Plain English
Glossary
The terms that come up in incentive travel and corporate hospitality, explained without the jargon. Every definition has its own link.
- ABTA
- The Travel Association, the UK trade body for travel agents and tour operators. Members work to a published code of conduct, and customers get a defined route to complain and a measure of financial protection. TravelOptions is an ABTA member.
- ATOL
- Air Travel Organiser's Licence, a UK scheme protecting package holidays that include flights, administered by the Civil Aviation Authority. It is separate from ABTA membership. TravelOptions is an ABTA member and does not currently hold an ATOL licence.
- Benefit in kind
- A non-cash reward given to an employee, such as an incentive trip. In the UK these are generally taxable, and employers often settle the tax themselves through a PAYE Settlement Agreement so the winner is not left with a bill.
- Corporate hospitality
- Hosting clients or staff at a sporting or cultural event, usually including admission, a dining space, food and drinks. Distinct from simply buying tickets, because the hospitality and the hosting are the point.
- Delegate
- An attendee at a conference or corporate event. "Delegate management" covers invitations, registration, dietary and accessibility requirements, rooming lists and on-site check-in.
- DMC
- Destination Management Company — a local agency in the destination that arranges ground services such as transfers, venues, guides and excursions. An agency planning your trip will usually work with a trusted DMC on the ground.
- Enclosure
- A defined area at a racecourse with its own admission, facilities and often its own dress code. Royal Ascot's Royal Enclosure is the best-known example.
- FAM trip
- A familiarisation trip, where agency staff visit hotels and venues so they can recommend them from experience rather than from a brochure.
- Ground handling
- Everything that happens once a group lands — transfers, luggage, check-in, local transport and excursions.
- Incentive travel
- A trip used as a reward, typically earned by hitting a target over a qualifying period. Distinct from a corporate event, because qualification is part of the design.
- Manifest
- The definitive list of who is travelling, with passport details, flight allocations and rooming. The document everything else is checked against.
- MICE
- Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions — the industry term for the business events sector. Useful shorthand between suppliers; rarely worth using with clients.
- PAYE Settlement Agreement
- An arrangement with HMRC under which an employer pays the tax and National Insurance due on certain benefits, including incentive trips, so the employee receives the reward tax-free. Often abbreviated to PSA.
- Private suite
- A hospitality room used by one company only, usually with a view of the course or pitch, and often brandable. The alternative is a shared hospitality restaurant.
- Qualifying period
- The window over which employees compete to earn an incentive trip — commonly six to twelve months. Its length and the targets set within it largely decide whether the incentive changes behaviour.
- Rooming list
- The allocation of named guests to rooms and room types, sent to the hotel ahead of arrival. Getting it wrong is one of the fastest ways to start a trip badly.
- Shoulder season
- The months either side of peak season. Often the sweet spot for incentive trips: better weather than winter, better value and fewer crowds than August.
- Transfer
- Any arranged journey between two points on a trip — airport to hotel, hotel to venue. "Private transfer" means your group travels alone rather than on a shared coach.
- Venue finding
- Sourcing and shortlisting venues against a brief. Normally free to the client, because venues pay the agency commission on confirmed business — something a reputable agency will tell you up front.
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