Corporate executives, a bus, and miles together

Congratulations to Houston-based Mattress Firm and Fort Worth-based Encore Live for being the subjects of a feature story in Tuesday’s The Wall Street Journal about an executive road trip on a 45-foot, rock-band-style tour bus that sleeps 12.

The tour took place this summer after Mattress Firm, named one of “America’s Best Employers” by Forbes, bought Sleepy’s, a mattress retail company based in Hicksville, N.Y. The purpose was for executives of both companies to visit Sleepy’s stores — and get to know each other.

It turns out that’s not unusual for Mattress Firm, and that’s where Encore Live comes in. Encore Live organizes everything from corporate conferences to political gatherings to live concerts to weddings and more.

Since 2011, Encore Live has organized Mattress Firm’s annual leadership conference, called BEDTalks. Afterward, Mattress Firm executives board that bus for a tour of company stores in more than 15 cities, a trip choreographed by Encore Live.

Sounds like a fun way to do business.

This story was originally published September 13, 2016 at 6:24 PM with the headline "Corporate executives, a bus, and miles together."