A destination event is two events running in parallel — the one your guests attend and the one your logistics team survives. This is a checklist for the second one.
Build the manifest first
Before the design is finished, list every physical item that must arrive. Mark each one as replaceable locally or not. Anything marked "not" gets a duplicate in the shipment. This one habit prevents most destination disasters.
Customs is a lead time, not a step
Carnets, temporary import bonds and clearance windows vary enormously by country. Build customs into the schedule as a two-week block, and lodge documentation before the freight moves, not with it.
Fly your leads, hire your hands
Your production lead, show caller and lead stylist should travel. Everyone else can be local — but they must be hired by, and briefed by, the people who travelled.
Power standards differ
Voltage, frequency and plug standards will not match your kit. Confirm the local supply and specify transformers as a line item, not an assumption.
The wet plan must be rigged, not promised
In monsoon and hurricane regions, a wet-weather structure should be built and standing, not held in a truck. The cost of putting it up is small; the cost of needing it and not having it is the event.
Guest communication is a deliverable
One card per guest with their flight, transfer, room and the first thing that happens when they land. Printed. Not an app.
