Robert Guerriero, Incentive Travel Industry Legend, Dies at 90

Widely known as Bob, Guerriero in 1968 launched one of the first incentive travel firms and was a founder of the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence, originally known as the Society for Incentive Travel Executives.

By Bruce Bolger

Robert J. Guerriero died peacefully at the age of 90 in his hometown of Salem, MA., after a recent illness, according to his family in the official obituary. Guerriero launched Journeymasters, Salem, MA, one of the first incentive travel companies; served as the first full-term president of the Society for Incentive Travel Excellence (formerly Society of Incentive Travel Executives, and received the SITE Lifetime Achievement Award.

He was among the first to pioneer the concept of creating for top performers extraordinary experiences that most would be unable to have on their own, such as events held in private palaces or other locations, all while supporting effective practices in program and return-on-investment design that ensured that the experiences were paid for out of incremental performance.

After being graduated from Siena College, Guerriero began his career as a department store buyer for the former Hecht Co. in Washington DC, Lit Brothers in Philadelphia, and A&S in Brooklyn. Before launching Journeymasters, he was named Director of Advertising for Shetland Vacuum, experience that drove his focus on demonstrating value to his company's clients. His company was a long-time contributor to industry research efforts.

Among his many industry honors, he was named an honorary citizen of Venezuela and Tourist Personality of the year in Rio de Janeiro. According to his obituary in the Salem News, he served on the IT&ME (Incentive Travel & Meetings Executive) Advisory Council and on the Las Vegas Corporate & Incentive Travel Council.

His company earned multiple awards for its work, including:

SITE 1st Place Award Most Creative Use of Incentive Travel to Solve a Marketing Problem
SITE 1st Place Award Outstanding Single Event
SITE 1st Place Award Best Incentive Trip Delivery
SITE 1st Place Award Most Creative Use of Incentive Travel to Solve a Marketing Problem
SITE 2nd Place Award Most Creative Use of Incentive Travel to Solve a Marketing Problem
Royal Caribbean Cruises Viking Crown Award

Guerriero served in the US Army during the Korean War.

Expressions of sympathy may be made to the American Liver Foundation, PO Box 299, West Orange, NJ 07052 or at liverfoundation.org.

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