Following a post-Great Recession quiet period, corporate meetings and incentive trips are back, in a big way. But they look a little different, thanks in large part to the growing ranks of millennials in the workplace.

Gone are the programs with entire days spent in dark meeting rooms and auditoriums, banquet dinners every night, forced-fun teambuilding and the obligatory binder weighed down with handouts and printed versions of so many PowerPoint decks. Today’s corporate meetings and group getaways tend to be less structured, more reliant on technology and, in the end, more focused on engaging attendees.

Since 2008, companies concerned about appearances shied away from locations like Las Vegas that smack of too much fun or luxury in the general public’s eyes. That fear is fading as the economy rebounds. “We don’t see any ‘no-go’ destinations the way we did a few years ago,” said Rhea Stagner, vice president of industry relations and sourcing, Maritz Travel. “And no longer are luxury hotels considered bad. Somebody can actually admit they are going to a Four Seasons.”

Chicago, Las Vegas, Orlando, Dallas, Atlanta, Phoenix — these, along with the other usual suspects, remain popular host cities for corporate events in the United States. When it comes to incentive trips, a recent Incentive Research Foundation study found that North America, the Caribbean and Europe are top choices, followed by Central America/South America/Asia. Asia is especially popular for technology companies.

Some meeting planners are thinking outside the box and booking corporate safaris in Africa. © Inna Felker | Dreamstime.com

But more corporate meeting planners are venturing farther outside the box. Why? Many attendees are already well-traveled, and emerging destinations carry the novelty factor. “So while the Londons, Parises and Romes may be popular, one year a place like Singapore might pop up, or Baku, or Australia, or an African safari,” Stagner said. Indeed, IRF research shows that China, Bali, Vietnam and Peru are on the radar screens of many corporate meeting planners.

Another emerging trend is the choice of less traditional sites for meetings and getaways. Jeff Broudy, executive vice president, United Incentives, said corporate clients have more robust budgets, but they also have grown more averse to budget surprises — as have attendees. Ever-climbing airfares are forcing companies to lock in the aspects of a program they can control, such as food and accommodations, and he is seeing more companies accomplish that via all-inclusive choices. “That way, not only is the budget fixed, but participants don’t have to reach into their pockets. That $18 martini is out of the question when you are paying for it,” he observed.

“We’re seeing more cruising, especially river cruising,” Broudy added. “It offers all the pluses of an incentive, and you can brag about it.”

Another difference in today’s corporate getaways: They tend to be shorter. The week-long program evolved into four or five days. And it should come as no surprise that technology is probably having the most profound impact on the meeting experience.

The ubiquitous nature of smartphones and tablets and the explosion of WiFi availability altered the experience for meeting attendees across the board. This development mirrors what’s happening in the real world, where people watching their favorite program at home can follow along simultaneously on a second screen (phone, tablet or computer) that provides side notes and live discussions. In terms of a corporate meeting, it means session attendees can access, via their mobile device, a simultaneous feed supporting the live presentation, respond to questions posed by the speaker and more. The presenter can use the feedback to tweak the presentation. Or attendees can simply skip the proceedings and view them remotely. And if there are concurrent sessions, an attendee can check them out on demand at a later time, a way to extend the impact of the meeting.

The idea, explained Jim Russell, senior vice president of sales development, Freeman Audio Visual, is to heighten engagement. “Companies want to translate the brand, the content and the speaker into a cohesive experience and find unique ways to leverage personal technology to experience a meeting in a more participatory way.”

For incentive programs, a customized mobile app can take the place of maps, printed schedules and FAQs. The app can tell attendees where they will be dining, what they should be wearing, when their spa appointment is, how the weather will be and more. It can contain photos so participants can boast about where they will be going.

Having so much information accessible via mobile devices also replaces the need for printed programs and handouts, a nod to the trend toward greener events.

Woman attending a meeting © Pojoslaw | Dreamstime.com

One necessary component of that connectivity is the presence of a WiFi network with the capacity for a group. “So many hotels are offering free WiFi, if they aren’t offering it, you should have that in your contract,” Broudy said. Hotels outside the United States are more likely to charge fees U.S. travelers deem excessive, but it’s often pure profit for the hotels and a good negotiating point.

Social media also remains a key component of corporate events. Companies are harnessing what their attendees are saying through products like SocialWall from Cvent. It centralizes what attendees post about an event on Twitter, Instagram and other sites, and can be embedded on a company website. Companies also extend an event’s impact by reaching out to meeting attendees with previews of sessions and webcasts after the fact.

For years, corporate meeting planners measured financial return on investment; today, they are just as likely to monitor emotional ROI, said Chris Dwyer, research director, Ardent Partners, a supply management research firm. How does one measure emotional ROI? “How many people attended the post-event webinar? How many tweets went out? How many people used our hashtag for the event?” Dwyer said. “It’s not just about the event, but about boosting the experience and how to make the event better for employees.”

More companies are treating meetings not just as a one-shot opportunity but as one of many touch points with their audience, be it employees or clients. “It’s not just a registration page and email blasts for six months but consistently touching them with something of value for six or eight months,” Dwyer said. “It reinforces all the good ideas that came out of the event.”

Despite the intrusive role of technology, meeting attendees aren’t just sitting around checking their phones for messages or the latest Kardashian drama. Health and wellness initiatives are increasingly working their way into corporate events, too. John Hancock Financial Network, for example, schedules early-morning boot camps, daybreak power walks and fun runs during its meetings. Hotels and hotel companies are getting into the game as well: MGM Grand in Las Vegas launched Stay Well Meetings, a program designed to enhance meeting attendees’ health and productivity with special menus, mental and physical exercises, aromatherapy, strategic color schemes and more. With 44 percent of frequent U.S. business travelers using hotel fitness centers, according to an American Express survey this year, designing a healthy component into the program is a no-brainer.

Event programs may include a fitness break as a healthy component. © Ruslan Kudrin | Dreamstime.com

While corporate getaways have traditionally included significant others, younger travelers are looking for ways to bring the whole family along — and they want activities that will include them. More adventurous and less traditional options, such as whitewater rafting, mountain biking, cooking and photography workshops, are in demand.

“One of the things we are seeing across the board is that choice is important,” Stagner said. “Meetings and incentives used to be very structured, with group breakfasts, group dinners and group activities. But younger generations coming into the workforce want free time. Maybe they don’t want to join a group activity; they might want to check out a city on their own.” As a result, more corporate groups are giving meeting attendees an allowance, in the form of cash, a debit card or a credit on the hotel folio, and allowing individuals to program their free time or meals as they choose.

Millennials value experiences, sometimes over material goods, so community service events have become a staple for many corporate gatherings. But fun, educational and authentic activities that reflect the destination are gaining in popularity, too. In Monaco, for example, groups can participate in a mini-car road rally tracing the Grand Prix race route. The Vines Resort & Spa in Mendoza, Argentina, allows small groups to try their hand at winemaking.

That is not to say millennials or anyone else is anti-swag. But even swag has evolved. Electronics remain the most popular booty, but the one-room-gift-fits-all mentality is evolving into a gift-sizing event, with the product tied to the location or theme. Attendees at a beachfront meeting, for example, can visit a makeshift sunglass store, test drive a variety of styles, get fashion-sense feedback from their colleagues or spouses and walk away with something just for them. “It creates a nice little buzz,” Broudy said. “Guests seem to love it and they go home with something to remember the event by.”