In the last five years, the group tours which I have taken mostly comprise dealers and distributors. Another common factor is that they both are taken together. Now, distributors are the backbone for any company as they share the risk factor for the company. They will store, place and increase sales within their network of dealers. They also on their own give enough credit to dealers so that they can buy products and sell aggressively. If the distributors are not the right arm they definitely are the left arm of the company. The schemes where dealers and distributors get to travel; somehow both are given the same incentive. The distributors do invest a lot in comparison to dealers. So they need to be treated differently. Hence, the incentive tours for distributors have to be something more.
In fact, they should have different tour schemes and they should be taken separately from dealers. I’m not trying to create a divide here but distributors are high in the hierarchy. Thus distributors should be treated differently. Now before I even get into `why`, do watch the video below!
If you are taking the full team for a team-building exercise then everybody goes together. They stay in the same accommodations and have the same buffet. These tours are not related to any incentive. Now on the other hand if the travel tour is linked with incentive then a distinction should be made. On my last trip, a distributor and a dealer shared the same room. That is the norm, one room with double occupancy. The distributor in a light chat said, “I would have not shared a room in normal circumstances”. I could see the discomfort, the dealers on the other hand were pretty happy with the arrangements. But the selected few distributors were not. They in their normal lifestyle would have flown business class and stayed in a five-star hotel.
Even the top bosses find it difficult to adjust and we as a company had to upgrade their rooms. But, when you are traveling as a group any special treatment to a few is frowned upon. Ok! Another point, normally there is one distributor for a region. He could be a distributor of Punjab, Maharashtra, or the whole of Himachal. Some companies have 3 to 4 distributors for a region. None-the-less, they invest a lot of money compared to their other counterparts. My point being there could be 10 to 20 distributors of a company. A company can defiantly give separate incentive tours for distributors! We at mastyatri.com can customize it for you. Also read, Group Travel for Women in Thailand.
I would be bouncing some ideas where some luxury is involved. All calculations are based on 10 Pax.
Though a fives star hotel would be the obvious choice. However, a four-star hotel is equally ok. For most of the distributors, privacy is the main issue. A good four-star hotel with a single room with single occupancy works out just fine. Do note, we don’t know if the distributors share a friendly rapport. A single room with single occupancy works better for these kinds of scenarios. You should also know the cost of the room remains the same even if there is single occupancy. Let’s say if a three-night cost in a four-star hotel costs INR 15,000, it is the cost of 2 people. So the per-person cost is INR 7,500. But in a single room with a single occupancy room, the cost remains as INR 15,000 for a single person. Also read, Incentive Tours Ghar Ka Khana Maa Kaa Pyar.
The visa should be taken care of at home. Even, if a country is giving a visa on arrival, specifically Thailand, it becomes tiresome to stand in those long queues. It is better to get the visa done from the point of origin. It will look very personalized and less hectic. The transfer is usually a ten-seat travel tempo. I would not recommend it as part of incentive tours for distributors. If you want to impress, you can always hire a limousine. In Thailand, a ten-seat limousine from the airport to the hotel will cost you 12,000THB. A Bangkok to Pattaya transfer in a limousine would cost you 22,000THB. The cost for ten people would be just INR 5,300 per person.
The distributors have multiple agencies that all offer travel tours as an incentive. Plus, they travel with families and friends. The point is they are well-traveled people. Even if there is a repeat visit to a country, it should be packaged rightly. The tours and activities should be different than the previous tours. Thailand is the place where maximum group travel happens. The coral Island and city tours with Buddha Temple are norms for all packages. But, this is not right for incentive tours for distributors. Why not do the gala dinner in rooftop bars in Bangkok. In Bangkok Vertigo is on the 61st floor, Sky Bar & Sirocco is on the 63rd floor and there are more options. This will set the bar high, literally.
The sanctuary of truth, cartoon network Amazone waterpark, and underwater world in Pattaya are missed by most operators. Bangkok is full of tours and activities you can check below. The walking street is visited the most. But do you know you can book an entire floor at Club Nashaa? This club is most frequented by Indians because it plays Indian music too. You can also have customized Indian food for a group. In Bangkok, floating market tours will be a refreshing tour. Bangkok has world-class nightclubs and gentlemen clubs. Hire a party bus and go on club hopping. Get VIP bottle service with private enclosed space. These are exclusive deals and the best incentive tours for distributors.
This should be a thing not only for distributors it should be for dealers too. This is taking your tour to a different level. It’s just not only a private cruise, but you can also do water sports. Water scooters, scuba diving gear, fishing, and more can be added. They do provide onboard liquor and Indian snacks. A motor yacht for 20 people costs around 55,000THB. For 10 Pax it will cost INR 14,000 per person, if you take 20 pax the cost is just INR 6,650 per person. An 8 pax cruiser starts from 30,000THB and costs INR 9,000 per person. For a large group of up to 300 people, a party boat will cost you 290K Thai Baht.
The best add-on to have in incentive tours for distributors is a Pool Villa. They add privacy and flexibility to the tour. You can do your pool party and can hire a Dj too. We can arrange caterers who can make food as per you. You can get villas from 5 bedrooms to 12 bedrooms. The villas come with a personalized gym, pool table, and barbeque equipment. Some villas even have more than two pools with steam and sauna rooms. The villas can be used to launch new schemes or product launches. It would be a good motivation to all distributors for this kind of launch. A formal prize distribution can also be held. We can arrange all stage setups, hosts, and customized trophies. This can be followed by after hour party and dinner. A 16 Guests – 8 Bedrooms – 11 Beds – 8 Baths Villa do start from INR 25,000 onwards.
The distributor is the guest of your company on this tour. You don’t throw a party and not be there yourself. The big boss should be there to receive them. It could be more of a visit and saying a `Hi’. I know big bosses are busy but you don’t have to stay there the whole time. The gesture matters even if you visit for one day. If you really can’t come, a video call can be apt. Brownie points if you can stay the whole time. I would also recommend keeping `cash in hand’ or extra budget. This will help for those necessary extra demands by the distributors.
There is also a perception among dealers and distributors that when a company takes a tour they should spend everything. That includes buying water. It might look a bit overboard but the thing is they want to feel special. The companies should look at these aspects seriously. The small things matter, they don’t cost much but the gesture stays forever. We at mastyatri.com get into micro details of an itinerary. It’s like designing an action sequence for a bond movie. Things like a pickup from home while departing. When they come back why they should make their arrangements to go home? Things like customized T-shirts are considered an extra cost! In today’s pandemic situation why not give customized masks? We can get this all done and have more ideas to share. Eagerly awaiting to design incentive tours for distributors for you. Do call or write on the details below.
Eccentric Blogger, Traveler and Consultant.
