Can you recommend a good winter destination for our company incentive bearing in mind we normally sun ourselves on a beach and have never undertaken a winter event?

This was the opening line in a brief we received from a new client. One of the partners was keen to deviate from their routine Caribbean incentive.  The partner was a skier but stressed there would be a mix of abilities, with some guests who had never been to a ski resort before.  We suggested Kitzbuhel in Austria.

The budget allowed the group to stay in one of the top 5* hotels in Kitzbuhel; voted in 2008 the best hotel in Austria it benefits from stunning views over the mountains and the famous Hahnenkamm slope.  The brief requested a mixture of fine dining, après ski and local traditional food.  Kitzbuhel offers all of these options and more, including the KAPS restaurant which provides a five course dining extravaganza with some of the finest wines.

The group enjoyed two days of skiing with private ski guides.  The 30 man group were split into ability groups but met up at lunchtime so they could discuss the morning’s stories.  Meeting up is also a good opportunity for people to swap around ski groups if they feel they want to progress faster or maybe ski with their partner.  The weather was at its best, sunshine, fresh snow and blue skies for the entire weekend.

Après ski is always popular and most Alpine resorts offer it in some shape or form.  The Pavilion was the meeting place every afternoon for this group to re-charge with beer steins and mulled wine; well deserved after a good day on the mountain.  Those who felt the effects of a hard days skiing were able to head back to the hotel to use the wonderful spa and enjoy a treatment before re-convening in the hotel bar alongside the roaring fire.

Kitzbuhel has a transfer time of only two hours to Munich and the group departed after breakfast on Sunday to make a lunch time flight.  Subsequent positive feedback, supported by a great internal response to a change from winter sun, has driven the Company to return to Kitzbuhel in 2011 with double the numbers!

All inclusive price indication - £2,300 pp

Incentives