Experience Gifting for Employees: A Meaningful Way to Recognize and Reward

Imagine this: instead of receiving another coffee mug or pen stand, your top-performing employee is gifted a weekend getaway at a serene mountain resort or a hands-on gourmet cooking class with their partner. Which gift do you think they’ll remember and talk about for years?

That’s the power of experience gifting for employees.

In today’s workplace, meaningful recognition goes beyond monetary rewards or physical gifts. Employees value authenticity, personalization, and memories—things that deeply resonate with their values and lifestyles. This is where gifting experiences—or offering curated experience gifts for employees—emerges as a powerful strategy to engage and retain top talent.

From improving morale to boosting employer branding, experience gifts for employees are redefining how organizations say “thank you.” This blog explores why experiences matter more than things, how to gift an experience the right way, and the best experience gift ideas for every type of employee.

Why experiences matter more than things

When it comes to appreciation, the emotional resonance of a gift makes all the difference. Physical gifts often have a short shelf life—both practically and emotionally. But experiences? They create stories, spark joy, and stay etched in memory.

Here’s why experience gifts make a more profound impact:

• Longer emotional shelf-life: Psychological studies show people derive more happiness from experiences than material things. A dinner cruise or a weekend spa getaway leaves behind stories and satisfaction that last longer than a tech gadget.
• Connection and bonding: Experiences often involve friends or family, turning rewards into shared moments. Whether it’s a family day at an amusement park or a wine tasting with a partner, these moments help employees connect their workplace rewards with their personal lives.
• Employee preference shift: According to Xoxoday’s blog on experience gifting, modern employees are increasingly looking for personalized and emotionally enriching rewards. Experience gifts cater to this need.
• Supports a wellbeing-first culture: From wellness retreats to nature treks, experiential rewards show employees that the organization's well-being and work-life balance are priorities.

In essence, experience gifts for employees offer emotional ROI—something traditional gifts often fail to deliver.

The business case for gifting experiences to employees

While experiences may sound like a “nice-to-have” perk, they serve as a strategic tool for employee engagement, retention, and business growth. Gifting experiences isn't just about being generous—it’s about being savvy with your rewards strategy.

🎯 Boosts employee engagement

When employees are celebrated with personalized experiences, they feel seen and valued. This significantly impacts how connected they feel to the company. In fact, Empuls customers reported a 90% increase in employees feeling recognized and a 67% improvement in overall eNPS​.

🌱 Improves retention

Employees who feel valued are more likely to stay. Experience gifting shows that the organization cares about their individuality, helping build emotional loyalty. As a result, 87% of employees are less likely to leave companies that offer personalized engagement, including experience-based recognition​.

🏆 Enhances employer branding

Word-of-mouth matters. When an employee posts photos from a skydiving adventure or shares a story about a surprise spa day gifted by their employer, it boosts the organization’s image. These stories humanize your brand and showcase your company as one that prioritizes employee happiness.

💸 Increases ROI on rewards

Traditional gifts may not always be appreciated—or even used. With experience gifts, especially those employees can choose themselves, the perceived and actual value of the gift is much higher. Since platforms like Empuls offer pay-on-redemption billing, you’re only charged when employees claim the experience, making it cost-effective and impactful​.

🌐 Scalable for global teams

Empuls provides access to 100,000+ experiences across 100+ countries, making it easy for distributed teams to redeem locally relevant and culturally meaningful rewards. This ensures that every employee gets a personalized and delightful experience​regardless of location.

Benefits of gifting experiences to employees over material gifts

While material gifts like gadgets, vouchers, or merchandise may offer immediate gratification, they often fall short when it comes to creating long-lasting impact. Gifting experiences, on the other hand, taps into emotional memory, personal fulfillment, and meaningful engagement—making them a smarter choice for modern organizations.

Here’s why experience gifts for employees are transforming the way companies show appreciation:

1. Longer emotional shelf-life

Physical gifts often fade into the background, while experiences become stories employees share for years. A candlelight dinner or weekend hike becomes a cherished memory, reinforcing positive feelings toward the workplace. It's the difference between “something I got” and “something I’ll never forget.”

2. Personalization and relevance

Every employee is different—some seek adventure, others crave relaxation or creativity. Experience gifting allows for personalization at scale. Employees can choose what resonates most with them, which dramatically increases the perceived value of the reward.

Empuls makes this even easier with its customizable experience catalog, ensuring each employee gets a reward that feels tailor-made.

3. Better alignment with values and wellbeing

Modern employees prioritize mental health, work-life balance, and personal growth. Gifting experiences like wellness retreats, learning workshops, or time with family aligns with these values and signals that the company genuinely cares beyond KPIs.

This helps reinforce a culture of empathy and inclusion, especially in diverse, multi-generational teams.

4. Supports a global and inclusive workforce

Material gifts often come with logistical constraints—shipping delays, compatibility issues, or regional irrelevance. Experience gifts, especially when offered digitally or through local partners, scale effortlessly across countries and cultures.

Empuls’ support for multi-currency, multi-lingual catalogs, and local experience vendors ensures a smooth, equitable experience for every employee, regardless of location​.

5. Cost-efficient with higher ROI

Unlike pre-purchased inventory or fixed-value gifts, experience rewards via Empuls operate on a pay-on-redemption model. This means companies only pay when the employee actually uses the gift—reducing waste and maximizing reward effectiveness.

Plus, experiences often carry higher perceived value even at the same price point compared to material items, offering more emotional ROI per dollar spent.

6. Builds employer brand and emotional loyalty

Employees are more likely to share meaningful experiences on social media—whether it's a hot air balloon ride or a family trip. This organic storytelling enhances your employer brand, attracting talent and reinforcing your image as a people-first workplace.

Moreover, gifting experiences strengthens emotional loyalty, which research shows is more durable and valuable than transactional satisfaction.

In short, experience gifting isn’t just a trend—it’s a strategic upgrade to how companies drive engagement, recognition, and culture. When employees feel truly seen and valued, they go from simply working for you to genuinely caring about your mission.

Best experience gifts for employees

Offering curated experiences as rewards show a high level of thoughtfulness and build emotional connections with employees. Here’s a diverse list of some of the best experience gifts for employees that cater to different personalities, life stages, and interests.

These can be easily integrated into your rewards platform like Empuls.

🎢 Adventure and outdoor experiences

Perfect for thrill-seekers and nature lovers:

• Ziplining or bungee jumping sessions: Give your thrill-seeking employees a chance to soar through the skies or take a leap of faith with adrenaline-pumping ziplining and bungee jumping adventures. These high-energy experiences make for unforgettable stories.
• Skydiving or paragliding adventures: Offer an exhilarating rush of freedom with skydiving or paragliding. These once-in-a-lifetime experiences leave employees feeling empowered and alive, creating lasting memories.
• Hot air balloon rides: Treat employees to a breathtaking aerial view of landscapes with a serene hot air balloon ride. It's perfect for those who enjoy slow-paced, magical experiences with a touch of romance.
• Hiking expeditions or guided nature treks: Encourage a break from screens and stress with organized treks in scenic forests or mountains. These nature-based experiences offer relaxation, fitness, and mindfulness all in one.
• Scuba diving and snorkeling trips: Dive into underwater worlds with guided scuba or snorkeling tours. These aquatic experiences are ideal for explorers and water lovers, adding excitement to their lives.
• Weekend camping experiences with bonfire dinners: Allow employees to unplug and unwind with a rustic camping trip, with stargazing, storytelling, and a cozy bonfire dinner under the stars.
• Off-road ATV rides or mountain biking trails: For employees who love speed and outdoor trails, offer all-terrain vehicle rides or curated mountain biking experiences that get their adrenaline flowing.

🧘 Wellness and mindfulness retreats

Ideal for employees who value rest, relaxation, and mental clarity:

• Full-day luxury spa treatments: Let employees relax, recharge, and rejuvenate with a full-day spa experience that includes massages, facials, aromatherapy, and access to premium wellness facilities.
• Guided meditation or mindfulness workshops: Help employees build inner calm and mental clarity through instructor-led meditation or mindfulness sessions, available in-person or online.
• Traditional Ayurvedic healing therapies: Promote holistic wellness with Ayurvedic experiences such as Abhyanga massages or Panchakarma detox treatments, blending ancient science with modern comfort.
• Digital detox retreats in nature: Give them the gift of silence and serenity with tech-free retreats nestled in natural surroundings where they can disconnect from devices and reconnect with themselves.
• Group yoga sessions or beach yoga classes: Bring balance and movement into their routines with relaxing group yoga sessions or offer beachfront yoga classes for an added touch of nature and tranquility.
• Float therapy or sound healing sessions: Offer deeply immersive relaxation experiences like float tanks or sound baths that calm the mind, relax muscles, and foster emotional well-being.

🍽️ Culinary and gourmet experiences

For the foodies and experimental eaters:

• Chef’s table fine dining evenings: Gift employees a seat at a chef’s table where they enjoy multi-course gourmet meals prepared live by renowned chefs—an indulgence for the senses.
• Wine and cheese tasting events: Perfect for sophisticated palates, these guided tastings pair exotic wines with aged cheeses, all while educating participants on flavor profiles and pairing techniques.
• Chocolate-making or baking workshops: Allow employees to explore their sweet side with pastry experts' chocolate crafting or baking classes. It’s a fun, hands-on activity with tasty takeaways.
• Cocktail mixology classes: Great for social spirits, these sessions teach the art of shaking, stirring, and mixing perfect cocktails—ideal for team-building or Friday fun.
• Farm-to-table organic food tours: Offer immersive culinary experiences that begin on the farm and end at the table. Employees can harvest ingredients and enjoy meals made from fresh, local produce.
• Themed food festival passes: Give access to regional or international food festivals where employees can explore cuisines, attend live cooking demos, and indulge in food-themed fun.

🧠 Learning and skill-building experiences

Perfect for curious minds and personal development:

• Pottery, art, or painting classes: Unleash your employees’ creativity with guided courses in pottery, acrylic painting, or watercolors—ideal for artistic expression and mindfulness.
• Photography or video editing workshops: These sessions help employees learn to capture and enhance images or videos, blending creativity with technical skills they can use at work or home.
• Stand-up comedy or public speaking boot camps: Empower employees with confidence and communication skills through fun and engaging workshops that develop stage presence and storytelling techniques.
• Financial literacy or investment masterclasses: Offer practical budgeting, savings, and investing knowledge—equipping employees to manage personal finances and reduce money-related stress.
• Language learning sessions (online or offline): Let employees explore new cultures and enhance their global communication skills with structured courses in languages like Spanish, French, or Japanese.
• Culinary classes with celebrity chefs: Give a star-studded twist to learning by enrolling employees in exclusive culinary classes hosted by renowned chefs, in-person or virtually.

🏝️ Travel and leisure getaways

For employees who cherish short breaks and escapades:

• Weekend staycations at boutique resorts: Let employees unwind at charming local resorts with spa access, curated menus, and a break from daily routines—ideal for short, refreshing escapes.
• Glamping under the stars: Combine the thrill of camping with the comfort of luxury tents and gourmet meals in beautiful natural settings. A premium escape for nature lovers.
• Luxury cruises or sunset yacht rides: Offer elegant, scenic getaways aboard yachts or cruise ships, with onboard dining and entertainment—perfect for celebrations or couple’s retreats.
• Cultural tours in historical cities: Provide immersive city experiences with guided tours of forts, museums, heritage walks, and street food safaris that blend leisure with learning.
• Guided wildlife safaris or nature walks: Encourage appreciation for biodiversity through jungle safaris, birdwatching tours, or guided forest walks—safe, educational, and awe-inspiring.
• Beachfront villa rentals: Treat them to a relaxing vacation in a sea-facing villa where they can enjoy privacy, sunsets, and the sound of the waves.

🎮 Fun and entertainment packages

Best for team bonding or relaxing solo:

• Virtual reality gaming or escape room passes: Provide thrilling team-based entertainment with immersive VR games or challenges requiring creativity and collaboration.
• Movie nights in recliner theaters: Gift comfort, cinema, and luxury theater pass that include plush seats, gourmet snacks, and top movie releases.
• Live music concerts or theater tickets: Let employees enjoy an evening of culture or fun at live concerts, plays, or musicals, featuring local or international performers.
• Bowling or karaoke experiences: Encourage team bonding and fun with group bowling sessions or karaoke nights where employees can unwind and showcase hidden talents.
• Comedy club or storytelling sessions: Deliver an evening of laughter or inspiration with live comedy shows or spoken word events that uplift and engage.
• Paint-and-sip creative nights: Offer laid-back creative sessions where employees can paint while sipping wine or coffee—perfect for team outings or solo relaxation.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family-friendly experiences

Great for working parents or those who love family time:

• Amusement park or zoo family passes: These all-access passes allow employees to spend quality time with family at theme parks, water parks, or animal sanctuaries.
• Home meal kits with live virtual cooking: Turn dinnertime into a fun family activity with chef-curated kits and live cooking sessions where everyone can participate.
• Puppet shows or children’s theater experiences: Delight young family members with culturally rich storytelling experiences through puppet shows or interactive plays.
• DIY craft boxes for family bonding: Provide take-home kits filled with materials for DIY crafts, perfect for family weekend projects that foster bonding and creativity.
• Movie subscriptions for family nights: Give access to premium OTT platforms so families can enjoy movie nights together from home.
• Storytelling or science museum tours: Educational and fun, these tours help parents and kids explore the world of science, history, and imagination together.

💖 Special occasion and celebration experiences

Make milestone moments extra meaningful:

• Birthday surprise experiences or gift boxes: Celebrate birthdays with personalized gifts, digital cards, or surprise deliveries like a cake and balloon package to their doorstep.
• Festive gifting like Diwali light cruises or Christmas markets: Help employees celebrate with seasonal experiences such as river cruises during Diwali or shopping at Christmas villages.
• Romantic candlelight dinners or couple spa sessions: Perfect for anniversaries or Valentine’s Day—these experiences blend love, relaxation, and exclusivity.
• Personalized memory albums or storytelling kits: Employees can create keepsakes from shared memories with storytelling prompts and materials for memory scrapbooks or journals.
• Life event celebrations (housewarming, engagement): Mark major milestones with curated gifts or services like interior consultations, decor setups, or celebration planning support.

🎁 At-home kits and virtual experiences

Perfect for remote or hybrid employees:

• DIY home spa kits with essential oils and candles: Bring the spa home with curated kits that include massage oils, bath salts, candles, and plush towels for a peaceful escape.
• Barista coffee or cocktail-making kits: Allow employees to craft their favorite beverages from scratch with premium ingredients and a step-by-step guide.
• Guided online painting or sculpting sessions: Offer access to live art sessions where they can unwind creatively with materials sent to their doorstep.
• Interactive virtual escape rooms: Foster teamwork with virtual escape games where participants solve puzzles in real-time to "escape" themed rooms.
• Live cooking classes with ingredient kits delivered: Merge convenience with fun by sending pre-measured ingredients and connecting them to a live cooking class led by a professional chef.
• Virtual travel experiences with cultural storytelling: Explore the world without leaving home through immersive digital tours paired with local history, music, and storytelling.

These ideas make for the best experience gift options that align with your employees’ preferences and reflect your company’s commitment to personalized and thoughtful recognition.

How to gift an experience to employees through Empuls

As organizations shift toward more meaningful and personalized employee recognition, experience gifting has emerged as a powerful way to celebrate, motivate, and connect with employees. Empuls makes this process seamless, intelligent, and scalable for global teams through a robust digital rewards infrastructure.

Let’s break down how Empuls enables experience gifting across every touchpoint of the employee lifecycle:

Step 1: Identify the right moment to gift

Empuls allows organizations to recognize every moment that matters—not just the big wins, but also the tiny gestures that build connections over time. You can configure triggers and occasions such as:

• Employee milestones: Birthdays, work anniversaries, and long service awards
• Performance achievements: Spot awards, goal completions, sales targets
• Cultural recognition: Applauding employees living company values
• Team or department achievements: Project completions, collaboration wins
• Wellness challenges or learning rewards: For fitness, upskilling, or DEI efforts
• Festivals and holidays: Celebrate regional and global festivities across cultures

By mapping these moments to automated workflows, Empuls ensures that recognition is timely, inclusive, and consistent while reducing the administrative overhead for HR teams.

Step 2: Access or curate from the global experience catalog

Empuls’ reward ecosystem offers one of the largest global experience catalogs, with:

• 100,000+ experiences in 100+ countries
• Categories spanning adventure, wellness, culinary, learning, travel, and more
• Real-time updates and availability filters to ensure only redeemable options are shown
• Multi-currency and cost-of-living parity support for equitable global rewards

Admins can curate custom collections tailored to specific campaigns (e.g., “Wellness Week”, “Women in Tech Celebration”, “Holiday Specials”) or allow employees full access to browse and select what resonates with them.

This freedom of choice makes the reward highly personalized and emotionally engaging—key for enhancing the perceived value.

Step 3: Automate reward delivery and communication

Once the reward events and catalog options are configured, Empuls automates the rest:

• Smart nudges from Em (Empuls AI assistant) remind managers to recognize team members or approve nominations.
• In-app and email notifications inform employees when they’ve received a reward and guide them to redeem it.
• Recognition is published to the company’s social feed so peers can join in with wishes, comments, GIFs, and high-fives.
• Certificates, digital wishboards, and celebration banners add personalization and emotional flair to every moment.

These features ensure that the recognition experience is transactional, social, meaningful, and company-wide.

Step 4: Enable employee-driven redemption

Empuls empowers employees to choose their experiences based on their interests, location, and lifestyle. The process is user-friendly and fully self-service:

• Log in to the Empuls platform
• View available rewards or curated experience collections
• Read descriptions, check availability, and make a selection
• Schedule or redeem the experience directly from the interface
• Receive confirmations, booking details, or delivery updates

This puts autonomy in the hands of the employee, making the gift feel more empowering and relevant. Whether it's a gourmet dinner, spa session, or a weekend getaway, the experience is uniquely theirs.

Step 5: Track program performance and engagement impact

Empuls has an integrated analytics dashboard that helps HR teams and leadership measure the effectiveness of experience gifting in real time. Key insights include:

• Redemption trends: What experiences are most popular?
• Participation rates: Are employees engaging with the rewards system?
• Budget tracking: Compare allocated vs. actual spend across teams or departments
• Feedback scores: How satisfied are employees with the experiences they’ve redeemed?
• ROI metrics: Correlate recognition with engagement metrics like eNPS, retention, and productivity

With this data, companies can continuously optimize their recognition strategy, align gifting with organizational goals, and make informed decisions backed by real insights.

🔄 Bonus: Continuous improvements and customization

Empuls supports:

• White-labeled branding to make the experience feel native to your organization.
• Integration with HRMS and collaboration tools (like MS Teams, Slack, and G-Suite) for recognition in the flow of work.
• Multi-language and multi-currency support to enable a seamless experience for global teams.
• Built-in compliance with ISO, SOC 2, and GDPR to ensure data privacy and financial integrity.

With these features, you can run large-scale, personalized, automated experience gifting programs with minimal manual effort.

In short, Empuls turns employee appreciation into emotionally rich, data-backed, and effortlessly scalable moments. It’s not just about gifting an experience—crafting employee memories that reflect your company’s culture of care, inclusion, and celebration.

How to integrate experience gifting across the employee journey

One of the biggest strengths of experience gifting is its versatility. Whether you're looking to celebrate milestones, motivate high performers, or simply bring more joy to the workplace, there’s an experience gift suited for every occasion.

Here are the most impactful use cases for experience gifting for employees, along with how Empuls can power each one:

1. New hire onboarding gifts

Welcoming new employees with personalized experience gifts sets the tone for a people-first culture. Rather than a generic welcome kit, offer them the choice of an experience—like a staycation, local tour, or home spa kit—to enjoy outside of work. This thoughtful gesture creates an emotional connection from day one and helps reduce early attrition.

2. Performance recognition

Recognizing employees for exceeding expectations, hitting sales targets, or contributing to major wins is critical for motivation. Experience rewards like adventure outings, fine dining, or self-care packages deliver a high perceived value and are far more memorable than cash or gift cards.

3. Service anniversaries and long-term milestones

Milestone moments like completing 3, 5, or 10 years with the company deserve celebration. Experience gifts help make these moments special by offering employees a reward that resonates with their lifestyle—be it a luxury holiday, a family experience, or something they’ve always wanted to try.

4. Festivals and holiday gifting

Festive seasons are the perfect time to go beyond hampers and gift vouchers. Offer culturally relevant experiences like Diwali light shows, Christmas markets, or gourmet holiday dinners. These not only bring joy but also show cultural inclusivity in global teams.

5. Wellness and work-life balance rewards

In a world of burnout and hybrid work stress, experience gifts focused on wellbeing—like yoga retreats, massage therapies, or fitness boot camps—show your commitment to employee health. These also double up as preventive wellness investments.

6. Learning and development incentives

Support a growth mindset by incentivizing learning milestones. Offer experiences such as coding boot camps, photography workshops, or language classes as rewards for completing internal training, certifications, or upskilling journeys.

7. Team building and peer bonding

Reward teams for cross-functional collaborations or project successes with group experiences—like escape rooms, wine tastings, or online game nights. These shared moments strengthen relationships, boost morale, and reinforce a culture of collaboration.

8. Peer-to-peer appreciation

Sometimes the best recognition is informal. Empuls enables every employee to appreciate others with reward points that can be redeemed for experiences. It’s a bottom-up approach to building trust and culture through everyday interactions.

From strategic initiatives to spontaneous moments of joy, experience gifts for employees bring human touch, personalization, and emotional depth to your recognition program. And with Empuls, implementing these use cases is as easy as clicking a few buttons.

The future of employee gifting is experiential

As workplace dynamics evolve, so do employee expectations. People no longer seek just paychecks or perks—they seek purpose, recognition, and connection. In this landscape, experience gifting emerges not just as an HR trend, but as a fundamental shift in how organizations value their people.

Here’s what the future of employee gifting looks like—and why experiences are at the heart of it:

1. From transactional to transformational

Traditional rewards often feel obligatory and impersonal. Experience gifts, on the other hand, create transformative moments—be it a weekend retreat, a personal milestone celebration, or a skill-building workshop. These are not just rewards—they’re affirmations of belonging and impact.

2. Empowered by AI and automation

With platforms like Empuls, organizations can scale experience gifting effortlessly using AI-powered nudges, smart workflows, and real-time insights. Managers are reminded to recognize, employees are guided to redeem, and HR leaders can track everything—without lifting a finger.

3. Personalized and global-first

As teams go global and work becomes more hybrid, experience gifting offers the flexibility and cultural relevance that traditional gifts can’t. Whether your employees is in Singapore, San Francisco, or Sydney, they can enjoy a local, personal, and meaningful reward.

Empuls’ multi-region experience catalog and localized automation make this possible at scale​.

4. Data-driven engagement strategy

Recognition is no longer about gut instinct. With analytics, feedback loops, and redemption tracking, experience gifting becomes a strategic lever to drive employee engagement, retention, and cultural alignment.

Organizations that embrace this approach see higher eNPS scores, lower attrition, and stronger employer branding over time​.

Conclusion: Gift moments, not things

The best rewards don’t sit on a shelf—they live in the heart. Whether it’s the joy of shared memory, the pride of a new skill, or the peace of a wellness retreat, experience gifting for employees offers meaning in a way that traditional gifts simply cannot.

With Empuls, gifting experiences is easy, scalable, and impactful. You’re not just offering a reward—crafting stories, strengthening culture, and investing in what matters most: your people.