ESR

480+ corporate events · 5 years

Group Travel Management for Corporate Events

Get everyone to the event on time with group travel management that runs on the same clock as your program. The people who run your event also book the rooms and track who's landed.

An event lead with a tablet greets a group of colleagues at an airport arrivals hall

Why travel belongs in the event plan

When travel and the program are planned by different people, the gaps show up on day one.

Booking seats and rooms is half the job. The other half is knowing when your opening session starts, when the keynote speaker lands and when the ballroom must be set. We plan all of it in one schedule. Arrival windows, check-in, the first session and the welcome dinner sit on the same page.

This matters most for multi-day programs: a sales kickoff, a leadership meeting or one of our corporate retreats, where a late bus means a half-empty room.

A hotel welcome desk with name badges and printed schedules for arriving guests

Incentive group travel and event trips

  • Company meetings and kickoffs. Staff fly in from regional offices for two or three days, then fly home.
  • Retreats and offsites. A smaller team at a resort or a lodge, with sessions and free time.
  • Reward trips. Top performers and their plus-ones on a trip they earned. See our incentive travel page for how those programs work.
  • Trade shows. Booth staff and executives arriving on different days, with hotels near the convention center.

You tell us who's traveling and why. We pick the right setup for that group.

Our travel coordinator checks the live arrivals list against the rooming list in a hotel lobby

What we handle

You get one list, one schedule and one team to call when a flight changes.

  • Room blocks. We find hotels near the venue, negotiate a group block and manage the rooming list.
  • Flights. Group fares or individual bookings from each home city, with a live list of who's on which flight.
  • A booking page. Travelers enter their details once. You see the list without chasing emails.
  • Ground transport. Airport pickups, hotel shuttles and transfers to the venue, planned with our event transportation team.
  • A welcome desk. Badges, schedules and a person at the hotel to answer questions on arrival day.
  • Changes on the way. Late flights, room swaps and last-minute names go to one contact.
See event transportation

What shapes the quote

You'll see the full travel cost next to the event cost, in one quote.

Every event gets a custom quote, and travel is part of it. These things shape the total:

  • Number of travelers and departure cities.
  • Nights and hotel level.
  • Flights booked by us or by your travelers.
  • Transfers and shuttles between airport, hotel and venue.
  • On-site staff for arrivals and the welcome desk.

Here's how we put a quote together. Send us the group size and dates, and we'll reply in minutes.

Events where the schedule had no slack

These events for Capital Group show how we plan around fixed access times and start times, which is the same skill a travel day needs. Capital Group has booked us three times.

What a travel day looks like

These shots show the moments we plan for.

  • A traveler checks in at a group welcome desk in a hotel lobby
  • A shuttle bus loads guests outside a hotel entrance
  • A rooming list and arrival board on a tablet
  • Colleagues walk from the hotel to a conference center
  • A welcome dinner table set for a large group
  • Luggage tagged with event colors in a hotel lobby

Hotel contracts and documents

You see every hotel contract before it's signed.

  • A group contract sets room counts, release dates and penalties for unused rooms. We read it with you, flag the dates that matter and track bookings against them.
  • For the event venue, we send insurance documents on request.

What goes wrong with group travel

Most travel problems start weeks before the trip. Here's what each one costs and how we prevent it.

  • Rooms booked too late.

    The hotel near the venue sells out, and guests end up across town. We hold a block as soon as dates are set.

  • No master list.

    HR has one list, the hotel another, the bus company a third. We keep one list and share it.

  • Arrivals not grouped.

    A shuttle for every flight costs a fortune, and one shuttle for everyone means long waits. We group flights into arrival windows.

  • Nobody at the hotel.

    Tired travelers with questions call the organizer. We staff a welcome desk.

How to plan group travel for an event

You'll know who handles each step, from the first list to the last flight home.

  1. Step 1: You send the basics

    • Dates, city, group size and departure cities.
  2. Step 2: We propose hotels

    • Options near the venue with a group rate and terms.
  3. Step 3: We open a booking page

    • Travelers add their details and flights.
  4. Step 4: We plan arrivals

    • Flights grouped into windows, shuttles and transfers on a schedule.
  5. Step 5: We run arrival day

    • A welcome desk, badges and a person to call.
  6. Step 6: We run the event

    • The same team that met your guests runs the program.
  7. Step 7: We get everyone home

    • Departure shuttles and a final cost report.

Who handles your travelers

You don't answer travel questions. Our team does.

Travel coordinator. Manages bookings, the rooming list and changes.

Event lead. Owns the full schedule and keeps travel and program in sync.

Welcome desk staff. Greet travelers, hand out badges and answer questions.

Transfer captain. Stands at the shuttle stop on arrival and departure days and checks names against the list.

A travel coordinator checks an arrival list next to a shuttle

Events in any U.S. city

Your group can fly in from anywhere. Our team works from two bases, Los Angeles and Orlando, with the Orlando office and warehouse at 310 N Orange Ave. We run events nationwide, so travel and the program stay with one team wherever you meet.

Two bases

Los Angeles and Orlando

West CoastEast CoastAll 50 states

In Orlando, for example, more than 46,000 hotel rooms sit around OCCC on International Drive, about 15 minutes from Orlando International Airport, so a room block and airport transfers can sit close to the venue.

Orlando office: 310 N Orange Ave, STE. 201, Orlando, FL 32801

Questions

Do you do corporate travel management for business trips?

No. We don't book everyday business travel for your staff. We handle group travel tied to an event: a meeting, a retreat, a reward trip or a trade show.

Can travelers book their own flights?

Yes. They add their flight details to the booking page, and we plan transfers around them.

What if the event is in another country?

Tell us the destination. For local suppliers and guides on the ground, our destination management team plans that part.

How early should we start?

As soon as you have dates. Hotels near popular venues fill early. We reply right away and check options.

Do you handle hotel penalties if people cancel?

We track cancellations against the contract dates and tell you before a penalty applies.

Get your group there

Send us the dates, the city and how many people are traveling. We'll come back with hotels, a travel plan and a quote. Share the event type, dates, city, number of travelers, departure cities and budget. Or call +1 213 912 1010