During the season of giving, the working people of Baltimore are getting a little reward themselves.
A study by BNA, a Washington-based news publisher, finds that companies nationwide are spending more to party. Companies have increased holiday party budgets by $2,000 and are now spending up to $7,000 for their events.
As a whole, this number means companies spend about $36 per employee during a holiday celebration.
“We have staff and some invited guests,” Orioles public relations director Bill Stetka said. “We go upstairs to the Camden Club at the Warehouse. [There?s] food and drink, some games and door prizes and giveaways and things like that. It?s put on by [the family of team owner Peter Angelos], and they always do it first-class.”
Other organizations, meanwhile, settle for just a simple get-together to break up the workday routine.
After several years of having a simple gift exchange and catered lunch, the Baltimore Blast decided to break things up this year and take its secret-Santa swap on the road, to a holiday party hosted by one of its sponsors, the ESPNZone.
“It hasn?t always been there,” Blast public relations director Amy Keller said. “Sometimes in our office, we have food brought in. This is the first year we are going to ESPNZone.”
Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an outplacement company from Chicago, conducted its own party spending survey, finding that nearly 1 in 3 companies plan to boost their holiday budgets. The number is up 23 percent from last year?s mark, with only 6 percent of firms surveyed deciding to cut holiday party funding.
At least one famous Baltimore business is not cutting its holiday party budget, but is too busy during this Christmas season to host a formal party gathering. The company, however, hopes for a much sweeter celebration in February.
“We do a gift exchange, but it?s a max of $25 to spend,” Ravens public relations director Kevin Burns said. “Everyone?s name goes into a hat and we pull one out. We don?t have a staff holiday party [though]; we are in season. Hopefully our party will end up in Miami.”
