Even if the money is available for corporate travel incentives such as ship charters, this type of travel may simply not be feasible for one reason or another. Oftentimes, trips are complicated to plan due to scheduling conflicts. However, businesses must still hold essential meetings with their employees on an annual, semi-annual, or quarterly basis. To make these meetings more enjoyable and memorable, businesses may want to consider other types of incentives. When the travel itself or the location of the meeting is not necessarily an incentive, there are other ways that businesses can motivate employees and show their appreciation.

Favors can make excellent incentives. As a rule, incentives given to employees at meetings should somehow relate to the task at hand. The majority of items distributed as incentives should be useful and relevant to the meeting. A few of the incentive items should be things that will simply make the employees or meeting participants happy. For example, coupons or vouchers for free coffee or dessert at a local coffee shop is a great way to make employees feel appreciated. Other types of incentive products that are well-received include things such as pens, notebooks, coffee mugs, and shirts. These items should be branded with the business' corporate logo.

Whether you are planning a day-long corporate event or an event that takes place over a number of days, you will more than likely be asked to schedule some sort of entertainment into the itinerary. In the case of multi-day events, you will need to consider activities and entertainment options for several different time slots, since naturally there will be downtime between meetings or at the end of the day. While scheduling organized outings, entertainers, social functions or other entertainment options will certainly be necessary, you may want to consider interspersing planned activities and free time during periods of downtime throughout your event.

There are a number of advantages associated with designating certain days or evenings as free time to allow the attendees to plan their own activities. The most obvious and significant advantage is the money that will be saved, followed closely by the fact that allowing for free time means fewer events for you to plan, which makes your job easier. Experiencing significant cost savings and having less planning to do is reason enough to schedule in free time; however, there are also additional benefits of opting for self-styled entertainment options.

Scheduling in free time is sure to please attendees who would rather explore the city, go out for a drink or retreat to their rooms after a long day of meetings. It also allows you to avoid risking folks not showing up due to lack of appeal or simply being too tired after the day’s activities.