Looking to get a corporate group out of the office and interacting? Here are 10 new group activities for that can work for teambuilding, meeting breaks, incentives, and other kinds of corporate outings.
1. Grand Canyon Coaches launched its new fleet of premium mini-coaches in August, consisting of nearly 30 new vehicles, each seating as many as 13 passengers. New tours of the Southwest depart from both Boulder City and Phoenix. For Southern Nevada travelers, all tours will originate from Papillon Aerocenter in Boulder City, and tours include round-trip shuttle transportation from most Las Vegas hotels and casinos. Tour options include West Rim Eldorado Canyon, Hoover Dam, or Grand Canyon.
2. Dig This, which bills itself as "the nation’s first heavy equipment playground," opened in Las Vegas in May. Minutes from the Strip, the site offers guests the chance to experience firsthand imposing construction machinery, including massive Caterpillar hydraulic excavators and bulldozers. Among the corporate teambuilding options is the "Olympian Big Dig," which includes allows corporate clients to test their skills against—or join forces with—Winter Olympians.
3. The Village Lake Las Vegas has opened the Fragrance Factory, a fragrance bar where guests can create their own signature scents in a sort of fragrance mixology. There are more than 50 therapeutic, grade-essential oils from around the world and more than 100 bottles U.S.-sourced fragrance oils to work with. For groups, owner Sarah Snajczuk can lead a discussion about scents for energy, stress relief, and other business-useful tools. And she can also work with the company or brand to develop a signature scent she can keep on file that would become that group’s personal scent.
4. Flightlinez Las Vegas at the Fremont Street Experience allows participants to cruise right through the glittering lights on a 30 mph zip line tour. Groups can buy out the experience with a two-hour event for $3,000 with flexible timing. The buyout accommodates four people every two minutes, so the smaller the group, the more rides per person. Discounts are also available for groups of 20 or more while the experience is open to the public.
5. At the Vegas R/C Raceway, radio-controlled cars zip around the track, one of only two in the world that uses pure clay, which gives the cars excellent traction. Saturdays are booked for weekly races, but corporate events can happen any other day with advance notice. Groups of eight can rent a table all day for $500, or multiple tables. Or rent the entire facility, which holds 150, for four hours for $1,500. Catering can be added for an additional cost.
6. Jukari Fit to Flex, a workout created by Reebok and Cirque du Soleil, is available at the Bellagio fitness center. The high-energy cardio workout uses the specially designed Jukari Band for movements meant to improve flexibility, balance, muscle endurance, and core strength. Corporate groups can book the class with advance notice, and group size is flexible.
7. Céline Dion made a return to the stage of the Colosseum at Caesars Palace with a new show, directed by Grammy awards producer Ken Ehrlich. The show includes 31 musicians and is set to a backdrop designed exclusively for the 4,300-seat venue. Tickets for performances through January 22 are on sale now, with group ticketing available for parties of 20 or larger.
8. There's a new option for a group retreat or incentive trip in the American Southwest. Papillon Airways Inc. and Forever Houseboats have partnered to create the “Fly and Float Experience," programs lasting three days and two nights. The first two days are aboard Forever Houseboat’s signature 59-foot XT or 70-foot Millennium houseboat, with a crew to beach and anchor the vessel. The final day offers a tour on Papillon’s EC-130 B4 EcoStar helicopter.
9. Have some steam to blow off? Go paintballing at Combat Zone Paintball, which accommodates groups as large as 500. Typical group pricing is about $50 per person for groups larger than 25 and includes the equipment, including face mask and 500 paintballs.
10. Dinner in the Sky is a dining table suspended 160 to 180 feet in the air, and it's available for booking in Las Vegas for events beginning November 1. Dinner in the Sky will operate from a new location, at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino property. Events may also be held anywhere, as long as there is a surface of about 5,000 square feet that can be secured for the apparatus. The table accommodates 22 people, along with three staff in the middle (for instance, chef, waiter, and entertainer).
