Vantly

Incentive trips, planned by a local planner

Resorts, guest travel, activities and the awards dinner for your incentive travel program, booked by a planner who knows the destination.

An incentive trip rewards the people who hit a goal, usually top sales performers and a guest of their choice, with travel the company pays for. It's meant to feel like a reward, not a work week: a great place to stay, free time, a few shared moments and an awards dinner people remember. Below: what incentive travel is and how a program works, how a local planner books the trip, three resorts that host incentive groups, an example package, a budget calculator, a sample itinerary and a checklist. Planning a Presidents Club? Read our Presidents Club trip guide.

Free, personalized initial proposal within 48 hours. No commitment.

Wine glasses and champagne flutes on a long white-cloth table set for an awards dinner
The private pool at a Puerto Rico beach house
Incentive travel

What incentive travel is and how it works

Incentive travel is a trip used as a reward: a company sets a goal, and the people who reach it earn the trip.

  • Who it's for. Most incentive trips reward sales teams, often called Presidents Club or a winners' trip. Some reward channel partners, dealers or top performers in other roles.
  • The earning period. The company sets a period, often the fiscal year, and announces the trip at the start so it can motivate the work. Many programs announce the destination at the start, so qualifiers know what they're working toward.
  • Qualifiers. The rules for who earns the trip: a quota percentage, a ranking, a revenue or margin goal, or a mix. Clear, published rules avoid arguments at the end of the period. The list of qualifiers is often not final until the period closes, which is why the headcount on an incentive trip moves.
  • Guests (plus-ones). Most programs invite one guest per qualifier, often a partner. Decide the guest policy before you source: who counts as a guest, whether children come, and what guests do while qualifiers are in any session.
  • Group or individual. A group incentive trip takes all qualifiers to one destination on the same dates, with shared moments like the awards dinner. Individual incentive travel gives each winner a trip to take on their own. This page is about group trips.
  • The program. Usually three to five nights at a resort, with one or two structured moments (a recognition session, the awards dinner) and plenty of free time. The trip itself is the reward, so it shouldn't turn into a meeting with a beach view.
  • Taxes, in general terms. In the US, a company-paid reward trip is often treated as taxable income to the winner, and a guest's travel can be treated the same way. Some companies cover that cost (a "gross-up"). Rules vary, so involve payroll, tax or Finance early. This is general information, not tax advice.

The decisions to make before sourcing are in our Presidents Club trip guide.

How a local planner books it

What a local planner handles

Once the qualifiers and guest policy are set, a local planner who knows the destination books the trip and stays your contact on the ground.

  • Resort and rooms. The planner shortlists resorts that fit your dates and group, checks that every qualifier and guest gets a private room with the right bed type, and reads the room block terms with you, including attrition and release dates, because winners and guests drop out. See attrition and release dates.
  • Getting there. Airport arrivals and departures for qualifiers and guests, timed to their flights, with a plan for late connections. Flights are usually booked separately or through your travel team.
  • Activities and the guest program. Optional excursions, a spa morning, a sunset sail or a private dinner, booked with local suppliers, plus something hosted for guests during any business session.
  • The awards dinner. A private venue or reserved space, menus and dietary list, a short run of show, the stage moment, a photographer, and seats for guests next to their winners.
  • On site. Welcome gifts, a hospitality desk or one contact number, and every booking in one run of show. During the trip, the planner is your single contact for the resort and suppliers.
Local planners

Local planners for incentive trips

These planners work in the destinations they cover, and their profiles list incentive trips among the events they run. Many are destination management companies (DMCs), local firms that handle transport, venues, activities and on-site staff for visiting groups. Open a profile to see what each one does, or send one brief and we'll match you.

Browse all local planners
Who plans it

Choosing who plans your incentive trip

Several kinds of companies plan incentive travel, and many trips use more than one.

  • Incentive and meeting agencies design the whole program: qualification rules, communications, travel booking and the trip.
  • Destination management companies (DMCs) are based in the destination and run the ground: transfers, activities, venues, staff and the awards dinner.
  • A resort's group sales team handles rooms, meeting space and catering at their property.
  • Local event planners organize the trip end to end in the place they know.

We connect you with a local planner in the destination, often a DMC, who sends a priced proposal for the trip. If you already work with an incentive agency or your travel team books flights, the local planner can take on the ground logistics alongside them.

Resorts

Resorts that host incentive trips

Three resorts in three classic incentive regions. They are public resorts, so your group shares the property with other guests. A local planner arranges which spaces, meals and times are yours. Confirm room types, private dining and transfers for your dates before you hold anything.

El Conquistador Resort, Fajardo, Puerto Rico

A resort on Puerto Rico's east coast with 677 rooms (the resort says it is growing to 750 in 2026), all with ocean views. It has 100,000 sq ft of event venues across 49 function rooms, 40,000 sq ft of outdoor space, and a private 100-acre island, Palomino Island, open only to resort guests. Groups fly into San Juan (SJU), with no passport needed for US citizens.

Best for
A large incentive group that wants a beach, a private island day and an awards dinner on one property.
Check first
Which rooms and room types your block includes, transfer time from SJU for your arrival waves, and a weather plan if your dates fall in hurricane season (June–November).

Venue facts: official site

Grand Wailea, A Waldorf Astoria Resort, Wailea, Maui, HI

A beachfront Maui resort with 28 indoor and outdoor venues totaling more than 100,000 sq ft. On property: restaurants including Nobu Grand Wailea and Humuhumunukunukuāpuaʻa, the Kilolani Spa, a lūʻau, and the Hoʻolei Villas alongside the resort's rooms and suites.

Best for
A long-haul reward trip where the destination itself is the prize, with dining, spa and ocean activities for guests without leaving the resort.
Check first
Flight time from your team's home airports (Hawaii suits a longer program), room types and villas for your block, and private space for the awards dinner.

Venue facts: official site

Ponte Vedra Inn & Club, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL

A AAA Five-Diamond oceanfront resort with 262 guest rooms and suites, most of them oceanfront, and more than 25,000 sq ft of event space for groups of 10 to 350, including outdoor spaces with ocean and golf views. It's about 45 minutes from Jacksonville International Airport (JAX).

Best for
A mid-size incentive group from the East or Southeast that wants a beach resort within a short flight.
Check first
Oceanfront room counts in your block, outdoor venue backup for the awards dinner, and transfer timing from JAX.

Venue facts: official site

Resorts are examples, not recommendations for every group. A local planner can also shortlist private villas, smaller luxury hotels or a full buyout.

Where incentive trips go

Destinations where we have local planners who run incentive trips. Each links to the planners there. For weather by month and travel time from 10 US hubs, see our sales kickoff destination pages, which cover many of the same places.

Example package

Example package and trip idea

This package shows how a local planner puts a reward trip together into one quote: where you stay, how you're fed, transfers and who meets you on arrival. It has a "from" price per person. Treat it as a starting point: the planner adjusts it for your dates, headcount and add-ons, and your proposal confirms exactly what's included. Flights aren't included.

  • Puerto Rico Reset

    Puerto Rico Reset

    Three nights in a private Puerto Rico beach house for a small group of winners, with a private chef, a driver for SJU transfers and a San Juan dinner night.

    Puerto Rico · 3 nights

    From $1,050 per person

See all example packages

An incentive trip idea from a local planner

A trip a local planner has designed, to show what a reward program can look like beyond the resort.

  • Las Vegas to Yosemite

    A self-drive week after a Las Vegas conference, through Death Valley and the Eastern Sierra to Yosemite, planned by Bay Magic Tours.

Budget

Price your incentive trip line by line

Set the number of qualifiers and guests and the nights, then replace each sample rate with a quote. The lines match what a local planner will price, plus the lines Finance will ask about. Use them to check that two quotes cover the same things.

Example budget / USD

$0per qualifier

Enter supplier quotes. These lines start at zero.

10 qualifiers · 10 travelers · 3 nights

Travelers are qualifiers plus one guest each, when you allow a guest. Rooms follow the qualifier count, because a couple shares a room. Replace every allowance with a quote. Airfare and the tax gross-up stay at zero until Finance or the air quote gives you a number.

Edit sample rates
Your example budget
Budget lineAllowance
Rooms 10 rooms × 3 nights × $0$0
Meals & refreshments 10 travelers × 4 days × $0$0
Awards dinner$0
Activities & guest program$0
Airport transfers$0
Welcome gifts$0
Airfare Optional$0
Local planner fee$0
Quoted taxes, service charges & other fees$0
Tax gross-up From Finance$0
Contingency 10% of the subtotal$0
Working total$0

Per traveler $0

Example total: $0 for 10 qualifiers.

Rooms

A qualifier and their guest usually share one room, so count rooms by qualifier, not by traveler.

Airfare

Often booked by your travel team. Enter it here only if it's in the program budget.

Tax gross-up

A number from Finance or payroll, if the company covers it.

Download the budget sheet Service charges, tips and resort fees
Sample itinerary

A sample four-night incentive itinerary

A sample your local planner would build around: four nights at a resort, with one structured morning, one awards dinner and real free time. Each item notes what has to be booked or confirmed. Shift it to your flights, and download the template to fill in your own.

Day 1

Arrive

  1. Arrivals

    Transfers built from the flight list; a hospitality desk or one phone number for late arrivals.

  2. Welcome gift in the room

    Delivered from the rooming list, with guest names spelled right.

  3. Casual welcome evening

    A reserved space, no speeches.

Day 2

The structured morning

  1. Breakfast window

    Open, not one sitting.

  2. Recognition session

    Short and over by lunch, in a room set with mics and slides.

  3. Guest program in parallel

    A hosted activity, not "you're on your own".

  4. Free afternoon

    Optional activities with a sign-up list.

Day 3

Free day

  1. Optional excursions

    Booked with local suppliers, with waivers and pickup times sent the day before.

  2. Evening free

    Dinner reservations the planner can hold.

Day 4

Awards dinner

  1. Free day

    Nothing scheduled before the dinner.

  2. Awards dinner

    A private venue or reserved space; guests seated with winners; run of show, stage moment, photographer; transport if off property; a weather backup if it's outdoors.

Day 5

Depart

  1. Late checkout or luggage storage

    Agreed with the resort in advance.

  2. Departures

    Transfers in waves timed to flights.

Download the itinerary templateAgenda balance for a Presidents Club
Checklist

Incentive trip checklist

From the qualification rules to next year's brief. Give each item an owner. The downloadable version adds a traveler tracker with one row per qualifier and guest.

Before you request a proposal
Resort and contract
Travelers
Before departure
After the trip
Download the checklistRoom-block attrition and release dates

Templates to download

Three spreadsheets that match this page. Download a copy, fill it in, and share it with your local planner or Finance.

  • Incentive trip itinerary template (XLSX)

    A day-by-day itinerary with times, what to book or confirm, and owners.

    Download

  • Incentive trip checklist and traveler tracker (XLSX)

    Tasks, owners and due dates, plus one row per qualifier and guest.

    Download

  • Incentive trip budget sheet (XLSX)

    The calculator lines, including the tax gross-up, with columns for quotes, actuals and variance.

    Download
Planning with Vantly

Why plan your incentive trip through Vantly

Vantly connects US companies with local event planners in the places they want to send their winners, from Maui and San Juan to Scottsdale, Napa and the Florida coast. You send one brief. We match it to a planner who books that destination, and you get a turnkey proposal with prices within 48 hours, free.

  • Planners who live there. Most of the planners we feature live and work in the destinations they cover.
  • Proposals you can compare. Proposals follow the same lines as the budget calculator, so you see what's included and what isn't, guest costs included.
  • A planning library behind every trip. Our guides cover the parts that cause trouble: guest policy, attrition, deposits and the awards night.

Already working with an incentive agency, a travel team or a resort's group sales team? That works too. A local planner can take on the ground logistics alongside them.

Frequently asked questions

Incentive travel questions

What is incentive travel?

Incentive travel is a trip a company gives as a reward for reaching a goal. Most programs reward top sales performers, often with a guest, through a group trip to a resort destination with free time, a few shared moments and an awards dinner.

What is an incentive trip?

It's the trip itself: the group travel a company runs for the people who qualified in its incentive program. A Presidents Club trip is one common kind.

How do qualifiers and the earning period work?

The company announces the goal and the trip at the start of an earning period, often the fiscal year. People who meet the qualification rules by the end of the period earn the trip. Because the final list depends on results, the headcount often isn't fixed until the period closes, so contracts need room to change.

Should guests be invited?

Many companies invite one guest per qualifier. Decide the policy before sourcing, use "guest" or "partner" in invitations, and plan a hosted program for guests during any business session.

Are incentive trips taxable?

In the US, a company-paid reward trip is often treated as taxable income to the winner, and guest travel can be too. Treatment varies, so ask your payroll or tax team early and decide whether the company will cover the tax cost. This is general information, not tax advice.

How far ahead should we plan an incentive trip?

Start when the purpose, budget and rough guest count are known, ideally before the earning period begins so the destination can be announced. Popular resorts and peak dates fill early.

What do incentive travel companies do, and do we need one?

Incentive agencies design programs end to end; DMCs and local planners run the trip in the destination; resorts handle rooms and catering. If your team owns the program and the qualification rules, a local planner can book and run the trip. See what a DMC is.

How do local planners charge?

It varies: a flat fee, a percentage management fee on net costs, or a fee built into a package price. Ask for the fee as a separate line. See event planner fees.

What happens after we request a proposal?

You send a short brief: travel window, qualifiers and guests, nights, where people fly from, and a budget ceiling if you have one. We match it with a local planner, who sends a turnkey proposal with prices within 48 hours, at no cost. Nothing is booked until you approve it.

Incentive trip planning guides

These go deep on guest policy, room blocks, contracts and fees.

Incentive trips by destination

Destination pages with timing and local planners. More destinations are on the way.

Plan other company events

The same local planners also run these.