Running a team offsite in a ski town

What to book, when to book it, and why the second afternoon should have nothing scheduled at all.

Most people arrive with a rough plan and no sense of the geography, which is fine — the town is small enough that you will have it mapped by day three. What follows is what we tell every new member in their first week, in the order it usually comes up.

Getting settled

The old town is a four-minute walk from the desk and the gondola is nine. Everything you need day to day sits inside that triangle: two supermarkets, the pharmacy, the post office and more places to eat than a town this size has any business having.

The first week is about routine, not sightseeing. Get the routine right and the mountain is still there in month three.

Working hours that hold

Bansko runs two hours ahead of London and one behind Dubai, which puts a European workday comfortably inside daylight. Members with US clients tend to take the mountain in the morning and start properly after lunch — that is the pattern the building settles into by December.

The floor is quiet by ten and stays that way until the afternoon coffee break. If your calls run long, take a booth rather than a desk; nobody will say anything, but everyone notices.

What to do first

1. Get a local SIM at the mall on the main road — ten minutes, passport needed.
2. Register your address if you are staying past ninety days.
3. Come to the next community breakfast, whichever week you land.