Step-by-Step Guide in Choosing Local Vendors: A Case Study

Recently, we won a large-scale incentive program for Nashville, Tennessee. Below are the highlights of this program and how we went about producing it.

Event Overview
A U.S.-based technology company planned a four-day incentive trip for 150 top-performing employees. The goal was to reward achievement while reinforcing company culture through immersive local experiences.

Challenge
The company’s planning team had limited familiarity with Nashville beyond major tourist attractions and wanted us to come up with experiences that felt exclusive rather than “off-the-shelf.”

To meet the challenges of responding to our client’s demanding requirements, we needed local vendor partners that met our strict criteria.

Vendor Selection Criteria

These are the criteria we used to find and hire the local vendors we needed for this program:

  • Deep local connections

  • Creative, destination-specific programming

  • Experience with incentive travel

  • Ability to manage multiple venues and live entertainment

Vendor Solutions:

The selected vendors had to be able to leverage long-standing relationships with local venues and musicians to be able to:

  • Identify and propose a private historic venue for a welcome reception

  • Arrange behind-the-scenes access to a renowned music studio that we had identified

  • Be able to curate live performances by local artists rather than tourist acts

  • Manage multi-faceted transportation across multiple locations in a seamless manner

Outcome

Having identified, vetted, and secured these reputable vendors, we were able to accomplish the following accolades:

  • We were happy to have received high attendee satisfaction scores

  • We were able to ensure that the participants were able to create strong emotional connection to the destination

  • Our client’s testimonial: The company was able to increase employee engagement post-event

Key Takeaway
Our ability as the chosen event planning company for this program to identify, vet and hire a cadre of qualified, knowledgeable and competent local vendors with authentic local expertise and creative capabilities transformed a standard incentive trip into a memorable, one-of-a-kind experience.

Don’t trust your critical event to any event planning company. Choose a company with established relationships with local vendors to guarantee a successful and seamless event. Our event planners are here to answer any questions you may have.

GMS Global Management Services