From places to meet to spaces to grow
Photo by Vlad Hilitanu on Unsplash
How venues can help clients get real value from team away days
Team away days are still big business.
Across Bristol and beyond, hotels, venues, museums and event spaces host thousands of corporate team days every year. Teams want to get out of the office. Leaders want people to reconnect, reset, or work through something that feels stuck.
And yet, many of the people booking these days are quietly sceptical.
They’ve seen away days that were pleasant but pointless. Awkward icebreakers. Vague conversations. A nice lunch, followed by a return to exactly the same problems on Monday morning.
If you work in a venue that relies on team and corporate bookings, you’re probably hearing this scepticism more often now. Buyers are asking harder questions.
What will we actually get from this day?
How will it help us work better afterwards?
How is this different from the last away day we ran?
That scepticism is a challenge. But it’s also a real opportunity.
Why traditional away days often disappoint
Most team away days aren’t badly intentioned. They’re just underpowered.
Research suggests that a significant proportion of UK spend on away days fails to deliver meaningful outcomes. Employees often describe traditional team building as cringeworthy or irrelevant, and many people struggle to see a lasting impact on how their team actually works.
From a buyer’s perspective, the common frustrations tend to be:
No clear outcomes. The day feels pleasant but vague
Little connection to real work. Conversations stay safe and superficial
No follow through. Good intentions fade quickly
Mixed engagement. Some people love it, others switch off completely
So while organisations keep booking away days, they do so cautiously. Budgets are scrutinised. Decisions take longer. Venues are compared more aggressively on price.
What actually makes a difference for teams
There’s a growing body of evidence that shows what really improves team performance isn’t novelty or entertainment. It’s structured reflection, skillful facilitation and coaching.
Teams improve when they are supported to:
Reflect honestly on how they work together
Learn practical skills around communication, decision making and conflict
Have focused, well facilitated conversations about real challenges
Turn insight into action they can take back into the workplace
Facilitated reflection and debriefing, when done well, has been shown to significantly improve team effectiveness. Not because it’s flashy, but because it creates clarity, ownership and shared understanding.
In other words, bringing people together works best when the time is held deliberately.
The opportunity for venues
This is where venues can quietly transform their proposition.
Instead of being seen purely as a place to host a team day, venues can become places where meaningful work happens. Places where teams don’t just meet, but actually grow.
For buyers, that shift changes everything.
A venue that can say, “We don’t just provide the space. We help teams make the most of their time together,” immediately stands out.
It gives decision makers something concrete to justify the spend. It reduces the sense of risk. It reframes the day from a nice break to a purposeful investment.
What structured facilitation adds to an away day
When skilled facilitation or team coaching is part of the offer, a few important things change.
Clear purpose and outcomes
Teams arrive knowing why they are there and what success looks like. This makes the booking feel intentional and defensible, especially for senior leaders and HR teams.
Deeper engagement
Good facilitation creates psychological safety and balanced participation. It draws in quieter voices and keeps conversations focused on what actually matters.
Tangible outputs
Instead of vague goodwill, teams leave with shared insights, agreed ways of working and practical actions they can take back to the office.
A stronger link between venue and results
When important conversations and breakthroughs happen in your space, the venue becomes part of the story of change. Not just a nice backdrop, but a meaningful setting.
Why this matters commercially
For venues, the benefits are practical and measurable.
Differentiation in a crowded market, where many spaces look similar on paper
Greater booking confidence, with buyers more comfortable approving budgets
Less price sensitivity, because the value is clearer
Access to more senior, budget holding decision makers
Higher likelihood of repeat bookings and referrals
Venues that help clients answer ‘what will we get from this day?’ are simply easier to say yes to.
How partnership can work in practice
This doesn’t have to be complicated.
Partnerships between venues and facilitators or coaches can be flexible and light touch. For example:
Optional add ons alongside room hire
Curated half day or full day purposeful away day formats
Pre and post event support to help teams prepare and embed learning
Shared messaging and case studies for proposals and sales conversations
The aim is to enhance what you already do well, not to replace it.
From meeting spaces to growth spaces
Team away days aren’t going away. But expectations are changing.
Venues that evolve from places to meet into places where teams grow will be best placed to thrive in a more discerning market.
If you’re responsible for corporate bookings and you’re curious about how simple, well designed facilitation or coaching could strengthen your offer, I’d love to explore that with you.
Sometimes a small intervention in the room makes a world of difference back in the office.