We have worked with our client for 11 years to run their annual travel incentive programme for the top performing employees. The brief was to find an aspirational destination with a 4- or 5-star hotel, excellent flight schedules from 40 airports around Europe and WEMEIA, a fun and varied entertainment programme and stunning gala dinner venue, all within a fixed budget.
The client chose New York as the destination and guests were accommodated in the four-star Hyatt Centric Times Square Hotel, located just a minute’s walk from the hustle bustle of Times Square with superb rooftop cocktail bar on the 54th floor to admire the city views.
As well as a registration website, for sustainability and communication purposes we also created an event app which included information about the hotel, itinerary, hosts, free time suggestions with website links, interactive maps, attendee list and the ability to send push notifications, a social wall for uploading photos and surveys for guests to complete therefore reducing the need for paper and booklets.
Flights and transfers were arranged for all guests and they were greeted with a light welcome dinner at an American themed restaurant. Following a business meeting, the guests put their walking shoes on for a city tour of New York. As a surprise, we had booked a trip to “The Top of the Rock” at the Rockefeller Centre and they could see the views for miles whilst being in the clouds. They also visited the Ground Zero memorial site, the financial district of Wall Street, a brief visit to Central Park and Winter Gardens for a coffee stop. The tour finished with lunch at St John’s Pizza – voted one of New York’s oldest and best pizzerias followed by an afternoon at leisure to explore the city.
That evening the guests enjoyed a dinner cruise around Manhattan Island and were able to watch the sun set and view all the New York skyscrapers by day and then by night, sailing under a beautifully lit Brooklyn Bridge and then cruised very close to the Statue of Liberty. A tour of Brooklyn was also arranged, travelling on the subway to Brooklyn with an informative tour of the area then walking over the bridge back to Manhattan.
The gala dinner took place on the final night at the infamous Edison Ballroom. Guests were transported from the hotel in iconic yellow school buses and many commented they felt like movie stars in the grand venue which originally opened in the 1930’s and is the ultimate glamourous and sought-after New York venue.
On the final day, there was an optional visit to Harlem to visit and be included in Gospel Church visits before being collected from the hotel for return flights home.
The feedback we received from both the client and their guests was that this was the trip of a lifetime that would remain in their hearts and memories forever. It ticked many boxes on bucket lists and all the guests were determined to work hard to earn their place on the following year’s trip.
