In these days of cheap flights and staff shortages, many companies are realising the benefits of taking their team away as a means of rewarding them for their hard work and building a bit of team spirit.

But if left to spiral out of control such trips can easily end up costing far more than you initially envisaged and can even have the opposite effect on company morale if behaviour gets out of hand.

Jonathan Miles, corporate sales director at corporate events and teambuilding company Brilliant Weekends, offers the following tips for small business owners looking to create a truly unique experience:

What do staff want?
Find out what interests staff, where they’ve been before, what excites them and what their expectations are. Look at their feedback and take it on board: no one wants to be dragged away from their personal lives on a weekend for something they don’t want to do

Budgetary research
Do this before giving the game away. Don’t drop hints about Barbados when your budget will only stretch to Barcelona as it will only disappoint

Get organised
Plan in advance. Some corporate weekend breaks are booked a year beforehand. The earlier you book, the better rates you will get and more choice due to availability. Last-minute organising can result in panic-buying which means going with whatever you can get and disappointing your employees

Pay attention to detail
Mistakes mean unwanted stress and often expense. Something as simple as misspelling a name on airline tickets can result in £100 per ticket name changes. Booking double rooms rather than twins can also cause embarrassment and costly onsite changes

Communicate
If you’re organising an incentive, get people excited. If it’s a surprise, email weekly clues to them. If they know what’s going on, communicate as much detail as possible to make them look forward to the trip and feel that the hard work is being done for them and all they have to do is sit back, relax and enjoy

Know your limits
Decide from day one how many people are going or what targets they need to meet to participate. Changing the goalposts leads to increased costs, last-minute changes and some people feeling resentful that it’s not such a massive achievement to win the trip if the receptionist is being brought along for the ride. Agencies sell packages based on numbers so be aware the price can change considerably if you change your numbers

Shortlist destinations
It’s not all about the budget. You should also be aware of weather conditions, language barriers, travel times, public/school holidays, local customs and security risks. Overlooking something like a bank holiday weekend can have a huge impact on your weekend, particularly if everything is shut

Site inspection
Try and budget for an organiser’s inspection to check out the destination six months in advance. Not only is it good fun, it’s the best way to decide whether a destination is or isn’t suitable for your group. You will also feel far more equipped to advice your group what they are letting themselves in for and will be able to suggest great points of interest

Flights
It can be a nightmare when booking for one, let alone trying to organise a whole group. Check flight schedules before deciding on your destination. Low-cost airlines aren’t always low-cost once you take into account the extras such as taxes and in-flight meals so it can be better to book with groups agencies, which are often able to hold prices and don’t require names until sometimes two weeks before the travel dates. Ensure your tickets are 100% checked and accurate

Visas visas visas
Check with your employees in advance if they will need them, how easy it is to get them in time and how you can help them. Your employees may feel discriminated against if they can’t participate in the annual jolly due to their nationality

Dietary requirements
If you are organising meals find out if anyone has allergies or dietary requirements, if you know in advance it can be accommodated

Alcohol
Often an essential part of the trip but a costly one. Decide if you are offering open bars to employees or if guests will be required to pay for themselves. Once out of the office some people can be tempted to get carried away so you may want to consider limits

Get help
It is unrealistic to think one person from the team can organise and manage a trip for 150 employees. Use an experienced agency who will help onsite and take some off the pressure. You will also receive better rates and support when challenges arise, as they inevitably always do. It is also advised you use UK-based agencies so you can easily communicate and have somewhere to go if you are unsatisfied. After all, everyone (including you) should be able to enjoy themselves and not spend the entire trip dealing with individuals crises