Guides · Business travel
How to plan a company offsite or sales kickoff
Updated October 2026
An offsite or sales kickoff brings people from several offices to one place for a few days. The organizer has to balance the agenda, the travel policy and the budget.
1. Set the goal and the headcount
Decide what the event must accomplish, how many days that takes and who attends. Headcount drives everything from room nights to meeting room size.
2. Pick a city that is easy to reach
Choose a destination with direct flights from most of your offices. Fewer connections means fewer missed sessions and lower airfare.
3. Write down the travel policy
- Nightly hotel cap
- Meal per diem
- Airfare class and booking window
- Who may rent cars, and what size
Share it with attendees before anyone books.
4. Choose a hotel with meeting space
Hotels with meeting rooms often discount sleeping rooms when you book space and catering together. Ask about AV equipment, Wi-Fi capacity and breakout rooms.
5. Plan ground transportation
For groups arriving at different times, pre-booked airport transfers or a shuttle schedule work better than reimbursing many individual rides. Rental cars make sense for leadership teams with client visits.
6. Give finance a clean estimate
| Line item | Formula |
|---|---|
| Lodging | Rooms × nights × rate |
| Airfare | Travelers × average fare |
| Ground | Transfers or cars × days |
| Meals | Travelers × per diem × days |
| Venue and AV | From the hotel or venue quote |
GroupVoy's business planner builds this estimate and exports it to Excel.
7. Send one agenda
Attendees need arrival instructions, the hotel address, the daily agenda and dinner plans in one place. Send it by email, Teams or WhatsApp, or as a PDF.
Describe your trip in one sentence. Get the itinerary, rooms, vehicles and cost per person, then share it on WhatsApp.