Taking clients away to a luxury ski resort is a great way to cement existing business relationships. However, when you’re making the leap from the boardroom to the slopes, there are a number of things you’ll need to consider.
The resort
When you’re planning on taking clients away, the ski resort you choose will be influential in the overall success or failure of your trip. If you’re looking to entertain clients on a weekend ski break, perception is everything.
For example, if you book a lesser known ski resort, the perception could be you don’t value them as one of your top clients.
Other factors to bear in mind are the location of the resort to your client’s home or offices and whether or not they’ve previously been to the resort you’ve got in mind. For example, if your clients are based in the north east of Italy, Val d’Isere in France could be a good resort choice.
Skiing ability
Another factor worth considering is the range of skiing abilities within the group. The last thing you want is to have one of your clients who’s a complete novice skier going away with a group of advanced skiers. Skiing ability is obviously reflected by the choice of slope at the resort and it would be unfortunate if one of your group was left isolated due to having a different level of competence on the snow.
Accommodation
The accommodation is another crucial part of any corporate skiing trip to get right. Some clients may be happy for everyone to stay together under the same roof in a luxurious chalet, while others could be more reserved and expect their own private sleeping quarters.
Based on your existing relationship with the client, you should already have a feel for what’s most appropriate. If you’re planning on booking a catered chalet, it can be beneficial and more sociable if everyone has dinner together in the evening after a hard day’s skiing.
As with your choice of resort, the accommodation you book your clients into will speak volumes about how much you value them. First impressions count, even on corporate skiing trips.
Convenience
It’s not just your time at the ski resort you have to think about. It’s also important to focus on the other little details that can make a big difference to your clients. For example, how close is the accommodation to the slopes? How will your clients get from the airport to the resort? Have you arranged lift passes in advance so you don’t have to queue to get on the slopes every day?
On-site assistance
When you’re organising a corporate ski trip, it’s good to have someone on the ground in the resort who knows how everything runs. Things such as making dinner reservations at the best resort restaurants or arranging a local musician to come and play for your guests are all made easier by having someone at the ski resort with local knowledge looking after you.
A corporate skiing trip should be an enjoyable experience for everyone involved. By taking the time to plan properly and follow the steps mentioned above, your time away on the slopes with clients is sure to be successful.
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