Learn How to Find Your Joy and Spread it Around!
Did you know one of the most popular courses of all time at Harvard is about happiness? It started in 2006 with more than 1,400 students enrolling in Psy 1504: Positive Psychology. There are multiple joy-centered Harvard courses offered today for students, and at least one business course, Managing Happiness, accessed online for free, for us non-Harvard admits (the next one starts in March!). The latter is taught by Harvard professor, Arthur Brooks, who also has a series of podcasts, books and weekly writings in The Atlantic on the topic of building a happy life.
The Happy Math
Learning how to be happy is a hot topic right now, and, as a society, it seems we need the lesson. CNN reported in 2022, that the General Social Survey saw a record-low number of respondents (19%) say they were “very happy” and a record-high number (24%) say they were “not too happy.” For perspective, in every poll since 1972, up until the pandemic, the percentage of people who reported being very happy was higher than those who said they were not too happy.
Harvard’s Professor Brooks says people can learn to find joy, rather than angst. He talked to The Harvard Gazette recently about his brand new Leadership & Happiness Laboratory which investigates the science behind achieving happiness and spreading it. Brooks says positivity can be split into three parts:
- 50% genetics
- 25% circumstances
- 25% habits
By tweaking your habits, says Brooks, you can change your circumstances and manage your genetics. In a fall 2022 GQ article, Brooks declared he’s actually not a naturally happy person, but he puts theory into practice daily to improve his outlook. He says happy people observe their desires, emotions and cravings without reacting to them immediately. They’re in control, rather than being controlled.
Take Our Advice
Here at Motivation Excellence, we focus on improving performance through a variety of solutions. The end result not only happens to be a financial gain for our clients, but also a positive improvement in relationships with employees, sales teams and channel partners. If someone is happy to be connected to your company, the positive vibe can spread, increasing productivity, sales and retention.
For this blog, I decided to reach out to some of my coworkers to give tips on how they find joy, or keep a positive outlook, as often as they can. After all, we spend the majority of our time helping our clients and their participants to be happy, so, perhaps we can help you too!
Mark Bondy, Vice President, Chief Transition Officer: “I like to get down on the floor to play with my grandkids or dog. It really simplifies life and allows me to forget about stress and enjoy the moment.”
Jillian Fehrenbach, Customer Service Specialist: “I’ve been focusing on personal growth a lot lately. I switch between a couple of books that help me cultivate positive thoughts—with the goal of being better tomorrow than I was today. One of those books is A Gift of Peace: Selections from A Course in Miracles. A summary of topics include:
- Choosing happiness with purpose,
- Making a mind shift and selecting a new path,
- Sharing happiness with others,
- Correcting perception by rejecting illusions.”
Tim Merriman, Independent Strategic Account Director: “I work on a few things on a consistent basis which include:
- Count my blessings and practice abundant gratitude,
- Be more aware of my surroundings and others,
- Encourage others through random acts of kindness, and
- Listen more, talk less.”
Mark Houska, Strategic Account Director: “As a member of our sales team I try to be very methodical in my approach to prospecting and building a pipeline. You know there’s a lot of rejection in sales, but the numbers will bear out through consistent effort. There’s satisfaction in remaining positive and making progress with both small and big wins. Celebrate both!”
Sky Capriolo, Senior Marketing Manager & Brand Ambassador, and your author: As someone who has struggled with depression, I absolutely believe there are things I can do consistently to help alleviate the downward tug and give myself positive momentum.
- Exercise is key for me. I try to get my heart pumping for at least 30 minutes, 5-7 days a week.
- Nutrition – I always feel better when I know I’m eating well.
- Being in the moment – my husband had cancer a few years ago and that really put a lot into perspective. We absolutely practiced appreciating each day, and continue to do so.
- Spreading kindness and compliments. If I think something nice about someone – a stranger or a friend – I make it a point to say something. Making others feel happy, makes me feel happy too!
Live a Long, Happy Life
It’s easier to fall down than get back up, that’s just plain physics. The mental struggle is similar. It just seems easier to fall into that negative thought loop spiral, than push ourselves up with positive affirmations. According to PyschCentral, there are impactful characteristics happy people share that we can all work on.
Happy people:
- Like themselves
- Have personal control
- Expect good things to happen
- Have meaningful relationships
- Enjoy balanced lives
Here’s one more very interesting fact about people with positive outlooks; Happy people live longer. The Harvard Health Blog (back to Harvard; full circle storytelling makes me happy!) shared a study showing people with higher levels of optimism had a greater chance of living past the age of 85. There are also studies that show happy people have fewer chronic illnesses and lower health-related costs.
If you need more convincing to strike out and try living a happier life, remember, some say it takes more muscles to frown than smile. And, having laugh lines on your face, shows you’ve lived a great life (and got the last laugh)!
Motivation Excellence Wins Prestigious SITE Crystal Award Two Years in a Row
The pinnacle of the incentive travel industry, the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence’s Crystal Awards, recognizes companies that produce remarkable travel experiences. SITE honored Motivation Excellence and our client partner, Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan, for Excellence in Incentive Travel: Europe at their global conference in New York City this week.
“Being recognized by SITE and the Crystal Award judges is always an amazing feat that reinforces our dedication to our clients and industry partners. Winning an award two years in a row is absolutely phenomenal and says a lot about our incredible team of travel professionals. Accepting this award with a valued client is a testament to the partnership we have built and their commitment to always wanting to be better than the previous year. Thank you Farm Bureau and thanks SITE,” says David Jobes, President and CEO of Motivation Excellence.
Accepting the award were Rhonda Brewer, VP Sales at Motivation Excellence, Deb Dansby, VP Marketing at Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan and Amy Crossett, Director, Business & Strategic Development at Farm Bureau Insurance of Michigan. Both Brewer and Dansby delivered thank you comments on stage.
“From our perspective, experiences like this are extremely impactful to our ability to attract and retain our salesforce. Our goal is to design and deliver exceptional incentive experiences that are not available to the ordinary traveler. Our partnership with Motivation Excellence is what allows us to deliver those experiences,” Dansby relayed on stage.
The award-winning experience occurred in May of 2022 and encompassed traveling with nearly 300 qualifying agents to Dublin and Killarney, Ireland and then extending with the top 25 agents and their guests to London. Highlights of the experience included exclusive meals atop London’s Tower Bridge and Kensington Palace, an exhilarating James Bond-themed boat ride down the Thames, a takeover of the Guinness Storehouse and quality time spent with the people of Ireland while visiting County Kerry.
Brewer had this to say as she accepted the award: “We wouldn’t be here without our fantastic and long-time client, Farm Bureau Insurance, our DMC and hotel partners and our team that makes the magic happen. Thank you to Wallace Travel, Spectra, Hotel Europe, The Shelbourne and the Langham in London for your partnership to create this incredible program. We love to inspire extraordinary performance, and we absolutely did, as a team!”
Dansby reports that 98.6 percent of the attending agents said they made valuable new connections or learned something that will help their profession while on the travel experience. 87 percent said the travel reward was part of their personal business goals. Agents regularly report that once they’ve been on one of these reward experiences they strive to go again.
As part of their winner’s case study, SITE had this to add: “Showing true wraparound benefits stemming from every corner of their program, Motivation Excellence continues to be a standout exemplar of incentive travel’s transformational impacts.”
Incentive travel companies submit for awards anonymously. Motivation Excellence won the SITE Crystal Award last year for Most Creative Solution Deployed at a Time of Crisis for our program “GEM Club 2020: From Kauai to Concierge.”
Learn more about travel experiences offered by Motivation Excellence.
Get to Know ME with Sanjay Nair
Sanjay Nair joined Motivation Excellence in 2022 and has proven resilient and resourceful heading up our IT needs in the Schaumburg, IL office! He’s a man of few words, as you’ll see below, which likely helps him hone his talent of being a good listener. With only a slightly firm twist of his arm, he sat down to do a quick interview too (it’s only a touch more than a minute). Thank you, Sanjay, for participating in our Get to Know ME segment this month!
What’s your title and how long have you been with Motivation Excellence?
I’m the Systems Administrator and I started at Motivation Excellence in 2022.
What does your job entail?
Day to day support of Motivation Excellence employees, as well as the infrastructure of our systems.
What’s something special about the people you work with you’d like to share?
Everyone is nice and willing to help you if needed.
What’s an unknown or odd talent you have?
I’m a great listener.
What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?
The opportunity to resolve issues motivates me daily.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
I love playing pool and participating in outdoor sports.
One thing that always makes you laugh is?
I love stand-up comedy!
What is the most unusual job you’ve ever had?
I was once a car mechanic, maybe not unusual, but different from what I ended up doing.
This month, our theme for social media is finding joy. How do you work on choosing to see the positive side of things?
I take joy in resolving issues for my users. In IT, issues pop up frequently, so I get to find a lot of joy in helping my coworkers.
Failure is a Never-Ending Opportunity
Well, folks, it’s a new year. For many, that means resolutions. And for many of those people, it means failing those resolutions within the first month. And there we have it…using the word “fail” right off the top of a new year. There are reasons people often fail at New Year’s resolutions and ways to fix them, as we wrote about in a past blog, but this post is about why failure is not an ending or the opposite of success.
Don’t Be Afraid to Fail, Be Afraid of Not Trying
Did you know there’s an official psychological diagnosis for people paralyzed by their fear of failure? It’s called atychiphobia. (In case you have a fear of mispronouncing words, say it like this: a-tick-eh-fo-be-ah.) The Atlantic author, Arthur Brooks, writes that people who suffer from this malady are more prone to anxiety, depression and a lack of enjoying life’s adventures. He writes about three steps you can take to overcome what can be a quite debilitating condition.
- Focus on the present – don’t worry about what could happen tomorrow; embrace today
- Visualize courage – practice in private how you’d like to react to a fearful situation
- Practice humility – take yourself off your own pedestal (special note to perfectionists)
People who are afraid to fail, often don’t take risks in the first place. We’re talking about small risks (talking to a stranger at a work conference) as well as big ones (investing your life savings in a start-up). Without taking risks, your levels of failure and success are pretty much flatlined. Being in a place where you can take calculated risks is preferable. Remember, the thrill of victory is greater when you’ve also experienced the agony of defeat!
The Pros of Failure
BetterUp.com states the biggest problem with failure is our own perception. It can take a nasty toll on our self-esteem. If you can create opportunities to feel successful along the journey, then the final outcome doesn’t have to be a make-it or break-it situation. Read our take on celebrating small victories on the way to a big goal here.
Setting yourself up for mini successes is a great way to keep motivated. But experiencing failure is absolutely OK and often critical to your ultimate success down the road. PsychologyToday.com writes about three positives of failure that many don’t initially think about.
- Illustrates what we’re missing – skill set, personality trait, resources
- Highlights what we really care about – time invested shows what matters
- Allows us to take a fresh start – who doesn’t want a do-over every so often?
In addition to the above three, failing is a great teacher! We all learn how not to do something with each step backward. Being a lifelong learner is critical to leadership, empathy and a growth mindset. People with those traits see each failure as an opportunity to leap forward. It all comes down to owning a positive perspective.
Come Fail Away with Me
If you’re singing the classic Styx song, “Come Sail Away,” in your head now, it was planned by your author. 😊 Dennis DeYoung, frontman for Styx, said in a 2021 interview with Blabbermouth.com that the group’s 4th album, “Man of Miracles,” was a complete failure. It led to no one wanting to represent them until a radio program director surprisingly started playing, “Lady,” a song from a previous album, and it hit big. Obviously, that led to a litany of great songs, including, “Come Sail Away,” which some say pushed them into superstardom.
This leads to an interesting question. There are an incredibly large amount of people in the world who are talented but never succeed at the levels of a band like Styx. Does that make them all failures? I hope your answer to this is a resounding “no!” Sometimes success relies on a lightning strike of good fortune and that is obviously out of our control. In cases like this, the failure would be to not continue trying, regardless of the eventual outcome. And that, my friends, is why resilience is the best friend to both failure and success!
Happy New Year – now go on out there and try, fail, succeed, fail again and keep on going!
Be a Mentor – It Can Give YOU a Boost Too!
We all know how awesome having a mentor is, but did you know being a mentor is very rewarding as well? Mentors gain quite a bit from the relationship, like improving leadership and communication skills. But, you know what’s even better? According to one study, people who acted as mentors were six times more likely to be promoted and 20% more likely to get a raise. I bet that got your attention!
You Can Do It
Don’t think you can be a mentor? Think again, according to ArtofMentoring.com. Read their article about why you absolutely can be qualified to mentor. Remember, not all mentorships are professional in nature. You can be a trusted advisor in nearly every aspect of your life from recreational activities, to church, to school, to the workplace.
One Up One Down is a professional mentor matching organization for “kick-ass entrepreneurial women” in business and technology. This org says the most valuable mentors are the ones with the most relevant experience, not necessarily the ones at the top of the corporate ladder. With that in mind they place a lot of “near-peer” matches. The mentor-mentee pairing might only be a few years apart in age, which means they can empathize better.
Make it Part of Your Business
100% of Fortune 50 companies have a mentoring program; 84% of Fortune 500 companies do too. It just makes sense. The Mentor Method website outlines other stats showing the power of the mentor-mentee relationship, including higher retention rates among those involved such a program.
At Motivation Excellence, many of our employees participate in mentoring relationships either in our industry or out in the community. Our VP of Sales, Rhonda Brewer, helped start a two-way mentoring program in 2016 for the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence Women in Leadership committee and their Young Leaders program. It’s called Advisors in Action.
“Unlike a more traditional mentor program, we thought it was important to have a more back and forth relationship from both participants. That way each learns and grows from the conversation. My partners, who are newer to the industry, have a platform to ask questions in areas I may have more background and experience. For me though, it gives me the chance to learn from the next generations and what is most important to them which then helps me be a better manager.”
Brewer says Advisors in Action was especially effective during COVID when the travel industry shut down.
“Having the connection via this program was significant for me. I was able to connect with others and navigate through what was next, whether it be with job elimination and managing that, or looking for the next career move. It provided a community of support that was critical to a lot of people.”
Make it Happen
The benefits of being a mentor are great. From building your own confidence to sharpening your emotional intelligence, being part of an advisory relationship is just as impactful to the mentor as the mentee.
So, how do you get started? Figure out where you want to offer your expertise. Then hop online and search for organizations that fit your interests. There are groups that meet in person, allowing you to connect personally with people in your area, and other orgs that match people around the world for one-on-one mentoring sessions online.
Whether you want to help someone reach the next level of their education, job, athletic prowess or spiritual connection – or – just be a person who is THERE for another – mentoring is a role you can grow into, learn from and leave a mark on the community around you. Good luck!
Get to Know ME with AJ
We’re pleased to introduce AJ in our latest edition of Get to Know ME! She is new to our company, and new to this industry. Read below, and watch her two-minute video to get to know her better. Perhaps she’ll be able to advise you on better organizational methods or how to use both of your eyes in a new way! Thanks AJ for letting us get to know you better!
What’s your title and how long have you been with Motivation Excellence?
Payroll & HR Generalist – I started August 22, 2022 – so, 4 whole months now!
What does your job entail?
Well…Payroll & HR stuff- reviewing, processing and balancing semi-monthly payroll; recruiting, onboarding, insurance enrollment; administering the IATAN program; managing the Motivate Me program; managing the Chicago Bulls sports tickets, being a point of contact for our employees who have questions and providing assistance where needed.
What’s something special about the people you work with you’d like to share?
They are smart, funny and they all bring a tremendous skillset and something different to the team.
What’s an unknown or odd talent you have?
I don’t know how unknown it is, but a talent I have is OCD. I’m very neat and organized. My family and friends laugh at me because all my cabinets are organized and my closets too. I truly believe in “everything has a place.” I have a giant heart and love to help others too!
What motivates you to accomplish things in your life (work or personal)?
My family, kids and grandchildren motivate me to always do better. They encourage me a lot!! They are always asking what I do at work and if I enjoy what I’m doing.
What do you enjoy doing outside of work?
Hanging with family – spending quality time with my 3 grandsons and traveling the world!
One thing that always makes you laugh is?
My Auntie Lynn – she lives in Houston, but I know if I want to laugh, I can call her. She often calls me to tell me jokes and we sit on the phone for hours laughing. My 5 year-old grandson, Jeremiah, keeps me laughing too and he keeps me young.
What have you done that helped you get through the pandemic?
The pandemic was a difficult time for everyone. One thing that helped me was having Zoom meetings with my family and friends. Depending on the time we were meeting, we would suggest breakfast, lunch or dinner; everyone would order their food or prepare their food; we would meet on zoom and eat, talk, laugh or cry; we would play games and enjoy each other’s company from afar.
What is the most unusual job you’ve ever had?
I started working while in high school at 16; for my first job, I was a vision therapist. I worked at Plano Child Development Center. As a vision therapist, I trained children how to use both eyes together or to use teamwork between the two eyes. The program is based on behavioral optometry – which entails the total vision information processing system and its relationship to learning and development. Vision therapy heals to improve conditions like crossed-eyes, lazy eye, or to help you learn to enhance specific vision skills. It was a very interesting job. Most adults don’t know how to use both eyes together. 😊
This month, our theme for social media is mentoring. Do you have experience with mentoring or being a mentee? How has it affected you personally or professionally?
I have experience mentoring and being a mentee. I was a mentor at my church for young women ages 18-25. You never know what someone is going through and just being able to sit, talk, advise, recommend, and suggest makes a huge difference in someone’s life. We would schedule lunches or go to the movies. It helped me become a better person. Many of the young women went to college and graduated. Some started families. Some are married. I learned to take a step back and look at life through a different lens. Your life may not be perfect, but there’s always someone worse off than you. Always be grateful.
Trust: Building It, Rebuilding It & Keeping It Going
Trust is a huge factor in all relationships. Knowing what to expect from someone in any given situation is a fundamental element of trust. Often, trust starts out as a given, until it’s broken. That’s when huge issues can arise (or worse, fester) and cause a breakdown in communication and productivity.
Building Trust
Building trust really begins the moment a relationship does. There’s an implicit agreement in play that relies on both parties being honest, dependable, and transparent. At work, coworkers build trust through joint projects. Are you meeting your deadlines? Following through on promises? Reliable? Indeed.com reports honesty, admitting to mistakes, and participating in office activities all contribute to colleagues trusting you.
A blog on BetterUp.com says the above is an example of “Practical Trust.” To take the trust level up a notch, they recommend creating “Emotional Trust,” which means going above and beyond expectations and committing to building personal bonds with people. Their article says successful leaders have a higher level of Emotional Trust than their counterparts.
Key traits to possess in order to build trust include:
- Being honest
- Communicating well
- Admitting to mistakes
- Getting to know people better – i.e. hobbies, family, weekend plans
- Being an involved member of the team
- Following through on promises
Rebuilding Trust
Ouch! When you’re in a situation where you’ve lost someone’s trust, it’s pretty painful for everyone involved. Whether it’s as a leader, a colleague, a friend or a family member, there are steps you can take to start the rebuilding process. Starting sooner rather than later is the best way to tackle this uncomfortable situation.
ZenBusiness.com’s blog on rebuilding trust goes into detail about several steps you’ll need to take to get back on the trust track, including:
- Acknowledging what happened
- Allowing feelings to surface
- Taking responsibility
- Offering and accepting forgiveness
Active listening skills will really come into play when you’re trying to rebuild trust. Even if you don’t see what you may have done wrong, being able to hear someone else’s reasoning and reciting it back is critical to moving forward.
Forbes.com published an article on rebuilding trust that breaks the process down into three parts.
Manage Yourself
- Take personal accountability
- Accept both parties can have a “truth” in the situation
Have the Tough Conversation
- Listen well
- Find common goals
Follow Through with Actions
- Actively look at the other person in a new light – catch them doing something right
- Deliver on promises
- Communicate honestly
Keeping It Going
There’s no secret formula to maintaining trust with people. It’s definitely a case of “actions speak louder than words.” If having people trust you is crucial, then the work sits squarely on your shoulders. Being self-aware is critical. Knowing how you are perceived can help you make positive changes as you strive to keep a bridge of trust strong between you and others.
As you interact with people throughout the day, take a moment to recognize the level of trust you have with each person. Are there some who may not be 100% trustful of you? If you want to improve that relationship, then take steps to work toward a mutual level of respect, which goes hand in hand with trust.
- Only take on commitments you can handle
- Make sure your actions back up your words
- Be responsible and accountable
Without a certain level of trust, relationships will stall. If you’re hoping to move up in your career or be a better friend or more reliable family member, be honest with yourself first; examine how well you follow through on obligations. Make adjustments, and over time you’ll find a new level of trust while creating more meaningful relationships in every aspect of your life.
We’re Taking Incentive Group Travel to the Next Level with Our One-of-a-kind Technology: Inspire!
There’s never been a better time to get excited about new technology in the group travel space. With the ever-changing and nightmarish, travel scene right now, having a personalized itinerary with up-to-date adjustments as needed in the palm of your hand is exciting! Group incentive travel programs operating through Motivation Excellence all include Inspire, our fully customizable and personalized mobile travel site.
Features of Inspire include:
- company branding
- personalized air, land and event itineraries
- airline and customs information
- text messaging alerts
- interactive photo gallery
“This is something no other incentive company has at their disposal. The personalized itineraries are a game changer for our industry. Plus, we can customize the app in a number of ways to make it truly unique to our clients’ needs and travel destination,” says Brad Hecht, VP Travel at Motivation Excellence.
For a quick overview of Inspire please watch the video on our Motivation Excellence homepage or below. We also have a one-page features doc you can download at the end of this post.
Motivation Excellence is a performance improvement agency. We use a variety of award solutions to inspire extraordinary performance among our clients’ participants. Through a deep dive into each client’s particular situation, we develop a comprehensive plan to meet goals and drive peak ROI.
“I’m extremely confident Inspire adds incredible value to our travel programs. Our own people built it and it’s already part of the travel solution; there’s not an upcharge for this technology. This represents our commitment to our clients and their most deserving participants,” says David Jobes, President and CEO of Motivation Excellence.
For more information, please contact our Strategic Marketing Manager, Sky Z. Capriolo at s.capriolo@motivationexcellence.com.
Teamwork or Me Work – Which One Gets the Job Done?
We just wrapped up our fall sales meeting. Over three days, our sales team members, executive team and a few others, including myself, gathered at our Motivation Excellence headquarters in Schaumburg, Illinois. We do the same thing in the spring. It’s a wonderful time for collaboration on certain projects, like revamping our proposals and talking through marketing strategies. We have a limited time together, which spurs a consistent workflow. After it’s done though, we each go our own way and focus on our individual task lists again.
Balance Matters
For most businesses, having a balance of teamwork and solo work is the norm. On any given day we have teams working on client proposals, special projects, and developing campaigns to solve our clients’ needs. But each person on the team usually has work they have to do on their own to contribute to the overall plan. For instance, if we are building a performance improvement website, I write the copy, our graphic arts director designs the look, the performance manager decides what metrics are best to measure based on the client’s needs, and our IT team does all the code magic to create an easy user experience. We meet as a team at the outset, plan our vision and then disperse to complete our individual parts. It’s a great way to take advantage of the benefits of both collaborative and individual work time.
Alone but Not Lonely
We definitely have people who prefer to work alone, and others who thrive on working alongside colleagues. There are times when both are important. Let’s look at times when flying solo is better. According to a FastCompany.com article, working alone is especially vital for initial creative thinking, building a sticky relationship with a customer and writing (reports, articles, etc.). Indeed.com says being a lone wolf is also great for focus and efficiency. Responsibility rests on only one set of shoulders though.
Meet the Team
Teamwork is touted for many benefits, including building connections with colleagues, brainstorming, creating inclusivity and sharing skills. In an assembly line scenario, having several people working together definitely beats one person working alone. Productivity and profits can rise with the right teamwork in play. Teams also tend to be motivating with everyone working toward one goal and one deadline. Teammates can offer support and share in the responsibility of the task too, allowing accountability to spread across many shoulders.
One or Some?
How do you decide which way to go? Ask yourself these questions:
- Is a diversity of opinions important to the outcome?
- Do I have the skills needed to finish the project alone?
- Do I want to share the success/failure?
- Do I have a blind spot that I might not be aware of?
- Will a team be more or less efficient/profitable for this task?
As you answer each question, you’ll be forced to decide if bringing a team together or standing on your own makes the most sense. In the end, even if you’ve done all the work yourself, asking others to proofread, give feedback or build on what you started creates some teamwork vibes.
No matter how you prefer to work, you’ll likely be asked to be part of a team some of the time. It’s important to show appreciation for others’ efforts and be a positive contributor to group discussions. Nothing halts creativity and ingenuity like the person who insists on dissing everyone’s input! And remember, when you’re part of a successful team, the celebration is much more fun than a party of one. 😊
Motivation Excellence’s Response to the Airline Crisis of 2022 & Beyond
A White Paper by Brad Hecht, Vice President, Travel
What crisis you say? Perhaps you haven’t tried to book a flight this year or maneuver your way through the rebooking nightmare going on right now. The friendly skies aren’t so friendly for anyone currently, other than perhaps the airlines’ bottom lines.
The big three airlines (American, United and Delta) have made record profits to date in 2022. And that’s despite increasing fuel prices! Passengers are being charged fees and penalties for changes, cancellations and dropping of blocked space. Add on record high fares, full planes, fewer flights, less staff and you can see it’s all going well…for the airlines. According to FlightGlobal.com, American Airlines’ 2022 Q3 profits beat earnings projections by 13%, even though air miles flown were down 10%.
I have been fortunate enough to be in the incentive travel industry since 1984, and I have never seen anything like what we are currently facing. What’s happening? Well, here are some of the issues:
Supply Is Down
- Fewer flights are operating, and they are often heavily booked
- Pilot and staff shortages from forced retirement and pandemic layoffs are creating a ripple effect
Prices Are Rising
- Airfares are up about 40% year over year
- Fuel costs continue to fluctuate, with varied global pricing, contributing to added fuel surcharges and consumer price hikes
- Nonstop flights are being priced at a premium due to high demand.
Group Travel Is Being Hit
- Group travel air (blocked) space is extremely limited and is priced at a premium, as much as 50% more compared to pre-pandemic pricing
- Group air space is the most restrictive of all fare offerings, making it hard or impossible to make changes or cancellations
- “Free sell” (individually ticketed) space is limited but is still less expensive than group space
- Frequent schedule changes are negating any group space that is held
- Group seating continues to be a problem as there are not enough seats to cover the amount of group tickets sold.
Flights Are in Flux with No Flexibility
- Flights are being canceled (crew, weather, maintenance), or flight time changes result in misconnections or very long layovers that aren’t conducive to anyone really, but group travel especially, with special group events depending on timely arrivals
- Canceled flights result in very few re-accommodation options on any carrier
- Seats together and preferred seating are also a problem due to seating being blocked by the carrier or the equipment changes to an alternate aircraft with a different seating configuration.
Customer Service Is Struggling
- Airlines’ customer service is at an all-time low with many people being bumped from flights or downgraded involuntarily and not notified
- Calls into airlines often take hours, if not longer
In a service industry, all of the above points would normally constitute a boycott. Can you imagine going to a restaurant that gave you limited options to eat, changed your order without telling you, made you move from the corner booth you reserved to a two-top by the kitchen and then served your food to another table but still brought you the check?
Unfortunately, for consumers of air travel, we’re not in a great position. The airlines, however, are anticipating consumer demand will not falter even with inflation and the knowledge that airlines are operating at a considerable price increase (which will pad their profits). American Airlines predicts 2022 Q4 revenues will be up to 36% higher than Q4 2021.
So, where does that put incentive group travel now and in the near future?
While we continue to strive to provide the best flight options at the best prices, we are at the mercy of the carrier’s schedule and fares. There is no incentive for carriers to add more flights unless those markets will be highly lucrative. We have been assured by all the majors that they are trying to ramp up offerings of more flights and better fares. Depending on the carrier, this could happen anywhere from 9 months to up to 3 years from now.
Here at Motivation Excellence, our strategy for group travel is to continue to work a hybrid model of group bookings. We will obtain group block space whenever it’s necessary and affordable; or secure a chartered aircraft, if it makes the best sense for a particular group.
At the same time, we will free sell (individually book flights based on the best price for the route) a portion of the group to accommodate the needs of our guests. Our desire is to offer our travelers the best flight options available while balancing the block space and the free sold fares to keep the overall average fares reasonable.
We are diligently reviewing the ever-changing airline space and continually adjusting our hybrid model to stay ahead of everyone else looking for the best fares. Our promise to our clients is we will not stop doing this and just accept what is going on in this crazy market.
Don’t hesitate to reach out to Motivation Excellence if you have questions about any of our performance improvement strategies, whether they involve incentive travel or other reward solutions.
Safe travels!
