While traditional team-building activities have their place, luxury retreats elevate the concept to new heights. These retreats allow your team to explore diverse activities and attractions, immersing themselves in unique environments that foster connectivity and creativity. Instead of trust falls and icebreakers, think gourmet cooking classes led by Michelin-starred chefs or guided meditation sessions in ancient temples. These shared experiences create lasting memories and forge connections that translate directly into improved workplace performance.
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Research has consistently shown the positive impact of well-designed retreats on team performance and individual well-being. A study published in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that teams participating in off-site retreats experienced a 20% increase in collaborative problem-solving abilities and a 15% improvement in overall job satisfaction upon returning to work.
Dr. Emma Thompson, an organizational psychologist specializing in team dynamics, explains: âLuxury business retreats create a unique psychological state we call âinspired detachment.â This combination of mental distance from routine stressors and exposure to novel, stimulating environments, along with personalized attention and wellness services that cater to the preferences and comfort of those who attend, can lead to breakthrough insights and stronger interpersonal bonds.â
For over a decade, we have planned 300+ company retreats and brought over 10,000 people together, in incredible destinations around the world.
Choosing the right venue is a critical component of planning a successful corporate retreat. Companies should consider factors such as location, amenities, and accommodations when selecting a venue. Luxury corporate retreats often feature private pools, wellness services, and exceptional service, providing an ideal setting for team building and relaxation. Whether itâs a sophisticated setting in a rolling hills estate or a stunning ocean view resort, the venue should foster collaboration, creativity, and productivity among team members. The right venue not only provides a comfortable and inspiring environment but also offers the necessary facilities to support various retreat activities, ensuring a seamless and impactful experience. At Moniker, we pride ourselves in being able to match you with a venue that will delight your team, inspire them, and make memories worthy of your vision.
Nestled in the rolling hills of Chianti, 16th-century villa location options offer a perfect blend of old-world charm and modern amenities. Features can include:
For teams focused on wellness and sustainability, our eco-luxe resort options in the Maldives can provide:
Our exclusive Swiss mountain lodge location options combine invigorating outdoor activities with cutting-edge facilities, like:
Stressed about planning a retreat with no extra time? Why don't you let us do some of the heavy-lifting first, and put together a complimentary proposal that will provide you with ideal locations, activities and costs for your upcoming offsite.
Get a ProposalExample 5-Day Company Retreat Agenda: This sample retreat itinerary is custom tailored by our experts to optimize collaboration, and rejuvenation. Successful luxury retreats require meticulous planning and a deep understanding of organizational goals. Accommodating large groups is essential to facilitate significant team gatherings and ensure productive interactions. Our team of retreat specialists works closely with clients to design bespoke itineraries that balance productivity, learning, and rejuvenation.
Looking for more information? Check out our blog post of 5 Easy &Â Ready to Use Retreat Schedule Templates
Teammates with flying time over 6-hours will arrive on Sunday
Weâll be hosting a welcome reception and dinner for all teammates to meet each other and get settled! Dinner will be served at this event, so come hungry!
Time to rest and relax at the resort before tomorrow!
Weâll be hosting an in-person All Hands to learn and connect together as a group. Breakfast will be served at this event.
After this event, groups will break off into optional scavenger hunts based on the color of your nametag!
Please join us in the lobby for a fun all-team scavenger hunt! Please wear running shoes.
Leisure time or partake in your selected optional activity!
Small team dine-arounds on-property. Reservations are recommended.
Breakfast will be available at leisure until 9:00AM at the hotel.
We will Slack everyone their respective meeting rooms.
Weâre having a celebration dinner with team awards! Dinner will be buffet style, so come hungry.
Unleash your inner rockstar with your favourite karaoke song! (Optional Event)
Breakfast will be available at leisure until 9:00AM at the hotel.
Leisure time or partake in your selected optional activity!
It's our last day together and we want to celebrate!
We'll be hosting a 'Glow in the Dark' party, so come with a white t-shirt and get ready to have fun!
Breakfast will be available at leisure until 9:00AM at the hotel.
Please reference the departure shuttle page and bring your luggage down to the lobby 15 minutes prior to your departure time. Safe travels!
Recent studies in the field of positive psychology have highlighted the powerful effect of awe-inspiring experiences on cognitive flexibility and creative thinking. Our retreat designs intentionally incorporate elements that evoke a sense of wonder and expand mental horizons.
These unique corporate retreats are designed to impress, providing memorable and high-quality experiences that exceed expectations and leave a lasting impact.
While careful planning is essential, we also recognize the value of unstructured time and serendipitous encounters. It is important to set clear expectations and create a specific atmosphere that balances structure with spontaneity. Our itineraries always include âwhite spaceâ â periods of unscheduled time that allow for organic interactions, personal reflection, or unexpected discoveries.
Shared meals play a crucial role in group bonding, and we elevate this concept through extraordinary culinary experiences. From foraging expeditions with local experts to molecular gastronomy workshops, these activities nourish both body and spirit. Our retreats can also feature wine tastings and notable wine programs, enhancing the overall experience and promoting satisfaction and enjoyment during meetings and events.
Present a comprehensive ROI projection including potential improvements in productivity, innovation, and employee retention. Showcase case studies from similar companies that have benefited from high-end retreats. Emphasize the long-term strategic value of improved team cohesion and motivation.
We realize this is a wishy-washy answer, but the reality is that properly budgeting for a corporate retreat will vary dramatically depending on several factors such as destination, where your team is traveling from, size of the team, activities planned, and accommodation type.
A general guideline however is to expect $750/pp per day for domestic retreats, or $1,000/pp per day for international retreats; with all expenses included within that number (flights, accommodations, meals & entertainment, fees, etc.). Take a look at our budgeting cheat sheet and check out our 100% Certainty Budget Guarantee to learn more.
Generally, best practices for the length of retreats tend to fall between 3-5 nights, including travel days. We typically donât recommend only 2 nights, as the first day is usually lost to travel time and people arriving throughout the day, leaving little time to allocate towards âcontentâ outside of a late evening Welcome Reception & Dinner. That leaves only 1 day for meetings, activities, or team building, which is a poor ROI on the investment of flying everyone to a destination!
Ideally, you want to have 2 or 3 full days with everyone together, and keep in mind that on departure days, itâs hard to plan for much outside of breakfast, as people will have scattered departures throughout the day, and you wouldnât want to program something only to have a bunch of people miss it due to an early flight! Hence why 3-5 nights is ideal.Weâve put together a blog post on how to create the perfect offsite agenda for your team, including a few sample templates to suit whatever your goals and objectives are!
Develop a detailed action plan before leaving the retreat. Assign champions for key initiatives. Schedule regular follow-up meetings to track progress. Create a digital space (e.g., intranet page) dedicated to retreat outcomes and ongoing related projects.
That is a somewhat complicated question, and it involves considering various factors like; where everyone is coming from, ease and cost of transportation to the destinations under consideration, what âstyleâ of retreat you are looking for (e.g. Sun & Sand or urban city center?), and budget obviously.
The best approach to figuring out where your retreat should take place is to start by sitting down and making a checklist of all the important factors in your âidealâ destination. From there, check out our retreat location page to find some inspiration, and donât hesitate to reach out if you want some guidance!
Planning a retreat can seem like an overwhelming task, but donât fret! Weâve got you covered. Start by setting clear objectives for the retreat; is this to get your team together for work/meetings? Or more to celebrate a recent milestone or achievement? This will influence both the agenda and destination choice for your retreat. Next, determine the length of retreat you would like, and a rough agenda to serve as the framework for what your days will look like. From there, youâll want to figure out a few locations or destinations youâd like to consider, to compare ease of travel and costs.
After youâve narrowed down the destination and length, itâs time to choose the host accommodations. Hotel? Villa? Or a Beachfront resort? After that, youâll want to focus on filling out the day-to-day itinerary with content that align with your goals â this can range from professional development workshops and guest speakers to leisure and team-bonding opportunities. If youâre looking for more guidance, take a look at our â10 steps to plan a fun and effective offsiteâ.
Moniker is a âone-stop shopâ for corporate retreat planning. We can help with everything in the âpre-tripâ process from helping you find the right destination and host accommodation, negotiating the contracts on your behalf, booking flights, and then taking care of the Registration and attendee tracking. The planning process leading up to the event includes figuring out the agenda, how to fill each day, coordinating the work sessions and meetings, overseeing A/V and breakout rooms, as well as the fun side of things like team-building activities, optional excursions, and tours, and the evening events.
We also manage all of the details and logistics on-site and during execution. This means the arrivals process, helping everyone get checked into their rooms (and ensuring the cool swag is delivered!), and managing all the setup and oversight of your meetings and social events. Finally, we will also track all of the expenses in our line-itemized budgets, keeping a detailed record of all the receipts and invoices associated with your program so it is crystal clear how every dime is being spent. In summary, we can pretty much do anything you can dream of, and probably a lot more that you havenât even thought of yet!
Weâre committed to making the process as seamless, easy, and fun as possible, and our team of true travel and event professionals will be with you throughout the entire process from the first Kick-Off Call, straight through the on-site execution, and cleaning up the loose ends afterward during the reconcile process.Â
Typically, the type of trips we plan fall into one of three categories; (1) Retreats (a mix of work and play), (2) Meetings (mostly work, a few dinners here and there), and (3) Incentive Trips (almost entirely âplayâ, with little or no work involved). We do not plan small team offsites, single-day events, nor health and wellness retreats. Not because we donât like them, but because we know what weâre good at and are committed to being the best in our industry at doing what we do best.Â
The biggest difference between us and some of âthe other guysâ is our commitment to service. We are one of the few agencies that employ a staff of 20+ travel and event experts Full-Time and donât rely on freelancers or part-time staff to plan our retreats. That means consistency in how we do things, the templates and processes we use, and who our clients work with year after year.
We then take it one step further by employing a âPodâ model, where 1x Operations Lead (Manager) is teamed up with 2x Trip Planners to support them, in a three-person âpodâ that gets assigned to every trip we plan. They meet with each client on a bi-weekly basis and are the same people who go on-site to run the programs. This means a higher overhead for us (and as you can imagine, it does indeed make us more expensive!), but it also means an extremely high level of white-glove service and support for the really complex retreats where being able to rely on a team of ninjas to come in and help you plan an important retreat is necessary.
Our goal was never to be the lowest-priced agency or compete on price, but rather to be the best in terms of service and having the highest standards in the industry. Tons of repeat clients are very happy with our approach, and we hope youâll agree!
Check out Moniker's How to Plan a Retreat Guide - Filled with expert tips and tricks to ensure planning your next corporate retreat is a breeze!
Dive into some of the real-life examples of the amazing company retreats and offsites we've planned for our clients. They showcase our innovative approach to corporate retreat planning, an the lasting impact we've had on teams around the world.
Want to see more? Head to our Past Retreat Examples page
For Sourcegraphâs bi-annual retreat, they brought their entire team to the iconic city of Rome, Italy.
Read MoreMonikerâs team successfully facilitated a balanced week of all-hands meetings, departmental sessions, and activities, and of course, some amazing destination experiences. A bonus was that their meeting coffee breaks included Italian gelato! Unique team-building experiences included a games night and a Super Smash Brothers Tournament. The team also got to immerse themselves in Romeâs unbelievable culinary scene at unique dinner venues each night making for an incredible and delicious week!
A longtime client wanted to take their team to Greece for a week-long themed company retreat full of scavenger hunts, offsite activities, and dress-up dinners!
Read MoreFor a truly epic team-building experience, we threaded a Greek mythology-inspired plot and corresponding team challenges throughout the retreat in beautiful Mykonos. Adventure activities through Greek ruins and beach days on the coast led into fun and unique team-building workshops, company-wide meetings, and engaging seminars. The themed dinners put a creative twist on work-related affairs, and created a fantastic backdrop for many of the on and offsite activities.
Looking for a unique destination that would âwowâ their team for their annual week-long company retreat, fully remote tech company Vivun took the entire group to the exciting and exotic Da Nang, Vietnam.
Read MoreA fun-filled week both on and offsite, Vivunâs retreat was jam-packed with presentations, unique team-building exercises, funky get-to-know-yous , and adrenaline-pumping activities. With an emphasis on cultural awareness and history of this unique destination, the team headed offsite for a volunteer based day trip, as well as visited local restaurants and participated in classic Vietnamese activities!
Over the past 10 years, we have planned 250+ company retreats and brought over 10,000 people together. Hear what our clients have to say.
We'll provide you with an array of hand-selected destinations, potential team activities as well as the corresponding budgets and flights costs for each proposed location.