How to Find a Unique Venue for Company Gatherings

To support remote, onsite, and hybrid work models, executives search for unique venues to provide ambiance and luxury for company gatherings. From board meetings to team lunches, meeting up with your team at an offsite location offers an escape from routine tasks and surroundings.

 Make your event memorable by choosing the best venue for your guests and adding the details that matter most. Our business and organizational expert, Dr. Erica Garcia Thomas, shares ten tips for discovering the perfect unique venue for company gatherings. Here are her tips:

Don’t ignore what we just lived through. The pandemic presented shifts in how we work and perceive our values. Even before the pandemic, employee engagement was lacking in most companies, and now the economy and added social pressures can create even more divides in our organizations. Find a unique venue that facilitates the goal of your gathering while providing relational moments and comfort for everyone. If you plan a multi-day work retreat, factor in rest and experiences for employees to explore.

Infuse brand personality into your work gathering. Incorporate your corporate culture into your event, and employees will feel aligned with your mission and vision. If your brand is casual and fun, don’t shy away from quirky details. For executive retreats and offsite meetings, go for classy touches and high-end welcome gifts.

Your work gathering should align with your brand attributes to best match the tone your guests will relate to. Authenticity is the key when infusing personality into your work gathering, so be true to who you are as a group and don’t manufacture character.

Celebrate wins. Find a unique venue where you can openly celebrate the group’s successes and plan out ways to utilize visuals. Hire a photography team to capture the day’s memories and teamwork or use technology to remind guests of their success. From old reels on black and white projectors to swanky audio-visual setups, or a live DJ, make the audio-visual capabilities of your venue shine as you laugh, cheer, and honor your company’s work. And don’t wait to plan for these technology needs. Know before your book your event what type of celebration you expect and how your audio-visual capabilities will facilitate it.

Seek convenience. While venues in the middle of nowhere may be beautiful, they are also impractical for the modern world. Find a place that is both beautiful and conveniently located. Be sure to research nearby hotels, activities, and transportation and provide the information to your guests. Local airports make a difference for out-of-town guests.

The Venues at Langtree is close to a charming town called Davidson, North Carolina, where guests can find quaint coffee shops, a host of tree-covered benches, fine dining, and more. Lake Norman is not far away for team sports like kayaking, soaking up the sunshine, and visiting parks. Seek a unique meeting venue close to amenities like these that offer versatility, exploration, and convenience.

Build trust. No, I’m not talking about a cheesy icebreaker, but seek to add an element to your gathering that fosters trust and rapport. For executive meetings, offer a cocktail hour in a casual outdoor environment before or after the big session. For team retreats, build in time for self-awareness exercises or fun activities at a local sight. Go metaphorical by bringing in a guest speaker for motivation or activity for guests. I once participated in a drum circle at a work retreat; it was so much fun! After we learned to play the different drums, we debriefed about how the experience related to our work lives and teamwork. Get creative!

With company gatherings, spend time in breakout sessions so people who don’t work together daily get the time to connect. Trust is the currency you want to foster in business, but it also takes effort. Find a place that has multiple settings for breakout space.

 Don’t exhaust people. Plan a meeting or work retreat your employees will rave about for the following months. When you look for a venue, be sure to accommodate the preferences of introverts and extroverts alike. You want everyone to bring their best energy to the gathering. Choose a venue with a variety of options for solo and group time. Build in downtime or breaks for individuals to rest, make phone calls to loved ones, chit-chat, or relax on their own. Always provide coffee, tea, water, and snacks. Include scenic suggestions for the surrounding area so guests can rejuvenate in a peaceful place.

Model engagement. Set the tone for the event by reminding executives to show up ready to lead by example and initiate conversations. When someone in a place of authority or power within an organization starts a conversation with someone they don’t usually talk to in a workday, they are out of their comfort zone, and it means a lot to the person on the receiving end. You can plan the most expensive and luxurious event, and guests can leave feeling a lack of connection and value. Recognize that leaders need to try to show value and foster connection.

Thoughtfully plan the menu. Offer allergen-free catering options as you consider making every employee feel at home at your unique venue. As you plan the menu for the party, pay attention to ingredients, list recipes or allergens in signage, and provide options for those with allergies or dietary preferences. If a venue cannot accommodate your dietary preferences, then it is not the right venue, no matter how unique it may seem.

Get creative with time and date. Business trends show companies moving holiday parties online to virtual formats and planning travel for remote and hybrid employees to meet up at a destination location. Also, for destination locations, ask about additional spaces for breakout sessions, cocktail hours, local sightseeing, keynote speakers, and any other element you plan to add to the party. Sometimes all you need to be unique is a significant differentiator for your event that makes it stand apart.

Hold onto a great venue once you find it. Some teams revisit a particular retreat or meeting location quarterly or annually, and employees eagerly look forward to the unique experience. Even with the same venue each time, companies can change the theme, details, schedule, and purpose of the gathering to add variety. Once you find the ideal venue, book it ahead of time and hold onto it once you receive rave reviews from attendees. Companies have been known for exploring certain regions of the country. Don’t shy away from the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Charlotte metro area, or the charm of Davidson.

 The magic happens when a group of people leave the routine of their typical environment and spend time sharing memories, forming relational connections, innovating in a planning meeting, and investing in one another through collaboration. The corporate meeting and retreat experience can be a make-it-or-break-it factor for work-life experience and engagement.

At The Venues at Langtree, our team welcomes groups from the Charlotte, North Carolina area and around the United States. Lake Norman is a destination location for executive meetings, and our 16-acre property with multiple venues is an event planner’s dream. The versatility we offer is unlike any other venue. We can accommodate confidential business meetings in the Boulder Room, large conferences in the pavilion, breakout sessions in the historic Mott House, and cocktail receptions at the barn, complete with evening bonding at the firepit. Enjoy the benefits of onsite catering, state-of-the-art audio-visual equipment, and fiber optic internet connectivity.

Are you planning a company retreat? We host those too! The Aloft Hotel and TRU by Hilton hotels are brand new and within a mile of the venue. And for downtime, you’ll find a host of activities in Mooresville, Davidson, Uptown Charlotte, Lake Norman, and beyond. The Venues at Langtree offers versatility, luxury, and charm. Need to fly? Charlotte-Douglas International Airport is a central hub nearby, so busy teams can coordinate travel. Contact our team to ask about unique features and accommodations for your company gathering.

Thanks to Marketing and Organizational Consultant Dr. Erica Garcia Thomas for her tips on this article.