How to Use Your Unique Strengths as a Boutique Hotel to Deliver Great Corporate Retreat Experiences

Teamwork:

“Work done by a group acting together so that each member does a part that contributes to the efficiency of the whole”

-Merriam-Webster Dictionary

So says the dictionary… However, I’m not so sure I am thrilled or wholeheartedly agree with their definition. If you are hoping to go for a literal meaning of Teamwork, then I suppose the above will suffice. However, if you are looking for a deeper meaning, perhaps I can offer some perspective.

“Excuse me… Who are YOU to disagree with the dictionary?“

My teambuilding experience

Well, as I stated above, I don’t disagree with the literal meaning presented, however I think it falls very short of what the word encapsulates. For some background on myself, I spent 17 years of my life professionally helping companies plan and manage Corporate Retreats… Many of whom invested a large amount of time (and money) working on teambuilding.

You see, I was the Corporate Social Director at a top family resort in the Pocono Mountains. Much of my day was dedicated to designing and implementing teambuilding events for corporate clients. They would come to me with an idea, or a theme for their retreat, and it was up to me to find the right balance between athletic, scholastic, challenge, and fun.

As the years progressed, I learned that there were recognizable patterns in the way that people would operate in team settings. For instance, one of the most challenging tasks asked of a Social Director is simply forming teams for a given, organized activity. You want to talk about “herding cats”, well here it is.

First, you try the number system. You need 4 teams? Easy, give everybody a number from 1-4 and voila! Except… You now have 2 teams of 10, one of 15 and one of 5. Or you have one powerhouse team of 6’5″ former Harvard Rowers vs the IT department. Ok, let’s try it again… Maybe this time we’ll separate you by birthday… For some reason, it suddenly seems that there is an unusually high amount of birthdays in April, and it just so happens the entire men’s lacrosse team was born in September!

Why? Well, as much as we like to believe we outgrow it… The 14 year old high school freshman still lives within us. We want to be with our friends instead of the uncomfortable situation of trying to meet somebody new.

Guess what? That is why these companies need your help! Your job is to break the barriers down between peers and teach them HOW to work together.

Teambuilding to Bonding

So back to my original statement. Teamwork involves so much more than simply “contributing to the efficiency of the whole”. People can be efficient and feel completely isolated. To me, teamwork should somehow encompass a FEELING of belonging… almost a feeling of family. A sense of building each other up to accomplish a certain task or even consoling each other when you don’t.

Teambuilding is PRECISELY what these Corporate Retreats are looking to do, and they are considering your establishment to do just that. So, what can you offer them? What is it that sets you apart?

If you have a smaller establishment, like say a bed and breakfast, well then you cater to small groups and focus on the “living under the same roof” feel. Teambuilding activities like, “Family Dinner”, “Game Night”, and a campfire with some “adult beverages” are things you can easily offer that break down barriers and foster those bonds these companies are desperate to build.

Find what it is that makes you different and own it. There are thousands of Holiday Inns and Hiltons out there, and that is where YOU have the advantage. Corporate Planners are heavily focused on 2 things when choosing a venue:

1. Don’t make me look bad
2. Let’s make it a retreat they’re never going to forget.

Since you are here and reading this blog… I’m not worried about you covering #1. You are already doing the most important thing in hospitality… You’re using your heart. As long as you follow your heart, you will never let your guests down.

As for number 2… I honestly can’t tell you if, the last time I stayed in a “commercial” hotel, it was a Holiday Inn, a Hilton, a DoubleTree, or a Hyatt. They all have the same “cookie cutter” approach complete with a letdown complimentary breakfast. However, I can promise you, I still remember the sand blasted deck of that little boutique hotel my wife and I spent a weekend in along the coast of the Jersey shore. I can still taste the tart but amazingly sweet hand squeezed lemonade they kept in the lobby, complete with pictures of the hotel’s storied 100 year history. I vividly remember stopping down to the lobby, mid afternoon, and sampling ornate pastries provided by the hotel from that quaint little bakery around the block.

My point of sharing my trip down memory lane is, THAT is exactly what these corporate planners want to put in the minds and hearts of their retreat’s attendees.

“People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”

-Maya Angelou

Make them FEEL like a team and they will never forget.

---