Having it All 3-1-1998

Participants benefit, too. "You don't want your attendees to have to reach for their wallets during a program," says Cheryl Bump, president of Virginia Beach, Va.-based Brickell Incentives. "At an all-inclusive, they're free to enjoy themselves without having to worry about paying extra for this and that -- which can take away from the incentive."

Before Bump selects an all-inclusive resort for a client, she gets price quotes from other properties and destination management companies (which also offer package deals) at the destination. Beware, however, if you need to show your boss or client an apples-to-apples price comparison. All-inclusives like Club Med, Sandals and SuperClubs will absolutely not break down prices for you -- you'll have to "guesstimate" what they charge for individual budget components such as food and beverage, rooms, transfers, etc., based on the package price.

Bump says she can't think of a situation in which a non-inclusive property offered better value than the all-inclusive. In fact, she once had two groups of roughly the same size hold concurrent incentive programs on St. Martin. One group selected an all-inclusive property; the other chose a traditional resort. While the initial costing worked out to be almost equal for each program, the real difference, she says, was in the running master account, particularly for drinks. "The firm that didn't stay at the all-inclusive ended up spending far more."

Laura Sayegh, vice president, sales operations, for the New York City-based Research Institute of America, has also planned incentives to the Caribbean at both types of properties. "It was much more of a challenge to balance the budget at the non-inclusive property -- there was a surcharge for everything, and it really added up," she says.

Even Anne Wold-Graham, who's not a fan of all-inclusives for incentive programs, says the genre can't be beat when budget control is top priority. "At the end of a program I did at the Almond Beach Club in Barbados, I was presented with a $19.95 bill for incidentals," laughs the senior vice president of New York City-based planning firm EGR International. "I've never had a bill that low in my life."

Beverage consumption is important, too. Whether your participants drink the bar dry or they're teetotalers who indulge in nothing stronger than Diet Pepsi, you're going to pay the same price. "You really need to have an idea of their habits and know their history to figure out if the setting's going to be right and it's a good value," says Brickell Incentives' Bump.

They also need to be fairly independent, says Northwestern Incentives' Joan Miskowiec. "If participants enjoy snorkeling, windsurfing, even eating most meals on their own, rather than doing the 'tight group' stuff, all-inclusives are a good option."

Another consideration: Will the group be happy staying put? Although you can organize a tour of the destination or a dine-around one night, they're pretty much stuck on-property for the duration of the program. Make sure they don't expect to be wowed by a different venue every night.

When Kathy Johnson, director of corporate communications for Clear Channel Communications, a San Antonio-based broadcasting company, held her first all-inclusive incentive program in January at Sandals Ocho Rios, she was relieved of another time-consuming chore: Doling out spending money to winners, a typical practice of her company and many others. "Since no money technically had to leave participants' hands, I didn't have to go through the detail work of that step," she says.

Of course, you can do a cocktail party or a theme party, but you'll be limited in the scope and range of your event -- even if you are willing to pay the price (see "Extras, Extras," page 56). As Sunbelt's Lesley Meyer says, "The very nature of incentives is to specifically design a program to a group's needs, and that creativity is hampered at all-inclusives."

Henry Kroesen, vice president, marketing services for Don Mills, Ontario-based NN Financial, designs high-budget (about $5,000 per participant) incentives for independent insurance agents, and he steers clear of all-inclusives -- calling them "strictly for the tour and travel crowd." Says Kroesen, "I'm competing against other firms that are offering fabulous incentive programs, so I stay away from any type of program that people book themselves."

He adds: "Sure, all-inclusives can do one special dinner for your group, but the rest of the time, what they're getting is no different than what all the other guests are getting."

It's also difficult -- unless you've taken over the property -- to make your events exclusive. Wold-Graham says one property refused to close off the pool area for a welcome cocktail reception because local craft vendors, who displayed their wares there at cocktail time, protested. The result: A lot of unfamiliar faces wandered into the party. (Fortunately, it was not a function that warranted extra charges.)

EGR's Wold-Graham agrees. "After you've been there for the sixth breakfast or sixth dinner, and the same hors d'oeuvres are served with cocktails every night, it can get pretty tiresome," she says. "I always try to do a dine-around off-site for one night, just to break things up."

Clear Channel Broadcasting's Johnson had to insist that her participants be checked in en route to the resort. "The property wasn't used to a group coming in at once, and I didn't want a mob scene when they arrived," she said.

Judi Taylor McLaughlin, director of corporate events for Philadelphia-based McGettigan Partners, says all-inclusives are not her firm's preference. "We're trying to create a unique environment that participants can't create on their own," she said. "Our incentive clients -- mainly financial services and pharmaceutical companies -- have participants who have money to travel wherever they want, so we offer programs with elements like a ride on the Orient Express or a private reception at the Vatican Museum."

The San Francisco-based planner agreed. "We do two types of incentives: a pure 'thank you for a job well-done' trip, and a 'vacation of a lifetime' traditional program that only 30 top sales reps qualify for." He says all-inclusives work perfectly for the reward trip, but he would never use one for the goal-oriented incentive. "People aren't willing to work hard for stuff they can do on their own -- and just about anyone can afford to take an all-inclusive vacation." *