6 Team-Building Trip Ideas to Pitch to Your Boss

Whether your work is remote, in-office or hybrid, it’s likely your industry is seeing an uptick in business travel — a bonus for teams who want to see everyone’s stunning faces outside teeny Zoom boxes.

With in-person meetings booming, more companies are thinking creatively about how to maximize off-site team events.

Be the superstar of the virtual office when you suggest one of these team-building getaways to your boss.

As always, check for travel guidelines and closures before planning your trip.

Find Your Desert Glow in Indian Wells/Palm Springs, California

Get inspired by the country’s upper crust in Indian Wells and Palm Springs, two Southern California enclaves that have long been vacation-central for celebrities and presidents alike.

At the Renaissance Esmeralda Resort & Spa, Indian Wells, your team can utilize more than 213,000 square feet of meeting and event space, complete with stunning desert views and flexible indoor-outdoor spaces.

Break up the hard work with visits to the resort’s Desert Glow Entertainment gaming zone. Here, you can playfully compete with your coworkers outside the workplace, with an escape room, duckpin bowling, virtual reality, arcade games and more.

And you can customize play and prize options for your group. For dinner, don’t miss the nostalgic supper-club-style experience at Vicky’s of Santa Fe.

Extend Your Trip: Schedule a midcentury architecture tour to explore the style that makes this area famous, or hike your way through the Coachella Valley.

Take Your Team Outdoors in Dallas, Texas

Take your team out of the boardroom and into a … downtown Dallas park? Indeed! Sheraton Dallas Hotel partnered with the adjacent Pacific Plaza Park, where you’ll find nearly four acres of green space and a backdrop of sparkling city lights — perfect for a culinary event with team members.

It truly seems everything’s bigger in Texas, and when it’s time to get down to business, the redesigned property doesn’t disappoint. With space for as many as 5,000 attendees, Sheraton Dallas offers more than 230,000 square feet of event space across more than 50 distinct conference rooms, breakout spaces and ballrooms.

If you really want to dazzle the team, look into booking space in the Majestic Conference Center, which features 11 meeting rooms on the hotel’s 37th floor, and offers dramatic city views.

The property’s event management team will work closely with your meeting planners to make sure your event is a success.

Extend Your Trip: After your meetings wrap, explore the nearby Deep Ellum neighborhood’s stylish shops, restaurants and bars, before returning to the hotel to lounge at the rooftop pool or catch the big game at Draft Sports Bar and Lounge.

Maximize Your Meeting’s Potential in Charlotte, North Carolina

With an entire convention district and an international airport, Charlotte is as easy to get to as it is to find entertainment after work meetings.

The Westin Charlotte offers 25 event rooms comprising 52,000 square feet of meeting space with a design scheme meant to foster productivity — think natural textures and earth tones.

At the hotel, plan for lunch at JP Charlotte, where the menu features honey from The Westin’s rooftop bee hives.

Then, after your meetings, the Brewery Adventure Package organized by the hotel includes a Brew Badge that grants you access to four different local breweries. You can take your pick from 11 makers to be sure you’re getting your beer’s worth.

Extend Your Trip: Stay in the Queen City for a few more days to explore Charlotte’s neighborhoods, like NoDa (North of Davidson), a hot spot for artists and performers.

Bond Over Business and Local Culture in Honolulu, Hawaii

Your coworkers will say “mahalo” for pitching a team meeting in Hawaii — better yet, in Honolulu. You’ll be on Oahu, a spectacular island whose name literally translates to “the gathering place”, in a top-notch city with famously brilliant weather.

On Oahu, Honolulu’s Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort & Spa is set on the water where Hawaiian surfing was invented and on the former location of Queen Lili’uokalani‘s summer homes.

All of the resort’s 19 meeting rooms have a distinctly Hawaiian flair, whether it’s from illuminated palm tree and surfboard decor or a carpet reminiscent of ocean waves.

Your team will truly get to embrace Hawaiian culture with a private team-building Pīkai Ceremony, using ocean water as purification. The experience begins with a quick walk to the ocean in front of the resort.

There, a cultural guide leads you through the process of creating a link with nature and centering yourself.

By the end of the ceremony — which weaves together traditional ideas of laulima, many hands working together to achieve a goal, and lokahi, unity and harmony — you can expect to better get along with, and work together with, your team. Afterward, have lunch at the hotel’s open-air rooftop restaurant, Queensbreak.

Extend Your Trip: You shouldn’t leave Honolulu without stopping at the Pearl Harbor National Memorial or learning about Indigenous Hawaiian culture.

Enrich Yourself and the Team in Toronto, Canada

Why not have a team meeting in Toronto, the most populous city in Canada? The Ritz-Carlton, Toronto puts attendees close to public transportation and steps away from the iconic CN Tower, while also offering two floors of meeting rooms enhanced with AV equipment and floor-to-ceiling windows.

For activities focusing just on the team, pick a Master Class from the hotel’s experiences menu. Choose from mixology and cocktail tasting, pasta making, or cheese and wine sessions. At lunchtime, take your coworkers to the St. Lawrence Market to grab a bite from one of 120 vendors.

Extend Your Trip: Head to the Royal Ontario Museum, where you’ll find exhibits curated by the world’s first Curator of Climate Change. Or get a bird’s-eye view of the entire city at Little Canada, a pint-sized model of Toronto and its regions.

Dazzle the Entire Team in San Diego, California

A comfortable year-round climate and a city brimming with culture, food, beach life and history makes San Diego the perfect place for an energizing team meeting. The Westin San Diego Gaslamp Quarter has 22 event spaces, both indoor and out, with more than 39,000 square feet for attendees to gather.

When you’re flagging, take your team to the front drive of the hotel for a food-truck block party. Or spend some casual cardio time together with a personalized three- or five-mile run with the RunWESTIN Concierge.

The course stops for photo opportunities and landmarks along the route — how about if the next team photo is at San Diego Bay? Keep the watery theme going with a team dinner at Bang Bang, where you can get sushi served on a decorative boat.

Extend Your Trip: Tour some of the Gaslamp Quarter’s 100 historic buildings, like the Davis-Horton House, which is the oldest building in downtown San Diego, or take a ghost tour to invoke the spirits of famous former residents like Wyatt Earp.

Break away from traditional meetings and embrace the shift toward meaningful experiences with Marriott Bonvoy Events™. At over 30 hotel brands, we’ll help you plan your next event – and take it a step beyond.