Away Day Ideas: Add Massage, Stretching and Glam to Help Your Team Recharge

The best team away day ideas plan the wellness part as carefully as the workshops: stretching with the first cup of tea, chair massage at midday, a quiet hour in the afternoon and hair and makeup before the team dinner, and one booking through Blys can send local corporate massage therapists, stretching providers and hair and makeup artists to your venue.

An away day agenda without a break is just a very long meeting with better biscuits. Most company retreat ideas cover venues, workshops and a trust fall nobody asked for, and then they run out of road at the exact point where somebody has to decide when the massage happens and how many therapists a group of sixty needs. This post plans that part.

The scheduling and group-size guidance here comes from providers who take corporate bookings on Blys, and every number comes with its working, so you can swap in your own. Nothing here is health advice, and the sessions are optional for everyone on the team.

Team Away Day Ideas: Why the Wellness Plan Needs Its Own Page

Retreat lists are full of venues and icebreakers, and they treat wellness as a single bullet that says add a massage. The plan underneath is where the retreat either runs smoothly or turns into a queue in a corridor.

Team Away Day Ideas: Why Plan the Wellness Part Separately

Wellness sessions need space, time and the right number of providers, and each of those bumps into the rest of your agenda. A stretching session at 7 am needs a room that the catering team isn't using for breakfast, and a massage lounge needs a corner that isn't beside the projector. Planning the wellness part on its own means it fits around the workshops and not the other way round.

What the Wellness Part Includes

An away day wellness plan can use four building blocks, and you don't need all of them. The table shows where each one fits best.

Company Retreat Ideas: Where Wellness Fits in the Schedule

Company retreat ideas work best when each wellness session lands at a point in the day where it helps and doesn't compete with the content.

Company Retreat Ideas for the Morning: Stretching and a Cuppa

Start the day with mobile assisted stretching before the first workshop. Stretching at 7 am is the only team activity where staying quiet counts as taking part, and it gives the group a calm start before the agenda fills up. Keep it short and optional, and offer a coffee for anyone who prefers to sit it out.

Midday: The Chair Massage Reset

A rolling chair massage lounge at lunchtime lets people take a turn when it suits them. Put it near the lunch space so guests can queue with a plate in hand, and let the sign-up sheet do the organising. A quick seated session between the morning and the afternoon gives the room a reset, and it fits whatever the workshops are doing.

Afternoon: The Quiet Hour

Late afternoon slumps are the best moment for a quiet hour, with a few comfy chairs, the lights down and a choice of low-key options. Keep the phones in pockets and the room calm, and nobody has to say anything profound. Anyone who'd rather sit it out can take a walk round the grounds or grab another tea, and the biscuits can stay.

Evening: Glam Before the Team Dinner

Hair and makeup before the team dinner is the one hour of the retreat where everyone arrives on time because somebody's fussing over them. It turns the dinner into an occasion, and it gives colleagues a reason to chat in a relaxed way before the food arrives.

Event Massage for Evenings and Free Time

An event massage session suits the quieter parts of a retreat, such as the hour before dinner or a free afternoon, because people can book a longer slot when they aren't rushing to the next workshop. Put it in a private room, keep the sign-up open and let people drop in when they feel like it.

A Sample Two-Day Schedule

This is a rough example of how the pieces fit together, and you can shuffle the times to suit your agenda.

Corporate Retreat Activities by Group Size

Corporate retreat activities need different numbers of providers depending on the size of the group, and a bit of arithmetic keeps the queue sensible.

The Simple Formula

Divide 60 by the session length in minutes to find how many guests one provider can see in an hour. Multiply that by the number of hours the stand is open to get each provider's total. Then work out how many guests are likely to take a turn, and divide that by the total. Providers who take corporate bookings on Blys can tell you the session lengths and the numbers that work for each service, and the corporate massage providers you work with can say how many people one therapist handles in a lounge of this size.

Corporate Retreat Activities: Worked Examples for 25, 60 and 120 People

These examples assume 15-minute chair massage sessions, a three-hour window and about half the group taking a turn. Each therapist sees four people an hour, so twelve in three hours.

These are assumptions, not promises, so ask your provider for their real figures and adjust. A few extra minutes of buffer and a spare therapist for the busiest hour make the plan more comfortable.

What Changes for Bigger Retreats

Once an away day passes about fifty people, split the wellness plan into zones: a chair massage corner, a quiet room for stretching and a glam room for the evening. Run them on a rolling schedule with sign-ups, so the groups rotate between workshops and sessions without a crowd building up. More providers means more setup space, so check the venue early.

Group Sessions and One-to-One Stretching

Assisted stretching is one-to-one, so it follows the same arithmetic as massage, and a quiet-room session for a few people at a time depends on the space and not only on the headcount. Ask the provider how many people one session can include, and how long each session should run.

Away Day Ideas and Team Offsite Ideas: Venue Setup

Away day ideas and team offsite ideas often look good on paper and fall apart in a venue that wasn't built for them, so check the space early.

Away Day Ideas: Space, Quiet and Flow

Pick a quiet corner for massage and stretching, away from loud music, catering noise and the main walkway. Allow room for the queue and for people to wait comfortably, with a few chairs and some water. A sign-up sheet and a clear route stop the area from turning into a crowd.

Power, Light and Floors

Ask the venue about power points, lighting and the floor surface before the day. Stretching needs a clear, even floor, and glam needs good light and a mirror. Tell the providers about the layout in advance, so they arrive with the right equipment and set up before the team does.

Team Offsite Ideas: Check With the Venue Early

Many venues have rules about outside suppliers, access times and noise, and some have a very firm opinion about biscuits, so ask early and share what you learn when you send your enquiry. A short conversation with the venue manager sorts most problems, and it's far easier than finding out at 7 am on the day.

Plan B for the Weather

If you'd like sessions outdoors, plan an indoor backup in case the weather turns. A covered space or a spare room means the schedule keeps running, and the providers know where to set up. Share the backup plan in your enquiry, so nobody is carrying chairs through the rain at the last minute.

Evening Glam: Hair and Makeup Before the Team Dinner

An evening glam session is the retreat activity people mention for months afterwards, and it doesn't take much to organise.

How Evening Glam Works

A hair stylist and a makeup artist set up in a room with good light and mirrors, and team members take a turn in the chairs. It suits retreat dinners, awards evenings and celebration nights. Keep the menu simple, such as a quick style and a polished makeup look, so everyone has time for a turn.

Scheduling Glam Around Dinner

Multiply the number of people by the minutes each person needs, then divide by the number of artists. For example, 18 people at 25 minutes each with two artists is 225 minutes, or just under four hours. Those are assumptions, not promises, so ask your providers for real numbers. Start early enough that the last person finishes before the first course.

Hair and Makeup Looks That Suit a Team Dinner

Keep the looks polished and simple: a smooth blow-dry or a sleek low bun, a light makeup look with a defined lip or eye and nothing that needs touching up halfway through the starter. A fast, tidy look means more people get a turn, and everyone arrives at dinner looking like the best version of a Tuesday.

What to Tell the Team

Let the team know the time slots and that glam is optional, and say whether they should arrive with clean faces and hair. A short note in the retreat schedule is plenty, and it saves questions on the day. Put the time slots, the room and a line saying it's optional, so people can plan their free time around it.

After the Away Day: A Thank-You That Lasts

An away day ends on a high and then everyone goes back to their inbox, so a small follow-up keeps the goodwill going.

Corporate Gift Vouchers as a Follow-Up

Corporate gift vouchers let each person choose their own treatment afterwards, which suits anyone who skipped a session or wants a longer one. UK vouchers stay valid for 12 months, so put a reminder in the diary at the six-month mark and nothing slips by.

What a Local Team Booked Through Blys Does for Your Retreat

Booking a local team through Blys brings them to your retreat venue or away-day location, so you don't need to hunt for suppliers in an unfamiliar town.

One Booking, Several Services

One booking through Blys covers massage, stretching and hair and makeup before the team dinner, so there's a single point of contact and no juggling of separate suppliers. Blys is a booking platform: you send the details, local providers accept the booking and bookings run from 6 am to midnight, seven days a week. The providers are independent business owners who run their own work.

Why Local Providers Help in an Unfamiliar Town

Away day venues are usually a country house or a conference hotel with a view of the car park, and the satnav says fifteen minutes and means fifteen minutes if you're a local and it isn't Friday. Local providers know the area, so travel and timing are less of a guessing game. Tell Blys the venue address, so the right providers can plan around the location.

What to Put in Your Corporate Enquiry

When you send a corporate enquiry, include the dates, the venue address, the group size and the windows in your schedule where you'd like sessions. Add the services you want, the room or space available and any power or access details, so the plan matches your retreat.

Budgeting for the Glam Session

If you're budgeting for the glam session, say how many people want a turn and how long you'd like it to run, so the quote matches the plan. Mention the size of the group when you ask, so the quote matches the plan, and say whether you want one evening glam session or several, since each one needs its own block of the artists' time.

Send a Corporate Enquiry Through Blys

A retreat runs better when you plan the wellness part, and the first step is a short corporate enquiry with your dates, venue and group size.

If you've picked your sessions, send the details to Blys, so the right local providers can plan around your schedule.

Send a Corporate Enquiry for Your Away Day →

Frequently Asked Questions

These questions come up once you have a venue and dates.

Can providers travel to a remote retreat venue?

Providers travel to your retreat venue or away-day location, and the address helps Blys check availability for the area. Put the full address in your enquiry, along with the access details, so the plan reflects the location, and mention anything unusual about the venue, such as stairs, a long walk from the car park or limited power.

Can we split the team into groups?

Yes, and it's often the easiest way to keep queues short. Run two groups on a rota, with one group in a workshop while the other has sessions, and swap after an hour. Mention the rotation in your enquiry so the providers can plan around it.

What do we need to provide on the day?

A quiet space, a clear floor, power points and a few chairs cover most of it, and the providers bring their own equipment. Sessions should stay optional, with the times in the schedule, so people can choose what to join and nobody feels they have to explain a no. Put the room details in your enquiry so the providers know what to expect.

How early should we enquire?

As soon as you have your dates and a venue, since that gives the providers time to plan around your group size and schedule. Earlier is easier, and it leaves room to adjust the plan, including the schedule, the room and the number of providers.