Case study / 2026 season / By Jakub Puchajda, CEO of TRCO
It began in September 2025, at a Europe Congress event in Prague. Kuba, our CEO, started a conversation that would bring TRCO to Maritim Resort Calabria a few months later. In 2026, we organised four events at the resort for almost 900 people. We opened our season in April with 400 participants from the pharmaceutical sector and closed it on 25 October with nearly 200 guests from the legal profession.
Between those dates came careful preparation, new ideas and evenings that will stay with us for a long time.
Four contracts before the first event.
We had reservations of our own. All four events were contracted before we had delivered the first one at the hotel. When you are responsible for several hundred people’s trips, that is a significant commitment.
The early conversations with the management mattered, as did two inspections before the first event. They helped us understand the property and prepare for delivery. Just as important was the way we worked with the people there: clear communication, mutual understanding and a willingness to find solutions.
An attractive hotel can win a client’s attention. A good working relationship helps you deliver what you promised.
Why Calabria worked for these groups.
Calabria can surprise even people who already know Italy. Regional food, smaller towns and less familiar landscapes offered us material for a programme with its own character.
For our events, Maritim Resort Calabria also provided the infrastructure needed for large groups. Its resort and all-inclusive format, sports facilities, bicycles, 25-metre indoor pool and 4,000-square-metre wellness area gave participants choices between activity and rest.
Exclusive use was particularly valuable. For the first 400-person event, we had the whole property. Later groups used selected private spaces, including a disco reserved for our participants. These were the arrangements for those events; a new booking requires its own agreement on spaces and services.
Food was another strength. Our groups used one restaurant, whose varied buffet, live cooking and regional dishes made meals part of the Italian experience. Maintaining that standard for several hundred guests took real coordination.
Beyond the resort: Matera and Apulia.
We wanted participants to return with more than memories of a pool and a good dinner. Our programmes therefore reached beyond Calabria.
In Basilicata, we visited Matera. The Sassi districts brought together rock-cut homes, stone façades, stairs and passages, with another perspective around each corner. It was a place to explore on foot and leave time simply to look.
In Apulia, Alberobello’s trulli introduced a different landscape: stone houses with distinctive conical roofs. Locorotondo offered white streets, pitched roofs and views across the Itria Valley. Even a large corporate programme benefits from moments like these, without rushing from one stop to the next.
Civita and another side of Calabria.
Civita, near the Pollino mountains and the Raganello gorge, was one of the less expected discoveries. This historic Arbëreshë community preserves an Italian-Albanian identity, traditions and language.
The visit connected the landscape with the story of people who made their home there centuries ago. We like including places that reveal how many different histories can belong to a single region.
Venetian masks and 400 people singing together.
Back at the hotel, our most popular idea across the groups was Notte Veneziana, a Venetian evening. We supplied masks, and a small detail immediately changed the atmosphere.
During the first event, with the hotel reserved for our group, we also ran a competition for the most Italian outfit. Kuba photographed the participants. The next day, the best costumes appeared on the hotel televisions in shared areas and guest rooms, giving the evening a second life.
Then there was karaoke. It was already a familiar part of our work with this client, but Calabria brought a particularly powerful moment: 400 people singing “Niech żyje bal” together. That kind of energy cannot be guaranteed in a proposal. You can create the conditions and then see what people make of them. For this event, karaoke happened every evening.
Different ways to end the day.
The hotel cinema hosted evenings of Italian film for people who preferred a quieter finish. A casino-themed evening proved so popular with our last group that we arranged another. Observing what participants enjoy is part of delivering the programme well.
A private disco with our DJ ran each evening, with parties continuing until three in the morning. Some guests then carried on their conversations at the beach. The range of options gave people room to choose their own pace.
Konrad’s month at one address.
Across the season, Konrad Onderka spent more than a month at Maritim Resort Calabria, a TRCO record for time in one hotel within a single year.
Behind the anecdote is something useful. Returning to a property helps you understand its team, spaces and possibilities in much more detail. Each event reveals what worked particularly well and what could be adjusted next time.
A farewell, and the next chapter.
The resort gave our final group a memorable farewell, a fitting end to a season built on cooperation. Four events and nearly 900 participants gave us plenty to be proud of. At the time of the original article, we already had our first reservations for 2027.
It all started with one conversation in Prague. That is why we attend industry events, meet people and inspect hotels before bringing a group. Those encounters can become practical ideas, trusted relationships and events worth remembering.
TRCO. We create beautiful memories. Quality First!