A company offsite is a work day, or several, held away from the office so a team can plan or spend time together without the usual interruptions. In Singapore that usually means a strategy day in a hotel meeting room or a team-building afternoon at a venue somewhere on the island, and it costs from about SGD 25 a head for an activity to SGD 250 or more for a full day with venue and meals.
The word comes from “off site”: away from the place where people normally work. Cambridge spells it offsite, off-site or off site, and lists the noun as business English, so in “the offsite is on Friday” the word names the event itself.
What an offsite is for
An offsite is for the work that never gets done between meetings. Most have one of these as the lead purpose:
- Planning. Next year’s targets, a reorganisation, or a new strategy that needs everyone in one room for a full day.
- Getting a team to work as one. After a merger, a hiring wave or a hard year, when people know each other’s names and not much else.
- Saying thank you. A good year, and the day out is the reward.
- Onboarding a cohort. A graduate intake or a new department meeting all at once.
Pick one to lead. A thank-you day that turns out to be six hours of slides is how offsites get their reputation.
Common offsite formats in Singapore
| Format | Typical length | What happens | Do we run it? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strategy day | 1 day | Workshops in a hotel or meeting venue, with lunch | No, though we can run the afternoon block |
| Company retreat | 1 to 2 days | A change of scene, some work, one shared activity, sometimes a staycation | We run the shared activity |
| Team-building half day | 3 to 4 hours | One activity for the whole group, at a venue or your own office | Yes, this is what we do |
| Dinner and dance (D&D) | An evening | Dinner, a stage programme, often a game | Yes, usually right through the dinner |
| Overseas trip | 2 to 4 days | Flights, hotel and a programme abroad | We run the game part, the same as in Singapore |
“Offsite” means something specific to us. The Escape Artist has no room of its own, so the game travels: to your office or hotel ballroom, to your company trip overseas, or to a real Singapore landmark such as Fort Siloso on Sentosa, where Lost Treasure of Sarang Rimau takes up to 1,000 players. We run the part of the day where the whole team plays one game together, for 10 to 1,000+ pax.
For the longer version, read company retreat ideas in Singapore, or see how a game fits into a company retreat.
Offsite vs onsite
An onsite is the same kind of event held at your own office.
| Point | Offsite | Onsite |
|---|---|---|
| Where | A hotel, attraction, museum, park or hired hall | Your office, pantry or meeting rooms |
| Venue cost | Hire or admission on top | Usually none |
| Attention | Hard to slip back to your desk | Laptops open at the first break |
| Logistics | Transport, a run sheet, a wet-weather plan | Reserve the big room |
The trade is attention against cost. If the budget is tight, a game run in your own office keeps the change of pace without the venue bill. If people need to stop thinking about their inboxes, leave the building.
What a company offsite costs in Singapore
A half-day team-building offsite in Singapore typically costs SGD 25 to 80 a head for the activity, and a one-day retreat with venue, meals and an activity about SGD 100 to 250 a head. The bands below are indicative, before GST and service charge where a vendor charges them.
| Format | Indicative cost per head |
|---|---|
| Team-building activity, half day | SGD 25 to 80 |
| Hotel day-meeting package (room, lunch, two tea breaks) | SGD 80 to 150, plus service charge and GST |
| One-day retreat with venue, meals and an activity | SGD 100 to 250 |
| Dinner and dance at a hotel | SGD 120 to 350 |
| Overseas trip, 2 to 4 days | SGD 500 to 2,000+ |
Our own price comes from a formula. The game fee is SGD 300 fixed plus SGD 20 a head on Standard, which is self-guided on our own web app with one staff host. Immersive is SGD 1,100 fixed plus SGD 20 a head and adds facilitators in costume around the venue. So 100 pax on Standard is SGD 2,300, about SGD 23 each. Some venues add an admission or venue fee on top. We’re not GST registered, so the game fee quoted is the game fee paid. The full breakdown is in how to budget a corporate offsite.
How to plan a company offsite in five steps
- Pick one purpose. Planning, bonding, thanks or onboarding. It sets the balance between work and everything else.
- Fix the headcount, the date and a budget per head. Finance signs off a per-head figure faster than a lump sum, and the headcount decides which venues are even possible.
- Choose a venue that suits the purpose. A hotel for a working day, a landmark for a reset, your own office if money is tight. Ask whether the venue charges admission per head or a flat hire fee, because the two scale very differently.
- Do the serious work in the morning. One shared activity after lunch, then a short close. Two seated sessions back to back after lunch is where offsites lose the room.
- Send the practical details early. Transport or the nearest MRT, what to wear for heat and rain, dietary needs such as halal and vegetarian, and a wet-weather plan for anything outdoors.
Planning one now? See how corporate team building works with us, or get a quote against your headcount.
Questions people ask
Is it offsite or off-site?
Both are correct. Cambridge lists offsite, off-site and off site as the same word, meaning away from the place where people normally work, and records the noun as business English for a meeting or event held somewhere else. Use whichever spelling your house style prefers, and keep it the same across the invitation, the agenda and the approval email.
How much does a company offsite cost in Singapore?
A half-day team-building offsite in Singapore usually costs SGD 25 to 80 a head for the activity, and a full-day retreat with venue, meals and an activity runs about SGD 100 to 250 a head. Our offsite escape game is SGD 300 fixed plus SGD 20 a head on Standard, so 100 pax pay a SGD 2,300 game fee, about SGD 23 each, before any venue fee.
Does a company offsite have to be overseas?
No. An offsite only has to be away from the office, and in Singapore many are a single day on the island: a hotel, Sentosa, a museum, a heritage site, or a hall in your own building. A landmark half an hour from the office gives you the change of scene for a fraction of what flights and rooms cost. Overseas trips suit reward offsites with a bigger budget.
How far ahead should you plan a company offsite?
Four to six weeks for a one-day offsite in Singapore, and longer for November and December, when dinner and dance season fills the good venues. A multi-day or overseas offsite needs two to three months for flights, rooms and approvals. Lock the date and the headcount first, because every venue and vendor quote depends on both.
