Where is the best place to combine vacation and work?

Not only in which profession we work, but also where we work is increasingly important to many of us today. Saskia Klinder, Managing Director of meetreet, knows all about locations for working away from the office. She trained as a hotel manageress at MARITIM Hotels in 2010, worked for the international hotel chain HILTON as Head of Events and volunteers as an examiner at the Chamber of Industry and Commerce. Diligence, ambition and courage have characterized her last 10 years in the hotel industry.

With her own event agency Meetvision (founded in 2018), she wanted to plan and execute creative events in unique places she encountered on numerous trips. Far away from standards and “we’ve always done it this way” attitude. So she went on a location discovery tour (the whole thing during the pandemic) to find the most inspiring accommodations for her beloved guests. But what to do with all these unique places in this world and where to present them best? On the internet – exactly at the place where start-up, hotel industry and our young generation meet every day. meetreet deliberately combines accommodations with a creative orientation and the openness to break new ground. She lives her function as managing director 100%. She is convinced that we are exactly right in the here and now. It’s time to clean up the industry and make room for newcomers in the digital and platform world.

When she’s not working, she can often be found in the yoga studio. Or at her farm in the countryside, or at the Baltic Sea in her boyfriend’s lovingly renovated house. Her insider tip: Es Raco DÁrta. A mix of yoga, country life and family (the hosts are great).

What is the difference between workation, remote office and offsite?

Sometimes the differences are not that big and yet they have a completely different effect. In this regard, the definition of the goal before I deal with all these issues is much more important.

Workations are usually over a longer period of time, with small groups or as a single freethinker, to be able to work in peace for themselves. Some remote teams use workations to work together for an extended period of time without being in an office. But what is much more important is that the individual person can go at their own pace. And if it’s just a shared lunch, it helps to get out of the lonely remote office. So workstations are about working together or as a single individual in a nice place.

Often the team already knows each other or freelancers from the same industry meet to exchange ideas and work together. Co-living houses have become increasingly important in order to expand the network at the same time.

The opposite of remote office is presence work. This refers to all those who cannot work in a remote office. We can consider ourselves absolutely lucky that this type of work exists and that numerous activities can be performed remotely. However, it requires just then, one or the other physical meeting, no matter with the team or as a freelancer in a co-living space to experience, feel and enjoy the world as a community.

An offsite is an event that is organized for the entire team, outside the office, within an organization. On average, however, an offsite only takes place on 2-3 days. Always with the goal of incorporating team activities, focusing on the individual and thus strengthening the team spirit. Not only can team members get to know each other better, but new ideas can also emerge. No matter if at the pool, on the way there in the train or while sharing a lavender lemonade. And all this on neutral ground without the office phone and daily emails. Here it’s the person and the moment that counts.

Are there certain places that are particularly popular for workations and why?

I’m fascinated every time I think about how many beautiful places there are now. The most popular at the moment is the Berlin area. Numerous startups and creative minds are in Berlin and love to stay close by as well as travel sustainably. What has been created there in recent months, from redeveloped train stations to old farms is just terrific. In the fall and winter months, some are drawn to the sun. Our insider tip on Tenerife is almost fully booked and our Healthy Hotel on Mallorca is a place full of inspiration and humanity.

All these teams are looking for venues and hotels with enough space for creativity and tranquility, suitable for companies to focus on team offsite and sustainable events.

Do you have a personal favorite place where you work particularly well?

It’s your own thoughts that make you work pretty much in all places. For me, it’s important to experience a good mix of calm and hustle and bustle. And I enjoy walking into spontaneous walks & talks. Co-working spaces are therefore absolutely valuable. When traveling, I like to use the hotel lobby and be in the middle of the action. Meanwhile, where I spend little time are large hotels & resorts where there are few places to retreat and don’t inspire you to work. Probably the most productive time for me is in the evening with a glass of wine in hand on the balcony with good music. 🙂

You want to know more about Saskia, accommodations and Meetreet: https://meetreet.com/de

You want to read more about Workation. HERE you can find our interview with Vanessa Thielemann from BRali.

You want to see Saskia and Vanessa live? They will be exhibitors and program participants at this year’s Berlin Travel Festival. Be on the lookout for Workation Island.