Montage International Holds Companywide Ping Pong Tournament for Employee Retention

Nearly 300 employees of Montage International gathered last month in the ballroom of the company's Deer Valley, Utah hotel dressed in Wimbledon-inspired attire. After taking concessions such as strawberries and cream, they watched former Olympians referee matches at a ping pong table set up in stadium seating.

The event marked the finals of the company's biennial tournament that followed months of local bracket play across its 15 properties. Many of the luxury hotel operator's 7,000 employees participated in the earlier rounds. Top players earned trips to Deer Valley for the concluding competition.

The company has run the event for eight years after its president and COO first proposed it upon seeing workers who rarely interacted playing ping pong together at the corporate office.

At a time when many companies have reduced employee benefits and conducted layoffs, the spending on a companywide event drew initial internal skepticism. The president and COO said executives were groaning and rolling their eyes when he first pitched the idea.

He secured approval by linking the tournament to the existing budget for the company's annual leadership summit, replacing nightly entertainment with the competition at similar cost. The company president and COO said the approach has produced measurable results.

"We see the return on the investment in the form of really low turnover," he told Fortune. Hospitality industry turnover often reaches around 70 percent while the rate at Montage International stands closer to 25 percent. He also pointed to the event as an effective recruiting tool.

The company views the tournament as one element of a broader effort to build shared experiences that connect employees to the organization. "It's really been a catalyst for just bringing people together, creating excitement and creating engagement for the company," the president and COO said.

No single tournament accounts for the full retention difference. The operator continues to invest in visible culture-building activities even as other firms scale back similar spending.