Overnight Conference at Villa Maria Wine Estate
Event Name
CLx
Delegates
550-600 delegates in total over two events.
Venue
Villa Maria Wine Estate
Location
Auckland, New Zealand
Client
Chimaera Group Events
End Client
One of New Zealand’s largest Insurance Companies
Event Brief
A memorable sales conference experience that directly supports the client’s goal of a ‘Team Spirit’ culture
The client approached us seeking a unique sales conference experience. They wanted something outside of the usual hotel room-style offering.
The original brief was to host a two-day, two-night event for 250 delegates. We settled on the gorgeous Villa Maria Estate for the venue. Over time the number of delegates grew to almost 600, so we split the two-day event into two activations, with each group staying one night only. Both groups were treated to the same experience. We accommodated everyone in 125 tents, offering a selection of sleeping arrangements in single occupancy, twin and triple-share tent suites.
Event Summary
The first group was hosted on Monday, leaving Tuesday morning. The second group was hosted on Wednesday, leaving Thursday morning.
Our bell-tent city was sectioned into five neighbourhoods. The tents were numbered 1 to 125 and colour-coordinated to match the guests’ luggage tags and wristbands. This ensured an easy reception of the large number of guests and helped them to navigate the area while on their breaks.
Our first group of delegates were greeted at the reception tent. Porters took care of the luggage, and delegates were shown to their respective quarters. Once everyone was received and settled, they were shown to the conference space.
The first conference ran from 10am to 4pm in the Barrel Hall.
Next to the conference space we constructed a 40 x 30m entertainment area, built from five giant tipi joined together. This area was built to create a contrasting feel to the conference room, which had an undecorated theatre feel, much like the well-known TEDx environment.
Both the entertainment tipi space and the glamping city were conceptualised to support the client’s goal of fostering team spirit and encouraging a friendly, fun, happy team culture. This in turn translates into higher productivity and morale throughout the company.
Lunch was served in the tipi, in a ‘walk-and-fork’ style to encourage the guests to move and stretch their legs before heading back into the hall for the afternoon.
After the conference delegates had free time for an hour to refresh and prepare for the evening, starting with canapés and drinks at 5.30pm on the lawn area.
During this time, we transformed the Barrel Hall into a vibrant night market by creating two bars and five food stalls, featuring cuisine inspired by different regions of the world.
We used furniture, props and lighting to style each stall to its country, giving the whole market an exciting street-food feel. The 17.2m LED screen used in the conference showed a lively street market scene to support the ambience.
Dinner was served from 7pm, followed by cocktails and mingling. From 9pm, the tipi re-opened and the evening entertainment commenced with a live band and a bustling bar.
The next morning, delegates rose from 6am and had the option of starting the day with a walk or run around the estate. After a shower in the luxury en suite facilities, they made their way to the coffee caravans for an espresso hit. Breakfast, both hot and continental, was served from 7am to 9am.
Morning proceedings were relaxed, with a final wrap talk from the CEO at 10am. We bid farewell to our first group by 11am.
Our housekeeping crew came in to reset and refresh all the bell tents, with a full vacuum service and linen change to prepare for the second group.
Our second group arrived early Wednesday morning with their luggage pre-tagged and a wristband on, stating their tent number and name. Once they were settled, we rolled out the same timetable for a second time.
Wildernest
We created a city of 125 bell tents and contracted 12 different suppliers to provide facilities, help execute the build and service the entire tent city operation.
These contracts included:
installation of luxury bathroom en suites
event florist and styling
lighting and power for the entire site
transport logistics for seven shipping containers of equipment
staffing logistics and operations of 42 talent to manage BOH, FOH, 24-hour reception, concierge and housekeeping.
How It Happened
Lesley Aldridge at Chimaera Group Events contacted us 10 months prior to the event date. We worked closely with Lesley to develop an exceptional event. This was the end clients first nationwide conference in five years.
It was an absolute privilege to work with Lesley at Chimaera who did an outstanding job of managing the overall event project. Venue selection, delegate logistics and engaging the keynote speakers were all under Chimaera’s care and maintained the overall vision and communicated all developments with the end client and both partners.
Villa Maria Estate delivered magnificent catering, security and venue logistics.
Wildernest contracted Claire from One Lovely day and liaised with Chimaera throughout the planning stages to bring the accommodation logistics and building and styling the entertainment spaces used for morning, lunch and conference wrap at the end of each day.
As a quartet, we made a fantastic team. We worked together brilliantly to pack in over one week, execute and pack out over two days.
