Creative Incentive Programs

Keeping Your Employees Happy

Did you realize that approximately 65% of employees leave their companies because they are dissatisfied with salary and/or benefits? (Society for Human Resource Management) What are you doing to retain employees that are valuable to your organization? Are you meeting the individual needs of people in your employment? These are questions every manager should ask her/him self on a regular basis.

For those of us in the Travel Industry, there are many ways to motivate employees through incentive programs. The most important thing to remember when developing incentives is that all employees may not be motivated the same way. For example, one employee may work very hard for a cash bonus, while another person may be motivated by recognition for a job well done in front of the group.

I have found by creating a positive and fun working environment, coupled with an effective incentive program, the turnover in my sales department has decreased significantly. Here are a few of the programs I have found to be especially successful.

Non-Monetary Incentive Programs

• Daily Recognition – Every day during our department meeting, we announce the top producer from the previous day. That person gets the Top Dog (a stuffed animal we pass around) to place on top of their computer. At this meeting we also read letters from clients that praise our employees.
• Weekly Recognition – Every Monday the Weekly Top Dog is announced and everyone’s reservations totals are displayed on our Numbers Board for the entire office to see.
• Monthly Recognition – Top producers for the previous month are recognized by the CEO at our company-wide employee meeting at the beginning of each month.
• Charity of the Month – Each month an employee is responsible for choosing a charity, deciding how to support the charity (donations of food, clothing, money, time, etc.), and coordinating the effort. Company-wide participation is encouraged and creates an atmosphere of excitement in the office. Ideas range from writing letters for American soldiers to food drives for the needy.
• Unusual benefits – The Educational Travel program allows employees the opportunity to visit one of our home properties for up to 3 days at a time. Employees are asked to submit a brief report after the trip about their experience and pay the cost of cleaning.

Monetary Incentives

• Employee of the Month – Employees are nominated by their peers and then voted on by management. Prizes awarded vary from $100 gift certificates to train rides and tickets to see Broadway Plays in New York City.
• Employee of the Year – The employee of the year typically receives accommodations for 4 days / 3 nights in the Caribbean.
• Yearly Bonus – This bonus is based on employee performance over the course of the year. It is a tiered structure where employees are always aware of what they need to achieve to hit each and every level.
• Attendance Travel Rewards – For every day that an employee arrives to work on time, they are given $1 to spend on a vacation after their anniversary date. We have had employees travel to Europe, the Caribbean, Mexico and many other destinations in the United States.

Games

• Departmental Games – These contests, designed to target areas that need a boost, are run daily, weekly, and monthly. Friendly competition among employees is healthy and helps them become cognizant of their productivity level.
• Company-Wide Games – These contests are also designed to increase productivity by getting everyone in the organization involved. The exercises create excitement and foster interdepartmental teamwork.
• Prizes – Monetary prizes are always popular, but paid time-off and free lunches are also favorites. There are many different ways to creatively motivate your employees. Hopefully, these ideas will inspire you to develop incentive programs for your own team. It’s important to remember that employees are the face of your business no matter what industry you’re in. Keeping employees happy and motivated will only boost productivity and enhance your organization.

December 3, 2004

Maryland-based Travel Advantage Network takes charity work seriously. Says president Brad Callahan, "At TAN, charity is a company-wide pastime." The company was honored today with a philanthropy award from the MD Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Travel Advantage Network Welcomes New Controller

December 27, 2004

Thriving Maryland travel network hires new executive!

Travel Advantage Network (TAN) recently welcomed Controller James M. McQuide to its team. McQuide heads finance and accounting departments for the wholesale-priced condominium vacations company serving nearly 50,000 families and individuals worldwide. He oversees 14 employees, as well as all financial aspects for TAN’s portfolio of more than 500 condominium units, and the company’s two, wholly owned resorts, throughout the continental U.S., Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean.

McQuide has an extensive background in accounting, finance and administration. He is a graduate of the University of Vermont, where he received his Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration; and, at St. Michael’s College in Winooski, Vermont, he received a Master of Science degree in Administration. With more than 20 years of experience and a penchant for nurturing growing companies, McQuide has already begun to streamline TAN’s accounting methods. He’s accomplished in managing change, negotiations and team building, while possessing a strong desire to lend his expertise to all aspects of TAN’s operations.

“I’m very excited to be working at an established, but innovative company such as Travel Advantage Network.” This is a truly fun place to work, with people who really care about improving the lives of clients through great vacations. I’m looking forward to helping the company in its growth and success,” says McQuide.

He and his wife moved to the Baltimore area 14 years ago, when he was offered the position of Credit Manager for Digital Equipment Corporation (where he completed Digital’s World Class Leadership Program). Says McQuide, “Until 1990, we had lived only in Vermont; the adjustment to Baltimore’s climate and culture was quite a change. Now we wouldn’t dream of moving back!”

November 2004

November 12, 2004

Maryland-based Travel Advantage Network takes charity work seriously. Says president Brad Callahan, "At TAN, charity is a company-wide pastime." The company was honored today with a philanthropy award from the MD Chamber of Commerce and the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Once again, Travel Advantage Network (TAN) has been honored for its business integrity! Today, the Maryland Chamber of Commerce presented TAN with the prestigious 2004 Maryland Small Business Philanthropy Award, during the Maryland Association of Fundraising Professionals’ National Philanthropy Day Luncheon, at the Marriott Waterfront Hotel in downtown Baltimore. In 2003, TAN also won the Better Business Bureau (BBB) of Maryland’s Torch Award for exemplifying superior ethics and customer service.

TAN was selected the outstanding company in the small business category. The Business Philanthropy Awards program honors Maryland businesses that have demonstrated a commitment to improving the quality of life for Maryland residents through philanthropic efforts. TAN’s win was qualitative and quantitative: judging criteria included the extent of service provided to the community, the impact this service has had, as well as the commitment TAN has shown to the community over time.

Kathy Snyder, President/CEO of the Maryland Chamber of Commerce, comments, “We were all so impressed by TAN’s accomplishments and the company’s unique commitment to charitable work. It seems they go way beyond simple monetary contributions and really incorporate giving into the fabric of their company culture.”

TAN President Brad Callahan states, “At TAN, charity is a company-wide pastime. Since 1992, each month, two or three employees choose a noble cause to champion. These tireless charity coordinators raise funds by holding pay-to-play, fun, creative events and activities, such as: our own version of Fear Factor, the TAN Olympics, a pay-to-throw-pies-at-managers event, and water balloon challenges, etc.” Adds Callahan, “In addition to employee-led philanthropy, the company donates two vacation weeks per month to charities seeking auction items.”

Travel Advantage Network specializes in prepaid wholesale vacations, and offers wholesale-priced vacation lodging in more than 100 resort and vacation areas in the U.S., Mexico and the Caribbean.

Maryland companies honored for philanthropy

November 12, 2004

Grocer Safeway of Lanham won the large employer award and EU Services of Rockville, a printing and publishing company, won the medium-size employer award at the Association of Fundraising Professionals -- Maryland Chapter annual awards presentation Wednesday in Baltimore.

Travel Advantage Network of Millersville, a vacation club that serves 50,000 families and individuals nationwide, won the small employer award. John and Nancy Erickson were named 2004 Philanthropists of the Year. John Erickson is chairman and CEO of Catonsville's Erickson, a company that manages and develops campuses for middle-income people older than 62, including Riderwood in Silver Spring.

Business Advocate

November 15, 2004

Maryland Companies Honored for Philanthropic Efforts

The Maryland Chamber of Commerce and Baltimore Business Journal awarded the Maryland Business Philanthropy Awards November 10, during the annual Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) - Maryland Chapter Philanthropy Day Luncheon. This year's awards program honored three companies whose philanthropic efforts have made Maryland a better place to live, work and do business. This year’s winners were:

Small Employer Winner (1-100 employees) Travel Advantage Network: Based in Millersville, the Travel Advantage Network (TAN), is a vacation club that serves 50,000 families and individuals nationwide. TAN is a recent winner of the Better Business Bureau of Greater Maryland’s Torch Award which annually recognizes companies with exemplary business standards and professional integrity. Each month, employees choose a charitable cause to champion, and the staff coordinates ways to raise money through fun activities. TAN also donates condominium weeks to non-profits twice a month. Other activities by TAN’s corporate philanthropy program include writing letters to troops in Iraq, supporting homeless shelters with clothing, building a house for Habitat for Humanity and much more.

October 2004

October 7, 2004

David M. Dawson, property manager for Maryland-based Travel Advantage Network (TAN), recently earned the resort industry’s prestigious Registered Resort Professional (RRP) designation. Dawson has led property management and acquisition efforts for more than five years for TAN, a wholesale-priced condominium vacations company serving nearly 50,000 families and individuals nationwide. He oversees all aspects of property management for TAN’s portfolio of more than 500 condominium units, and the company’s two, wholly owned resorts, throughout the continental U.S., Hawaii, Mexico and the Caribbean.

The American Resort Development Association (ARDA) and its International Foundation award the RRP accreditation. Dawson achieved his RRP status after completing rigorous qualifications testing, speaking at and attending ARDA seminars and conventions, authoring articles for the association’s magazine, participating in industry seminars and self-study courses, and credits from working more than five years in the resorts industry.

“By implementing the insight I’ve gained through the RRP accreditation process, we are able to continually enhance our Travelers’ vacation experiences. We already offer exciting vacation destinations to our clients, but through best practices accreditation, we’re elevating the quality of TAN’s property management operation,” says Dawson.

In 2002, Dawson earned an Associate Resort Professional (ARP) designation. In addition to serving on the ARDA Resort Management and Membership Committees, he serves on the Speakers Committee for the Cooperative Association for Resort Exchangers (CARE). Dawson has been a panel speaker for numerous ARDA and CARE conferences.

Dawson has more than 20 years of experience in commercial, residential and resort property management, leasing and acquisitions. He began his career in resort management in St. Croix, USVI. Prior to working with TAN, Dave was Vice President of Commercial Management for a leading Maryland property management company. During his five-year TAN tenure, Dawson has sheparded the acquisition of many new home properties, lease management for current inventory, and administration of TAN’s strict property management standards of excellence.

August 2004

Small Business, Big Success

By Christine M. Matarese

When future entrepreneur Brad Callahan earned his undergraduate degree in psychology in 1990, he found himself in the same boat as many other graduating seniors: broke, and working at a job that had almost nothing to do with his major. Back then, the Towson State University grad didn't know that the part-time sales job he started in 1989, working for a vacation condominium-rental company while still in college, would dramatically alter his career plans.

Callahan quickly climbed the ranks at the company. He was promoted to General Manager in three short years. But in 1992, following the idea for a different business model, focused completely on the vacationers as well as long-term growth, the budding entrepreneur and a partner decided to strike out on their own.

Having bought out his partner in 1994, Callahan, 38, is the sole owner of Travel Advantage Network, Inc., (TAN) a Maryland corporation that provides prepaid, wholesale condominium vacations in over 20 states, in addition to Mexico and the Caribbean. TAN manages over 500 properties and currently maintains a client base close to 50,000 families and individuals.

"I never planned on going into real estate," Callahan said. "Because of my degree, I thought I'd end up working with troubled kids."

The business was founded on the basis of a new style of travel: a wholesale priced condominium vacation program. Callahan describes the concept as part time-share and part Sam's Club. This concept of prepaid vacation blocks has remained the focus of the corporation since its inception. Where the company has evolved is through commitment to providing quality accommodations at affordable rates.

Due to their initial 'shoe-string' budget, Callahan and his partner could not afford to purchase resort properties. They started by essentially contacting owners and managing these rental properties. This practice worked for a short time but Callahan quickly realized the path to larger profits lay with owning the rental properties.

In 1995, Callahan began purchasing condominium units in prime vacation locations, primarily by using seller-based financing. In the beginning, all of the properties were in his name. But his accountant and attorney advised him to file a limited liability company (LLC) to hold each individual property, in order to protect his personal assets and provide separate liability protection for each property. He turned to The Company Corporation to help him with the numerous filings in various states, starting with his original incorporation of TAN, back in 1994.

"I have enlisted The Company Corporation for more than 10 years, because of the quality of its services and expertise of its employees," he said. "We count on that expertise as we expand and manage the Travel Advantage Networks growing list of affiliated corporations and LLCs."

TAN now not only creates an LLC for each property but also to house its affiliated ventures. Callahan utilizes The Company Corporation to file LLCs for the housekeeping and maintenance company that services the resort properties, the restaurant at the Hawaiian resort, and the finance-servicing companies that handle TAN’s vacation sales, just to name a few.

"By assigning separate LLCs, each business function can operate autonomously; managing taxes and filings, and assigning separate LLCs creates less of a burden to the overall finances of TAN," Callahan said.

TAN has certainly seen success in the past 12 years and its owner is counting on that momentum to keep rolling into the future. With goals to purchase more properties and resorts throughout the U.S., Caribbean and Mexico, he is eager to continue working with The Company Corporation. Callahan described his account's dedicated Incorporation Specialist as invaluable in setting up new LLCs.

"We only hire the best; and we only work with the best. Working with The Company Corporation fits that very model," he said.

For more information on TAN, Inc. visit their website www.planwithtan.com.

July 2004

Onlypunjab.com Travel

TAN Unveils Renovations to Cape Cod Resort for New England High Season

Publish Date : 7/17/2004 12:45:00 PM

Travel Advantage Network, a wholesale-priced vacation club announces today renovations of its wholly owned Cape Cod property are completed. Sandbars, at Cape Cod Bay, a 16-unit waterfront resort has undergone extensive renovations for the 2004 travel season. “Sandbars is the ultimate Cape Cod retreat. It has a private beach at the tip of the Cape, plus it’s near so many attractions, but remote enough to provide that relaxed, old New England experience. We’re truly excited about the quality of the renovations and look forward to hearing feedback from our Travelers who visit Sandbars,” comments TAN property management department head David Dawson.

“We’ve stripped every unit down to the drywall and replaced nearly every element,” explains Dawson. The detailed project totaled more than $10,000 in renovations per unit. To create authentic New England décor, TAN collaborated with Elizabeth Williams Design Services, who helped select and oversee installation of top quality appointments for each room, such as wood blinds, ceramic tile flooring, and Corian counter tops. New furniture includes custom platform beds and new headboards, dressers, chairs, mirrors, wardrobes and tables by American of Martinsville. The beautifully furnished rooms are now accessorized with custom-made bed covers and shams, as well as nautical themed draperies, all in shades of red, gold and navy blue.

Throughout the project, TAN supported Cape businesses by using local plumbers, electricians, painters and construction contractors for the renovations.

The property was not the only facet of Sandbars’ makeover. The resort’s Web site, Sandbars.com, was overhauled, too, to be more informative and user friendly, with a completely new look and feel that complements the renovations. This new site is a great source for information about the resort, area attractions, directions and weather.

Hawaii

 By Kay Carstens

Insurance Conference Planner, Jul 1, 2004

FACILITY UPDATE (excerpt of lengthy list from original article)

MOLOKAI

·         In February, Maryland-based Travel Advantage Network added the oceanfront Hotel Molokai at Kamiloloa Beach to its roster. The hotel reopened in March. There is a three-year plan to upgrade electrical, roofing, building exteriors, and guest rooms, to the tune of about $270,000.

May 2004

The Daily Record

The Travel Advantage Network, of Millersville, a company that specializes in prepaid wholesale vacations, unveiled a new Web-based software management system that offers real-time data sharing from anywhere in the world, and also manages critical back-office functions such as reservations scheduling, client account management, accounting, inventory management agreement and collections.

March 2004

Terrorism fails to stifle summer travel season

By PAMELA WOOD, Staff Writer

There's war in Iraq and Afghanistan, violence is common in the Middle East and Spain just suffered a deadly train bombing.

But that's not scaring Americans away from booking spring and summer vacations to exotic locales like the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and even Russia, according to the U.S. State Department and local travel agents.

"We're doing a lot of European vacations, despite what's going on," said Terence McDonough, owner of Aladdin Travel Agency in West Annapolis. "People are going ahead with it."

Vacations closer to home are popular, too.

At the Travel Advantage Network in Millersville, bookings are hot for condominiums near Walt Disney World in Florida and at Myrtle Beach, S.C. Often groups of families or couples are traveling in a group, a trend called "togethering."

"Our numbers are up. People seem to be traveling more," said Kelly Leso, a spokesman for Travel Advantage Network.

And at the State Department, this year could set a new record for passports, said Stuart Patt of the Bureau of Consular Affairs.

Mr. Patt wouldn't speculate about why Americans are applying for more passports, but he said international travel certainly is a factor.

Passport applications, which were already on a slight decline, dropped sharply after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. They started to climb in fiscal year 2003, which started in October 2002. About 7.3 million Americans got passports that year.

And less than halfway through this year - fiscal 2004 - 3.5 million Americans already have applied for passports, and the busiest season is just beginning.

Applications are running 14 percent higher than last year, Mr. Patt said.

"We are swamped," he said. "If anyone is thinking of traveling this summer, now is the time."

Annapolis-area residents are busy planning tours of Europe, Russian riverboat cruises and visits to Caribbean resorts, Mr. McDonough said. But they're avoiding hotspots like Spain and Israel.

Mr. McDonough said some of the increase in passports may be because more Caribbean countries require U.S. travelers to have passports. Countries like Barbados and Costa Rica previously required only a birth certificate and photo identification for U.S. citizens.

And having a vetted form of identification like a passport makes border crossings easier, he said.

"It's being required more and more," Mr. McDonough said. "You might as well get one."

Published 03/25/04, Copyright © 2004 The Capital, Annapolis, Md.

 
Pacific Business Journal
URL: http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2004/03/15/focus3.html?page=4 Molokai
by: Prabha Natarajan

The new owner of Hotel Molokai added 57 rooms to the Friendly Isle's condo and time-share options this year. Previously, only seven units made up that pool.

In a move that could bring more regular visitors to the Friendly Isle, Travel Advantage Network converted the Hotel Molokai, on Molokai's southern coast east of Kaunakakai.

The company provides wholesale-priced condo vacations to 43,000 families. Most of its members are from the U.S. East Coast and are "mainly blue-collar who want to maximize their vacation dollars," said CEO Brad Callahan.

The property opened under its new ownership this month.

Travel Advantage Network hopes to market the island, an unknown entity to many on the mainland, as a throwback to traditional Hawaiian lifestyle, culture and values. That appeal has helped sell high-end homes on the island's secluded west side. It also could bode well for the Kaluakoi Hotel, which operated 140 hotel rooms before it was shut down. No development plans have been made yet. The condos on the property remain open.

More hotels going to Mainland firms
For full article, go to URL: http://the.honoluluadvertiser.com/article/2004/Mar/07/bz/bz04a.html

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February 2004

Travel Advantage Network buys Hotel Molokai

URL: http://www.hotelmotel.com/hotelmotel/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=86741

Malibu, Calif. -- Shahir Hanna from Amber Hotel Co. represented Travel Advantage Network in the acquisition of the Hotel Molokai, a 47-room full service boutique hotel on Molokai’s southern coast east of Kaunakakai.

Hanna, who represented both buyer and seller in the transaction, commented that “the property is beautiful and operating smoothly” adding that Travel Advantage Network plans to spend approximately $300,000 over the next few years on upgrading electrical, roofing, building exteriors, and guest rooms.

The Keawe Group, seller, opened the hotel in 1998 after being closed for 5 years. Hanna, a frequent business and leisure traveler of the Hawaiian Islands, remarked that it was also a pleasure to represent the seller in the transaction because “the property takes such huge advantage of the outstanding beach frontage and sunsets of Kamiloloa Beach”. Snorkeling, whale-watching, sun bathing and swimming are just a few of the activities guests can enjoy not to mention the availability of a full-service restaurant and bar.

Given its geography and rural old-Hawaii feel as compared to the more metropolitan islands, Hanna said that “it’s no secret why Travel Advantage Network was drawn to the Hotel Molokai”. Travel Advantage Network offers wholesale-priced condo vacations to 43,000 families and individuals around the world. It presently has only one other property in the Hawaiian Islands.

The island of Molokai, “The Friendly Island”, is conveniently accessible by ferry from Maui and by prop aircraft from Honolulu and Maui. The island is geographically situated between Maui and Oahu and is actually part of Maui County. A main road with no stop lights runs through the rural island.

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Pacific Business Journal

URL: http://pacific.bizjournals.com/pacific/stories/2004/02/09/daily47.html

February 11, 2004

Vacation condo company acquires Hotel Molokai

In a move that could bring more regular visitors to the Friendly Isle, Travel Advantage Network has acquired the Hotel Molokai, on Molokai's southern coast east of Kaunakakai.

"We were drawn by the island's old-Hawaii feel, versus the hustle and bustle of more developed islands," CEO Brad Callahan said.

The transaction went to settlement Tuesday, said Travel Advantage, based in Millersville, Md., an exurb of Washington, D.C. The company provides wholesale-priced condo vacations to 43,000 families and individuals worldwide but its only Hawaii presence until now has been units at the Maui Banyan.

"The hotel is in great shape and is lovely as is," said David Dawson, director of property acquisition and management for the company, but added, "We're anticipating the total renovation costs and expenses associated with taking over the property to be about $270,000 over the next three years." That, he said, includes upgrading electrical, roofing, building exteriors, and guest rooms.

Grand re-opening is tentatively scheduled for March 1.

"We are honoring the nearly $150,000 in reservations made by vacationers prior to the change in ownership, so we'll be working around the property as quietly as possible so as not to disturb travelers," Dawson said.

TAN mostly offers units without condo developments owned by others, but it has bought an entire resort once before, when, in January 2003, it acquired Sandbars, a resort on Cape Cod.

For mainland readers. Molokai, between Oahu and Maui, is part of Maui County. It is mostly rural with a single main road and no stoplights. There is ferry service from Maui and prop aircraft service from Maui and Honolulu.

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Travel Advantage buys Hotel Moloka'i

URL: http://www.mauinews.com/news/story/0212202004_new04travel0212.asp

By HARRY EAGAR, Staff Writer

KAUNAKAKAI - Hotel Moloka'i has been sold to a Maryland company that packages bargain condominium vacations for a membership of about 43,000. Brad Callahan, chief executive of Travel Advantage Network of Millersville, Md., says the Friendly Isle hostelry will be run as a hybrid.

Thirty-five rooms will continue to be operated as a hotel, but 10 upstairs rooms with kitchenettes will be upgraded and sold as Travel Advantage condos.

The sale by Keawe Group closed Tuesday. The sale price was not revealed, but Callahan said fairly extensive renovations will be required for the hotel rooms.

He said Keawe, which had a background in food and entertainment, had "done a good job" with the hotel's restaurant and bar, and Travel Advantage hopes to maintain that momentum.

"It's standing-room only on Friday nights," said Callahan in a telephone interview from the Mainland.

He said his manager, Lani Smee, has been on the property for about a month and had high praise for the staff, but she has recommended some additional staff to improve service.

Travel Advantage has a three-year plan to upgrade electrical systems, roofs, building exteriors and guest rooms.

"The hotel is in great shape and is lovely as is, but we want to bring it up to TAN's standards of excellence," said David Dawson, head of property management and acquisition.

"We're anticipating the total renovation costs and expenses associated with taking over the property to be about $270,000 over the next three years."

Callahan says 12-year-old Travel Advantage charges members an annual fee, which is in effect a service charge for the company to go out and find (or develop) week-long vacation packages for members.

Rates are based on wholesale lots, and Callahan describes his members, who are concentrated on the East Coast, as "hardworking, blue-collar families" looking for dream vacations on the Mainland and in Mexico and the Caribbean at bargain prices.

Travel Advantage already has operations in the county, at the Maui Banyan in Kihei, and units at more than 115 other properties.

But Hotel Moloka'i is only its second whole-resort purchase.

The other is the Sandbars on Cape Cod, purchased one year ago.

The company says it will honor nearly $150,000 in reservations made with the previous owners and plans to "work around the property as quietly as possible" while staying open during renovations.

The grand reopening of Hotel Moloka'i is tentatively scheduled for March 1.

The telephone number for TAN is (800) 264-3802.