goMICE inspection trips
Putting together trips starts, among other things, with deploying your creativity and properly determining the client's wishes. However, that alone is not enough; suppliers such as hotels, restaurants, and organisations offering team activities also largely determine whether a trip is a success. After all, if a restaurant serves poor quality food on the final evening or the guides and coaches are constantly half an hour late, that still has a major impact on the incentive travel.
Quality control at goMICE's suppliers
By now, all goMICE project managers know almost every destination and regularly visit suppliers to carry out quality checks. In addition, we always try to discover new ‘gems’ that have opened over time in a particular destination. To achieve this, we regularly go on inspection trips to various destinations in Europe, and sometimes even further afield.
In a short space of time, we try to make the most of our visit: visiting 10 restaurants in a single day is therefore nothing out of the ordinary. In doing so, we not only pay attention to what the restaurant looks like, but also whether it is clean, how the service is and, of course, the quality of the food. Per restaurant, you really only want to taste a few bites, as you still have quite a few to go, or have already had quite a few. However, the restaurants often want to pull out all the stops and prefer to serve portions that are too large rather than too small.
Plenty of exercise during an inspection trip!
Fortunately, we also get plenty of exercise during inspections, walking an average of about 10 to 15 kilometres a day. We meet with contacts from various hotels, activity suppliers and transfer companies to maintain relationships and discuss new opportunities.
Currently I am organising a 3-day inspection trip to Spain and amongst other things Madrid, where we book multiple groups each year. Among other things, 10 hotels, 18 restaurants, and 7 activity suppliers are scheduled. Even though an inspection trip means long days and often returning tired, it is certainly no punishment! It is always very rewarding to get to know a destination better and to discover new, nice places. As a result, we can advise our clients better again and give them an even better experience on-site!