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In January, the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (SITE) kicked off 2020 with its Global Conference in Vancouver. The organization’s membership numbers were at an all-time high, the global conference was the biggest ever and more in-person events were added to the calendar.

Little did anyone know that the timing of the global conference could not have been better, as soon the world would be swept up in the coronavirus pandemic and in-person events would come to a screeching halt.

“In the normal rhythm of the SITE year, there are many physical touchpoints during which volunteer and executive leadership gets face to face with members—our own events, trade shows like IMEX, etc.,” says Padraic Gilligan, SITE’s chief marketing officer. “Then the coronavirus paid us a visit, and within 30 days all our in-person events were postponed, eventually being pushed into 2021. Having started the year spectacularly, we were suddenly left in a vacuum.”

The organization was able to stay connected to the community through more frequent digital communications, weekly webinars and weekly calls with chapter leaders. But with the absence of in-person gatherings, something was still lacking, Gilligan says.

“We needed a global manifestation, something to bring our entire community together, powerfully and symbolically,” he says. “Enter Rebecca Wright, director of chapter engagement, and Tahira Endean, director of events. Channelling Rebecca’s strong instinct for what members needed to hear and Tahira’s limitless creativity and immense global rolodex, SITE Week was born as a mid-summer gathering/thinktank/celebration.”

The plan for SITE Week was ambitious: town halls, business recovery sessions, hackathons, ideation sessions and the launch of the Vancouver Manifesto (the second edition in the SITE Manifesto documents). And importantly, for anyone who missed SITE Week (or who wants to experience a session or two they missed): all sessions were recorded and will be available for members for free on the SITE website.

Tackling Challenges

Endean says a tremendous response to the Town Hall sessions indicated a clear desire from members to learn about what SITE has been doing during the pandemic, particularly in terms of industry advocacy.

“There were excellent questions posed both during the registration process, which were addressed in the presentation, and live,” she says. “And members felt heard—a critical reason for doing this.”

“My secret goal was to have people leave feeling as if they had been wrapped in a virtual SITE hug, and we achieved this.”

Much of the educational content was, of course, focused on COVID-19. The industry will recover, but it was important for members to discuss the different aspects of that recovery and how we’re going to get there.

“Across the globe, we are all facing challenges of government regulations, travel anxiety and a desire to get back to what we do: meaningful events,” Endean says. “There were many paths to travel during this event to get the information most relevant to your unique situation and to discuss innovations and challenges with others—and the unwavering support is what really stood out.” 

SITE listened to what members wanted to talk about, and created 45 sessions accordingly—ranging from “Contracts in the Six Foot Economy” to “Dear God, I am a Small Business Owner.” Discussions ran the gamut, covering topics such as F&B service, incorporating sustainability, mental and physical wellness, responding to RFPs and managing teams.

“What was wonderful about this was the volunteer facilitators who did not all know each other and came from different countries and backgrounds, yet all stepped in to address a shared global problem—how do we survive this time and get back to business with our whole selves intact?!” Endean says.

SITE is truly a global organization and takes that responsibility seriously, as evidenced by the fact that each session was broadcast twice per day to accommodate the time zones for participants from around the world—leading to some long days for the event team, Endean says.

“What was also clearly reinforced is the different learning preferences across cultures, and this will have us adapting content and delivery for virtual and hybrid events going forward,” she says. “For example, Asian cultures lean towards watching content, where North American cultures lean more towards learning and discussion content, at a very simplified level.”

Talking to and With Each Other

Endean says SITE Week was created as a response to member surveys that said they wanted to talk to and with each other.

“While it was challenging in some sessions to have people turn on their video and engage in dialogue, overall the goal to have people sharing ideas was met,” she says.

Wright says one of the most impactful aspects of SITE Week was the incredible desire by members to be involved not just as participants, but also in facilitating the ideation sessions.

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“Each of the 45 sessions incorporated at least two people to champion the subject and moderate the conversations,” she says. “That’s a mobilization of over 90 volunteers to lead content discovery and curation through conversations. These volunteers came from different countries and backgrounds, but stepped up to address the same problem facing all. Our chapter leaders were quick to volunteer their leadership in these sessions and promote the event through their local community, generating the huge response and participation.”

The Vancouver Manifesto

The Vancouver Manifesto, which was launched on the second day of SITE WEEK, takes three of the statements/themes from the previous year’s Bangkok Manifesto—sustainability, corporate culture and economic impact—and provides practical content on how to apply these themes in a business setting, Gilligan says.

“Three leaders in the SITE community—Benoit Sauvage, Eda Odzen and Dana Weaver—presented each of the themes, connecting them inextricably to their own work as DMCs and corporate meeting planners,” Gilligan says. “Overall, our focus with the Vancouver Manifesto was to move from aspiration to action. The Bangkok Manifesto was all about setting out the nature, purpose and direction of incentive travel, whereas Vancouver was all about putting it into practice.

“We continue to explore the key themes of the Vancouver Manifesto, and we’re releasing in-depth content inspired by these themes on Motivate, the repository of content on all things incentive published by the SITE Foundation,” he says, noting that the Vancouver Manifesto has already been downloaded more than 1,000 times.

A Virtual Hug

Endean says that overall SITE Week was a very positive event that left participants  feeling more connected, less alone and with new tools to take forward.

“My secret goal was to have people leave feeling as if they had been wrapped in a virtual SITE hug, and we achieved this,” she says.

Wright agrees, noting the result is far more powerful than the SITE Global team ever thought possible.

“Participants felt a level of comfort in knowing they were not alone, no matter their background or perspective. COVID-19 has impacted the industry globally in unprecedented ways, and participants felt the SITE community supporting them,” she says. “Also, in some sessions, discussions left participants with a sense of control in a climate where it feels like there is very little control over what is happening. They were able to discuss actions they can take to build a stronger future. Realistic optimism. And a virtual hug.”