Why Creating an Offsite Event Theme Helps you Stay on Budget
Why Creating an Offsite Event Theme Helps you Stay on Budget
BoomPop Team · 10/17/2024
At BoomPop, we believe theming your offsite is about more than just adding a touch of whimsy—it's actually a strategic tool for staying on budget. That’s because an event theme acts as a filtering mechanism for every line item in your offsite plan, from the hotel to the food, activities, entertainment, and everything in between.
Not only can company offsite themes help you stay on budget, they also create unreplicable memories and further immerse your guests more fully in the offsite. (Not sure where to start? We’ve got you covered with some inspiration for your next offsite event theme.)
Once you select the perfect offsite theme, it can become your new North Star for all budget choices, which in turn is going to help you tend to that event budget spreadsheet in a way that truly makes finagling numbers fun. How, exactly?
Let’s dive in!
Offsite Themes Provide Focus to Streamlined Decision-Making
When a theme can be tied to every line item of your budget, this creates clear focus on not only what to do, but also, what not to do.
With a theme to guide you, for every vendor or purchase, you can ask: does this align with our theme? You may find some ideas that feel like a “necessity”actually add no value to the theme, so it’s easier to strike them as extraneous.
You can also use this approach for macro decisions such as: does this hotel fit our theme? For example, if you were hosting an “eco friendly” offsite, you could easily narrow down hotels that didn’t fit the theme or consider a more rural location with a lower price tag.
Or you might consider staying in an urban location but use bike rentals for local transportation to get from meetings and activities, saving money on rideshares while staying true to the theme. With the power of a theme to guide you, you’ll feel more freedom to explore creative ideas that can help save money.
An event theme can be filtered from different perspectives, offering a flexible but helpful rubrik for decision making so you can easily navigate between choices that are non-negotiables and those that are optional. And when it comes to event budgets, if you are working with a number that is immovable, a theme can help you identify what expenses you can get flexible or creative with.
Themes Provide a Creative Approach to Food + Beverage Budgets
Food and beverage costs can vary widely and be difficult to precisely estimate. For example, predicting the total cost of a bar can be tricky, as it’s hard to accurately estimate how much will be consumed. This can leave your budget feeling uncertain, especially if you opt for a fully open bar. On the other hand, pre-set packages may not always align with your group’s preferences.
But with the power of an event theme, this can actually become a fun problem to solve.
How can an event theme help us make bar pricing more predictable??
Begin by creating a “signature” drink for your event with its own menu and creative aesthetic that’s complimentary to your offsite theme.
This not only adds some whimsy to your event, it also encourages more guests to choose your signature drink, making your bar tab for cocktails (paired with a beer, wine, and soft drink package) a bit more predictable. With a themed drink, you will have no qualms about sidestepping the “top shelf open bar” package. And, your themed drink will be a novelty that your guests won’t want to miss out on. Win-win.
This is just one example of how a theme can help you consolidate food and beverage expenses while also elevating your event experience. There are truly so many creative ways that a theme can help you choose food and drink options that help you save money, relieve guest decision fatigue, and create wonderful moments within your event, from cocktail hours or dinners for your retreat to adding a special moment to working session/meeting time.
Themes Inspire Moments of Creativity & Connection
There is nothing more satisfying than watching a group of people come together to be creative when a budget doesn’t allow them to outsource, and an event theme can be the perfect way to bring this together at your retreat or offsite.
Let’s look at another interesting example here - decorations. How in the world could a theme help you save money on decorations, you might ask?
Let’s imagine you are hosting a forest themed retreat. Within the retreat, you’ll be hosting an event that you want to heavily immerse with a forest aesthetic. Instead of hiring an arborist and florist, you could coordinate a team building exercise in which colleagues go hiking and collect objects from nature to then bring back to the space as decorations.
Or, if your event is in an urban setting, order tissue paper and crafts and have people help create forest vignettes you’ll use for decor. and everyone works together to set up the venue. This in of itself creates team bonding moment as well as budget savings. And you can bet that it will quickly become a fond memory that serves as a touchstone across teams well beyond the event itself.
The magic of an offsite theme is that it helps you bring different aspects of your event together in unexpected and memorable ways, helping foster connection and build the kind of culture that makes a lasting impact on your team.
Level Up Your Offsite with an Event Planning Expert
Excited to get started brainstorming your next offsite theme? You don’t have to do it alone! Our team of experts can handle everything from venue sourcing to activity coordination, allowing you to focus on creating an offsite theme your guests won’t soon forget.
Want to learn more? Contact us to see how easy it is to get stated working with BoomPop for your next retreat or offsite.
Like this article?
Don’t miss this post: “Out of the Box Money Saving Tips for your Next Offsite”
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