For a residential seminar of three nights and two working days in Marrakech, in a 4-star hotel, budget around €27,200 to €45,600 for 50 people, €52,000 to €85,600 for 100 people and €103,000 to €168,400 for 200 people, excluding flights. The cost per participant barely falls as the group grows: what changes from one size to the next is the logistics. Number of coaches, plenary room size, a space that can seat everyone for dinner, spreading the group across several flights: here are the calculations to do before you request quotes.
How much does a seminar for 50, 100 or 200 people cost?
The figures below come from the model behind our seminar budget calculator, with the same programme for all three sizes: three nights in single rooms, two working days (meeting room, breaks, lunch), sound and projection with a technician, two dinners, an evening at the hotel with a DJ, and return airport transfers. A 10% contingency is included. Not included: flights, alcoholic drinks, tourist tax and organisation fees.
| Participants | Total budget | Per participant | Of which accommodation (3 nights) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50 | €27,200 to €45,600 | €550 to €910 | €12,000 to €19,500 |
| 100 | €52,000 to €85,600 | €520 to €860 | €24,000 to €39,000 |
| 200 | €103,000 to €168,400 | €520 to €840 | €48,000 to €78,000 |
Two takeaways. First, economies of scale are small: going from 50 to 200 participants saves only €30 to €70 per person, because almost every item is paid per head and per night. The fixed items, AV, hiring the dinner venue and entertainment, weigh little once shared out. Second, accommodation alone accounts for roughly half the budget before contingency. So it is the hotel category that moves the total, far more than headcount: the same 100-person seminar in a 5-star hotel comes to €81,700 to €134,000, or €820 to €1,340 per participant.
Only one item steps up with size: AV. Above 150 participants, the model moves sound, projection and technician from €600 to €1,200 per day to €1,200 to €2,500 per day. Over two working days, that is a difference of €1,200 to €2,600, no more. You can rerun these scenarios with your own options in the calculator.
Should the whole group travel on the same flight?
Do not count on it. How many seats an airline will block for one group on a scheduled flight is its own decision, flight by flight: it is the first question to put to your travel agency or the airline’s groups desk, before you fix the dates. For 100 or 200 people, assume the group will arrive on several flights.
The good news is that Marrakech Menara has direct flights from Paris and from many French regional cities, operated, depending on the route, by Air France, Royal Air Maroc, Transavia, easyJet, Ryanair or Volotea. Ryanair, for example, listed routes to Marrakech from Beauvais, Marseille, Toulouse, Tours and Perpignan on its website in October 2026. These schedules change every season: have them checked for your exact dates. Allow a little over three hours’ flying time from Paris.
This spread is an asset for a company with teams in several regions: each site flies from its own airport, and everyone meets in Marrakech. It comes with a logistical cost: arrivals are staggered through the day, and every flight has to be met. So schedule the first working session for late afternoon on arrival day, never the morning.
How many coaches and how many airport runs?
The standard vehicle for a group is a coach of around fifty seats. The sums look simple, but they are misleading.
For 50 people, a fifty-seat coach is full with no margin at all: no room for the tour leader, and luggage holds stretched if everyone travels with a suitcase and a bag. Plan one coach and one minibus, or two smaller vehicles.
For 100 people arriving on two or three flights, think flight by flight: one vehicle sized for each arrival, rather than two coaches waiting for the last plane while the first arrivals sit in the terminal.
For 200 people, you need four to five coaches if everyone arrives at once, which is rare. More often, you combine one or two coaches doing several runs during the day with minibuses for single flights. You then need someone at the terminal throughout the arrival window, with the passenger list flight by flight.
In the calculator, return airport transfers come to €300 to €600 for 50 people and €1,200 to €2,400 for 200: one of the lightest items in the budget, but the one your participants see first. Our seminar organisation page explains how we handle staggered arrivals and transfers.
How large a plenary room for 50, 100 or 200 people?
Rather than a general rule, let us take a real specification sheet. The Es Saadi hotel publishes its room capacities on its official website: the Alexandre room is 180 m² and holds 80 people in meeting set-up, 120 for a banquet and 200 for a cocktail reception; the Warda room is 95 m² for 30 people in meeting set-up, 80 for a banquet and 120 for a cocktail. From these you can derive useful ratios:
- meeting set-up, with tables: 2.2 to 3.2 m² per person;
- banquet, for a seated meal: 1.2 to 1.5 m² per person;
- standing cocktail: 0.8 to 0.9 m² per person.
Applied to your group sizes, these ratios give an order of magnitude: a plenary with tables already needs 110 to 160 m² for 50 people, 225 to 320 m² for 100, and 450 to 630 m² for 200. Theatre style, rows of chairs without tables, is denser and lets you go below that; a U-shape, where everyone can see each other, needs more.
This has a direct consequence. At 50, most seminar hotels have a suitable room. At 100, you need a large room, and must check it is free on both days. At 200, few hotel rooms work in a working layout: you think in terms of a plenary room plus breakout rooms for workshops, or you turn to a conference centre, which pairs a large plenary hall with breakout rooms. Our guide to seminar venues in Marrakech reviews the types of room and the equipment to insist on.
How many rooms, and across how many hotels?
The budget above assumes one single room per participant: 50, 100 or 200 rooms each night. Sharing twin rooms reduces the number of rooms to book, but it is a decision to take early and to announce clearly to participants. Ask for both rates in every quote, single and twin, so you can compare.
At 50, one hotel easily takes everyone. At 100, that is still common, but availability depends on the dates: in high season, March to May and September to November, large room blocks get taken early. At 200, the real question is whether one property can both house the group and host the plenary. If the group is split across two hotels, everything doubles: morning and evening shuttles, welcome desk, meeting point. Ask every proposal to state in writing how many sites are planned.
Where can 200 people have dinner at the same time?
The group dinner is where the limits of each size show most. A table of about fifty can be found in a restaurant in town, by hiring a private room or terrace. For 100 people, the choice narrows. For 200, you almost always need a privately hired venue or the hotel’s function rooms: at the banquet ratio of 1.2 to 1.5 m² per person, a seated dinner for 200 needs 240 to 300 m². At Es Saadi, the Alexandre room seats 120 for a banquet, and it is the Jean Bauchet salon, listed for up to 300 people, that takes over.
Taking the group out of the hotel for the evening is still possible at 200, but it has a price. In the calculator, holding the same evening at a camp in the Agafay desert instead of the hotel takes the budget for 200 participants from €103,000 to €168,400 up to €111,200 to €182,200, or €560 to €910 per person: hiring the camp, €5,000 to €9,000 against €500 to €1,500 for a hotel room, and the return shuttles, €2,000 to €3,000, explain most of the difference. Our article on holding a seminar in the Agafay desert covers what that option involves.
What changes at each size, in summary
| 50 people | 100 people | 200 people | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flights | 1 to 2 flights, often from Paris | Several flights, often several airports | Arrivals spread over the day |
| Transfers | 1 coach + 1 minibus | 1 vehicle per flight | Repeated runs and constant presence at the terminal |
| Plenary with tables | 110 to 160 m² | 225 to 320 m² | 450 to 630 m² or a dedicated venue |
| Seated dinner | Privately hired restaurant | Large room or private venue | Function room or private venue |
| Accommodation | 1 hotel | 1 hotel, to be blocked early | 1 site if possible, otherwise double shuttles |
Seminar or convention: does size change the format?
Often, yes. At 50, people work in workshops and discussion sessions: a seminar in the strict sense. At 200, the plenary becomes a series of talks to an audience that listens, and small-group work moves into breakout rooms. Before you cost anything, decide which of the two you want: room size, AV and programme all depend on it. If you want to build in a team activity, our guide to team building in Marrakech lists the formats that work for large groups. And if your group fits around a dozen people, the logic is completely different: see our article on the executive leadership offsite in Marrakech.
Frequently asked questions
What budget for a 100-person seminar in Marrakech?
For three nights in a 4-star hotel, two working days, two dinners, an evening with a DJ and transfers, the calculator gives €52,000 to €85,600, or €520 to €860 per person, excluding flights. In a 5-star hotel, allow €81,700 to €134,000.
Does the price per person fall for a large group?
Very little: from €550 to €910 per person at 50 participants to €520 to €840 at 200, with the same programme. Large groups mainly negotiate terms, such as a meeting room included for a given number of bedrooms, rather than lower unit prices.
How many coaches for 100 people?
Two coaches of around fifty seats plus a minibus, to keep some margin, if everyone arrives on the same flight, which is unlikely. In practice, you plan one vehicle per arriving flight, sized to the number of passengers.
What room for a 200-person plenary?
With tables, allow in the region of 450 to 630 m², based on the capacities published by a hotel in the city; less in theatre style. Plan breakout rooms for workshops as well.
What documents do participants need?
For French nationals, a passport valid for the whole stay: an identity card alone is no longer accepted to enter Morocco, according to the France Diplomatie entry and stay page. Other nationalities should check their own government’s advice. Check passports as soon as people register: with 200 people, there are always some to renew.
To cost your own set-up, adjust the number of participants, the length of stay and the services in our seminar and team building budget calculator. We organise group seminars from start to finish, from transfers to the plenary: find out more about our seminar organisation in Marrakech, or ask for a free quote with your dates, number of participants and departure cities.