Offsites are a vital part of any company’s communication and decision-making processes. However, they often suffer from issues such as boredom, lengthiness, and lack of purpose. To overcome these challenges, it’s crucial to make sessions both enjoyable and productive for all participants. One simple yet effective solution is to hold your sessions in a natural environment, harnessing the benefits of natural settings. In this blog post, we’ll explore the numerous advantages of holding meetings in non-traditional meeting settings.

1. Embracing Natural Lighting: Unlike artificial lighting found in conference rooms, natural sunlight brings warmth and energy to meetings. The architectural focus on windows, glass doors, and skylights throughout history highlights the wonders of natural light. Besides enhancing the aesthetics, natural lighting positively impacts physical and mental health, leading to improved teamwork and productivity. Although glare may require some adjustments, the extra effort is worthwhile for the overall benefits.
2. Refreshing Fresh Air: Breathing in the fresh air outside, except in areas with severe pollution, provides a rejuvenating experience compared to the stale office air. Similar to natural sunlight, fresh air can boost energy levels and uplift moods, which are often in short supply during regular meetings. Wind speed is the only factor to consider, so plan your outdoor meetings on calm days to ensure everyone can focus without distractions.
3. Enhancing Ambience: The ambiance of natural settings surpasses the confines of a traditional office meeting room. The gentle breeze and distant sounds of birds create a more positive and open atmosphere. This pleasant environment encourages team members to feel more comfortable sharing their thoughts and ideas, fostering greater collaboration. Embrace your surroundings by positioning meeting areas near the ocean or a tranquil environment, making the experience memorable and unique.
4. Unleashing Creativity: Outdoor meetings provide more room for creativity, transcending conventional PowerPoint presentations and monotonous surveys. Engaging employees in participatory activities is crucial for successful offsite sessions. Take advantage of the outdoor space to organize team-building exercises. Contact us for an amazing selection of outdoor activities for your team. Let your imagination run wild, turning the meeting into a picnic, nature walk, or even a productive fishing trip. Balancing engagement and business objectives creates an innovative and productive meeting experience.
5. Expanding Meeting Space: Whether you have a small company or a large team, indoor office meeting spaces can often feel cramped. On the other hand, using a property with an ocean outlook and multiple spaces offers ample locations to comfortably accommodate your team and meeting essentials. This flexibility allows for activities mentioned earlier or ensures that everyone has a seat. Assigning roles to team members, such as setup and takedown responsibilities, streamlines the process.
6. Diverse Venues: Exploring different venues can be beneficial and changing session locations introduces a fresh and unique feel, inspiring new ideas and conversations.Our properties offer a variety of inspirational meeting and breakout spaces. Each new place brings out the best in team members, revitalizing meetings that may have become stagnant in a traditional setting.
7. Meaningful Face-to-Face Encounters: As remote work becomes more prevalent, virtual meetings via platforms like Zoom have become the norm. However, these meetings often lack the same level of enjoyment as in-person interactions. Planning an offsite can bridge this gap.

Meetings are here to stay, but it’s essential to make them enjoyable and effective. By taking advantage of unique settings you can transform mundane meetings into engaging and productive experiences. Natural lighting, fresh air, pleasant ambiance, creative opportunities, expanded space, diverse venues, and meaningful face-to-face encounters are just some of the benefits you can reap from holding an offsite at Barefoot Conference properties. Embrace nature, enhance collaboration, and make your offsite memorable while achieving your business objectives.