# The Engagement Calendar

> Four events, one contract, twelve months. Dates held in peak season, prices locked, and one person who knows the company rather than four separate briefings.

Package N-01 from Offsyte, corporate recreation in the UAE · [Annual Programmes](https://offsyte.ae/catalog/annual-engagement-programmes/) · Web page: https://offsyte.ae/packages/the-engagement-calendar/

- **Duration:** 12 months
- **Ideal start time:** Sign in September. The engagement budget is set in Q4 and the dates we hold are October to December
- **Departure window:** Programme starts any month; the calendar is built around the client's year
- **Group size:** 30 min — 300 max
- **Emirate / venue:** UAE-wide — the four events are chosen from the catalog
- **Season:** Year-round. The calendar deliberately spans all twelve months rather than avoiding the hot ones.
- **Booking lead time:** 45 days to programme start

## Price per person, excluding 5% VAT

| Group size | Per person | Billed for at least |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| 30–59 people | AED 1,980 | 37 people |
| 60–119 people | AED 1,750 | — |
| 120+ people | AED 1,560 | — |

A group smaller than a band's "billed for at least" figure is still served, and is invoiced for that many people.
Where a larger band costs less in total, it is quoted instead: groups of 54–59 are billed as 60 people at the rate for 60–119 people; groups of 107–119 are billed as 120 people at the rate for 120+ people.

Payment: 50% advance on signature. 100% cleared 3 working days before the event. Numbers lock 7 days prior.

## Why this is not the retail version

**This is not cheaper than buying four events separately, and any pitch that says otherwise is dishonest.** Four mid-tier packages bought individually is roughly AED 1,520 a person. This is AED 1,750. The AED 230 difference has to be defended on what it buys, and it is defensible on four things.

**Dates held in October, November and December.** Those three months are the whole UAE corporate calendar and they sell out. A client who calls in early November for a December date is choosing from what is left. **A retainer client's dates are held from September.** That costs us capacity — it is genuinely the scarcest thing we have — which is exactly why it is charged for.

**Prices locked for twelve months.** The rate card at signature is the rate card for the year. In a market where charter, catering and venue rates move upward through the season, that is worth more than the premium on its own.

**One person who knows the company.** Not four proposals, four briefings and four rounds of explaining that the finance team does not do watersports. The fourth event of a retainer year is materially better than the first, and the reason is accumulated knowledge that a per-event relationship throws away every time.

**And a report the HR lead can take upstairs.** Attendance, feedback and spend against plan, four times a year, in a format that answers "what did we get for the engagement budget" — which is the question they are actually asked, and the one a stack of invoices does not answer.

**If a client wants four events and none of that, sell them four events at list price.** That is a good sale too, and pretending it is a programme helps nobody.

## Timeline

- **Month** — What happens
- **Month 0** — Calendar workshop. Half a day with HR and the sponsor. What the year has to achieve, when the business is busy, who is being retained
- **Month 0** — Calendar published — four dates, four packages, four budgets, agreed and held
- **Month 1** — Event one. Typically the big one: a family day, a gala or a whole-company offsite
- **Month 3** — Quarterly review — attendance, feedback, spend against plan, one recommendation
- **Month 4** — Event two
- **Month 6** — Quarterly review. Mid-year recalibration — the second half can be changed without penalty
- **Month 7** — Event three — usually the summer-safe one
- **Month 9** — Quarterly review
- **Month 10** — Event four
- **Month 12** — Year review — full-year reporting pack, next-year calendar proposed

## Included

- Calendar workshop — half a day with HR and the sponsor
- Four events from the catalog, chosen at the workshop and changeable at the mid-year point
- Dates held in peak season — October to December inclusive
- Prices locked for twelve months against the rate card at signature
- A named account manager — one person, all four events, no re-briefing
- Four quarterly review and reporting packs — attendance, feedback, spend, recommendation
- Full-year reporting pack at month 12
- All standard inclusions of each event chosen — transport, F&B, branding, capture, coordination
- Photo and video from every event, delivered as one cumulative library

## Not included

- Events above the agreed per-event band (upgrades priced at the difference)
- Additional events beyond four (priced at 10% below list)
- International packages — category L cannot be inside a fixed-price annual contract, see below
- 5% VAT

## Weather and backup plan

- **Trigger:** Governed by each individual event's weather plan.
- **Fallback:** Each event carries its own contracted fallback. The programme-level protection is the mid-year recalibration — an event lost to weather is rescheduled inside the contract year at no charge, and the calendar has the slack to absorb one.
- **You are told by:** Per event, by the named account manager rather than a coordinator the client has not met.

## Customisation options

- Fifth and subsequent events: 10% below list
- Upgrade an event to a higher band: Priced at the difference
- Quarterly pulse survey with reporting: AED 2,400/quarter
- Dedicated microsite for the year's calendar: AED 6,500/year
- Cumulative year-end film, 5 minutes: AED 6,500
- Two-year term: −5% on the annual value
- Add an international trip: Priced separately on category L — never inside the fixed fee

## Questions about The Engagement Calendar

### How much does The Engagement Calendar cost per person?

AED 1,980 per person for 30–59 people; AED 1,750 per person for 60–119 people; AED 1,560 per person for 120+ people. All figures exclude 5% VAT. A group below a band's minimum chargeable size is billed at that minimum: 37 people in the 30–59 band. Where a larger band costs less in total, it is quoted instead: groups of 54–59 are billed as 60 people at the rate for 60–119 people; groups of 107–119 are billed as 120 people at the rate for 120+ people.

### How long does The Engagement Calendar take, and when does it start?

12 months. Ideal start: Sign in September. The engagement budget is set in Q4 and the dates we hold are October to December. Departure window: Programme starts any month; the calendar is built around the client's year.

### What is not included in The Engagement Calendar?

Events above the agreed per-event band (upgrades priced at the difference); Additional events beyond four (priced at 10% below list); International packages — category L cannot be inside a fixed-price annual contract, see below; 5% VAT. These are stated before enquiry rather than raised at invoice time.

### What happens to The Engagement Calendar if the weather turns?

Trigger: Governed by each individual event's weather plan. Fallback: Each event carries its own contracted fallback. The programme-level protection is the mid-year recalibration — an event lost to weather is rescheduled inside the contract year at no charge, and the calendar has the slack to absorb one. You are told: Per event, by the named account manager rather than a coordinator the client has not met.

### How far in advance do we need to book The Engagement Calendar?

The booking lead time is 45 days to programme start. Ramadan and December dates book out first.

## Read before you book

- [Employee engagement activities, month by month](https://offsyte.ae/blog/employee-engagement-activities-uae/): Engagement is a calendar, not an event. Twelve months of activities for a UAE company, what each one costs per person, and the months you cannot use at all.
- [When to run a company event in the UAE](https://offsyte.ae/blog/uae-corporate-event-calendar/): The UAE corporate calendar decides more about your event than your budget does. Working week, public holidays, school terms, heat and the months that sell out.

Request a proposal: https://offsyte.ae/enquire/?package=N-01 · proposals@offsyte.ae