Incentive Live Delivers Tools for Crafting More Creative Programs

The hosted-buyer event drew 150 incentive professionals to St. Pete, Fla.

Incentive Live was held at the newly renovated Vinoy Resort & Golf Club, Autograph Collection, in beautiful St. Pete, Fla.
Incentive Live was held at the newly renovated Vinoy Resort & Golf Club, Autograph Collection, in beautiful St. Pete, Fla.

More than 150 incentive travel buyers and suppliers gathered at Northstar Meetings Group's Incentive Live event, held May 21-23 at the beautifully renovated Vinoy Resort & Golf Club, a Marriott Autograph Collection property in St. Petersburg, Fla. The hosted-buyer program brought together planning professionals and suppliers to network, meet in one-on-one appointments, and explore new ways to reach their goals and take their programs to the next level.

The morning sessions included three-time NCAA National Championship and USA Track and Field Championships silver medalist Charles Clark, who inspired attendees with how he pushed through adversity and learned to thrive following a career-ending injury. The Thrive Planner author gave the audience real-life examples of how to use adversity to reach their career and personal goals.

Hilary Smith, senior vice president of strategy + creative for PRA Business Events, got the audience’s creative juices flowing with her interactive workshop on planning outstanding incentive experiences. Among the takeaways were the four tools she lives by for creating better programs: using a design-thinking process; journey-mapping; ensuring destination authenticity; and creating a design brief. Participants got real-time experience and a true appreciation of one tool — journey-mapping — during her deep-dive creativity session.

Our generous sponsors who made Incentive Live possible were our host property, the Vinoy Resort & Golf Club; Visit St. Pete Clearwater; JW Marriott Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa; Inspirato; Opal Collection; Pure Local Services; Maui Jim; Citizen Watch America; Seiko; PC Nametag; Stova and Madison Avenue.

Northstar Meetings Group has a number of upcoming events on the calendar for 2023. Planners and suppliers can register their interest in attending upcoming meetings at any time.

Following are highlights of Incentive Live 2023.


Guests from around the globe enjoyed the opening reception at the Vinoy Resort & Golf Club.


John Cerovac, executive chef of the Vinoy, delighted attendees with his creative culinary offerings.


Speaker Charles Clark inspired the audience with his tips for pushing through challenges, and met with attendees afterward to sign copies of his book, The Thrive Planner.


Business was on the agenda as buyers and suppliers met for one-on-one meetings.


All aboard: Guests enjoyed lunch at sea aboard the Yacht StarShip.


Attendees experienced St. Pete’s incentive offerings, including kayaking in the destination’s clear waters.


Creativity expert Hillary Smith shared her tips for planning outstanding and memorable incentive programs.


A beautiful sunset served as the backdrop for a delightful evening at the JW Marriott Clearwater Beach Resort & Spa.