From first brief to post-event report
A working process rather than a sales funnel. If you follow this and use a different operator, the programme will still be better organised than most. The order of the decisions matters more than any single choice within them.
Phase one: before you contact anybody
Four things settled internally save weeks later. Most briefs arrive with two of them.
- Objective. Recognition, cross-team building, business content, or client hospitality. These produce different programmes, and a brief that says all four produces a programme that achieves none.
- Headcount band and how firm it is. Not a precise number: a band, plus how much it might move.
- Budget as a per-person range. Total budget divided by headcount, with what it must include. Operators who ask for this are not fishing; a per-person figure is the only way to propose something realistic.
- Date flexibility. Fixed dates, a window, or a month. Flexibility is the single largest lever on cost and most groups have more of it than they admit.
Phase two: brief and shortlist
| Step | Timing | Detail |
|---|---|---|
| Send the brief | D-120 to D-90 | Destination, headcount band, month and duration, work email. Four fields is enough to start. |
| First response | Within 8 working hours | Feasibility and any constraint you should know before going further |
| Detailed proposals | Within 3 working days | Named properties, day-by-day programme, rate breakdown |
| Shortlist | D-100 to D-80 | Three operators. Fewer gives no leverage, more wastes everyone's time |
| Site inspection | D-90 to D-70 | Recommended from 120 delegates |
| Selection and soft hold | D-90 to D-75 | Seven-day free hold on rooms and function space |
Phase three: contracting
- Deposit on a guaranteed minimum, not on your optimistic headcount. Ours is 35% with a 5-10% shortfall allowance.
- Payment milestones written down: 35% on signature, 50% at 30 days, 15% at 7 days.
- Cancellation bands written into the contract — you know before signing what comes back at each date (see our booking terms).
- Weather fallbacks named and held, with the decision deadline stated.
- Turnaround commitments if a space serves two functions.
- Named contact and escalation path for the days you are on site.
- Documentation deliverables: VAT invoice, itemised account, attendance list, post-event report.
That the operator's cancellation terms with their suppliers are no stricter than the terms you have been given. If they are, the gap is a risk somebody is carrying, and it is worth knowing who.
Phase four: the sixty days before
| When | What happens |
|---|---|
| D-60 | Programme detail confirmed. Passport data collected for international delegates. |
| D-45 | Run of show drafted. AV and production specified. Permits filed if needed. |
| D-30 | Second payment. Menus confirmed. Transport schedule built against flight times. |
| D-21 | Delegate communication issued: schedule, what to pack, what to expect. |
| D-14 | Rooming list and final headcount lock. Dietary requirements, room sharing, arrival and departure flights. Any recalculation happens here, before the balance falls due. |
| D-7 | Balance payment. Rehearsal schedule confirmed. |
| D-2 | Technical rehearsal. Weather assessment for outdoor elements. |
| D-1 | Setup. Final walkthrough with your team. |
The five places programmes go wrong
Filling the arrival afternoon
Delegates who flew in that morning are not present in any useful sense. Leave it free.
Gala on the final night
Tired audience, no days left for the recognition to be discussed. Move it to the middle.
No contracted weather fallback
An identified alternative is not a held one. On the day, the difference is total.
Headcount treated as fixed
It will move. Contract on a guaranteed minimum with an allowance and the movement becomes routine.
Documentation left to the end
Corporate programmes fail internal audit more often than they fail operationally. Specify the deliverables at contract.
Start at step one
Objective, headcount band, month and duration. That is enough for us to tell you whether it works.
Questions travellers ask most
How long does the whole process take?
From first brief to arrival, ninety to a hundred and twenty days is comfortable for a group of 100 plus. It can be compressed to forty-five days for a smaller group in low season, but compression removes options rather than time.
Should we use a local operator or an agency at home?
An agency at home manages the relationship and the travel; a local operator holds the contracts and runs the programme. Many groups use both. What you should not do is use an agency that subcontracts to a local operator without telling you, because then nobody owns the day.
How many operators should we ask?
Three. Fewer and you have no comparison; more and the quality of each response drops, because operators can tell when they are one of eight and allocate their good people accordingly.
What should we ask that most people do not?
What their cancellation terms are with their suppliers, whether the weather fallback is contracted or identified, and who specifically will be on site during the programme. The answers tell you more than any proposal document.
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Tell us about your group
Dates, party size and the places you care about are enough to start. You get a draft route and an indicative price, not a brochure.