Relocating the office to Gran Canaria for a week or two and enjoying a working retreat in the sunshine has plenty to offer companies in search of a little seasonal respite – and some high quality R&R.
Productive workations in Las Palmas
When it comes to choosing the destination for your company retreat Las Palmas ticks all the boxes. A modern, vibrant city, it’s the joint capital of the Canary Islands and home to what’s consistently described as one of the best urban beaches in the world.
Gran Canaria has always been popular with Europeans looking to escape the winter back home. With temperatures rarely dipping below 20 degrees, pretty much every day of the year is a beach day. But over recent years that appeal has extended to the tech community, with the island becoming a hub for digital workers, startups and scaleups.
Change your office, not your job
So it’s no surprise to see a growing number of companies joining us in Las Palmas for team breaks, workations and company retreats, a city their staff can enjoy, relax and – most importantly – be productive in.
Airbnb and Transferwise are probably the best known of recent visitors to the island, booking out suites of managed office space to house their employees for a spell of team building, coworking and fun in the sun. But they’re not alone.
Why workations work
Here at The House, we’re regularly hosting offshore companies, who book out our serviced offices or a block of coworking desks, for between 1 and 4 weeks at a time. They use the space to bring remote teams together, collaborate on new projects or simply reward their staff with a change of scenery and the chance to work by the beach for a while.
Speaking with the team from Transferwise, who are normally based in London, it’s clear that the island’s many natural attractions played a big part in their decision to visit us.
9 of their UK developers spent two weeks at The House in November and – like many of the companies taking a workation in Las Palmas – when they weren’t busy coding they took full advantage of the outdoor activities on offer.
Reward your team with some quality downtime
Gran Canaria has great diving, several excellent surf spots and – along its east coast – some of the best wind and kite-surfing in Europe. For outdoor enthusiasts, mountain lovers and hikers, there are are countless trails, peaks and remote coastal paths to explore.
If all you want to do is sit back and relax, the island has more than 60km of beaches, ranging from the chic, urban Playa de las Canteras in Las Palmas, to the bustling resorts of the south and the remote charms of its western shorelines.
Wherever you go on the island, you’re never far from a good restaurant or bar, but in Las Palmas the choice is exceptional. Workationers love the area around Las Canteras, with its eclectic mix of upmarket eateries, rooftop cocktail lounges and intimate bars. Dig a little deeper, in areas like Triana, Vagueta or Isleta and you’ll discover another side of the city and some fantastic places to eat, drink and party.
As the joint capital of the Canary Islands, and their defacto commercial hub, Las Palmas is a world class city, with a distinctly Mediterranean flavour. Thanks to its popularity as a tourist destination, air travel to the islands is cheap, with superb connections to all major hubs and many regional airports across Europe.
Bespoke company retreats
At The House we provide tailor made workation packages lasting from 3 to 28 days, catering for teams of up to 25. We don’t offer set packages. Instead we’ll discuss what you’re looking for first and repurpose a space to match your needs.
We’ve carefully renovated what was once government administrative building, into a spacious and creative coworking environment, with all the comforts of your office back home and full access to our facilities, including kitchen, coffee bar, breakout spaces, roof terraces and even a BBQ.
If you need help with accommodation, transport or booking, we can assist and throughout your stay we’ll be on hand to ensure you and your team have everything you need to be productive.
For more information on organising a workation in Las Palmas, booking out an office in The House or the facilities we provide, give us a call and ask for Yvonne. If it’s easier, you can send us a message here.