalized approach allows us to focus on the purpose behind your incentive trip and deliver an extraordinary experience your employees will never forget. Visit andavomeetings.com or speak with our planners today for more information.

 

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Choice Humanitarian Travel News Vacation Travel

CHOICE Expedition – Tammy’s Story

Christopherson Business Travel is a proud corporate sponsor of CHOICE Humanitarian. In addition to voluntary employee contributions and matching program, Christopherson annually sends a group of employees on a week-long humanitarian expedition. Based out of Salt Lake City, CHOICE Humanitarian works in seven countries to help those in extreme poverty.  Using a village-centered approach, they work to improve quality of life through self-sufficiency.  This year, our group employees visited a small village in the Buena Vista region of Guatemala. Tammy Irvin, a corporate travel advisor from our Alabama office was selected to volunteer on this trip.

Tammy’s story with Choice Humanitarian

The CHOICE Humanitarian expedition to Guatemala is a trip I will never forget. This trip brought out so many emotions in me—laughter, sadness, heartbreak, and amazement. I cannot thank Christopherson Andavo enough for the opportunity to participate.

I arrived to the hustle and bustle of Guatemala City. It was a little overwhelming at first, but our trip leaders made me feel at ease. We were treated to a great meal at a local restaurant and a trip to the Market. Once the rest of the team members arrived, we went to our first stop, a resort called Rio Dulce. There, I met Amy, my roomie for the week and the other Christopherson Andavo team members, along with the other expedition participants. We enjoyed dinner together and had a great time relaxing at the pool.

The next day, we went on a boat ride and then boarded two small buses. I am extremely afraid of heights, so I was not looking forward to this part of the trip. We wound around the mountainous roads and finally, we arrived—to the “drop-over- the-edge-and-you-will-die point.” I got a few heckles, but my fear faded and I was fine.

Finally, we arrived at Sikaab’e. Sikaab’e is a vocational training school in the Polochic Valley. Sikaabe is Q’eqchi for “seek your path.” We were lucky enough to stay in their dorm for the week! The next day we began our work of digging trenches, building chicken coops, and painting the dorm. We took a day to visit with the women in a neighboring village and teach hygiene, while the men bonded with the local soccer team. Every day was an adventure. As the week went by, we slowly realized that you can disconnect, be unplugged, and you will survive.

In short, we ate, laughed, cried, made new friends we will never forget, and helped someone make it through one more day. The trip is actually helping me make it through one more day. I know it’s not what you have, it’s what you give—in whatever way you give it. I have never seen so many happy people—so many people that didn’t have much, but what they had, they were grateful for.

I have a million memories and for that, I am thankful.

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Business Travel Travel Tips Vacation Travel

6 Tips to Relax While Traveling

Are you constantly stressed while traveling for work? Being away from your home and family can easily throw anyone off. Not to mention a completely different schedule than your daily routine. Whether you are new to business travel or an seasoned roadwarrior, many parts of the journey can leave you feeling anxious.  Knowing how to relax while traveling is an important but often overlooked variable of business trips.

Tricks to help you relax while traveling:

Plan ahead 

Visualizing where you’ll be, what you will be wearing and events you will be attending can establish a schedule and even control. Before you head out the door, spend a few minutes researching. Knowing the address of your hotel and where it’s located will eliminate a few harried minutes at the airport. Or if you are attending a conference, download the schedule beforehand and plan out which sessions you’d like to see. Going in with a game plan might just help keep you confident and ready for other experiences.

Don’t over-schedule yourself 

Speaking of scheduling your time, try not to overbook your day. Factor things like jet lag, amount of sleep, work deadlines, etc. before committing to additional plans.

Unplug

Though it can seem impossible, try to have a few intervals during the day to unplug from work. If you can’t do that, even 15 minutes before going to sleep can recharge you for the next day.

Wellness

Make sure to take care of your health while on the road to help melt away the stress. Take advantage of hotel wellness programs, hit the gym, or grab some healthy snacks to offset an unhealthy traveling diet.

Family Pictures 

If you are missing your loved ones at home, save pictures of them on the background of your phone or computer. Seeing your family members may bring a smile to your face as you go through long days of meetings.

Save time for a vacation 

Our last tip is to take a vacation when you are done with work travel. Whether a full vacation or just a weekend ‘bleisure’ trip can open your eyes to a new place. Connect with a travel advisor at Andavo Travel, Christopherson’s leisure travel division, to plan a trip for complete relaxation.

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Business Travel Guides Travel Tips Vacation Travel

Travel Packing List For Dummies: Use Carry-on Luggage For EVERY Trip

Passengers gathering at the gate prior to their boarding time is strange to me. My first thought is often, ‘why stand in line before you are called, cutting into time that could be used for work, a preflight meal, catching up on a phone call?’ But then I remember that these travelers, like me, are terrified of not finding a space for their bag on the plane. I pride myself on using the same international sized carry-on for every trip, no matter how long. In fact, I wrote a blog on my favorite packing tips a few years ago.  Since I wrote this, I’ve continued traveling for business and leisure and know even more about packing light. I’ve discovered a few easy tips that are especially helpful as we move into the cooler months.

Carry-on packing tips for business and leisure travelers

1) Invest in packing cubes. They not only help you separate your clothes, but they really do keep everything compact. They are especially useful for sweaters!
2) Boot season is upon us and while they look great, knee-high boots can take up an entire suitcase. If boots are part of your wardrobe, wear them on the plane to save space.
3) Try wearing items that you have packed a few times during the same trip. A scarf or tie can really transform an outfit, and nobody will even notice that you had worn it the previous day.
4) If you plan to use the hotel gym, invest in a good workout outfit that is made of nylon. This material gets really small when folded and you can even roll the items and store them inside your workout shoes.
5) If you buy your cosmetics from a mall department store, do so when you can get a promotional gift. The bags that come with these gifts are often the perfect size for travel and the samples are usually travel sized.

Overall, I’ve learned that even with the stressful pre-boarding line, carry-on luggage is the best option for plane travel. Especially if you have an established packing routine with usable tips and tricks.

Looking for more helpful tips on business travel packing? Check out our other blog posts:

Christopherson Business Travel is a corporate travel management company. We’ve worked passionately for more than 60 years to bring travel solutions to busy businesses. Learn more about our specialty travel technology or consultative services that save our clients time and money.