Perks aren’t just freebies, they’re a chance to help everyone thrive

Working in the travel industry can be quite stressful at times; we are forever dealing with issues that can, and do, keep us awake at night. We have all learnt to be so resilient now, though. Having said this, the upside to working in the travel industry is 100% worth all the pressure.

The perks – whether these be fam trips, events, training sessions, conferences, ship visits, holiday discounts and so on – should never be taken for granted. The amount of hard work, time and money that goes into organising these benefits is enormous. We should all feel a responsibility to give back and pay back for whatever perk we have chosen to take advantage of. We should be totally respectful, grateful and always show up and be accountable.

What I mean by this is only take what you believe you can pay back. Don’t just go to the opening of an envelope or take anything offered; think before you accept and ask yourself if you are in a position to give a return, whether that be through bookings or brand awareness.

At Designer Travel, we take this side of our business very seriously. We have targets for fam trips, and we have content that our team complete to help not just themselves but all members of the Designer Travel network. This is done using our Fab Bank system after fam trips and ‘on location’ opportunities.

We track performance and we communicate this with our supplier and hotel partners so they can see with 100% certainty that they have invested wisely with us. This opens so many doors and enables our team members to experience so much more.

Part of the family

We have just held our annual overseas conference with Grecotel at their wonderful properties in Crete: the Creta Palace and the Luxme White Palace. We spent three days experiencing the best that Greece has to offer in terms of an authentic Greek experience. We were made to feel like VIPs and part of their extended family. We experienced a sunset party, a full conference day, a Greek village party and a wonderful Greek night at the property’s farm.

More than 125 of us attended and we have so much love for the Grecotel brand and the entire team in Crete as well as here in the UK. From the moment we landed back home, we were on a mission to pay them back – and that means all of us, not just a few.

Proper payback

In the first week after the conference, Grecotel was our number-one hotel group, bringing in lots of bookings to the hotels that we stayed at and visited. We have also given extensive media coverage to the Grecotel brand.

We will not stop there; until we believe we have delivered proper payback, it will remain at the top of our to-do lists. We will also be tracking performance for the 24 operators who helped to make our conference possible. We want everyone who supports us to see a good, solid return on their investment.

It is all too easy to take, take, take and not think about how you pay back. It is more important than ever, especially as it’s a tough trading environment out there and partners are having to choose wisely on where and how to invest their reduced marketing and support funds.

Whether you are an individual, or a small, medium or large business, if you don’t track payback then add it to your plans. Ensure that you communicate your successes with your partners, which can mean lots of things, not just pure bookings.

We can all take accountability, and honestly, it makes you feel great when you can see bookings or media coverage happening for those who have supported your business.