Offsiteio · Templates
Venue comparison template for offsites and corporate retreats
Compare offsite venues on the things that decide a retreat: meeting space, sleeping rooms, getting there, total cost and contract terms, with a weighted score.
A venue comparison template puts your shortlisted offsite venues side by side on the same criteria, weights the criteria that matter most for this offsite, and turns a gut feel into a score you can defend to your CEO or CFO. The trick for retreats is to compare total cost per person and contract terms, not room rates, and to score the meeting space as seriously as the bedrooms. Below is a free weighted venue comparison spreadsheet plus a quote comparison sheet.
Venue comparison template
Agree the weights with your sponsor before you look at any venue, then score each venue 1 to 5 on each criterion.
1. Weighted venue scoring sheet
| Criterion | What to check | Weight | Venue A (1-5) | Venue B (1-5) | Venue C (1-5) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Getting there | Flight options from where most attendees live; airport to venue time | 20% | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Meeting space | Main room for the full group with daylight; breakout rooms; AV included | 20% | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Sleeping rooms | Enough rooms on your dates; single-occupancy option; accessibility | 15% | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Total cost per person | Rooms, meeting space, F&B minimum, service charges, taxes and fees | 20% | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Food and drink | Private dining options, dietary handling, F&B minimum | 10% | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Activities nearby | Team activity and dinner options within a short transfer | 5% | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Contract terms | Attrition, cancellation, deposit schedule, cut-off date | 10% | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Weighted total | Sum of weight times score | 100% | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | Shortlist the top two for a site visit or video walk-through |
2. Quote comparison (per venue)
| Line item | Venue A | Venue B | Venue C | Included or extra? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sleeping rooms (rate times nights times rooms) | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Taxes and resort or service fees | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Meeting room rental | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| AV (screen, projector, mics) | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Food and beverage minimum | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Service charge on F&B | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Wi-fi in meeting rooms | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Airport transfers | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] |
| Total | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | n/a |
| Total per person | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | n/a |
| Attrition allowed before penalty | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | n/a |
| Cancellation terms | [ ] | [ ] | [ ] | n/a |
3. Site visit or video walk-through questions
Meeting space
- Can we see the exact rooms we would use, set the way we would use them?
- Is the main room private for our whole stay, or flipped between groups?
- Where do breakouts happen, and how far from the main room?
Rooms and service
- Which room categories are in the block, and can they be upgraded for speakers?
- Who is our day-of contact, and are they on site for our whole program?
Terms
- What is the attrition allowance and the cut-off date?
- Which fees are not in the quote: resort fees, service charges, AV labour, early check-in?
Opens in Google Sheets, Excel, Notion or Google Docs. Paste the Markdown into Notion or a doc, or import the CSV into a sheet.
Rather not fill this in yourself? Offsiteio plans the whole offsite and sends you a free itemized proposal in days.
How to use this venue comparison template
- Write the offsite brief first: dates, headcount, type of offsite and the outcome you want. A strategy offsite and a celebration need different venues.
- Set the weights with your sponsor before you see any venue. Changing weights after you fall for a venue defeats the point.
- Shortlist three to five venues. More than that and the comparison becomes reading, not deciding.
- Ask every venue for the same itemized quote so the quote comparison sheet fills cleanly. Our venue RFP template asks the right questions.
- Score each venue independently, then compare with one other person and discuss the biggest differences.
- Walk the top two, in person or by video, using the site visit questions.
- Present the weighted totals and the per-person cost to your approver with your recommendation.
Example: scoring three venues for a 40-person retreat
An illustrative comparison for a 40-person product and engineering retreat choosing between an Austin hotel, a Hill Country ranch and a downtown boutique hotel. Scores are made up to show how the weights decide it.
| Criterion (weight) | Austin hotel | Hill Country ranch | Downtown boutique |
|---|---|---|---|
| Getting there (20%) | 5 | 3 | 5 |
| Meeting space (20%) | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| Sleeping rooms (15%) | 5 | 3 | 4 |
| Total cost per person (20%) | 3 | 4 | 3 |
| Food and drink (10%) | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| Activities nearby (5%) | 5 | 4 | 5 |
| Contract terms (10%) | 4 | 3 | 3 |
| Weighted total | 4.10 | 3.85 | 3.55 |
The ranch had the best room for deep work but lost on travel time and sleeping rooms, so the hotel narrowly won. If the brief had been a 12-person leadership offsite, the weights would shift and the ranch would likely win.
Common venue comparison mistakes
- Comparing room rates instead of total cost. F&B minimums, service charges and resort fees can outweigh a cheaper rate.
- Underweighting the meeting room. A beautiful hotel with a windowless basement room ruins a working offsite.
- Ignoring the contract. Attrition and cancellation terms matter more than a small rate difference if headcount is uncertain.
- Scoring alone. One scorer means one person's bias. Two independent scorers catch it.
- Too many options. Each extra venue adds a round of quotes and questions without improving the choice.
Need ideas for the shortlist? Start with the best offsite locations or our venue sourcing guide.
Want it planned for you?
Comparing quotes is easier when every quote is itemized the same way. Offsiteio plans team offsites and company retreats end to end. We book lodging, meeting space, food, activities, transfers and even swag in 35+ destinations. Trips start from about $999 per person depending on destination, with flights quoted separately. Every trip comes with 24/7 remote support, and you can add an optional on-site coordinator.
“They have facilitated my company’s offsites for the last 2 years.” Amira A., Google review
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Related
- Offsite venue RFP template
- Offsite proposal template for leadership approval
- Corporate retreat venues
- Best venue sourcing platforms
- Offsite cost calculator
FAQ
How do you compare event venues?
Agree weighted criteria first (getting there, meeting space, sleeping rooms, total cost, food, activities and contract terms), get an itemized quote from each venue in the same format, score each venue 1 to 5 per criterion, and multiply by the weights. Visit the top two before you decide.
What should be on a venue comparison spreadsheet?
A weighted scoring sheet, an itemized quote comparison (rooms, taxes and fees, meeting space, AV, F&B minimum, service charges, transfers, total per person) and the key contract terms: attrition, cut-off date, deposits and cancellation.
How many venues should I compare for an offsite?
Three to five on paper, and two for a site visit or video walk-through. That is enough to see the trade-offs without drowning in quotes.
Should cost be the biggest weight?
Usually not on its own. For a working offsite, getting there and the meeting space decide whether the offsite achieves anything. Compare total cost per person, and use cost to break ties between venues that both fit the brief.
Can I use this as a Google Sheets venue comparison template?
Yes. Download the CSV and import it into Google Sheets or Excel. Add a formula to the weighted total row that multiplies each score by its weight and sums the column.
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