Historically we have seen retreats & conferences booking anywhere from 12-18 months out.  However, recently that trend has shifted and many events are being booked much closer to date…even as little as 1-2 months out for mid-size retreats.  We believe this is likely due to the economic climate and the groups fear of committing to a contract without knowing if attendees will be as willing to attend as they have been before.

There is a real danger in booking events so close to date. The availability of the conference center tends to be limited, and finding speakers can be harder as well.  Things that you wouldn’t think of such as type of lodging, menu available and the “extras” such as recreation and complimentary AV can be extremely limited by this time as well. 

On the other side, if your group has the ability to be flexible – and, you have a good event planner on board, you can pull off a successful short term event booking.  Here are a few tips to planning events close to the date…

1. Determine what the goals for your event are.  Is this event primarily structured teaching time, a relaxing get-away or a mix of both? This will help determine the best location for this event (as well as the best dates to look into for availability of meeting space and recreation)
2. Create a team of people who are willing to help with different aspects of the event. It will be important to have one person who contacts the retreat center and books the event. This person sometimes handles all details, but depending on the size of your event, you may want to also have someone who handles registration, and, someone who handles on-site event planning.
3. Have a couple of date options for your event before contacting the center – or be open to what they have for availability in a certain month or season.  Most retreat centers book further in advance, so you may have to be flexible with your date options.
4. Look into your speakers availability in advance.  Many times their schedules are booked a year in advance if they are well known.
5. Consider using a talented Ministry Leader in your church or a sister church for your speaker. 
6. Once your event is booked, begin to promote the event immediately.  Midwest Christian Retreats offers a great marketing opportunity to reach all of your attendees via email – this is at no cost to you. You simply provide us with the content you want to get to them, and, the email addresses and we will create & send to each person on the list.  Other marketing opportunities include promotion from the pulpit, bulletin inserts, speaking at individual group meetings (men, women, youth), personal invitations & phone calls.  You may want to also consider including a sister or nearby church in your retreat – many times there are discounts available for larger groups from the retreat center.

Midwest Christian Retreats offers a variety of resources available on our website, as well as a team of talented professionals ready to help you with each step of your event planning needs.