Corporate Retreats at private properties

---

Posted on June 28, 2021 by Delyth Morgan-Coghlan (Del).

---

In this article we share the benefits of corporate retreats for executive teams and work teams; provide insights into why staying at private properties works better than staying at a hotels for smaller groups and talk about how corporate retreats work and what's included.

Corporate retreats are possibly one of the most important events that any executive team or work team can undertake as part of their annual business cycle. They are designed to remove teams from the day to day activities of the business so that they can focus, without distraction, on the bigger picture of the business, the planning aspects, the team development needs and the aspirations of the business for the mid and long term. Try doing this work within the office environment and you will most likely fail miserably. It's just impossible for busy staff to turn off their phones and be unavailable for an extended period of time when they are right there in the building. The only way to truly focus on the bigger business goals is to get away from it and assess it from a distance, ideally where there is no cell phone coverage (although that's quite a scary thought for some people!).

Over the years of organising corporate retreats for teams, we've learnt what works and what doesn't and what can make those retreats even more productive, engaging and energising for the individuals attending. Part of the purpose of the retreat is also to allow team members time to re-charge the batteries so that when they return to work they are raring to go and put plans into action. So the 'retreat' portion of the event is just as important as the working portion and needs careful consideration.

What we've observed is that staying at and conferencing at a private property (or a collection of private properties for larger groups) has some noticeable advantages to staying at a hotel. At a private property:

you are the only people around. No other members of the public. No distractions. It's all about you and the team

you can meet, conference and brainstorm in a far more relaxed style that a conference room at a hotel. If you want to meet informally in the lounge on the sofas you can. If you want to discuss something around the kitchen table over breakfast, you can. If you want to get up and move around, rather than be seated for the entire session you can and it feels right to do so. It's like being at home, away from home and with this ambience and flexibility you can truly get to know each other better as there's less formality and more flow.

you can relax and re-charge the batteries in some of the most inspiring locations in New Zealand. The best corporate retreat properties will have ocean views, luxurious yet homely rooms, an abundance of natural, outdoor spaces that help you unwind and de-stress. Adding in an afternoon of activity during the time away is an additional way of connecting with the team, getting a deeper understanding of what your team members are like, beyond the working grind and putting some considered time into staff health and wellbeing. The balance is so important.

you can choose to self cater or have a caterer deliver meals to you. This flexibility can make a significant difference to the overall spend if budgets are tight.

Despite the best intentions and excellent service level offered by quality hotels, it really is impossible to create this retreat feeling at a hotel, especially if you're a small group of 20 people or less. Once you're over this number then hotels or apartment complexes are probably the only practical option and in all likelihood you're no longer planning for the same kind of business event. So horses for courses, for retreats we'd highly recommend private properties and for conferences of larger company gatherings, hotels and resorts are your best bet.

Where can you do these kinds of retreats? Any New Zealand holiday destination will work as there is normally a good supply of holiday properties available to hire, outside of peak holiday season. At Let Me Out we specialise in corporate retreats on Waiheke Island and at various locations around the Auckland and Wellington region and encourage you to give us a call if you're looking for a professionally managed event where all the hard work is done on your behalf.

What does it cost? Probably no more than if you were booking for a similar size group at a hotel, sometimes it can work out cheaper, depending on the bed configuration and catering required.

What else should you think about? What type of rooming configuration will your team be happy with? Will they be happy to share twin single bedrooms? Or does everyone need their own bedroom? Would the group be happy to have own bedrooms but share a number of bathrooms at the property? Or does everyone have to have their own bathroom? (this is where the costs will escalate as most private properties will have more bedrooms than bathrooms). How many nights will you be staying? Many private properties have a minimum of two nights' stay. There are other considerations too but securing the right properties is the first step. All the other adds on will fall into place after that.

How do you make an enquiry? If you're looking to arrange the event on your own, then check out Venyou for key properties across the Auckland Region.

If you are looking for a professional event management company to organise for you, including recommending great properties to suit your team then contact us here at Let Me Out.

"Some people dream of success, while other people get up every morning and make it happen."

---