You've Been Assigned to Plan Your Company's Offsite Event....Now What?
So you were given the all-important role of planning your company’s offsite event or retreat—but where, exactly, do you go from there? Book an Airbnb? Go shopping at a grocery store for everyone's food when you get there? Rent some kayaks and call it a day? Not exactly.
There are activities to be booked and timelines to be planned and—the trickiest part—different personality types and interests to consider to boot. Are you exhausted yet? Exactly. Planning a corporate retreat can be akin to planning a full-fledged wedding—there are so many moving pieces to manage that have to be taken care of to ensure a seamless, productive experience for everyone. Fear not my friend, we are here to help you out! Hiring a destination management company, also known as an event planning company specializing in corporate events, may seem unnecessary at first, but read on and we will give you our top 5 reasons why it is essential to hire a good, local event planning company that specializes in the type of event you are planning. After all, we can pretty much guarantee you will have a team full of happy campers—rather than hangry coworkers—on your upcoming company retreat.
1. Accommodations
Melina Wallisch Photography
Booking accommodations isn’t always as easy as picking up the phone, handing over your credit card info and calling it a day. If you’re unfamiliar with a location, it can be really difficult to know where the best areas to stay are and which hotels have everything you need. We’ve all been there—you book what looks like an amazing Airbnb or hotel room only to show up and realize the photos online were a far cry from the real story. Creative camera angles can make a tiny cabin look like a massive mansion, and the right wording can make an isolated dump sound like a palace in the most up-and-coming part of town. How to avoid running into this issue —ahem, work with us - a local destination management company who is familiar with the area and can ensure your accommodations can actually, well, accommodate your team.
2. Food
It doesn’t matter how stunning the locale or how amazing the activities, if the food you serve your team on your corporate retreat is sub-par or meals aren’t properly planned out, you’re doomed. After all, nothing quite kills productivity like a group of hangry employees. Going to the grocery store when you arrive and simply winging it may sound like a good idea, but this will end up taking so much more time and money than you likely planned for (think about it—you’ll have to grab every single thing for every single meal, and, depending on where you’re staying, may even need to grab the most basic of basics, like salt and pepper, olive oil, etc.). On top of where to get food, you also have to consider who’s going to cook it, and—with gluten-free eaters, keto-dieters and vegans abound—you also have to consider dietary restrictions and food allergies.
3. Activities
This one is a biggie—it’s so important to ensure you choose activities that everyone will enjoy. Chances are, you’ll have some foodies on your team, some winos, some outdoors adventurers and some who simply want to sunbathe and lounge. How in the world are you going to schedule activities that entertain all of them and increase employee productivity and morale when you get back home? Booking a wide array of off-the-beaten-path activities led by knowledgeable locals is something that we can really help with—think: roasting your own coffee, taking a local calligraphy class, snowshoeing in the Sierras to your wilderness meeting space, or even embarking on a chakra meditation class (ohhhm). As expert corporate event planners local to this area, we not only know which activities are tourist traps and should be avoided at all costs, but we also have insider’s access to one-of-a-kind activities and workshops that you wouldn’t otherwise have even known about.
4. Timeline
By far and away, the hardest part of planning an offsite corporate event is ensuring things run smooth. You’ll have meals to eat, activities to embark on, possibly meetings to hold, and team-building to take care of—and wrangling your employees for all of this can be like herding cats. It is immensely helpful to bring on seasoned event planners who specialize in corporate outings to ensure a streamlined, successful, experience for everyone. Let the experts take care of logistics so that you can enjoy the retreat alongside your team.
5. Goals & Objectives
Whew...so you’ve taken care of accommodations, meals, activities, and timeline—but did you forget the reason you’re embarking on this trip in the first place? (We wouldn’t blame you if you did!) There is so much to juggle with offsite events and retreats that oftentimes the most important thing—your goals and objectives for the trip itself—can get lost in the madness. When someone reaches out to us for help planning their retreat, we always start by asking about the goals and objectives for the trip first and foremost. By understanding why it is you’re bringing your team to Lake Tahoe, we can work to customize an experience that excites your employees and accomplishes your goals.
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Sound like a lot of work? We won’t lie—it kind of is. But, not to worry—building one-of-a-kind Lake Tahoe corporate retreats for cutting-edge companies is what we do for a living. Reach out to us to get started! We’ll take care of everything—from accomodations to activities to timeline management—so all you have to do is sit back and embark on a few days of retreat, relaxation and maybe even adventure with your team.