PLANS ARE NOTHING; PLANNING IS EVERYTHING
That was our slogan in 2017 when we had to source a new destination for a planned incentive trip to Myanmar one week before it was due to take place. The escalating political tensions at the destination left our clients with no other option.
So we had exactly 168 hours to organise a completely different, high-level incentive trip for 90 participants. To maximise our effectiveness we decided not to change the long-haul flights to Bangkok that we had already booked, and to develop a new concept for a trip in Thailand.
When the destination change happened our colleague Stefanie – supported by our partner exo Travel Thailand – was already on her way to Asia for the pre-check process. When she arrived she simply rewrote her itinerary and embarked on a marathon of location checks, preparing detailed plans and liaising with service providers in the Bangkok, Chiang Rai, Chiang Mai and Phuket regions – all at the same time. We had to source hotels, organise the transfers, plan the programme, discuss set-ups directly with the venues and talk to the caterers about menus. In the meantime, Axel, Julia, Antje and the rest of the team in Neu-Isenburg worked around the clock to revise the plans, rebudget and prepare a brand new set of printed materials, as well as liaise with the incentive trip participants.
We did it! The participants enjoyed a wonderful trip, stayed in luxurious hotels – including the unique Four Seasons Hotel in Chiang Mai when they arrived, a beach stay in the beautiful villas at Anantara Layan Phuket Resort and – the icing on the cake – the Mandarin Oriental Hotel Bangkok. The all-inclusive package included beach clubs, elephant riding, a chartered yacht excursion and an unforgettable gala dinner high above the roofs of Bangkok. Most of all, though, we achieved comprehensive branding for the client in the communications with participants.
We pulled off a near impossible feat within the space of just one week!