...Broadway hotel in Times Square, was a particularly good one, with some surprises, some contrarian positions staked out, and some controversy. We think you'll find it's worth the read. The May 6 roundtable lasted nearly two hours, so what follows is just a selection of what was said. A longer version and full transcript is available online starting June 11 at www.incentivemag.com/roundtable2008. A podcast version of the audio recording of the event may be accessed at www.incentivemag.com/podcasts starting June 17. Enjoy! Editor's Note: Since the Roundtable was conducted, Pamela Valdez has left Millennium and taken a position at the New York City convention and visitors bureau, NYC & Company. Moderators Jennifer Juergens, Incentive magazine Leo Jakobson, Incentive magazine Alex Palmer, Incentive magazine Particiapnts 1. BRIAN MARTENIS Managing Director Incentive Worldwide Travel 2.MARCELL KING Senior Manager, Sales ACI Gift Cards (Exclusive gift card provider for Amazon.com) 3.STEVE MASELKO VP, Individual Incentives and Gift Cards Marriott 4.NORMA JEAN KNOLLENBERG Owner and CEO Top Brands Inc. 5.PAMELA VALDEZ Director of Travel Industry Sales Millennium UN Plaza, New York Millennium Biltmore, Los Angeles Millennium Broadway, New York 6.BRETT HATCH Global Corporate Gifts Manager Maui Jim 7.TIM HOULIHAN Vice President, Reward Systems BI 8.GAIL FITZGERALD Vice President, Hotel Sales & Marketing CityCenter Las Vegas 9.DAMON RIDDLE Automotive Incentive Manager American Suzuki Motor Corporation 10.MICHAEL ARKES CEO Hinda Incentives 11.DENNIS BORST President and COO Patriot Marketing Group 12.GLORIA LANDOW President Group Travel Specialists Q. What trends are you seeing in the incentive business? What's new, and what's on the horizon? BRETT HATCH: We are definitely seeing a trend towards the green movement. Over in Europe, 75 percent of the planners will even shun or avoid an area that's not eco-friendly. More and more companies are really bandwagoning. MARCELL KING: On the gift card side, we're also seeing increasing use of the green effect in terms of leveraging electronic codes [that can be used like a gift card online] and e-mail access codes and mobile gift cards. NORMA JEAN KNOLLENBERG: I think overall the biggest movement right now is the whole eco thing. On the merchandise side, we're being asked to provide merchandise that fits into that theme. Everybody wants it. People want to contribute in some way. Businesses see [incentive programs] as a great way to do it, because it gives them a theme that they can play upon. DENNIS BORST: On the employee side of incentives and recognition programs, what we have noticed is that there's a real movement towards wellness programs. [Also], we have created two products--eco-friendly employee ride share, and alternate transportation programs--that operate online, and for the most part those have been door openers for us over the past couple of years. MICHAEL ARKES: We're also seeing clients asking for merchandise that is green. We work with the company to develop a corporate responsibility theme. I think the other thing is that the recession hasn't bitten our business. It seems like the recession has been industry specific. So, construction isn't in good shape, retail isn't in good shape, but there's a lot of industries that are in good shape or haven't been impacted, and that seems to be the bulk of those who use incentives. TIM HOULIHAN: On the eco question, and forgive me for sounding cynical, but I think that we are ahead of the curve. Requests by client sponsors for eco-friendly travel or eco-friendly merchandise products are rare. Also, I don't see the recipients of those programs demanding it or really acknowledging it. I think our clients think, "Well, it's nice to have." Right now, we're waiting for the participants and client sponsors to catch up with what the incentive industry is...

NOTE: All illustrations and photos have been removed from this article.



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