Ranch Kurilovec is a new event venue near Zagreb that moves business events from the hall into nature
Organizing a multi-day business event for an international company often involves hours of searching for hotels and event venues, sending individual inquiries and comparing proposals. In addition, it is necessary to coordinate accommodation, technical equipment, food and beverage service, additional activities and budget, while keeping in mind the participants' needs and the gathering's goals. This is precisely the challenge Jelena Benčić-Šakić, office and facility manager at Cenosco Croatia, encountered when she was looking for a location for the Cenosco All Hands, the company's annual employee gathering. Instead of sending an inquiry to each location separately, she decided to use Event Assistant, a free tool by the PoslovniTurizam portal that simplifies this process - with a single inquiry, organizers can request proposals from multiple locations in Croatia and compare options for their event in one place, without the need to send the same information to each property separately.
Event organization begins with the search for the right location
The Cenosco All Hands is a corporate event that brings together employees of the international company Cenosco for networking, idea exchange and defining common goals and projects for the upcoming year. Since employees do not often have the opportunity to gather in one place, such a meeting is important for team bonding and joint planning.
For this year's gathering, originally planned for the end of September, it was necessary to find a space for about 120 participants along with accommodation for two nights, a conference hall with audiovisual equipment, meals, coffee breaks, parking and teambuilding opportunities. Locations outside Zagreb were also considered. "The most demanding part is coordinating all internal agreements and changes, and finding a location that combines everything we need – accommodation, conference halls and accompanying facilities," explains Jelena Benčić-Šakić. Alongside space functionality, accessibility, transport connectivity and the visual identity of the location are important to her. A pleasant and inspiring environment, she points out, contributes to the overall participant experience.
Before using Event Assistant, she mostly searched for spaces through recommendations and independent internet searches, followed by contacting properties individually. When she discovered the PoslovniTurizam tool via internet search, she recognized an opportunity to simplify that part of the organization.
One form, six locations and proposals within a day or two
Filling out the form was simple and intuitive for her. Detailed enough to cover key requirements, yet quick to fill out, it enabled her to contact multiple properties with a single inquiry.
Most of them sent their response with a proposal within a day or two, and some even on the same day. The proposals were relevant to her needs, and she also spoke with certain locations by phone to obtain additional information and more precisely define requirements before the drafting of the official proposal. "Honestly, I do not even want to think about how much time it would take me to complete this entire process independently," says Jelena, comparing the experience with the usual way of searching for spaces.
She sees the greatest advantage of Event Assistant precisely in the time saved and the variety of received proposals. Instead of contacting each location separately, she gets an overview of different options in one place that she can compare according to her own needs. At the same time, the value of the tool lies not only in faster collection of responses. Proposals can open organizers' eyes to locations they might not have found themselves during a usual search.
One such example for Jelena is Mon Perin in Bale. "As far as I know, colleagues from our Zagreb office did not know about the Mon Perin luxury resort, even though we also have an office in Pula. That is one of the advantages of this way of searching – it opens up the possibility of discovering new locations that we might not otherwise consider," she points out.
Proposals that remain valuable even when plans change
Although the gathered proposals provided a better insight into the possibilities of organizing an event outside Zagreb, the management's final decision was for the gathering to be held in Zagreb after all, along with a schedule change to January. Such an outcome demonstrates one of the realities of business event organization – plans and decisions can change very quickly. Still, the gathered information did not lose its value. Cenosco is considering a coastal destination outside the main tourist season for next year, and the experience with Event Assistant provided better insight into available options and encouraged thinking about new destinations.
This is particularly relevant for hotels and destinations that want to attract business gatherings outside the main tourist months. When organizers compare multiple locations, clear information, timely responses and the ability to review the entire offering in one place – from accommodation and conference capacities to additional facilities for participants – are important to them.
Jelena confirms that she will use Event Assistant in the future as well, especially for multi-day business gatherings that include accommodation, conference spaces and additional activities. "I would recommend it to anyone organizing conferences, annual gatherings or teambuildings. My experience was very positive because the tool saved me precious time and enabled a simple comparison of relevant proposals, without compromises regarding quality and choice," she concludes.
Are you planning a business event in Croatia? Fill out the free form and send your inquiry to multiple locations at once: EVENT ASSISTANT.
