Notes from the production desk
Contracts, budgets, badges and shuttles. What we learn running about 60 corporate events a year, written down so you do not have to learn it the hard way.
Venues
How to read a hotel contract before you sign it
Attrition, food and beverage minimums and the one clause that decides who pays when fewer people come.
Budgets
What a three-day offsite actually costs per head in 2026
Real numbers from 22 offsites we ran this year, from $2,900 to $5,600 per guest.
Production
The run of show we use for every event, and why it has a standby column
A cue sheet is only useful if the person holding it knows what happens next, not just what happens now.
Production
Badges people can read from two metres away
First names at 60 point, company underneath, and no QR code the size of a coaster.
Logistics
Shuttles, coats and a February kickoff in Chicago
Why we put winter kickoffs in one building, and what we do when we cannot.
Production
What we pack for show day
Two spare clickers, a label printer and a backup laptop that already has every deck on it.
Tell us the date, the headcount and the budget line.
A producer calls you back within one working day with three venue options and an honest read on the budget. No deck, no retainer to start.