Last week, I had the incredible opportunity to speak at the SITE Texas Roadshow 2024, where I connected with incentive travel professionals in Houston, Austin, and Dallas. Our discussions revolved around one crucial topic: the impact that Gen Z and Gen Y are having on the incentive travel industry. These younger generations are redefining how organizations design travel experiences, and here are three key takeaways I learned from our time together.
1. Personalization Is No Longer Optional—It’s Expected
One of the most significant shifts in the incentive travel industry is the demand for immediacy and personalization. Gen Z and Gen Y generations want more than just a well-organized trip; they want experiences tailored to their preferences, values, and interests. In Houston, we discussed how corporate travelers today expect custom experiences that reflect their individuality. Whether it’s cultural immersion, adventure levels, or wellness-oriented experiences, there’s a strong focus on personalization.
This shift is driving incentive planners to dig deeper into data, ensuring that no two travel experiences are alike. It’s not just about rewarding top performers anymore—it’s about creating something memorable and unique to them.
2. Sustainability and Purpose Are Front and Center
In Austin, a key topic that stood out was the increasing importance of sustainability and social responsibility. Gen Z and Gen Y are vocal advocates for environmental stewardship and ethical practices. Incentive travel is no exception to this trend, as professionals in the industry are finding innovative ways to align travel programs with eco-friendly values. From eco-conscious venues to carbon offset programs, the focus is shifting toward experiences that not only reward employees but also give back to the planet.
These younger generations also care about purpose. Incentive travel can no longer be just about relaxation or luxury—it needs to incorporate a sense of impact, whether through CSR activities or support for local communities.
3. Tech-Savvy Travelers Are Raising the Bar
By the time we reached Dallas, it was clear that technology is playing a critical role in how Gen Z and Gen Y engage with incentive travel. These groups are tech-savvy and expect seamless digital integration from start to finish. Whether it’s using apps for real-time updates, booking, or tracking rewards, they prefer travel that comes with digital convenience.
We talked about how incentive planners need to embrace digital platforms not only for logistics but also for enhancing the overall experience. This could include augmented reality tours, virtual concierge services, or gamified reward systems to keep participants engaged before, during, and after the trip.
THE SUM
Wrapping up this tour was an eye-opener. Incentive travel is evolving fast, and the influence of Gen Z and Gen Y is pushing the industry to think differently. These generations want more personalized, purposeful, and tech-driven experiences, and those who adapt to these preferences will lead the charge in the future of travel. The key to winning them over is to exceed the expectations that they are setting for themselves in their leisure travel, which can be a tall order. With the right creative planning, any incentive travel buyer or planner can be ready for Gen Z and Gen Y.
Well, that was a fun week! Sure we were exhausted from the long days and late nights, but how much can you complain when you’re in San Diego for a week? And look, we even made a fun video show everyone who missed out…
No longer just a buzz word or misunderstood trend, social media is here to stay, and it is affecting business travel dramatically. As the traveler demographics bell curve continues to swing towards a younger generation, social media is becoming a prominent part of business travel. But the question is: how will it be integrated into corporate travel, and more importantly what kind of role will it play in a managed travel program?
Travel managers, along with TMCs, have been searching for a clear answer to applying social media practices to managed travel programs. Unfortunately, there is no “one size fits all” approach. The application of social media to travel programs will vary from company to company as variables such as demographics, culture, social media policy, corporate image, and software utilities need to be taken into account.
Adoption
Whether or not your company is offering any sort of solution to your travelers, they are using social media. With nearly 20,000 travel apps in existence and countless ways to utilize traditional social media for travel, they have many options.
Universal adoption of these media to a corporate travel population has been a hurdle for many solutions such as TripIt. As Concur bundles the TripIt solution to their customers, the ball is now in the court of the travel manager to encourage travelers to utilize the tool on his or her own to manage itinerary. Many companies have seen low adoption rates to these technologies at the start, but as churn continues to the younger generation this is expected to increase.
Getting travelers on board is the key to success when rolling out a social media application in a travel environment, and this can only be achieved by showing the travelers the “WIIFM”, or “What’s in it for me?” factor. There will always be some hand-holding when a new technology is introduced.
Security & Duty of Care
One way travel managers are taking advantage of social media is by improving security and focusing more on duty of care. Many social media and apps are offering tools on how to help keep travelers safe on the road; GPS signals sent from most electronic devices are utilized. They offer travel managers the ability to locate travelers in an emergency and send communications when phone networks may be down.
The constant stream of information doesn’t stop at status updates. There are a multitude of social media and applications that give your travelers the ability to reduce stress on the road by avoiding traffic, finding places to eat, tracking flights or booking last minute hotel rooms.
Travelers have a culture of their own, and sometimes it doesn’t match that of their counterparts back home. Some social media, aimed at connecting like-minded travelers, can serve as a culture-building and collaborating tool, especially when administered by a travel manager or influenced by human resources. These media can connect travelers that are from the same company during trips and boost morale.
Compliance
The social media solution to compliance issues are simple: communication. All social media in a travel program serve as a direct communication tool to travelers. If travel managers can utilize social media to communicate better with their travelers, compliance will naturally increase. According to an Invoke Media Study, 60% of business travelers prefer to stay in contact with family and friends on trip via social media than over phone or email. Traveler managers can utilize their travelers preferred method of media to offer a two-way communication path. This may be as simple as setting up a private Twitter account and inviting only travelers to join and tweet during their trips.
Data & Analysis
Enterprise social media solutions for travel programs can offer improved business intelligence and predictive analytics. A function of big data, these solutions can offer insight to a traveler’s behavior to better understand preferences. With these unique data points, travel managers can better streamline their travel programs and find ways to reduce costs.
Social media is a powerful and ever-changing tool. With new utilities popping up almost daily, keeping up can be a challenge. Despite this, staying current is essential when integrating into a travel program. These tools will not only improve the experience for travelers, but also improve travel programs and potentially make a travel manager’s life easier. The challenge is choosing what media to implement. While there are so many practices, travel managers must consult the habit of their travelers and consider what’s best for their program prior to roll out. Take solace in the fact that all travel managers face the same hurdles, and that ACTE is providing excellent insight into better practices.
This article is also published on the ACTE Connect site for access by ACTE members.