Celebrating 25 Years of Connections - Our Journey, Our People, Our Culture

25 Years of Adventure: The Story Behind Connections

Published on Jun 18, 2025

June 2025 marks a special milestone for us – 25 years of helping people connect, celebrate, and create unforgettable experiences.

From the very beginning, we’ve set out to make planning and booking events not just easier, but genuinely enjoyable.

Whether it’s a big family getaway, an action-packaged stag or hen do, a team-building adventure, or the ultimate office Christmas party – we’ve dedicated ourselves to connecting people with experiences they’ll never forget, and making the journey to get there as smooth and fun as possible.

The Conception: How It All Began

The spark that lit the fuse for Adventure Connections came quite literally from a raft. Our Founder, Justin, was floating on the Cuckmere River in East Sussex while leading a teambuilding day for a major financial firm when he overheard someone say, “It’s really hard to find fun things to do like this all the time.” That was the lightbulb moment.

That muddy river insight turned into a makeshift desk in the corner of a motor vehicle garage in Brighton. Adventure Connections began with ambition, graft, and more than a few lessons learned the hard way. Calls had to be timed between the background noise of clanging tools and lots of colourful mechanic language.

With a lack of understanding about how to run a business, Justin’s first big decision was to pour everything into contracting a fancy website – one that he hoped would wow clients from the get-go. The result was a cinematic, animated masterpiece… that no one could see. You see, it was built entirely in Adobe Flash. At the time, Justin didn’t realise that search engines couldn’t index Flash sites. So the site he’d poured all his money and time into, had to be scrapped.

But despite the early stumble, there was momentum. Local support grew from tourism offices, and soon after, Adventure Connections took its very first booking over the phone in the doorway of Marks & Spencer, landing a two-day corporate conference and sailing regatta.

“I brought champagne to the first ever consumer group we booked, just to say thank you and celebrate that they believed in us.” – Justin, Founder

From there, the journey was just beginning.

The idea was simple, and it still drives us today: to make it easier and more fun for people to plan unforgettable events. No stress, no hassle, just good times organised by people that actually care.. Because at the end of the day, fun is a serious business.

The Journey: Growth and Evolution

As Adventure Connections began to grow, so did the need for space, and a place that felt like home. The perfect spot came in the form of a one-room office in the tiny village of Firle, East Sussex. It wasn’t long before that single room turned into the entire barn, shared with a brilliant design company. It gave the team room to breathe, collaborate, and simply enjoy coming to work each day. These early years were about building foundations: carving out our identity in the market and raising the bar for what “great service” in event planning could look like.

With momentum building, we spotted a growing demand that aligned perfectly with our expertise in corporate event planning This ignited the launch of Christmas Connections in 2003, a free Christmas party finder that quickly became a go-to website for booking end-of-year festive celebrations for big groups.

Around the same time, we explored branching into high-end corporate hospitality with the likes of Wimbledon, Formula 1, and the Chelsea Flower Show. While exciting, this new direction pulled focus from our core mission. Despite the time, energy, and partnerships invested, we made the tough but right decision to park the idea and double down on what we knew we did best: connecting people with brilliant experiences, hassle-free.

Like many in hospitality, we felt the sting of the recession – an industry always hit hard when times get tight. But we pushed forward, expanding our offerings into more cities and events across the UK. Behind every smooth looking corporate event or perfectly organised party was a huge amount of work from our team. From the outside, it all looked seamless but below the surface, we were paddling fast to make the magic happen.

As our reputation grew, so did the types of experiences we offered – particularly in the world of large group accommodation. Over time, Adventure Connections evolved into a go-to specialist for big groups looking for unique and spacious places to stay across the UK. From celebration weekends to corporate retreats, we built exclusive partnerships with a handpicked selection of incredible homeowners and standout properties.

The Acquisition of Office Christmas

In our search for new growth, we acquired Office Christmas in 2017 – a site we’d long admired for its strong online presence and potential. With Christmas Connections already thriving, it felt like a natural next step, opening the door to even more clients, venues, and possibilities. But rather than simply rebrand what was there, we had a bigger vision: to rebuild the platform entirely and turn it into something game-changing – an actual Christmas superpower.

To bring that vision to life, we applied for a European Innovation Grant, aiming to develop a cutting-edge event booking platform that would do for Christmas parties what Booking.com did for travel. The process was intense and the search for the right tech partner took us across the UK and Europe. But we were overjoyed to hear we were awarded the grant and our new vision for Office Christmas could come to life. After months of research and relationship building, we flew out to the Ukraine in early 2020 to finalise plans when the unthinkable happened – the pandemic hit.

Without warning, the world shut down, and like many we found ourselves working from bedrooms, kitchen tables, and makeshift home offices. But we kept going. While others went silent, we kept our phones open, rescheduling bookings, supporting clients, and even helping those whose original suppliers had vanished. We adapted, we stayed connected, and we kept the faith.

As if things couldn’t get any worse, as we prepared to restart our tech project the war in Ukraine broke out. With heavy hearts, we had to reopen the tender and eventually found a new tech partner in Bulgaria. After years of planning, setbacks, and relentless problem-solving, the newly rebuilt Office Christmas platform launched in 2023 – designed from the ground up to make booking seamless for clients and showcase venues at their best. It was a huge milestone, and one that truly reflected the resilience and dedication of our team.

Since then, we’ve focused on continued development across both Adventure Connections and Office Christmas, refining our platforms, expanding our offerings, and strengthening the relationships that have always been at the heart of what we do. The last couple of years have been growing smarter, and laying the foundation for everything that comes next.

Our Company Culture: What Really Matters

At the heart of Connections is a culture built on real connection – within our team, with our clients, and across the industry. Our mission is simple: to make it easy for people to plan and experience unforgettable events by connecting them with the UK’s best suppliers. But it’s our people who bring that mission to life.

Guided by our FIESTA values – Fun, Innovative, Empowering, Successful, Trustworthy, and Adventurous – we’ve created a workplace where energy, creativity and genuine care drive everything we do. We don’t just look for skills in new hires, we look for people who live and breathe our values. When that happens, something powerful clicks. You get a team that’s highly motivated, efficient, and most importantly, happy.

Our team culture is built around trust, flexibility, and putting life before work, because we know that when people feel supported, they show up at their best.

Need to leave early for a school play? Have an important life event? We get it, and we make it work. This balance has created a close-knit team who not only get the job done, but have a lot of fun doing it. That spirit shines through every client interaction – we’re not scripted or robotic. We’re real people, genuinely invested in making event planning a joy, not a chore.

Looking ahead: What’s next for us?

As we celebrate 25 incredible years, we’re just as excited about what’s ahead as we are proud of where we’ve been. The next chapter for us is all about building on our strengths; growing our platforms, deepening our partnerships, and continuing to make event planning more inspiring, more seamless, and more fun.

We’re putting our energy into developing Office Christmas into the UK’s leading Christmas party platform and making it even easier to find and book standout seasonal celebrations. Alongside that, we’ve just launched gearing up to launch VenuesIn, our brand-new platform designed for year-round events, with the same trusted team, the same fantastic service, and a whole world of possibilities.

We’re also expanding our network of partners and suppliers, so whether you have a unique self-catering retreat that deserves more bookings, or a venue that transforms into something magical for Christmas, we would love to hear from you.

And as our services grow, so will our team because we know that culture is everything.

To our amazing clients, dedicated partners, and incredible team – thank you. None of this would have been possible without your support, trust, and belief in what we do.
Whether you’ve booked one event with us or a hundred, worked alongside us behind the scenes, or been part of the Adventure Connections family day in and day out, you’ve helped shape this journey and for that, we’re truly grateful.

As we celebrate this milestone, we’d love for you to celebrate with us. Share your favourite memory, tag us in a throwback, or simply drop us a message -we’d love to hear from you. Here’s to 25 years of connections, and to many more unforgettable experiences ahead.