Planning a company offsite can feel like a major undertaking—especially when employees are travelling from different locations, budgets are tight, and you need to create an experience that is both productive and enjoyable.
For distributed and remote teams, in-person gatherings can play an important role in building relationships, strengthening company culture, recognising great work, and aligning people around shared goals. But successful offsites do not happen by accident. They require clear objectives, thoughtful logistics, an inclusive agenda, and activities that suit the people attending.
This guide walks through the essential steps for planning a company offsite, from setting goals and managing travel to choosing team offsite activities for groups of any size.
1. Start with a clear goal for your company offsite
Before choosing a venue or sending invitations, define why you are holding the offsite in the first place. A clear purpose will guide every planning decision, including who attends, where you go, what the agenda includes, and how you measure success.
Company offsites can serve many purposes, such as:
Building stronger relationships between colleagues
Improving collaboration across teams or departments
Aligning employees around company strategy and priorities
Rewarding high performance
Supporting professional development
Increasing employee engagement and morale
Welcoming new employees or bringing remote teams together
Giving teams space to solve a specific challenge
Engagement can have a meaningful effect on business performance. According to Gallup, highly engaged business units see stronger outcomes, including lower absenteeism and higher productivity. Non-financial recognition can also be a significant driver of engagement, as noted by McKinsey. A well-planned company event can support both recognition and connection.
Write down one primary goal and a small number of supporting goals. For example:
Primary goal: Help newly merged teams build trust and improve cross-functional collaboration.
Supporting goals: Share the company strategy for the next quarter, recognise recent achievements, and collect employee feedback.
A focused objective makes it easier to build an agenda that is purposeful rather than overloaded.
2. Decide who should attend
Once you know the purpose of the offsite, decide who needs to be there to achieve it.
Your guest list might include:
One department or project team
Several related teams
Senior leadership
New hires
High-performing employees being recognised
The entire company
Consider whether the event is intended to complete a specific piece of work, reward a particular group, improve collaboration between departments, or bring everyone together around a company-wide initiative.
Ask attendees to RSVP early. Accurate attendance numbers affect nearly every part of the plan, including venue capacity, accommodation, catering, activity bookings, transport, and budget.
For larger events, a travel and event management platform such as Perk Events can help organisers manage RSVPs, send reminders, share updates, and keep attendees informed when plans change.
3. Define what success looks like
A company offsite should have measurable outcomes. Set success metrics before the event so you can evaluate whether the investment delivered value.
Your measures will depend on the event’s goals. For example:
If the goal is relationship-building, send a post-event survey asking whether attendees met someone new or developed a stronger connection with another team.
If the goal is strategic alignment, ask participants to explain the company’s priorities or identify how their work contributes to them.
If the goal is learning and development, measure workshop attendance, feedback scores, or confidence in applying new skills.
If the goal is recognition, ask whether employees felt appreciated and motivated after the event.
If the goal is problem-solving, identify the decisions, action items, or projects completed during the offsite.
Keep your survey short and send it soon after the event, while the experience is still fresh. Combine feedback with operational data such as attendance, budget performance, and participation rates.
4. Learn from previous events
Every event is an opportunity to improve the next one. If your organisation has held offsites before, review what worked and what did not.
Look at previous feedback, budgets, agendas, travel arrangements, and attendance data. You may find recurring issues that can be prevented through better planning, such as:
Going over budget because of unexpected costs
Not allowing enough transfer time between activities
Choosing a venue that was difficult to reach
Scheduling too many sessions without enough downtime
Providing limited food options for employees with dietary requirements
Selecting activities that did not suit all participants
Failing to communicate essential details clearly enough
Create a contingency fund for unexpected expenses and build buffer time into the agenda. It is also useful to establish clear event guidelines, particularly for multi-day trips involving travel, alcohol, or optional evening activities.
Do not focus only on mistakes. Reuse successful elements where appropriate. If a past activity was particularly popular or an agenda format led to high participation, consider adapting it for your next offsite.
5. Separate essential items from nice-to-haves
A great offsite does not need an unlimited budget, but it does require thoughtful prioritisation.
Start by listing every potential expense and dividing items into two categories:
Essentials: Items required to achieve the event’s purpose and keep participants safe, comfortable, and informed.
Nice-to-haves: Enhancements that would improve the experience but are not essential to the event’s success.
Essential items may include transport, accommodation, venue hire, accessible facilities, meals, meeting equipment, insurance, and facilitators. Nice-to-haves could include premium entertainment, welcome gifts, upgraded catering, or branded merchandise.
This process helps you make trade-offs deliberately. For example, you may choose a more affordable venue so you can invest in a skilled facilitator, or reduce entertainment spending to make travel more comfortable for employees.
When booking travel, look for ways to lower costs without compromising the attendee experience. Corporate travel discounts can help you access quality transport and accommodation options while keeping spending under control.
6. Build a realistic company offsite budget
Your budget should account for the full attendee journey, not just the venue and activities. Common cost categories include:
Flights, rail tickets, ground transport, and mileage
Accommodation
Venue rental and meeting rooms
Food, drinks, and dietary accommodations
Team-building activities and facilitators
Speakers, entertainers, or workshop leaders
Audio-visual equipment and Wi-Fi
Event marketing and communications
Accessibility requirements
Insurance and contingency costs
Event supplies, prizes, or welcome packs
Estimate costs per attendee where possible, then add a contingency amount for last-minute changes, price increases, additional participants, or travel disruptions.
Use an event budget template to organise expected costs, actual spend, and remaining budget throughout the planning process.
7. Choose the right date and location
The best time and location for an offsite depend on your goals, attendee locations, available budget, and planned activities.
When choosing dates, avoid:
Busy periods for your company or industry
Quarter-end deadlines
Major holidays
School breaks, where possible
Dates that clash with internal launches or customer commitments
Seasonal weather risks for outdoor events
If employees are travelling from multiple locations, aim for a destination that is reasonably fair and accessible for the majority of attendees. Consider direct transport routes, transfer times, visa requirements where relevant, accessibility, and the total travel burden on each group.
The location should also suit the agenda. A strategy-focused offsite may need quiet meeting rooms and reliable technology, while an outdoor retreat requires weather contingencies, appropriate facilities, and accessible activity options.
For destination inspiration, explore recommended company retreat locations in Europe and the United States.
8. Create an inclusive and engaging offsite agenda
An inclusive offsite recognises that employees have different interests, energy levels, physical abilities, dietary needs, cultural backgrounds, and comfort levels.
Avoid a one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, involve employees in the planning process by asking what they would value most from the event. You can gather input in a team meeting or send a short employee survey before finalising the agenda.
A balanced agenda should include:
Time for focused work, learning, or strategic conversations
Opportunities for informal connection
A choice of optional activities where possible
Regular breaks and sufficient downtime
Clear logistics and expectations
Accessible alternatives for activities that may not suit everyone
Offering a selection of workshops or team-building activities can make the event more inclusive while helping people meet colleagues in smaller groups. It also reduces pressure on employees who may not enjoy highly competitive, physically demanding, or public-facing activities.
Downtime is particularly important for multi-day offsites. Free time gives attendees an opportunity to rest, catch up on work if necessary, explore the location, or socialise naturally without a packed schedule.
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Company offsite ideas and activities
Choosing the right activity depends on your group size, budget, location, and goals. The best options encourage participation without forcing everyone into the same type of experience.
Below are 14 company offsite ideas, with a range of options that work well for small and medium-sized businesses and activities suited to larger groups.
1. Escape rooms
Escape rooms are interactive, team-based games in which participants work together to solve puzzles and complete a mission within a set time. Most involve escaping from a themed room, although some experiences focus on solving a mystery or completing a challenge.
Escape rooms can encourage communication, creative thinking, and collaboration in a relatively short amount of time. They work particularly well for smaller groups, since participants are usually divided into teams.
Typical cost per person: $25–$40
2. Cooking classes
A cooking class is a relatively simple activity to organise and gives participants something tangible to enjoy at the end: a meal and a new skill.
Book an instructor and venue, then choose a format that suits the group, such as pasta-making, baking, cocktail-free drink workshops, or a regional cuisine class. Collect information on allergies, food sensitivities, dietary restrictions, and alcohol preferences well in advance.
Typical cost per person: $50–$100
3. Arts and crafts workshops
Creative workshops can be a relaxed alternative to more competitive team-building activities. Options include drawing, painting, pottery, tie-dye, card-making, or other hands-on projects.
The goal is not artistic ability. These activities give people a chance to talk, unwind, and create something together. If the event takes place on an evening or weekend, an arts and crafts session may also be suitable for a family-inclusive gathering.
Typical cost per person: $50–$100
4. Games night
A games night is a flexible, budget-friendly activity that can take place in an office, hotel meeting room, restaurant private room, or event venue.
Activities might include:
Board games
Trivia
Scavenger hunts
Card games
Puzzle challenges
Team quizzes
Games can encourage teamwork and strategic thinking while helping colleagues get to know one another in a lower-pressure setting.
Typical cost per person: $0–$50
5. Karaoke
Karaoke can add energy to a dinner, drinks event, or evening social. Some venues offer private karaoke rooms, while others can provide equipment in a booked event space or conference room.
Make participation optional. A successful karaoke event should be enjoyable for people who want to sing as well as those who would rather watch, socialise, or request songs from the sidelines.
Typical cost per person: $15–$200
6. Improv show or workshop
An improv activity can be tailored to the group’s confidence level. You could organise an improv performance where a small group volunteers to participate, or bring in a facilitator to run an optional workshop for everyone.
Improv can support communication, listening, creativity, and confidence. Keep the tone light, voluntary, and psychologically safe, particularly if participants are not used to performing in front of colleagues.
Typical cost per person: $0–$50
7. Outdoor adventure
Outdoor activities offer a chance to get fresh air and move away from a meeting-room environment. Depending on your location and group preferences, options could include:
Hiking
Cycling
Skiing
A group training session for a charity run or marathon
Guided nature walks
Low-impact outdoor games
Before confirming an outdoor activity, ask about health considerations, mobility requirements, experience levels, and comfort with physical activity. Always provide alternative options and a weather contingency plan.
Typical cost per person: $0–$300
8. Glamping
Glamping offers the outdoor appeal of camping with more comfort and accessibility. Instead of tents, participants may stay in yurts, cabins, lodges, or other semi-permanent structures with amenities such as beds, electricity, running water, and on-site dining.
This can be a memorable option for a multi-day retreat, particularly for teams looking for a change of scenery without requiring employees to camp independently.
Budget estimate: $$
9. Facilitated team-building event
A professional facilitator can run a full day of structured team-building games, icebreakers, and collaborative challenges.
This type of event can help teams practise communication, problem-solving, trust-building, and collaboration. It is especially useful for new teams, teams going through change, or groups that need to improve how they work together.
Choose a facilitator who can adapt activities for different mobility needs, confidence levels, and group sizes.
Budget estimate: $
10. Company field day
A company field day, or sports day, brings employees together through games, friendly competition, and prizes. Possible activities include relay races, tug-of-war, egg-and-spoon races, skipping competitions, hula hoop challenges, or adapted team games.
Keep the focus on inclusion and fun rather than athletic performance. Offer non-physical roles, such as scorekeeping, cheering, photography, or quiz stations, so everyone can participate comfortably.
Plan for weather changes, shade, hydration, and accessible facilities.
Budget estimate: $
11. Film a team video
For an unusual and potentially high-impact offsite, organise a large team video project. This could be a flash mob, a collaborative performance, a company culture video, or another creative production.
The experience can bring a large group together around a shared goal while producing content that may support employer branding or marketing efforts. Participation should remain optional, with behind-the-scenes roles available for employees who prefer not to appear on camera.
Budget estimate: $$–$$$
12. Destination retreat
A destination retreat can be an effective way to reward employees, bring distributed teams together, or create uninterrupted time for strategy and relationship-building.
Multi-day retreats can include workshops, planning sessions, team-building activities, meals, free time, and local experiences. The agenda can focus on professional development, strategic work, relaxation after a demanding period, or a mix of all three.
Because destination retreats involve higher travel and accommodation costs, clear goals and careful budgeting are essential.
Budget estimate: $$$
13. Charity fundraiser
A charity-focused offsite can help your organisation meet corporate social responsibility goals while bringing employees together around a cause.
Possible formats include:
Charity galas
Raffles
Fundraising concerts
Sponsored walks or runs
Donation drives
Team challenges supporting a chosen charity
Involve employees in selecting the cause where possible, and communicate clearly about how funds will be raised, managed, and donated.
Budget estimate: $–$$$
14. Community service project
A volunteer project can make a company offsite meaningful while supporting the local community. Examples include:
Beach or park cleanups
Tree planting
Volunteering at an animal shelter
Supporting a humanitarian organisation
Packing donations
Community gardening
Food bank volunteering
Community service can also support sustainability goals. Even if your primary activity is not volunteer-based, consider reducing the event’s environmental impact through choices such as reusable cups and plates, reduced food waste, and lower-carbon travel options.
Budget estimate: $
Managing travel for your company offsite
If attendees are travelling from different cities or countries, travel coordination can quickly become one of the most complex parts of offsite planning.
You may need to arrange:
Flights or rail travel
Hotels and room allocations
Airport or station transfers
Group transport to activities
Travel policy compliance
Itinerary changes and traveller updates
Emergency support
Communication before and during the event
Centralising travel information can reduce administrative work and help prevent attendees from missing key details. With Perk Events, organisers can coordinate travel, share event information, communicate changes in real time, and access a broad travel inventory for transport and accommodation.
Key takeaways for planning a successful company offsite
A successful company offsite balances business priorities with a positive employee experience. Start with a clear goal, invite the right people, set a realistic budget, and choose a date and location that work for the group.
Build an inclusive agenda with meaningful activities, optional participation where appropriate, and enough downtime for people to recharge. Finally, measure the event’s outcomes so you can improve future offsites.
Use a team offsite agenda template to turn your goals into a clear plan, and consider Perk Events to simplify travel, bookings, attendee communication, and event logistics.
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