Can Incentive Travel Services Really Be “Free”?

People often avoid the term “FREE” because it seems that it is a “lost leader” type of word. We have been taught over the years that nothing in life if “free,” that if it sounds too good to be true, then it is. Well, that is accurate in most cases, but Incentive Solutions’ site selection and contract negotiation incentive travel services are truly free to our clients.

We don’t work for free, of course. We have to pay the electric bill somehow. But it is just not you, our client, who is paying us. Our relationships with hotels, DMCs and other vendors are strong and long-lasting. We all want business so we have an “industry standard” level of respect. If we send business to a vendor, they pay us a commission. The commission is figured into their overall cost of goods sold.

The same concept applies for negotiations in our clients contracts. Contracts start high and end up somewhere in the middle, but someone with experience can negotiate lower rates than someone without. Immediately upon review of a new contract, I take out my red pen and start to “doodle” on the contract to see what I might like to negotiate and mark up. We don’t get everything we ask for, but guess what? You certainly won’t get it unless you ask. As the saying goes, “The shy go hungry.”