Team Retreat Budget Busters: Watch Out For These 3 Line Items That Almost Never Go According To Plan
Hopefully, by reading this you'll save endless time, money, and stress for yourself and your company when planning future team retreats!
After helping companies like Perplexity, Remote, and HubSpot plan over 350 retreats globally (and personally sweating through more than a few budget spreadsheets), I can tell you this…
Every People Leader starts out with the best intentions and a well-structured budget... until one of these three sneaky categories comes in like a wrecking ball to your otherwise perfect budget spreadsheet.
Retreat budgets don’t usually explode because someone decided to fly business class or rent a yacht (although, yes, that happens too).
The real killers are way more boring. Predictable, even.
But here’s the kicker: most of them are preventable with better planning and a few trade secrets we’ve picked up at Offsite.
Let’s break it down.
1. Transportation (aka "The Surprise You Should Have Seen Coming")
Flights, transfers, Ubers, shuttles...
These line items add up quickly, especially when things inevitably go wrong and someone misses a connection or has to re-book because they are attending a last-minute conference before the offsite.
Why it blows up:
Last-minute bookings: Prices spike dramatically if you wait until 2-4 weeks out.
Scattered arrivals: If half your team arrives at 10am and the other half trickles in over 8 hours, you’re paying for multiple shuttles instead of one.
Hidden transfer costs: That dreamy hotel in Tulum? It might be 2 hours from the airport and cost $300 per van.
International teams: Flying 12 team members from EMEA or LATAM will instantly add five figures to your budget.
How to fix it:
Lock in flights early. Set a hard internal deadline for booking.
Standardize arrival windows. You’ll save thousands by consolidating shuttles.
Choose venues with reasonable proximity to major airports.
Budget for airport transfers as a per-person cost, not a flat line. It helps you scale more accurately.
Work with Offsite planner experts (I know my sales team is saying “hell yea!” to this, haha) who’s seen this all before and can model the true cost.
At Offsite, we once saved a client $11,000 just by recommending a hotel 40 minutes closer to the airport. Same vibe, better logistics.
2. AV and Meeting Setup (aka "Why Does a Projector Cost $800 a Day?")
You think you’re booking a $2500 meeting room... until the hotel tells you the whiteboard is extra.
And the clicker.
And the coffee.
And the Wi-Fi.
Then, you’re trying to explain why the budget doubled to finance, putting the entire offsite in jeopardy…
Why it blows up:
Outrageous daily AV fees: Hotels love to charge per mic, per speaker, per day.
Service charges: 20-25% service fees get tacked on to every rental and F&B item.
Underestimating needs: You forgot you need 3 breakout rooms, a lectern, and a hands-free lapel mic for your VIP keynote speaker.
Over-relying on hotel services: Their tech isn’t better. It’s just... more expensive.
How to fix it:
Always ask for a full AV rate sheet before signing a contract.
Bring your own gear when possible. (An $80 clicker on Amazon saves you hundreds.)
Use offsite-friendly venues that include AV or let you bring in vendors.
Bundle meetings into fewer days to reduce rental time.
Negotiate like your budget depends on it (because it does).
Just this week, we helped a client save over $12,000 just on AV by negotiating hard with our vendor partners and ensuring they only ordered what they actually need. This alone paid for working with Offsite, and then some!
3. Food and Beverage (aka "Just a Few Snacks" Turns Into a Catering Bill That Rivals Dinner at Eleven Madison Park)
Food is culture. It’s connection. It’s joy.
But it’s also the fastest-moving target on your budget, especially when considering dietary restrictions such as vegan, gluten-free, paleo, kosher, and dairy-free meals.
Why it blows up:
Hotel catering minimums: You’ll often be required to spend $100+ per person per day (if not more!).
Too many meals on property: Hotels mark up food aggressively.
Unlimited snacks/booze: You want to be generous, but a stocked minibar + open bar = regret.
Dietary complexity: More variety = higher cost.
How to fix it:
Mix in local restaurants or catering drop-offs. They’re often 30-50% cheaper.
Set clear drink policies (e.g. 2 drinks on the company, then cash bar) or give out drink tickets.
Skip the hotel breakfast buffet. Provide a morning coffee + pastry bar instead.
Pre-order snacks in bulk from Costco, Amazon, or a delivery service.
Ask vendors for per-head F&B estimates that include tax and service.
One company we worked with shaved $17,500 off their food budget by swapping 2 catered lunches for food truck vouchers. Instagrammable and affordable.
TL;DR: Save Big By Planning Smart (And Planning Ahead) With Offsite.com
Most retreat budgets don’t go off the rails because of one bad decision.
They creep up little by little through:
Transportation surprises
AV gouging
Food and beverage overload
Plus a dozen other line items we didn’t even have time to talk about in this post.
The good news?
With better planning, vendor negotiation, and a few pro moves, you can run a world-class retreat without blowing your budget.
And if you need help modeling costs, getting line-item quotes, or finding retreat-friendly venues that won’t financially ruin you... that’s literally what we do at Offsite.
If you’re interested in learning more, please visit Offsite.com and book a discovery call to start planning your next transformational offsite.
Thanks
Jared
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