Corporate Retreat in Italy

Planning a corporate retreat may seem daunting. There are so many things to plan and so many people involved. Our team at Castello di Ristonchi can help you through every step, making planning a retreat for your company smooth and simple.

We’ve hosted corporate retreats for companies from all over the world and we get to see firsthand the magic that happens when an entire team comes together. Whether it’s in our medieval meeting room, at a delicious Tuscan-style dinner at sunset or a hilarious pool party game. Everyone really has the chance to let go and let their creativity flow.
A retreat shakes up the relationships between co-workers, managers and bosses, connecting everyone in a new unified environment - not the same, stale office like every other day. Planning a company retreat that invigorates your team isn’t easy - but we’re here to help.

PLANNING A CORPORATE RETREAT

BUDGET: Retreats don’t have to break the bank. To determine a budget, consider your company size, whether employees can share rooms, and how much tickets cost to nearby airports. If you’re a remote company who wants to host a retreat but you’re worried about costs keep in mind that it’s less expensive to fly everyone someplace twice a year than to pay rent on an office space year-round. Isn’t that great!?

LOCATION: Castello di Ristonchi is near 3 major airports - making it easy and affordable to fly.
The nearest airports are: Florence (40km), Pisa (115km) and Bologna (120km).

Once your team lands at the airport our trusted and experienced fleet of mini-bus drivers will be there to welcome them and load their luggage. In less than one hour they’ll arrive to the majestic castle where a welcome drink and snack will be waiting for them.

ACCOMMODATIONS: If you want to give each attendee their own room the castle has 32 private rooms. If your team is more relaxed and willing to share apartments and sleep in beds in the common areas we can accommodate up to 75 guests in shared apartments with their own beds.

The castle consists of 4 separate buildings all just steps away from each other - and the massive outdoor pool. Here everyone is quickly and easily together and just as easily can retreat to their own space for some down-time.

STRUCTURED ACTIVITIES: Create your schedule with time to bond together as a team as well as unstructured free time. After a full day of high energy meetings together you also want to provide your team with time on their own It’s always nice to give choices in how they spend their time. Just be crystal-clear on which activities are mandatory and which are not.

In between the meetings and meals, plan a few non-business sessions for your colleagues. Think of activities that are exciting, potentially out of the ordinary, and also accessible to the greatest number. Ristonchi has activities and ideas perfect for your company retreat in Italy. From Pizza Making in the castle tower’s stone oven to a make your own pasta from scratch dinner night. Go for a wine tasting at a nearby vineyard, have a live concert outside at sunset with wine and cheese or a dance party in the Rave Cave with open bar. We also offer corporate retreat activities such as a foraging walk, meditation hike, yoga and improv fun for team building!

FOOD: Figuring out group meals can be intimidating but don’t worry - we’ve got you covered at Ristonchi. We’ll advise you to take a survey of everyone on your team before the retreat and find out about food allergies or dietary restrictions so we can be sure to meet everyone’s needs for every meal. (It’s also helpful to keep track of f these for your employees in case you ever want to send a birthday treat or other edible congratulatory then you’ll know it should be gluten free or dairy free for example.)

Breakfast and lunch are served buffet style with dinner normally having table-service. Get dinner and an activity in one with our Make Your Own Pizza Night! The event is always a huge hit. The perfect opportunity for all your attendees to get to know each other while rolling out fresh dough and sipping local wine around the stone pizza oven built right in to the castle tower adjacent to the terrace with tables and chairs, bistro lights - it’s the perfect place to watch the sunset.

MEETINGS: While the main reason for a company retreat is for everyone to connect and build as a team, you’ll also be doing that pesky little thing called working. Structure time for each team to meet as well as have talks or brainstorming sessions in more casual settings outside for example. This way everyone knows when it’s time to work and when it’s time to play.

We have multiple large meeting rooms with grand characteristics. Host your main meetings in the medieval banquet hall with arched brick ceilings and a real “Game of Thrones” feel. Other rooms, the chapel and so many beautiful outside spots can also be used for meeting locations.

ORGANIZING: There’s no such thing as being too organized when it comes to your company retreat. It will take planning and patience. We’ll be with you every step of the way with ideas, menus, activities and contacts for transportation, DJs or live musicians.

We recommend having a team meeting and announcing the big event - then sharing a document with all the retreat information: location, details, pictures, schedule, etc. Some companies issue each employee a company credit card and allow them to buy their own flight tickets which work best for them.

Leading up to retreat week you can create short video teasers to add some pre-retreat hype, as well as to remind the team of any updates. Part of the differentiated retreat planning involves sending information in a variety of ways, so the more the better.

To help with keeping everyone informed and on-schedule we suggest giving each of your employees an individualized retreat schedule. This could be done beforehand as well as in a fun goodie bag placed on their bed when they check-in.

THE END: It will be hard to believe and will come faster than you expected - the end. Once it’s over, quickly solicit feedback from your team in an effort to improve your next retreat while showing your team you value everyone’s input. Don’t take it personally if some people didn’t love every part; differentiated retreat planning requires being at peace with the fact that everyone will enjoy things differently, and that’s ok.

In the end you will have created a closer-knit team, worked toward a shared goal and maybe even exposed some co-workers hidden talents or had some conquer their fears!

We are happy to help you plan your next amazing company retreat in Tuscany - at Ristonchi Castle.