Marc Matthews, Pulse Experiential Travel Founder: A Vision Fulfilled?
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A company that got its start in a dormitory room in 1979 helping people book sports and other events has grown into probably the industry's largest, best-known specialist in individual incentive travel and small group experiences. Its founder, Marc Matthews, shares an update on the company and the trends powering what he reports is its continued growth.New Web Site With Enhanced Search Engine
Ability to Provide Last-Minute Access to Big Events
More Focus on Authentic Experiences Supports Sustainability
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When Marc Matthews founded Virginia-based Pulse Experiential Travel out of his dormitory room in college, the purpose was clear: make it easier for people and organizations to book sports and other events. He did not anticipate becoming perhaps the largest provider of individual travel for the corporate and incentive marketplace, nor that individual travel would become such a dominant category in the industry. According to a recent survey in Prevue magazine, 82% of incentive organizers interviewed say they use individual travel.”
Says Matthews. “That’s a pretty big potential market when by at least one estimate from Allied Market Research puts the worldwide market at $42 billion, with estimated growth to $216.8 billion in 2031.”
Multiple trends continue to drive the company’s growth, observes Matthews, including: the high appeal of individual or small group travel; a growing focus on authentic experiences as well as traditional sporting and entertainment events, and increasing interest in sustainability. For example, as reported in CHRO Daily earlier this year, Cotopaxi, a Utah-based outdoor goods maker actually offers employees the opportunity to have paid time off for special travel or related experiences.
New Web Site With Enhanced Search Engine 
This year, Pulse Experiential Travel has launched a new website with an enhanced search engine, as well as a new sustainability program: whenever program participants select a Pulse Experiential Travel experience, "they will automatically be planting trees, saving turtles, cleaning our oceans, or restoring coral reefs around the world," explains Matthews. “All experience award recipients receive a personal and trackable certificate stating what environmental impact was made on their behalf and a website where they can see and track that impact.” Pulse Experiential Travel supports seven environmental issues, including cleaning ocean-bound plastic; planting trees where needed the most; saving sea turtle hatchlings; protecting marine areas; protecting land for wildlife habitat; restoring coral reefs, buying land for nature reserves.
In addition, Pulse is now offering a new category of environmentally sustainable travel experiences, as part of the Pulse Experiential 2024 JustRewards product spreadsheet annually distributed to the world’s leading incentive, meetings, and corporate travel companies and agencies. He adds, “Our goal at Pulse Experiential Travel is to provide program participants the opportunity to have a positive impact on the world by contributing to environmental causes while being rewarded for their loyalty and productivity.”
Matthews also reports that Pulse Experiential Travel “has now made all of our experiential awards fully transferable so a program participant may now transfer or gift whatever experience they choose to a family member or other third party.”
Ability to Provide Last-Minute Access to Big Events
Because of his company’s extensive relationships with almost any major sporting or concert venue around the world, Pulse Experiential has a growing business helping individuals and small groups get last-minute tickets to almost any event. This also can mean access to event-related parties or other activities not available to the general public. As a result, he notes that the company has seen increasing demand for its experiences for wedding gifts and other major personal gifts outside of business.
Trust, he says, is a critical part of the company’s business, given that the recipients of its experiences are often an organization’s most important people. “The sudden bankruptcy earlier this year of an apparently well-funded company in the experience space made it clear that companies have to stick with trusted solutions when giving valuable gifts to valued people.”
In another milestone for the company, Matthews’ daughter Georgia Matthews, who has worked for the company since her days in high school and joined after graduating from college, has now assumed the role of vice president with responsibilities spanning almost all aspects of the business.
More Focus on Authentic Experiences Supports Sustainability
The trends driving his business? Matthews chalks up the company’s good fortune to a variety of factors rooted in the never-ending need to motivate and reward top performers; his company’s commitment to providing concierge-level customer service for every participant; flexibility, and the growing desire of people to get away with loved ones or in small groups.
An Incentive Research Foundation report published earlier this year “pretty much sums it up. It reports that people are looking for free time to relax; opportunities for unique experiences; luxury accommodations and experiences; spending money provided for ‘extras’ and coverage of out-of-pocket costs; ability to bring along a guest; opportunity to experience a unique culture; opportunities for unique experiences; luxury accommodations and experiences; spending money provided for ‘extras’ and coverage of out-of-pocket costs.”
Matthews believes that an effective way to incorporate corporate social responsibility into travel is to introduce program attendees to authentic local experiences where the locals go. “According to this recent SITE webinar on sustainability on which I was invited to participate, Lisa Grimaldi of Northstar Meetings Group points out that most meetings and incentive travel participants don’t want to give up precious travel time for corporate social responsibility activities. I suggest that the best way to help local communities through the MICE market is to provide people the time to explore the communities surrounding the resorts used for the event and to build sustainability into programs without necessarily requiring people to give up valuable free time. Sustainability can be fun.”
He adds that a recent report published by the SITE Foundation on EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive underlines the opportunities for destinations to encourage excursions to events and dining enjoyed by locals in a way that helps encourage preservation.
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