Team building activities, creative set-ups and themed parties: the ingredients for a successful incentive trip

We were approached to conduct a 4-day incentive trip to Italy for 200 employees of the Tax department of a leading European accounting firm, with the aim of increasing productivity and team aggregation, alternating moments of work and brainstorming, with moments of leisure. To plan such a trip would be no easy task, as most incentive trips are catered to smaller groups, but our team knew that they could rise to this challenge. First and foremost, we had to figure out where the group would be staying.

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A memorable incentive trip for 200 guests

Our research revealed that Tuscany is an ideal destination for a trip like this—it’s easily accessible and offers plenty of comfortable luxury accommodation options to choose from, as well as endless options for group activities.

The client wanted to give its employees a memorable experience. Given the complexity of the event and the client’s requests, we needed to find a location equipped with adequate space and facilities to support the organization of all team building activities, relaxation and refreshments, evening activities, and, above all, somewhere that would embody all those typical aspects of Italian culture and tradition that make Italy such a sought-after incentive destination worldwide. After careful investigation, we agreed on a magnificent 5 star resort in the countryside near Siena.

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The region and the resort turned out to be everything we could have hoped for: the property was built in the site of a medieval rural hamlet, preserving its ancient architecture. It boasts 72 rooms and suites, 130 hectares of land, a golf course, a banquet hall, an outdoor swimming pool, a conference centre, and a terrace with a spectacular view of Siena.

Day 1: Welcome to Italy!

The first day was all about welcoming our international guests to their luxury Italian experience. The buffet dinner was held on the hotel’s panoramic terrace and featured different themed corners offering guests a chance to sample some of Italy’s most famous regional dishes and excellent wines from the best wineries in Tuscany.

In addition to a wide variety of dishes, the buffet featured cooking demonstrations that allowed guests to watch firsthand as pasta, pizza and mozzarella were made. To conclude the evening, we entertained our guests with traditional Italian folk music played by a musical trio—accented by an accordionist and violinist who walked among the audience as they played.

We added to the evening’s atmosphere by creating intimate lounge corners, with strategic lighting, rustic seating and charming floral arrangement, to allow for relaxing moment of quieter conversation within the thrilling vibe of the welcoming party.
The highlight of the evening was a photobooth comprising all the elements that are most often associated with Italian culture: in the foreground a Vespa with the Italian flag colours, bales of hay, baskets of chillies, fruit and vegetables, straw hats and other gadgets for our guests to try out while taking photos.

Day 2: Start as you mean to go on

We hired professional yoga teachers to offer optional morning yoga and muscle-awakening sessions on the following two days.
The morning of the first day was reserved for company meetings and we planned our first team-building activity for the early afternoon slot.

We used the hotel’s panoramic terrace, which offered a breathtaking view of the Tuscan hills, for a creative sport-based competition, alternating different engaging games that were the perfect balance of physically demanding and just plain good fun with a hint of competition.
The participants were divided into two groups and there was an award ceremony at the end, to celebrate the winning team.

In the evening, our guests dined at an exclusive farmhouse restaurant offering a menu of delicious, traditional Tuscan dishes and live-music entertainment. Dinner was followed by a rum-cigar-and-chocolate corner.

Day 3: Stairway to Heaven (and Hell)

The meetings planned for the morning of the third day were about team cooperation and we were tasked with planning a team-building activity that reinforced this concept. We opted for a Drum Circle, in which participants learn to listen to each and every one of their colleagues in order to perform in perfect harmony.

In the afternoon we arranged several activities for participants to choose from:

• A wine tasting and visit to a renowned local winery
• Drinks and chill by the pool
• Playing football in the nearby sport centre, which we had exclusively booked for our clients.

In the evening we hosted a “Heaven and Hell” themed party. We kicked it off with a dance performance by professional dancers dressed as angels and demons pm the terrace. They were in charge of welcoming the guests, offering them gadgets that were intended to “transform” them into one or the other (halos and wings for those who wanted to be angels, horns and pitchforks for those who aspired to join the demon’s contingent). A professional actor impersonating Dante Alighieri introduced the evening’s theme and acted as mc, guiding the audience from the “purgatory” of pre-dinner drinks to the “heavenly” delights of dinner, along an illuminated path.

The dinner itself was held under a marquee, whose canopy was made out to resemble a starry sky, with table arrangements and decor following a “heavenly” palette of white and silver.

The final party was held in a magnificent ballroom that, true to the “disco Inferno” spirit, was set up to represent the pits of hell – traditionally the best place for dancing! The DJ station had a “Welcome to Hell” sign and the walls were panelled with led screens with themed imagery. We also had rolled out a “flaming” red carpet and created, lounges with a black and red palette, and red lighting that pulsed to the music. The demon-dancers were the absolute protagonists of this part of the evening.

Conclusion: the perfect incentive trip is one with a unique touch

The incentive trip was a huge success, and our client loved the destination, that added a special and unique twist to every activity.
In an elegant and brilliantly executed operation, the staff of Smart Eventi provided continuous support—both organisational and logistic —to its guests.

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