Planning a successful corporate retreat is no easy feat. A few of the challenges: coordinating travel and accommodations for dozens (or hundreds) of employees, finding events and activities that will leave a positive impact, and hiring the right vendors and event management staff – often in a location remote from where your company is located. 

Fortunately, there are companies that offer corporate retreat planning and event management services to make the process easier. We reviewed the top offsite planning services and found one clear winner on expert planners, time savings, event technology, and discounts. 

Our Verdict: BoomPop stands out as the overall top choice for corporate offsite and event planning services. 

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Offsite Planning Services Compared

In our research, we looked at four of the most popular choices for offsite planning: BoomPop, TeamOut, Marco Experiences, and Offsite.com. Here’s how they compared on our criteria:

Time Savings

• BoomPop - SIGNIFICANT. BoomPop event planners can create time-savings of up to 80%. Their experienced, full-service team can take just about everything off your plate - they manage every event detail,handle vendor sourcing, negotiation, and invoicing, and even manage attendees. 
• TeamOut - LOW. Self-serve platform requires you to select and book venues, vendors, and transportation yourself within their marketplace. Some low-touch support is available to help with issues.
• Marco Experiences - MEDIUM. Most plans require your company to manage partial or full planning of events, travel, and lodging. 
• Offsite.com - MEDIUM. Marketplace requires you to submit proposals to vendors and hotels, and select your vendors.

Expert Planners

• BoomPop - YES. You get a dedicated event planner for your event and on-site support ensures that your offsite runs smoothly.
• TeamOut - NO. “Trip designers” onboard you to the vendor marketplace platform – but from there, it’s up to you to make all selections. 
• Marco Experiences - LIMITED. Offers hybrid or fully self-service packages, with limited support from event planners. 
• Offsite.com - YES. Offers a self-service or fully-managed plan, depending on your preferences.

Event Technology

• BoomPop - YES. Full-feature portal allows for management of guest lists, agendas, venues, and more.
• TeamOut - LIMITED. Platform allows you to book vendors and transport, but features are limited.
• Marco Experiences - LIMITED. Features a Dashboard to view event details and billing, but limited agenda and event management capabilities. 
• Offsite.com - NO. While you can view vendors on their site, there is no dashboard or portal for event management.

Discounts

• BoomPop - SIGNIFICANT. Exclusive negotiated discounts help you save up to 30% on accommodations, activities, and more.
• TeamOut - LOW. Negotiated discounts on lodging with some partner properties, but most vendors listed at full price.
• Marco Experiences - SIGNIFICANT. Discounts available on venues and other vendors.
• Offsite.com - LIMITED. Some discounts available on hotel room blocks and meeting space reservations. 

It’s clear that BoomPop features the most in-depth planning services, highest-quality event technology, and most significant time savings for your team. Read on for our full breakdown of BoomPop’s services – and learn about the benefits from companies who have used BoomPop.

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Full-Service Planning Saves Management Time

Planning a company-wide event often requires a significant amount of time – and for companies without a dedicated planner, this typically requires trade-offs. BoomPop can give your team their time back with full service planning that lasts all the way through the end of your retreat.

‍BoomPop takes your event details and preferences and creates a proposal for a location, venues, and agenda based on those goals. The agenda, guest lists, and more can then all be managed within BoomPop’s convenient planning software. While you have full control over reviewing and approving BoomPop’s proposed agenda and details, the done-for-you approach takes hours of planning time off of your hands. 

Case Study: Kiva Confections

Kiva Confections worked with BoomPop for their 58-person offsite and found the time savings to be one of the biggest benefits.

“Finding BoomPop was so helpful because all of the work was taken off our plates,” says Senior Marketing Manager Melissa Henry. Looking back on the event, Henry says that picking BoomPop was “the best decision we made, especially because some of our plans had to be changed at the last minute.”

Not only did BoomPop save Kiva management’s time – but the event was a resounding success with positive feedback from attendees on everything from the hotel to the meals and activities.

To find out how much time you could save from BoomPop’s planning services, schedule a free 15-minute consultation. 

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On-Site Event Teams Ensure a Successful Offsite

During a multi-day company retreat, even the best planning can fail. Travel mishaps, unexpected weather changes, and technical issues can all throw an event off course. BoomPop has a full team of event planners whose job it is to make sure your event is a success. 

Case Study: Monday.com

Monday.com used BoomPop for their transition from virtual company events to their first in-person event – with 250 guests. Senior Event Production Manager Bridget Peragine noted that the lead time was low, but BoomPop “helped the event move quite fast, which is what we needed, and the communication was really stellar.”

As with any retreat, several issues arose in the final days and hours leading up to the event: “We had fabricated our company logo for the event, but part of the logo was wrong. BoomPop found a new vendor who came and fixed it within hours. It was just incredible,” says Peragine.

“Planning an event at this scale can be very overwhelming and stressful, but we were in good hands with our BoomPop planners and they made sure it went off without a hitch – it was really incredible.”

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Exclusive Venue Discounts Reduce Costs

Company offsites can be expensive – add together the cost of travel, lodging, food, and activities across dozens or hundreds of employees, and the cost quickly multiplies.  

Not only does BoomPop work within your budget to plan the perfect offsite, they also negotiate exclusive discounts with vendors to save you money. 

Case Study: Hype

Hype, a monetization solution for creators, worked with BoomPop on their 25-person offsite. While budgeting and planning the event, the best part was “having someone there who’s considering your needs, coming back to you with research, and helping get discounts where you didn't even know it was possible.” 

BoomPop’s pricing is transparent at a $150 - $250 per person flat fee (exact fee is dependent on the number of guests), plus a 1.9% event fee. In our research, the vendor discounts were greater than the fees for many events – not to mention the opportunity cost savings from not having to plan the event yourself. 

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Conclusion

For corporate retreat planning services, we found BoomPop to provide the most comprehensive support and planning – at the best discounts. 

Companies who have used BoomPop were able to plan offsites with impact while maximizing their budgets and reducing planning time – which is why BoomPop is our recommendation for planning your next offsite. 

Ready to get started planning? Book a free 15-minute consultation: