Choosing a destination is one of the most exciting parts of planning a corporate event. Perhaps someone in the team has recently visited a city they loved, a destination has been recommended by a colleague, or you have seen a venue that looks perfect and can already picture the event taking shape around it.
Any of these can be a great place to start, but before a destination makes it onto the shortlist, it is worth asking a more important question: is it actually right for this event?
Choosing the right destination is about much more than finding somewhere impressive. It needs to work for the people attending, the purpose of the event, the budget and all the practical details that will eventually turn an idea into a successful experience.
Here are some of the things we think are worth considering before you commit.
Start with what the event needs to achieve
It can be tempting to begin with a destination and work backwards, particularly when there is already enthusiasm around a particular location. We would always bring the conversation back to the event itself: what are you bringing people together to achieve, and what does the destination need to contribute to that?
A sales conference, leadership meeting and incentive trip may all involve bringing a group of people together, but what you need from the destination can be very different. If the priority is recognition and reward, it may need to feel special enough to create a genuine sense of occasion. For a large conference, accessibility, accommodation capacity and efficient transport links may carry far more weight. For an event designed around collaboration, you might prioritise somewhere that allows people to spend more quality time together without complicated transfers or logistics getting in the way.
There is no universally ‘best’ destination. The right choice is the one that works best for your particular brief.
Think about the delegate journey, not just the destination
Beautiful hotels, impressive venues and exciting activities naturally attract attention when choosing an event destination, but what happens once everyone arrives is only one part of the experience. We think it is just as important to look at the journey from the delegate’s point of view.
Where are people travelling from? Are there suitable direct flights or rail connections? How straightforward is the journey from the airport or station? For international events, are there visa or entry requirements to consider? And what will arrival and departure days realistically look like when you are moving a whole group rather than travelling as an individual?
These factors become increasingly important as the size and complexity of an event grows. A destination that sounds appealing can quickly become less attractive if a significant proportion of attendees face lengthy connections or difficult transfers.
This does not necessarily mean finding the shortest possible journey for everyone. It is about understanding the travel implications before making the decision and weighing them against everything else the destination has to offer.
Look at the whole event, not one great venue
An impressive venue can sometimes make a destination feel like an obvious choice, but we would never look at the venue in isolation. The rest of the programme has to work around it too.
Consider whether there is enough suitable accommodation nearby, whether the destination can comfortably handle your group size and whether there are appropriate options for dinners, activities and breakout events. Local transport, services and the facilities required for the programme all form part of the picture.
This becomes particularly important for larger conferences and more complex events, where accommodation, transport, meeting space and the wider programme all need to work together. A venue might be fantastic, but if everything around it makes the event harder for delegates or more complicated to deliver, it may not be the right choice.
Consider what the destination says about the event
Where you choose to take people inevitably becomes part of the overall experience, so the destination should feel appropriate for both the audience and what the event is trying to achieve.
For an incentive trip, you may deliberately want somewhere aspirational and memorable that makes the experience feel like a genuine reward. For another event, convenience, value or creating the right environment for people to concentrate and connect may matter more.
It is also worth considering how the choice may be perceived. Even when an event represents good value, the destination itself can influence how that investment is viewed by employees, clients and other stakeholders. This does not mean exciting or premium destinations should be avoided. It is simply another part of the decision, and one that is better considered at the beginning than after plans have started to take shape.
Check availability earlier than you think
A destination can look ideal on paper but still prove difficult if the right venues and hotels are unavailable for your preferred dates.
Availability can be affected by everything from other conferences and exhibitions to major sporting events, festivals and seasonal demand. For larger groups in particular, finding the right combination of meeting space and accommodation can narrow the options further.
Starting the research early gives you a much clearer picture of what is genuinely available and reduces the risk of the team becoming attached to a destination that will be difficult or disproportionately expensive to deliver. It also gives you more opportunity to compare options properly, rather than making a decision based largely on what happens to be available at the time.
Look beyond the brochure
Online research, venue information and destination guides are useful starting points, but they cannot always tell you what an event will actually feel like on the ground. More detailed destination research and, where appropriate, site visits can help build a much clearer picture.
When looking at a destination, it helps to think beyond how everything appears in a proposal and imagine how the programme will work in practice. Journey times that looked reasonable on paper may feel very different in reality. Different parts of the programme may not connect as easily as expected. A venue may look fantastic but present operational challenges, while the surrounding area can have a significant impact on the delegate experience.
It is also worth considering what happens if plans need to change and whether suitable alternatives are available. These are not necessarily the most exciting parts of choosing a destination, but they can make a considerable difference once an event is live.
Make a decision based on the whole brief
A recommendation, a great hotel or a memorable personal trip can absolutely be the spark that puts a destination on the table. We love discovering new possibilities too. The important thing is making sure that initial enthusiasm still stands up when you look at everything the event needs.
That means considering the objectives, the people attending, the practical requirements of the programme and the available budget together, rather than allowing any one element to drive the decision.
Sometimes the destination you started with will turn out to be exactly right. At other times, looking at the brief more closely will lead you somewhere you had not previously considered. Both are good outcomes if the final choice works for the event and the people attending it.
High 5 Events supports organisations planning conferences, corporate events and incentive travel, helping clients make informed decisions throughout the event planning process.
If you are considering destinations for an upcoming event and would like help exploring the options, speak to the High 5 team here!