# The Working Retreat

> A facilitated strategy day that happens on a farm instead of a hotel conference floor. Same rigour as the Alignment Day, none of the carpet.

Package C-04 from Offsyte, corporate recreation in the UAE · [Farmhouse & Retreat](https://offsyte.ae/catalog/farmhouse-and-retreat-days/) · Web page: https://offsyte.ae/packages/the-working-retreat/

- **Duration:** 11 hrs
- **Ideal start time:** 07:30 pickup — the working blocks land before the heat and before anyone's inbox catches up
- **Departure window:** 07:00–08:30
- **Group size:** 15 min — 40 max
- **Emirate / venue:** Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain or Ras Al Khaimah — private farmhouse, exclusive use
- **Season:** Oct–Apr
- **Booking lead time:** 21 days — the pre-work, same as K-01

## Price per person, excluding 5% VAT

| Group size | Per person | Billed for at least |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| 15–19 people | AED 980 | 20 people |
| 20–34 people | AED 870 | 23 people |
| 35+ people | AED 780 | — |

A group smaller than a band's "billed for at least" figure is still served, and is invoiced for that many people.
Where a larger band costs less in total, it is quoted instead: groups of 32–34 are billed as 35 people at the rate for 35+ people.

Payment: 50% advance on signature. 100% cleared 3 working days before the event. Numbers lock 7 days prior.

## Why this is not the retail version

The honest comparison is **K-01 The Alignment Day at AED 740**, which is the same facilitator, the same pre-work and the same outputs pack in a four-star hotel meeting suite. This is AED 870. So what does AED 130 a person buy?

**A room nobody can leave and nobody can be pulled out of.** A hotel offsite in Business Bay is twenty minutes from the office, which means a participant genuinely can be called back at eleven, and everybody in the room knows it. Ninety minutes north, on a private farm, that stops being possible — and the difference in how a room behaves when leaving is not an option is the single reason this package exists.

**The walk at 14:00 is the other reason.** Ninety minutes in pairs, outdoors, one question each. It is the block that produces the material the afternoon session works on, and it cannot be run in a hotel — there is nowhere to walk.

And the day **ends around a fire rather than in a car park at five.** A strategy day that finishes with a BBQ has a different last hour, and the last hour is what people carry back.

**Choose between this and K-01 on one question:** does this team need to be unreachable? If yes, the AED 130 is the cheapest part of the day. If no, K-01 is the better buy and should be sold instead.

## Timeline

- **−14 days** — Facilitator interviews the sponsor and 4–6 participants, one to one, confidential
- **07:30** — Bus departs client office. Breakfast boxes and coffee on board
- **08:45** — Arrival. The farm is set up — tables under shade, boards, power, AV
- **09:00** — Sponsor frames the day. Ten minutes
- **09:20** — Working block one — themes from the interviews, on the wall
- **11:00** — Break. Deliberately outdoors
- **11:15** — Working block two — the trade-offs
- **13:00** — Working lunch
- **14:00** — The walk. Ninety minutes, in pairs, one question each. No room, no screen
- **15:30** — Working block three — commitments, owners, dates
- **17:00** — Close. The commitment wall is photographed before anything comes down
- **17:30** — Live BBQ dinner around the fire — the day stops being a meeting
- **19:00** — Bus departs
- **20:00** — Arrival at drop point
- **+5 days** — Outputs pack delivered

## Included

- Return coach transfer from client office
- Confidential pre-work — sponsor briefing plus 4–6 one-to-one participant interviews
- Bespoke programme design against what the interviews surface
- Senior facilitator for the full day — named practitioner, introduced before contracting
- Exclusive day and evening use of a private farmhouse
- Full meeting setup on the farm — shaded tables, boards, power and AV
- Breakfast boxes, working lunch, refreshments throughout
- Live BBQ dinner around the fire
- Branded setup
- Photographer, half day
- Written outputs pack within 5 working days — commitments, owners, dates, wall photography
- Event coordinator on site

## Not included

- Overnight accommodation (see add-ons)
- Psychometric instruments (see add-ons)
- Alcohol — the venue is unlicensed
- 5% VAT

## Weather and backup plan

- **Trigger:** Rain, or wind above 25 knots — which ends the outdoor working setup and the fire.
- **Fallback:** The contracted farmhouse's covered majlis or barn carries the working blocks and the dinner; the walk becomes a shorter loop or is replaced with a paired session indoors. The facilitated content never depends on the weather, which is the design principle — only its setting does.
- **You are told by:** By 16:00 the previous day. Facilitator illness is covered by a contracted named backup briefed on the pre-work from day one, exactly as K-01.

## Customisation options

- Extend to an overnight at the farm: AED 480/person
- Psychometric or profiling instrument with group debrief: AED 180/person
- 90-day follow-up session, half day: AED 6,500/event
- Second facilitator for groups above 24: AED 3,800
- Live oud through dinner: AED 1,500
- Videographer + edited reel: AED 1,200
- Anonymous pre-day pulse survey with report: AED 2,400
- Upgrade dinner to a lamb ouzi: AED 65/person

## Questions about The Working Retreat

### How much does The Working Retreat cost per person?

AED 980 per person for 15–19 people; AED 870 per person for 20–34 people; AED 780 per person for 35+ people. All figures exclude 5% VAT. A group below a band's minimum chargeable size is billed at that minimum: 20 people in the 15–19 band, 23 people in the 20–34 band. Where a larger band costs less in total, it is quoted instead: groups of 32–34 are billed as 35 people at the rate for 35+ people.

### How long does The Working Retreat take, and when does it start?

11 hrs. Ideal start: 07:30 pickup — the working blocks land before the heat and before anyone's inbox catches up. Departure window: 07:00–08:30.

### What is not included in The Working Retreat?

Overnight accommodation (see add-ons); Psychometric instruments (see add-ons); Alcohol — the venue is unlicensed; 5% VAT. These are stated before enquiry rather than raised at invoice time.

### What happens to The Working Retreat if the weather turns?

Trigger: Rain, or wind above 25 knots — which ends the outdoor working setup and the fire. Fallback: The contracted farmhouse's covered majlis or barn carries the working blocks and the dinner; the walk becomes a shorter loop or is replaced with a paired session indoors. The facilitated content never depends on the weather, which is the design principle — only its setting does. You are told: By 16:00 the previous day. Facilitator illness is covered by a contracted named backup briefed on the pre-work from day one, exactly as K-01.

### How far in advance do we need to book The Working Retreat?

The booking lead time is 21 days — the pre-work, same as K-01. Ramadan and December dates book out first.

## Read before you book

- [Start, stop, continue: examples for leadership teams](https://offsyte.ae/blog/start-stop-continue-leadership-offsite/): How to run a start, stop, continue exercise at a leadership offsite so it produces decisions rather than a wall of sticky notes — with worked examples.

Request a proposal: https://offsyte.ae/enquire/?package=C-04 · proposals@offsyte.ae