Hot Spots for Your Next SKO

An SKO is one of the highest-impact events on the corporate calendar — and one of the most expensive. Across the sales kickoffs we plan, the right per-attendee spend lands in the $2,500–$5,500 range depending on city tier and offsite programming, which is broadly consistent with IRF and SITE benchmark data for incentive-adjacent corporate events. At that math, the destination choice matters as much as the content.

The most common mistake we still see: defaulting to Las Vegas, Orlando, or Miami because the venue inventory is there. The bigger cities can work — but they book 18+ months out for any meaningful SKO date, they price-premium your room block, and they offer so many distractions that the team activity supposed to land the theme gets diluted before it starts. Per Cvent’s group business demand data, Tier 1 leisure-overlap cities have the tightest near-term availability of any destination category.

What we recommend instead — for the planners who ask us where to send a 75–300 person sales team next year — is a different set of “hot spots.” Cities that have the meeting and offsite infrastructure but enough containment that the team actually shows up for the morning sessions.

And finally, these big cities offer too many things to do. A primary goal of SKOs is to have your group socialize together and build bonds. But in places like Vegas and Orlando, there is so much to do that your team is pulled in different directions. Instead of everyone heading out to a local brewery, some people want to take in a show, others want to hit the blackjack tables, and still others just want to walk the strip and people-watch.

So where should planners send their teams for their next SKO?

Top 5 SKO Destination Recommendations:

Denver, CO

As the capital of Colorado, Denver blends Old West charm with modern amenities, creating a welcoming and fun atmosphere. Denver has been consistently ranked as one of this country’s best places to live by U.S. News and World Report and it’s easy to see why. The Mile High City offers breathtaking views of the surrounding Rocky Mountains as well as wonderful restaurants, breweries, shops and galleries.

Planners will love the up-and-coming business center that boasts the 2.2-million-square-foot Colorado Convention Center. This is one of the country’s largest convention centers and it has direct access to the city’s extensive light rail system. In addition, Denver has more than 46,000 hotel rooms at hotels including the Sheraton Denver Downtown Hotel, the Grand Hyatt Denver, and the Four Seasons Hotel Denver. 

Nashville, TN

Historically known as a mecca for country music (it’s home to the Grand Ole Opry and the Country Music Hall of Fame), Nashville has become a hotspot for comics, filmmakers and online influencers in recent years. With a population of 1.9 million residents, the capital city is now known for its burgeoning food scene, which has been highlighted in Food & Wine and Condé Nast Traveler. 

Nashville has an awesome 2.1-million-square-foot downtown Music City Center or the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center. Both are located less than 10 minutes from Nashville International Airport and showcase nine acres of lush indoor gardens and waterways. Add to this the nearly 40,000 hotel rooms and you start to see why Nashville can be a great option for your next SKO.

Oklahoma City, OK

This is actually one of our favorite cities to host an SKO for a couple of reasons. To start, it has such a rich cowboy heritage and culture. In fact, it’s known as the “Horse Show Capital of the World.”  This makes for a really unique experience when visiting. 

Second, the area boasts incredible outdoor adventures that make the perfect backdrop for team building activities! In addition, the city’s beautiful Myriad Botanical Gardens is the perfect choice for a memorable corporate event. It can host up to 400 guests in a stunning, natural environment. Add to this plenty of hotel and fine dining options along with numerous cultural attractions and you’ll think to yourself, “Why have I never considered Oklahoma City before?”

Dallas, TX

Dallas has been growing leaps and bounds over the past decade, attracting numerous businesses to its gleaming skyline. Currently the city is home to the international headquarters of Fortune 500 corporations such as ExxonMobil, AT&T, and American Airlines. Dallas also boasts the nation’s largest light rail system.

The city’s Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center has been ranked as one of the top convention centers in the country. As an added bonus, it just so happens to be directly across the street from the Omni Dallas Hotel. But you have your choice of hotels as there are over 80,000 rooms in Dallas to choose from.

As for fun attractions, Dallas offers the Dallas Museum of Art, the Nasher Sculpture Center, and the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza, which commemorates the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Your team will have plenty to do and see while here!

Phoenix, AZ

We love Phoenix! As the capital city of Arizona, Phoenix has glorious weather year-round. It is the perfect destination for anyone who wants a bit of culture and a lot of access to stunning outdoor landscapes. And speaking of, a stay in Phoenix puts you right next door to the Sonoran Desert with popular observation points of Camelback Mountain and South Mountain Park and Preserve. 

For those interested in the arts and cultural scene, the city offers impressive museums, funky galleries, and wonderful restaurants too numerous to mention. The Phoenix Convention Center provides 24 acres of event and meeting space and there are a number of luxury spa resorts and championship golf courses in the immediate area. What’s not to love?!

What’s Changed for the 2027 SKO Season

A few patterns from the SKOs we’re helping plan right now:

The two-day format is winning. Five-day SKOs are mostly gone. The teams getting the most out of their kickoff are landing on a tight two-day in-person with serious pre-work assigned 3–4 weeks ahead. The destination needs to support that compression — direct flights for 80%+ of attendees, hotel and meeting space in the same complex, no commute time built into the day.

The dinner is the keynote. Ask any rep what they remember from last January’s SKO and you’ll get the same answer — the dinner, the offsite, the moment they actually talked to a VP. Treat informal connection time as the main event. Cities with a strong walkable restaurant district (Nashville’s Lower Broadway, Scottsdale’s Old Town, Charleston’s King Street) consistently out-perform mega-resort properties on that dimension.

AI literacy is the dominant 2027 theme — be specific about it. Every SKO deck this year has an “AI” slide. The ones that actually move the needle go past the slide: live demos of how the team should be using Copilot, Gong, or whatever your tech stack runs on. Pair that with a destination that doesn’t bury the work under amenities.

Reinforcement matters more than the event. IRF research has consistently flagged post-event drop-off as the largest reason corporate kickoffs don’t deliver measurable Q1 lift. The destination choice should leave budget for the 90 days after — monthly manager coaching, quarterly check-ins tied to the theme. If the offsite is so loaded you can’t reinforce it, you’ve spent the budget twice.

The Wrap

If you want help building the destination shortlist for your next SKO — and tying it to a theme that lands past the opening session — our SKO planning team can help. We’ve staffed sales kickoffs from 40-person regional teams to 1,200-person flagship events, and our recent guide to SKO themes is the playbook we use with our own clients.

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