Close Calls: Where Is Everybody?

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Off-season, blues to bonanza

Off-season events can be awesome—reduced lodging costs, no crowds or even the whole destination practically to yourself—but there are risks. How many attendees, for instance, will show up in a beach community known for summertime fun…in the busy weeks leading up to the December holidays? In, say, Gulf Shores, Alabama?

Tourism marketing company Madden Media took that chance for its MUSE event, a three-day conference for its remote employees and clients to germinate inter-team and client relationships as well as spur employee development. The Lodge at Gulf State Park, a Hilton Hotel, was the host venue.

Registrations lagged. What to do?

“We made a push to get feedback from our internal staff and reached out to more clients,” is the reply from Sarah Hupp Foster, Madden’s chief operations officer.

Managing Success

But be careful what you ask for, as the saying goes. The “will attend” count climbed beyond expectations, to nearly 250, with attendees flying in from a dozen-plus states and Puerto Rico. Now what? “It was tricky with the lodging since we basically bought the place out, so we were having to do some fairly major shuffles right up to the end, including trying to avoid putting folks into bunk-bed-only rooms, which is part of what the hotel has for larger families—obviously ideal in the high season for a beach vacation, less so for a business trip,” Hupp continues.

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“We made it work, thankfully. For the room block, we worked with them to navigate room assignments. Additionally, we decided to spend a little bit more to ensure that our staff and clients felt truly taken care of. We know this is a big ask to take time away from their regular schedules and families and wanted them to feel truly present for the full retreat.”

Averting low turnout brought new pressure to put on a show with zhuzh. “When we knew we would have high-level clients and additional people, we shifted our opening reception outdoors to accommodate a larger group. Additionally, we brought in a local band to play live music, which allowed our guests to connect and also disconnect from work conversations. Thankfully, our AV partner was very collaborative and flexible. We also curated unique client swag bags and worked with the host destination to fill those with unique items,” Hupp says.

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“Averting low turnout brought new pressure to put on a show with zhuzh.”

Because it was not high season, Uber-style transportation was also tricky. “Shuttles were booked for major off-site events, but we did hit a rough patch with attendees coming back from Flora-Bama,” Hupp says about excursions to the renowned beach bar in Pensacola, Florida, just nine miles away. Ubers wouldn’t go across the state line. “Thankfully, the front desk at Flora-Bama helped wrangle up taxis for our group each night. The lesson learned was to pre-coordinate with them on a pickup for our group, something we had no idea they could help us with.”