The email arrives on a Tuesday morning: “We’re about 25 people, sometime in December. What can you offer?” No date, no budget, no idea yet which of your games would suit them. What happens over the next few days decides whether this becomes one of your best bookings of the season or quietly goes to the venue down the road that answered faster.
Company and team events are worth the effort. The groups are large, they book weeks ahead, they often take several rooms or games at once, and many companies hold the same kind of event every year: a Christmas party, a summer outing, a welcome day for new staff. But they are sold differently from a regular booking. Someone has to get internal approval, someone else pays, and the accounts department wants a proper invoice. Here’s how to handle the whole path, step by step.
Build one clear offer page
The person who enquires is rarely the one who decides. Office managers and team leads collect options and forward them to colleagues. So your offer page has to answer the questions on its own, without a phone call:
- Who it’s for: team events, Christmas parties, client events, onboarding days.
- What’s possible: group sizes, which games or rooms can run in parallel, how long an event usually takes.
- Two or three example packages: named, with what’s included and a price per person “from”.
- Food and drinks: what you offer on site, and whether groups can add it to the package.
- How to enquire: one form, one button, no “please call us during office hours”.
An enquiry form that asks the right questions
A good form saves you two rounds of emails. Ask for what you need to make an offer, and nothing more:
- Preferred date and one or two alternatives.
- Approximate number of people.
- Company name and a contact person with email and phone.
- Occasion and preferred activity, if they already know.
- Food and drinks: yes, no, not sure yet.
- Billing details for the invoice, or at least whether one is needed.
Treat enquiries as a pipeline, not an inbox
Enquiries that live in a shared mailbox get lost between shifts. Treat each one as a lead that moves through clear stages, with one person responsible for it. Example stages:
- New: the enquiry has arrived and nobody has answered yet.
- In contact: you have replied and clarified date, group size and wishes.
- Quote sent: the offer is with the customer.
- Confirmed: the deposit is paid and the date is blocked.
- Done: the event has taken place and the invoice is out.
- Lost: with a short note on why, so you learn from it.
A glance at the pipeline then tells you what needs attention today: new enquiries without a reply, and quotes that have been waiting too long.
Follow up, politely and on time
A quote that sits in someone’s inbox is not a no. Often the decision is waiting on a manager, a budget or a colleague on holiday. A short follow-up a few days after sending the quote is help, not pressure: “Do you need anything else for your decision? The date is still available.” If there are several dates under discussion, say which ones are filling up. That’s real information, not fake urgency.
Quotes people can approve
The person enquiring has to forward your quote internally, so it needs to make sense on its own. Use the same prices your system uses, either per person or as tiered group prices with a surcharge for each extra player, so the quote matches the booking later on.
Example: 24 people split across four escape rooms, at €120 per group of six, comes to €480 for the games. Drinks and snacks come on top, either as part of the package or at the till on the day.
- State clearly what’s included and what isn’t.
- Say how long the quote is valid and until when the group size can change.
- Include your cancellation rules, so nobody is surprised later.
If a team wants more than one activity, sell it as one package. An escape room followed by a round of laser tag, set up as a combo with one price, is easier to approve than two separate offers.
Secure the date with a deposit
Company events block a lot of capacity, often at your best times. A deposit turns a “yes, sounds good” into a firm booking. Use a fixed amount or a percentage. Example: 30% of €480 is €144 up front. The rest can be paid online via a payment link, on site at the till or by bank transfer, whatever suits the company’s own processes.
Collect the company name, billing address and VAT number with the enquiry or the deposit, not after the event. Chasing invoice details from someone who is already back at their desk is the slowest part of many company bookings.
On the day: games, drinks and food
On the day itself, the group should feel looked after, not processed. If the event combines several games, plan the timing so groups move from one to the next without waiting around. Drinks and snacks are rung up at the till, with stock tracked per location.
Agree beforehand who pays for what. A common setup: the company covers the games and a first round of drinks, and anything beyond that is paid individually. Whatever you agree, write it into the confirmation, so your team at the till knows the arrangement.
The invoice: B2B with VAT
A receipt is not enough for most companies. The accounts department needs an invoice with the company name and address, the VAT shown separately and, where relevant, the company’s VAT number. In Leisbase you create B2B invoices with VAT as a PDF, and companies are stored with their details, so the next event for the same customer starts with the data already there.
Collect feedback, then plan the next one
A day or two after the event, send a short thank-you and ask for a review or a few words of feedback. Companies that had a good time often say so, and what they say is useful for your offer page. An automation can send this message for you, so it never depends on someone remembering.
Then make a note of when the event took place. Christmas parties and summer outings come round again, and one friendly email to last year’s contact, well before the season, is often all it takes. Some companies also buy experience vouchers as gifts for their staff, which is worth mentioning in that email.
Company events reward venues that make buying easy: a clear page, a fast answer, a quote that stands on its own and an invoice that’s right the first time. In Leisbase, event types and a lead pipeline organise the enquiries, combos bundle several games, per-person and tiered group prices keep quotes consistent, deposits secure the date, the till handles drinks and food, and B2B invoices with VAT go out as a PDF to companies you have on file.
