A ski area in summer is a good venue for a large private gathering, and for a reason that has nothing to do with skiing. The infrastructure is already there — parking for hundreds, covered space, commercial kitchens, staff used to handling crowds — and in July none of it is doing anything else.
The result is that Berkshire mountains take a substantial amount of company picnic and family reunion business through the summer, generally at a lower cost than a dedicated function venue.
What the venue supplies
The core offer is a covered pavilion or a reserved outdoor area, catering, and access to the mountain's attractions bundled into the same booking.
The space is usually a permanent open-sided structure with tables, which matters more than it sounds. A pavilion works in rain, and a lawn does not.
The catering is barbecue-style at most Berkshire venues — grilled meat, salads, corn, a dessert, soft drinks and coffee, served buffet-style. Menus come in tiers, and the differences between them are mostly protein. Vegetarian and dietary requirements are handled but must be given in advance rather than mentioned on the day. The menu structures are set out on picnic menus.
The attractions are the thing that distinguishes a mountain from a park. Alpine slides, mountain coasters, climbing walls and scenic lift rides give a hundred people of mixed ages something to do for four hours, which is the hardest part of any large outing. What each one involves, and the height limits, are on summer.
Alcohol arrangements vary and are always the venue's to control. A group planning to bring its own generally cannot.
What it does not supply
Entertainment beyond the attractions is usually the organiser's problem. So is anything branded, any audio system, and any structured programme.
Weather contingency is worth pinning down explicitly. A pavilion keeps people dry; it does not keep the alpine slide running. Rain on the day of a booked outing means a hundred people under a roof with nothing to do, and the venue's policy on postponement is the single most important term in the contract.
Transport is not included. For a company outing drawing people from a city two hours away, a coach is usually the difference between forty attendees and a hundred, and it has to be arranged separately.
The questions to settle before booking
What is the minimum headcount, and when does it lock? Most venues price on a guaranteed number and charge for it whether or not everyone comes. The date that number becomes final is the date that matters.
What happens in rain? Postponement, credit, or nothing. Get it in writing.
Which attractions are included, and for how long? Bundled attraction access is often time-limited or point-limited rather than unlimited, and a group that assumed unlimited will be buying more at the counter.
Are there height or age restrictions that exclude part of the group? For a family reunion spanning eighty years this decides whether the venue works at all.
Is the space exclusive? A pavilion shared with another group on a Saturday in July is a different event from a private one.
What is the timing? Mountain attractions generally run from late morning, which sets the earliest useful start.
Group pricing thresholds and how the rate card works are covered on group rates.
Company outings versus family reunions
They want different things from the same venue, and the booking should reflect it.
A company picnic is usually a fixed block of four to five hours on a weekend, with a clear start and end, catering at a set time, and a need for the whole group to be in one place for at least part of it. The attractions serve to fill the time around the meal.
A family reunion runs longer and looser, spans a much wider age range, and needs somewhere for the oldest attendees to sit comfortably for several hours while the youngest are elsewhere. The scenic lift ride, which requires nothing of the passenger, is the underrated element here — it gets grandparents up the mountain and back without a walk.
Reunions also frequently need accommodation nearby for people travelling in, which is worth arranging at the same time as the venue rather than afterwards. The options are on area lodging.
Whether a mountain is the right venue
It is the right choice for a large group of mixed ages that needs to be entertained rather than merely fed, and where a proportion of attendees are children.
It is the wrong choice for a small group, for anything requiring a formal setting, and for anything where the programme matters more than the setting. A meeting with a social element attached is a different booking entirely — see meetings and conferences.
It is also the wrong choice for a date that cannot move, unless the postponement terms are generous. The Berkshire summer produces thunderstorms on a good many July afternoons, and an outdoor event has to survive one.