One of the first tasks on your Forum’s annual retreat planning checklist is to pick the retreat location. While most groups choose to travel out of town, some prefer to stay close to home. However, while a local Forum retreat has a few benefits, it also poses some challenges. To determine what’s best for your group, it helps to understand the advantages and disadvantages of traveling versus picking an in-town venue.
Here’s your guide to the pros and cons of traveling and staying close to home, tips on how to choose your location, and ideas to enhance your retreat’s impact regardless of the venue.
Benefits of a Local Forum Retreat
One of the main reasons to organize a local Forum retreat—and one of the most common reasons why Forums choose to stay in their hometown—is budget. If your Forum has spent money on enriching ventures like bringing speakers to monthly meetings, teambuilding activities, or investing in high-quality resources to add value to every get-together, there might not be as much cash in the till as you’d like. It’s also possible that some Forum members don’t have the personal budget to go on a trip. Coordinating a local retreat reduces travel expenses not only for the members but also for a third-party retreat facilitator.
Another benefit of staying local is time. EO and YPO Forum members tend to have hectic schedules and don’t always want to tack on travel time to the retreat, especially since it can be difficult to take even a day or two away from business, family, and social responsibilities. What’s more, the Retreat Planner’s job will be easier if they’re focusing on nearby meeting venues, restaurants, and other local attractions for members to enjoy during the retreat.
However, choosing between a destination or a local Forum retreat is a big decision that can have a lasting impact on your group’s dynamic. Before you pick your location, it’s important to look at some of the benefits of traveling to a new place.
Advantages of Traveling for Your Forum Retreat
Despite a few benefits, long-tenured YPO and EO members find many disadvantages to a local Forum retreat. In addition to visiting places they’ve already been in their hometown, it’s just too easy to get caught up in daily life when you’re in familiar territory. To devote themselves fully to the retreat, most Forums choose to find a location away from home.
Freedom from Hometown Distractions
There are always distractions, obligations, and things to do when you’re in your home city. If your Forum chooses to stay in town for the annual retreat, you’ll risk people arriving late each day due to traffic, leaving early to pick their kids up from school, or running to the office to put out a business-related fire.
Although it’s understandable to want to give attention to these important elements of your life, traveling out of town for your Forum retreat removes these distractions and the excuses that prevent members from being fully present and dedicated to the retreat material.
A Completely Different Mindset
In addition to events or circumstances that might pull members away from a local Forum retreat, Forum members and professional retreat facilitators alike have noticed that traveling away from home puts attendees in a better mindset for the retreat.
ForumSherpa Founder and CEO Ellie Byrd, who has attended countless retreats as both a Forum member and a facilitator, has seen the difference firsthand. “Many Forums want to increase depth and make the most out of every moment they spend at their retreat,” she says. “When members are on neutral turf far away from home, they’re more open and vulnerable, which enhances their experience and maximizes the value and impact of the retreat.”
Explore New Geography
Complacency is a threat to any Forum. Both newly-formed groups and long-tenured Forums run the risk of stagnation if they don’t travel outside of their comfort zones both literally and figuratively.
Traveling to a unique destination adds a boost of excitement and wonder to the entire experience, which is something that’s rarely possible in a local Forum retreat. And, since the healthiest Forums tend to explore their surroundings by visiting interesting attractions, trying local restaurants, and seeking out new adventures in an unfamiliar city, state, or country, this is a crucial part of the retreat experience that just isn’t possible when you stay local. These unique experiences can, in fact, dramatically enhance the retreat’s overall value.
Opportunity for Unique Experiences
Hopefully, you’ve visited at least some of the sites and attractions that make your hometown unique. After all, that’s part of enjoying where you live! Staying local for your annual retreat might force you to revisit locations you’ve already been to whereas traveling lets you have unique experiences in places you’ve never been before.
Traveling to exciting destinations and organizing unique experiences can truly enrich your retreat. These experiences are most successful when they’re new to each Forum member. Here are a few suggestions for groups that want a deeply valuable retreat within the United States:
• Go white water rafting in the Rocky Mountains
• Take a ghost tour in New Orleans
• Drive cattle at a dude ranch in Montana
• Ride a burro into the Grand Canyon
• Hold a custom yoga retreat or an immersive meditation retreat at a spa
And for Forums who are really expanding their horizons, consider these ideas for an international retreat:
• Hire a crew and tour the Caribbean on a private yacht
• Take a hot air balloon ride over Dubai
• Shark dive in South Africa
• Learn to make croissants in Paris
• Gain VIP access to an archeological dig in Egypt
Try to have your retreat activities align with your Forum’s annual theme, whether it’s focused on learning new skills, conquering fears, or improving personal wellness.
Choosing Between a Destination and a Local Forum Retreat
Deciding whether to hold a destination or a local Forum retreat is a big decision. You’ll need to account for factors like budget, members’ availability, appetite for travel, and your group’s goals for the year. Although traveling to a new—or even an exotic—location is almost always more valuable and impactful for all Forum members, it’s just not possible for every Forum.
Start planning at least six months (optimally, closer to a year) before your retreat so members’ calendars are open and you can keep an eye on finances. If you determine that bringing in a professional facilitator isn’t feasible, there are still some options to maximize the retreat’s takeaway value.
Creative Ideas to Amplify Your Retreat’s Impact
Most healthy Forums partner with a professional retreat facilitator either every year or every two years. If your Forum decides that budgetary or time constraints prevent one of these experts from joining your destination retreat (especially if you’re traveling internationally and airfare is cost-prohibitive), consider hosting a local facilitator at your monthly meeting before and/or after the retreat. They can help create the agenda and provide resources before your trip and help your group explore their experiences and feelings after you’ve gotten back from the retreat.
You can also reap the benefits of a facilitator’s wisdom and expertise with a self-facilitated retreat. Your Forum will get the benefit of a custom agenda based on your needs and goals, carefully selected tools and exercises to help you address those needs and achieve your goals, and personalized coaching from an expert facilitator. Self-facilitated retreats have been an extremely effective option for many Forums regardless of whether they’re traveling or staying close to home, and yours can be too as long as you choose the right experts to help you.
Let Our Experts Help Plan Your Destination or Local Forum Retreat!
Your Forum deserves an invigorating retreat that delivers lasting impact to each member. Without the right planning, tools, and expertise, any retreat can fall flat—and we can help prevent that. We offer a variety of custom services for every destination and local Forum retreat, and our team can rejuvenate the Forum experience for everyone in your group.
Contact us today to learn how we can take your Forum to new heights!
Written by Britt Spread