If It can happen to Hugo Slimbrouck, it can happen to any traveler — experienced or not.

Slimbrouck, director, corporate division, of destination management giant MCI's Brussels office (and incoming president of the Society of Incentive & Travel Executives) was attending a workshop in Milan, Italy, in June of this year. Upon arriving at the airport, he and his companions could not find the ground transportation that was supposed to be waiting for them. With a minimal amount of Italian at his group's disposal, and the normal amount of chaos at Milan's Malpensa International Airport, “we had someone running around the airport for half an hour before we found our bus,” he recalls.

In Slimbrouck's case, lousy signage did him in. But he's not unlike millions of other travelers — incentive winners included — who must endure security lines that seem endless, flights that don't leave on time, baggage handlers who can't seem to move luggage from the ticket counter to the correct airplane, seats that leave you looking for a good chiropractor, awful food (if you get any at all), unwatchable video — the list goes on from there.

We spoke with incentive planners, destination management companies, and airline industry experts about ways to take some of the dehumanizing aspects of travel out of the incentive experience.

Proper Planning

“It does happen,” says Geri Schmid, a travel account manager with Carlson Marketing Group, Minneapolis. “A couple of times a year, we'll have an international trip requiring passports, yet we'll have attendees showing up at airports without the proper documents. We have to turn them away.”

Consequently, according to Darin Howard, senior buyer, meetings and events, for Carlson, the planner's most important job before the trip is to leave no question unanswered.

“Knowing about visa and passport requirements is critical, especially after 9/11,” he says. “The last thing you want to do is to have people show up at the airport without proper documents.”

How do they apply for a passport? Are visas required? If so, where do they send the visa application? These are the kinds of questions that could throw inexperienced travelers for a loop, Howard says, and planners need to spell out the answers long before the trip starts.

Schmid says that as soon as she has a name, she starts sending written communications. “I'll attach a passport application and send a visa application form as well, if it's needed,” she says.

“We'll also do follow-up calls asking for passport numbers and expiration dates,” adds Schmid. “No only are we assured that everyone has a passport, but hotels like it as well because it facilitates the check-in process.”

Marci DuBois, meetings and events consultant with Taco Bell Corp., Irvine, Calif., provides her incentive attendees with a travel wallet that includes a copy of their itineraries. “It has all the hotel info, a program of events, luggage tags, etc.,” she says. “We hope that it alleviates the stress of travel and is a neat, organized way to deliver appropriate info that they can keep with them throughout the trip.”

At the Airport

“There's definitely a certain amount of stress when you start out on any trip,” Schmid says. “One way we deal with that is to create our own frequent-flier lounge to make the experience more palatable.”

This is something that can be done fairly easily, she says, by contacting the airlines or negotiating with the airport. At Logan International Airport in Boston, Schmid procured a lounge for a group departing to Ireland. Attendees enjoyed an Irish trio and dancer, themed hors d'oeuvres, and, of course, Irish beer. On another incentive trip, this one out of John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York heading for Spain, Schmid rented a lounge, hired a classical guitarist and a flamenco dancer, and served hors d'oeuvres with Spanish wine.

“You get everyone together, have it catered, have some music playing,” she says. “It's very nice for incentives.”

The situation can be a little more complicated when attendees are coming from scattered locations. According to Alynne Hanford, global sales manager, group and meeting travel, American Airlines, American is considering making Admirals Club passes available for its group clients. Priority Pass, a U.K. — based company, offers access to airport VIP lounges at more than 500 airports worldwide for a standard annual membership fee of $99.

Security Woes

One of the most publicized efforts to ease travelers through security lines is the Registered Traveler Program. In operation at Orlando International Airport, and with plans to roll out the program in 10 to 20 other airports in the next year, Registered Traveler, for a fee, pre-screens travelers and allows them to use designated security lines.

According to Fred Fischer, vice president of sales for Verified Identity Pass, which operates the program in Orlando, corporations are already using Verified ID as a perk for meetings. “We had a law firm in New York bring us in and have us enroll, on-site, over 800 people for a meeting in Orlando,” he says, adding that the benefit allowed the employees to zip through security in minutes. Another company, Washington-based Saflink Corp., is planning to offer a Registered Traveler Product called FLO (Fast Lane Option), starting this summer.

Planners should also be aware that the Transportation Security Administration provides information on security checkpoint wait times on its Web site at www.tsa.gov. After selecting your airport, day of the week, and travel time, the system spits back average wait times for each of the airport's checkpoints during the previous month. The Wall Street Journal also recently reported that a walk of a couple of dozen extra yards to a different checkpoint at Chicago's O'Hare Airport could be the difference “between a long wait and none at all.”

Enjoy the Flight

The best possible solution, if a planner's budget allows, is premium seating — whether it's first-class or business-class. The problem, says Schmid, is that while first-class seating used to be readily available, now “you have to do a lot of preplanning.” This means booking at least three months in advance. If first-class or business seating is unavailable, one possible answer could be to purchase three-for-two seating.

One simple way to brighten a flight is to purchase first-class amenity kits and distribute them to coach-bound incentive travelers as they board the plane. “It's a nice way to start the trip,” Schmid says.

Planners can also provide attendees with crescent-shaped neck pillows, or inflatable pillows, Schmid says, and in cases where the arrival city is a warm-weather destination, she might provide bags with sunscreen, hats, sunglasses, and other appropriate amenities. She has also set up a certificate program for in-flight entertainment “so attendees can choose the kind of entertainment they want,” she says.

Food can be problematic, particularly on domestic flights that no longer offer any real food service. “So we recently started giving attendees a box lunch on departure day,” DuBois says. “We usually make one of the gifts a thermal cooler (the soft-sided ones with a zipper and handle that fold down to nothing) that we pack with food for the trip home. Since the airlines have cut back, our folks appreciate this.”

Red Carpet Arrival

Foreign languages, confusing signage, typical airport chaos — it can be pretty overwhelming. To make things as smooth as possible, Schmid will typically do an airport walk-through when she does site inspections. “I'll look at appropriate touch points, so that when the traveler arrives at point A, they'll see a sign and a person. In really busy airports, I'll use point-to-point signage and staffing, so everything is basically mapped out.”

Sometimes it's possible to get staff inside the luggage area and beyond. “It depends on the airport,” Slimbrouck says. “Sometimes we can set up a desk by the baggage area. And for certain individuals and VIPs, we can even meet them at the gate.” This may be a bit easier in Brussels than other cities, Slimbrouck says, because as home of some of the major institutions of the European Union, it's used to dealing with arriving VIPs.

Smooth Transfer

Providing attendees with cars and drivers “is an excellent way to start out in the destination city,” recommends Schmid. “People really like that personal touch.” And whether attendees are traveling via sedan or coach, they need a little something to make them feel human again after a long flight, whether it's an ice-cold bottle of spring water or a wet washcloth.

Overseas flights often mean awkward arrival times. In the case of travel from the United States to Europe, most flights arrive midmorning — well before the normal check-in time at most hotels. The best solution, says Slimbrouck — if it's affordable — is to book a block of rooms for the previous night so attendees can go from the airport right to their rooms.

A nice touch is to have attendees' rooms pre-keyed, says Schmid. “Give them their room keys as they enter the coach,” she says. “They don't even have to go to registration when they get to the hotel.” Or, create a satellite check-in station so that attendees receive dedicated service.

There's Always Charter

“You have to remember that any top producer already has a handsome income and as many Marriott points as they can possibly earn,” says Greg Raiff, president and CEO of Private Jet Services, Hampton, N.H. What he probably doesn't have is his own plane.

Which is why Raiff's business has doubled every year since 2003. “This [corporate chartering] is the next big buzz,” he says.

Joe Appelbe, vice president and general manager of Subaru of New England, couldn't agree more. He takes a group of top performers on an annual international incentive and uses PJS.

“The first time we did it, we flew to Costa Rica,” Appelbe says. “They [his attendees] didn't want to get off the plane.” In addition to the first-class service, food, and beverage, the advantage, Appelbe says, is “how easy it is.

“We flew out of Rhode Island,” says Appelbe. “We got special access to a gate, and we drove right up to the airplane. There was a crew there to do some random security searches. It was all very simple.”

The advantages of chartering begin well before the flight takes off, Raiff says. “Let's says there's a possible weather problem. You don't want your passengers to get to the airport and be told, ‘Sorry, we're not taking off today because of the weather.’ We can delay a flight, in advance, four or six hours to avoid that kind of situation.”

The security process is also expedited with chartering. PJS has TSA — certified screeners on staff and, as Appelbe points out, can provide service right at the gate if need be. It's often also possible to expedite the security process at international destinations, depending on the location.

Raiff says that chartering is also a reasonably priced alternative to commercial flights, depending on the routes and type of service. For example, the approximate price of a PJS charter jet from JFK Airport to St. Kitts is $108,000 for 62 passengers — $1,742 per person. “We can beat the [commercial] business- or first-class fare.”

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