ParkBee’s First International Company Retreat: A Milestone Worth Celebrating

Duration

3 days

Team Size

Location

Brač Island, Croatia

Theme

Connection, Celebration, and Clarity

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This was our third workshop that we’ve delivered together. At this point, it had the comfort - and the benefits - of a routine.

You know how it can go with new clients though. It’s professional, measured, and maybe even cautionary. Speaking to a third-time? That is different. It feels like walking into a conversation already in progress. Like calling an old friend.

The Challenge

ParkBee, a European tech scale-up revolutionizing urban parking, had just hit a major milestone: profitability! Their goal was simple: celebrate the moment properly (without breaking the budget).

Parking might not sound glamorous, but what ParkBee does is quite amazing. They make parking cheaper for drivers, they generate income for property owners, and they reduce street congestion.

Their first profitable year wasn’t a fluke. It was the result of hard, smart work. And that raised the stakes. This retreat wasn’t just a nice-to-have; it was a reward. The CEO promised the team an international retreat once they reached profitability. So expectations were high.

It was time to bring their international team together face-to-face for the first time. Each summer, the Amsterdam-based company gathered locally with a few teammates from London. But this year, they knew they needed to go bigger. Not just a getaway, but a reset: to connect across departments, reflect on what they’d all achieved, and share an experience worthy of the work that got them there. That’s when they reached out. They knew they needed a partner to pull it off.

Woman standing near glass doors presenting ideas on sticky notes and posters during a meeting.

The OnsiteHub Approach

“2024 was our biggest year yet, with excellent strides forward in business and building a stellar team. We wanted to celebrate our success and reset, ready for the next milestone—the definition of ‘Aim Higher, Go Further,’ our cultural value and name for our offsite.”
—Fiona Heseltine, Head of People and Culture

‍We curated a comprehensive retreat experience that combined structured workshops with local adventures, stunning views, and late-night pub stops, all within budget. The result? A retreat as dynamic and successful as the ParkBee team itself.

Aerial view of a coastal town with terracotta rooftops, a harbor with boats, and calm blue sea under a cloudy sky.

Handpicked Destination: Brač Island as Base

Charming, walkable, and naturally beautiful, Brač offered the perfect blend of laid-back island life and logistical ease. With our local expert Maja at the helm, everything ran smoothly. Even the weather cooperated.

Six young adults outdoors on a stone wall against a cloudy sky, two in the foreground giving a high-five and others standing or crouching behind them, all casually dressed in athletic wear.

Dedicated Planner and Local Insight

With a single point of contact for the ParkBee team and an on-the-ground local coordinator (Maja, born and raised on Brač), every detail - from boat charters to olive grove dinners - was handled with care.

Smiling woman with curly hair holding a photo of people on a small boat, with other people socializing in the background outdoors.

Custom Itinerary: Balanced Agenda, Thoughtfully Paced

We designed the itinerary to encourage connection without over-scheduling: part strategic, part spontaneous, all celebratory.

Retreat Highlights

Group of five friends playing cards and enjoying drinks on a boat with a forested shoreline in the background.

Welcome & Icebreakers by the Sea

After landing, the team kicked things off with cocktails and casual games at the hotel. Just enough structure to ease into island time. The night ended at a beach bar with drinks and sea breeze.

Split Afternoon Adventures

Sometimes we split the group. A little choice goes a long way. It’s a retreat planning trick we swear by, especially for anything strenuous (not everyone loves a workout in the sun).

Group B took to the forest trails for a guided nature walk that ended with toes in the sand and a few surprise sea dips.

But here’s the catch: too much choice is chaos. Let everyone go their own way, and suddenly you're herding 40 cats on individual holidays. Keep it curated.

Group of people posing on a rocky beach with calm ocean and cloudy sky in the background.

Dinner in an Olive Grove

The guidebooks and Google show you Brač dinners as all sea views and stone patios. Lovely, of course. But our secret hook-up is something special: dinner in an olive grove owned by some of our local friends.

String lights between ancient trees, long tables dressed in linen, Croatian wine flowing (wildly underrated, by the way), and laughter drifted through the orchard. Easily a top retreat dinner of the year.

Group of people dining and socializing in a glass-enclosed patio with wooden beams at dusk.

Group of young adults socializing and smiling around a table at an outdoor event.

The Pub That Stayed Open Late

After dinner, the group wasn’t ready to call it a night; The good company and the vibes were too strong.

But tragedy struck. All the bars had closed. Enter Maja, our local fixer. She called her favourite bar, and the owner reopened just for them. Drinks flowed, the music blasted, and the celebration continued well into the night.

And after all, that’s what the retreat was all about - celebration - so we were especially happy to help them out with this!

Island-Hopping by Boat

On the final day, we boarded a private boat and chased the sun and the vibes across the Adriatic. However, the whole trip was going suspiciously to plan, so of course it rained in the morning.

But no one cared. Nothing could dampen the celebration. By the late morning, the skies cleared, and we were diving in the water.

Group of people enjoying a sunny day on a large red and white sailboat near a forested coastline.

What They Gained

A planning experience that felt light, clear, and totally supported
A location that surprised even the most seasoned travellers
A retreat that hit the perfect rhythm of connection, celebration, and downtime
A sense of confidence to ask for more, knowing it would be delivered
A sense of momentum going forward, and a desire to do it again

And the results, in hard numbers…

ParkBee ran a post-retreat survey to understand the impact:

✅ 100% of the team said they formed or deepened meaningful connections with colleagues.

✅ 100% said the retreat met or exceeded their expectations.

✅ 90% said they expect to collaborate more effectively across teams and departments going forward.

Four people standing and waving from the top balcony of a white two-story building surrounded by greenery under a blue sky.

In Their Words

“Anything we asked for got fixed. Communication was timely, clear—couldn’t have been better. I don’t even really have the words, especially coming off the boat trip now. It’s the most beautiful location we could have picked.”‍

‍“Everything was A-OK. Anything that we asked for got fixed. Communication was timely and clear. It couldn’t have been better.”

Johanna Parnsalu

People & Admin at Gasp