Skift Take
Today’s work world has undergone a seismic shift as corporate offices have closed and most employees are fully dispersed. Getting together as a company is more important than ever, and offsite retreats offer the opportunity to bring teams together in one place at one time.
As dispersed workforces are today’s reality, off-site retreats take on added importance for building corporate culture and bringing employees together to bond. All signs point to this trend flourishing as, according to Upwork, an online freelancing platform, by 2025, an estimated 32.6 million Americans will work remotely. Corporate CEOs are betting on offsite meetings and retreats to keep their employees motivated and committed to the company culture.
Companies like Offsite are benefiting from the trend. A tech platform that helps companies choose a destination, venue, and plan the agenda, Offsite has just announced it has raised $3 million to help create more connected workforces through in-person experiences.
Since launching two years ago, Offsite has planned hundreds of team retreats in over 17 countries for clients ranging from hospitals to hedge funds, focused primarily on supporting startups including LinkSquares, Airbyte, Metabase, 15Five, mParticle, Flex, and Rattle, as well as communities like Hampton, YPO, and LifeLabs Learning, and venture capital firms including Greylock.
Corporate Travel Market Expected to Surpass $500 Billion
“Offsites and team retreats are an exploding niche in a corporate travel market expected to surpass $500 billion by 2030. Demand for venues that can host all-hands meetings, department-level meetings, executive team retreats, sales kickoffs, and other types of offsites continues to rise,” said Jared Kleinert, Offsite’s founder and CEO.
Offsite offers a curated, Airbnb-style marketplace with hundreds of global venues specializing in these gatherings. It also allows a planner to purchase end-to-end retreat planning services for a per-person flat fee.
Offsite’s marketplace has pre-negotiated discounts with properties on room blocks, meeting space, food and beverage, and more. It also helps with booking flights, negotiations, contracts, agenda creation, budget management, procuring travel visas, restaurant reservations, and managing vendors, including photographers, videographers, speakers and facilitators, ground transportation providers, and event production staff.
“While the debate rages on about remote versus in-office work, it is undeniable that most companies are increasingly distributed, with ongoing needs for employees to intentionally connect for strategic planning, team building, creative brainstorming, problem-solving, engaging customers, and more,” said Kleinert.
Corporate Retreats Build Morale
Since the pandemic, Kleinert has been predicting an explosion in offsite retreats. They give employees a sense of recognition, which is imperative in a remote world, he said. “Employees who don’t feel appreciated tend to leave their jobs more frequently,” said Kleinert. “Those who feel appreciated tend to do even better at their jobs.”
In addition, corporate retreats strengthen team cohesion, help improve communication, rebuild trust, and boost morale. “Self-assurance and enthusiasm are boosted, leading to a stronger, more cohesive team,” said Kleinert.
Offsite isn’t the only company that specializes in corporate retreats. Moniker is another that helps with travel logistics and property selection, itinerary planning and agenda creation, on-site staffing and event execution, and open book accounting. RetreatsAndVenues.com, TeamOut, Troop, and NextRetreat are other companies that also help book retreat venues.
Photo credit: Myriad 360, a New York-based cybersecurity consultancy, at their company retreat in Orlando, FL.
