Finding accommodation in the location, and for the dates you’ve chosen, is hard. The tips below will prevent a lot of wasted time. Give yourself plenty of time to find your accommodation - ideally around 6 months. Consider this part the hardest part of retreat planning. If you get this part right - the rest can be incredibly easy.

Location

Keeping your travel time from airport → accommodation to under an hour will make your retreat logistically easier to arrange and less expensive. Also consider that internet services can become more and more flakey the further away you get from a city or large town. More on internet later.

The search

Search platforms rarely provide the filters required to find a place that would suit the needs of a company retreat. If you’ve managed to find a potential property the messaging systems on those platforms make fluid and informative communication impossible.

Communication

If you’ve found a property on search platform - try and find their website with the information you’ve been able to glean from it. There are usually clues that make this easier than you’d think. You are far more likely to have open and fluid conversation outside of a search platforms messaging service, and mostly importantly - be able to talk discounts. Search platforms will charge for their services, so the property will have more wiggle room for discounts if you approach them independently. Often independent property websites are not great, but all you’re after is an email address.

The next two most important things to find out about are internet service, and beds.

Larger properties are quite often old and in the middle of nowhere - meaning they don’t usually have as good infrastructure. Walls in older properties can be thick, and retrospectively fitted Wifi can be unreliable. With the rise of company retreats these type of properties are putting a lot of effort in to updating their internet speeds and services, but it’s super important at this stage to ask for the results of a speed test - ideally from multiple areas in the house.

If your ask your team members to share rooms - then you need to know how the bedrooms are configured. Yes there might be 20 bedrooms - but do all those rooms have one double bed in them? Your potential house for 40 could actually only sleep 20. Awkward.

When contacting the property you want to give them an overview your company and what you do. Properties love company retreat bookings. Tell them what your basic requirements are - making it really clear at the initial stage will help you discount places that aren’t going to work for you really quickly and save SO MUCH time. For example -

• We are a team of software engineers, so need fast and reliable internet. Could you tell me what type of internet is at the property and provide the results of an internet speed test?
• We are work colleagues, and we require enough beds for each person. Are there enough individual beds for X people?
• As a team we will be working during our stay. Is there a communal space that would fit everyone in the team?
• Is there enough kitchen and dining space to cater for X people?

Now. The speed and helpfulness of the response at this stage is one of the most important indicators in how successful your retreat could be. Do not underestimate the value this first contact will provide you. Your dealing and communication with the owners, or management team, is integral to the success of your retreat. You’ll be working closely with them and the support they could provide will be invaluable. Having great relationships (working both ways) can really save you if you find yourself in need of help. Local knowledge is key.

What you want

✅ A response in less than 2 days

✅ A response from someone who owns or manages the property who is friendly, passionate and knows what they are talking about

✅ A response that answers all your questions with total clarity

What you don’t want

❌ A response that takes longer than 3 days

❌ An immediate automatic response or blanket response

❌ A badly written answer that doesn’t directly answer, or avoids the questions you asked

The finer details

Firstly check, and double check your dates. Make sure there is absolute certainty that the property is available for the dates you require.

If you’re able to - before making any decisions, signing contracts or paying any invoices - have someone in the team visit the property. Seeing the place in real life, meeting the team and creating those relationships is such a powerful place to start. Photos can be easily edited, and the space and benefits over exaggerated. Even just seeing how clean, spacious, and comfortable a place is will easy a lot of concerns.

If the property if the place for your team, next request contracts and terms. Don’t be afraid to ask to change the terms, especially around payment dates. As mentioned, company retreats are some of the best kind of business for these properties and they’ll often be flexible.