Before a planner decides who should help deliver a program, the destination has to be right. For Canadian corporate groups, Western Canada makes a strong case.
British Columbia and Alberta are home to award-winning 4 and 5 star hotels and resorts, secluded wilderness lodges and a plethora of enticing activities that challenge personal boundaries and leave participants exhilarated.
Our seasoned American clients see that draw. Some Canadian planners have a different perspective and look outside our borders.
There is also a business case for staying. Keeping a program in Canada means keeping business in Canada, working with local vendors offering products and services you can’t find anywhere else and avoiding the exchange rate swings that come with foreign currencies. For a Canadian planner, that is a good reason to explore Western Canada first.
The Decision: DMC or DIY?
Once the destination is chosen, planners face a second decision: manage it themselves or bring in a destination management company (DMC). Planners south of the border tend to see value in hiring a trusted DMC and event partner and allocate a portion of their budget for it. Some Canadian planners think differently. Because they live in Canada, they “know it” and can plan part or all of an incentive or meeting without a DMC partner.
But the differences in venue and activity options between Eastern and Western Canada are vast. Some could argue it is akin to taking your business across a border.
When we ask why planners book direct, we are often told it saves money for their client. Here are the questions we would ask back. How well do they know the vendor they have booked with? Were they extended a preferred rate that the DMC has earned by being a great partner? Have they worked with these vetted, trusted vendors for decades? Can the vendors move mountains if needed?
Planners are already busy managing internal expectations while creating the content for their program. A DMC acts as an extension of the team.
Making the Destination Work Harder
Picture a corporate program for 250 people in Whistler in winter. Rooms at the host property, meeting space, coaches and a few dinner reservations are all easy to book directly. A capable planner can build a workable program from what any search returns. That is accessing a destination.
Knowing how to use it is different. Local expertise can make the best recommendations. In winter the details matter more. We know how short daylight, snow and road conditions shape the schedule, when the drive from Vancouver needs extra time and how to plan arrivals so 250 people don’t all land, wait and check in at once.
Relationships open places others can’t access. Vendors who have worked with a DMC for decades hold dates, extend preferred rates and find a way when plans change: a private space that isn’t listed for groups or a production team that can move mountains overnight when a storm changes the plan.
Complexity and spend can decrease too. One team coordinates airport arrivals and departures, transportation to the host property, décor, entertainment and production, so nothing is booked twice or missed between suppliers. For a group this size, coaches, dinners and activities all have to move on the same clock. Problems on the day are solved quickly and efficiently by people who know who to call. The budget goes to what guests will notice.
Ask what the group is there to achieve and the program can be designed around that instead of the usual ski day and village dinner. The planner keeps the vision and the DMC carries everything behind it, from the first brief to the last departure transfer.
What Might We Be Missing?
Western Canada is a golden opportunity to keep business in Canada, avoid exchange rates and work with a trusted local expert to maximize engagement. The real question is how much of that opportunity a program actually uses.
So the question changes. Instead of “Can we do this ourselves?”, ask “What might we be missing by doing it ourselves?”
A DMC isn’t an extra layer between the planner and the destination. It is the local layer of knowledge, relationships and precision that helps turn the destination into the experience they actually want to deliver.
Bronwyn Slade is director of Global Business Development at Pacific Destination Services, with 25 years at the heart of Western Canada’s meetings and incentives industry. She connects planners with the places, people and possibilities that make British Columbia and Alberta extraordinary event destinations. PDS has worked exclusively in Western Canada for 28 years, building the local expertise and trusted relationships that help planners get more from every program.
