Sometimes the most thoughtful thing you can add to an incentive itinerary is nothing at all.
Incentive travel is meant to reward people. But somewhere along the way, it can be easy to equate a great program with a packed itinerary: breakfast at 8:00. Activity at 9:00. Lunch at noon. Another activity. Reception. Dinner. Repeat.
For a recent President’s Club retreat in Asheville, North Carolina, we approached things a little differently.
The program brought together approximately 50 guests for a weekend designed to recognize top performers while creating opportunities to relax, connect and celebrate. The group was made up of experienced travelers with high expectations for service and hospitality, so every detail mattered.
But attention to detail didn't have to mean attention to every minute.
Let the destination do some of the work
Asheville gave us a pretty compelling starting point.
Set against the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Omni Grove Park Inn & Spa became more than the host hotel—it was part of the experience itself. The resort offered the setting, views, golf and spa experiences that allowed us to build a program around the property rather than constantly moving attendees from one scheduled event to another.
We wanted guests to experience Asheville, too, without turning the weekend into a sightseeing marathon.
Friday began slowly, with breakfast at each guest's convenience and lunch at the resort before the group headed to the Biltmore Estate. The afternoon included a self-guided Biltmore House tour, wine tasting and dinner at Cedric's Garden.
It was a full afternoon—but importantly, it followed a deliberately open morning.
That balance became a theme throughout the retreat.
Give people choices
Saturday may have been my favorite part of the itinerary because there wasn't one prescribed experience.
Guests could choose golf, spa or personal time.
Golfers could spend the day on the Grove Park course. Spa guests could settle into the resort's spa. And anyone who wanted neither could simply have the day to themselves—exploring downtown Asheville, visiting local boutiques, heading toward the Blue Ridge trails or doing absolutely nothing at all.
That last option matters.
Incentive attendees spend much of their professional lives on someone else's calendar. Giving them a beautiful destination and permission to decide how they want to spend a few hours can be a meaningful part of the reward.
Not everyone wants another excursion.
Sometimes luxury is choice.
Hospitality isn't always more
There were still plenty of carefully planned moments.
Guests arrived to a welcome reception on the Vanderbilt Terrace. Friday brought the Biltmore Estate experience. Saturday evening brought everyone back together for a final dinner at Posana, with a locally focused menu that reflected the region.
Behind those moments was the less-visible work that makes an incentive program feel effortless: transportation, activity and restaurant coordination, guest communications, gifting, shipping, timelines, vendor management and on-site oversight.
Even the food and beverage strategy considered the rhythm of the overall weekend. For example, Friday's lunch was intentionally designed to be lighter and more efficient because guests were heading into an afternoon at Biltmore followed by dinner.
That's an important distinction.
A relaxed itinerary doesn't require less planning. Often, it requires more.
You have to know which moments deserve production, which experiences are worth gathering everyone for, and where the schedule benefits from breathing room.
Create the framework. Then leave some space.
One of our goals at DINEvent is to create an experience where the planning is almost invisible to the attendee.
They shouldn't be thinking about transportation schedules, vendor confirmations, room deliveries or whether dinner is going to start on time. That's our job.
Their job is to be there.
To celebrate.
To connect.
And, every once in a while, to have absolutely nowhere they need to be.
For this President’s Club retreat, that space wasn't an omission from the itinerary.
It was part of the itinerary.
