# Playbooks for planning your best team travel.

Key insights and tips for best practice on team travel from our experts at Workgrounds.

## Planning a Work-Free Week: One Chief of Staff’s Unique Approach to Team Gatherings  
**Author:** Sarah Maloy  
**Read Time:** 6 mins

storyarb Chief of Staff Lauren Layton planned a work-free week for the full team — with a secluded venue, on-site activities, and a budget under $75k for 16 people. Here’s how she did it.

## Food and Beverage Minimums: Everything You Need to Know About F&B When Booking Hotel Meeting Spaces and Room Blocks  
**Author:** Sarah Maloy  
**Read Time:** 8 mins

Food and beverage (F&B) minimums are one of the most important (and often misunderstood) components of booking a company gathering at a hotel. Here’s everything organizers need to know.

## How Lithic Turns $1M+ in Company Gatherings Into Strategic Business Wins  
**Author:** Sarah Maloy  
**Read Time:** 6 mins

Morgan Stanley, Lithic's Head of People, shares her 4-step process for turning $1M+ in company gatherings into strategic business wins with structured events, transparent budgeting, and intentional design.

## How PebblePost Completed 2 Months of Problem-Solving Work in 2 Hours  
**Author:** Garrett Ullom  
**Read Time:** 6 mins

Discover how PebblePost's annual team meeting drives results throughout the year with strategic planning, collaboration, and actionable outcomes.

## How to Get Real ROI From Your Next Team Gathering  
**Author:** Garrett Ullom  
**Read Time:** 4 mins

You have two goals when planning in-person gatherings: strengthen team culture and have real ROI attached. Learn the PAPER Framework for transforming events from expensive costs to revenue AND culture-driving investments.

## How to Plan Multi-Stakeholder Conferences Without the Chaos  
**Author:** Nikhil Sethi  
**Read Time:** 5 mins

When you're planning a user conference, it can feel like you're trying to be a mind reader, logistics coordinator, and brand ambassador all at once. Learn how to run smooth user conferences that keep everyone happy.

## The MATCH Framework: Turning Team Events Into Revenue Drivers  
**Author:** Garrett Ullom  
**Read Time:** 4 mins

When your teams are spread out, the bottom line can look better. At first, at least. Learn the MATCH framework for turning team gatherings into strategic business tools.

## The Hidden Cost of Unstrategic Team Gatherings (And How to Fix It)  
**Author:** Garrett Ullom  
**Read Time:** 3 mins

Most companies plan team gatherings completely backwards. They start with 'Wouldn't it be nice if everyone got together?' instead of 'What specific business problem are we trying to solve?'

## Perfect Hotel RFPs: Insight from Both Sides of the Negotiation Table  
**Author:** Nikhil Sethi  
**Read Time:** 4 mins

There's a huge breakdown in comms between corporate planners and hotels. Learn the insider approach to getting better rates and making hidden fees disappear.

## How Sidecar Health Transformed Their SKO Team Gathering Experience  
**Author:** Nikhil Sethi  
**Read Time:** 4 mins

When Sidecar Health CMO Kevin Knight needed to bring his sales and marketing team together, he faced the classic team travel paradox: these gatherings are absolutely essential, but organizing them is painfully inefficient.

## Connection is Everything: The Case for Intentional In-Person Events  
**Author:** Garrett Ullom  
**Read Time:** 4 mins

You know when you're stuck on a problem, shooting emails and Slacks back and forth all day, and then you grab coffee with a coworker and suddenly figure it out? That's what happens when people talk face-to-face.

## The Power of In-Person Collaboration — and How To Bring People Together  
**Author:** Nikhil Sethi  
**Read Time:** 6 mins

Planning a trip is way less fun than being on one. And planning a work trip is way more work than it should be. Learn how to bring your team together without the logistical nightmares.

## Repeat Founder Duo Raises $2.6M and Launches Workgrounds  
**Author:** Nikhil Sethi  
**Read Time:** 2 mins

Nikhil Sethi & Garrett Ullom have raised $2.6M for Workgrounds, solving hotel room block management for group bookings with AI automation.