How do you plan a corporate offsite in Mallorca?

Plan a Mallorca offsite in this order: fix the question the group needs to answer, fix the dates four to six months out, cap the group at the number that can sleep on site, fly everyone into Palma on the same afternoon, and choose a venue where sleeping, working and eating happen in one place so nobody spends the week in a car. Palma has direct flights from most European cities. The season for working groups is September to June, when the island is quiet, the light is good and the heat does not set the agenda for you. Three nights is the shape that produces decisions.

How far ahead should we book?

Four to six months for a midweek slot between September and June. Longer if you need a specific week in late September, early October or May, which are the busiest months for offsites because the weather is kindest. We rarely hold dates without a payment, so decide quickly once you have a window. Midweek arrivals, Tuesday or Wednesday, give the easiest flights into Palma and the quietest roads.

How big should the group be?

Twelve, if everyone sleeps on site. At the finca, the main house sleeps 10 and the guest house sleeps 2, across six bedrooms, three of which can be set up as twins or kings for colleagues who share. A rollaway bed takes the count to 13. By prior arrangement, up to 20 can join for the working day, with the rest staying at the two hotels we recommend nearby. For a leadership team of eight to ten, the main house alone can work, with no outside guests; at those times the guest house may be booked by others and the pool is shared. There are three breakout spaces, and the shade of the carob tree when the weather allows.

What should the agenda look like?

Arrive Tuesday afternoon, 20 minutes from the airport by car, check in at three, a swim, dinner outside. Wednesday and Thursday are the working days: one session before lunch, one after the heat, something physical or social at the end of each day. A hike into the Tramuntana, a tasting at one of the wineries of the Binissalem DO (Denominació d’Origen, the island’s protected wine region), yoga under the carob tree at seven. Friday morning closes with decisions written down, then flights home. Keep laptops shut before ten and after six. Put the one strategic question on the wall on the first evening and leave it there.

What should the venue provide?

Everything that would otherwise be a logistics line. A short drive from the airport: ours is 20 minutes, and groups arrange their own hire cars or taxis. A chef for every meal, with the Sunday market in Santa Maria del Camí and the garden supplying the kitchen. Fast and reliable Wi-Fi; ours is 300 Mbps and reaches the working room and the bedrooms. A facilitator if you want one who is not on the payroll. A wine tasting at a Binissalem winery within ten minutes, a yoga teacher, a guide for the hike. A single point of contact who answers the phone. Exclusive use, so there is no other group in the pool when you are trying to think. Here that means both houses: guaranteed in July, August, Christmas and New Year, and otherwise arranged with us directly, because the booking system prices the two houses separately.

What should we ask a venue before confirming?

Ask whether the group has exclusive use. Ask how many sleep on site and where the rest go. Ask the Wi-Fi speed and whether the working room has daylight. Ask what the chef can do for dietary needs. Ask how long the drive from the airport is. Ask whether music outside has a curfew. Ask what happens if it rains, and how many fit indoors. Ask what the deposit terms are and whether dates can be held. Ask who to call at nine in the evening. All of it is quoted per enquiry.

Read the three-day agenda we see work at /gather/corporate-retreats, see the working spaces at /gather, or send us your dates and headcount.