Summer is the perfect time to bring your teams together for a seminar before the start of the new academic year. Less operational pressure, more mental availability, a desire to relax and bond... A summer seminar is a real boost for your company. It's just a question of knowing how to organise it methodically, choosing the right venue, the right team-building activities and an unspoilt setting suited to the summer climate.
Why organise a summer seminar for your company?
The benefits of a summer seminar
Organising your company seminar during the summer allows you to :
- Strengthen cohesion and team spirit before the start of the new school year;
- Create a lasting team-building spirit;
- Build on the successes of the first half of the year;
- Set a clear course for the end of the year
The setting also plays a decisive role. A seminar by the seaside, in the forest or in the mountains encourages exchanges, far removed from traditional meeting rooms. The atmosphere is more relaxed and the air lighter.
Your summer seminar should serve a specific purpose: integrating new staff, launching a new product or offering, or rewarding performance.
Our ideas and inspiration for activities to make your summer seminar a success
Original team building activities for summer
Summer is the perfect time to take full advantage of outdoor activities that encourage cohesion and cooperation, such as urban rallies in Paris or Lille, Olympiads in the countryside, collaborative challenges in the forest or nautical challenges by the sea. For a more immersive format, the "Croisière s'amuse à Paris" day offers a particularly memorable experience. aboard a boat on the Seine, your teams will alternate working in sub-groups, collaborative challenges and moments of relaxation in front of the Parisian monuments.
Unusual summer venues for private hire
Green seminars in the forest
TheGreen Seminar - Between forest and huts takes place at Youza Ecolodge, a 32-hectare forest estate in Normandy, just an hour from Paris and Rouen.
The entire site can be made private for a seminar in the sun. The site houses 18 ecolodges. The communal area includes a cosy 100 m² lounge and a 36 m² fully-equipped meeting room;
Villa Clairemaison in the 78 department
Villa Clairemaison is particularly easy to get to: Garancières station is just six minutes away by car, and Orly airport is less than an hour. Your employees coming from Paris or the Ile-de-France region can reach the site quickly. The villa is divided into three separate houses, with 9 bedrooms and 10 bathrooms, and can accommodate up to 30 people.
Private monastery in Haute Provence
The privatised Monastère de Haute Provence encourages concentration and exchange. The cloister with its central fountain, the gardens planted with century-old trees, the vegetable garden and the 8-hectare estate create a soothing atmosphere.
Domaines de Gaston in Normandy
The Manoir isan imposing three-storey building of over 800 m², with 180 m² of lounges on the ground floor for up to 100 seated guests or 150 for cocktails. upstairs, eight en suite bedrooms and a large five-bedroom flat are available.
Hôtel & Spa le Richelieu on the Île de Ré
Facing the Arnerault beach in the heart of the Île de Ré, Hôtel & Spa Le Richelieu offers the ideal 5-star setting for a summer seminar by the sea. The flexible meeting rooms can accommodate from 20 to 120 people, depending on the configuration. The hotel has 38 rooms and suites with private terraces. The restaurant features local produce.
Catering options and gourmet entertainment
The ice-cream events offer freshness and theatricality: ice creams rolled on a plancha at -25°C, premium sorbets, granitas with original flavours or a stand customised to your image. The"Cocktail Show" transforms your evening into a real mixology show, with ephemeral bars, juggling barmen and scenic effects all over France.
For a refined experience, the Lebanese caterer offers mezzés, kebabs and oriental pastries in cocktail, buffet or sit-down meal formats. Finally, Mister Fishy in Toulouse offers 100% home-cooked seafood in a convivial street food format for 30 to 200 people.
Organise your summer seminar anywhere in France with Whereez
Our main locations and areas covered
Whereez, an events agency, operates throughout France: Paris, Lille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes, Toulouse, Côte d'Azur, Normandy, Brittany, the Alps and Reunion Island. This coverage means we can choose a destination that is consistent with the actual number of participants, the duration of the summer seminar and the level of immersion required.
Tailor-made support and simplified procedures
Organising a company seminar in the summer requires real rigour. With teams partly on holiday, limited availability of certain venues and climatic constraints, improvisation can be costly.
- Whereez can help you clarify the real objective of your seminar beforehand. Is it a change of strategy before the start of the new school year? An incentive seminar designed to boost performance?
- Our support then consists of structuring the programme. The plenary sessions are positioned at times when attention is at its highest. Outdoor team-building activities are adapted to the summer conditions and the dynamics of the group. Breaks are designed to maintain the collective energy.
- Logistics are also an integral part of management: checking accommodation capacity, coordinating work spaces, organising transport and managing service providers.
How to run a successful summer seminar? Our expert advice
key stages for flawless organisation
A summer seminar cannot be improvised. Here are the key points to bear in mind:
- Define a success indicator even before booking the venue: participation rate, decisions taken in plenary, deliverables produced or internal post-seminar survey. Without indicators, it will be impossible to assess the real impact at the start of the school year.
- Limit plenary sessions to a maximum of 90 consecutive minutes. Beyond that, attention spans drop sharply, especially in hot weather.
- Check the actual accommodation capacity in separate beds if necessary. A company seminar for 30 people does not automatically mean that there are 30 single rooms available.
Mistakes to avoid for a memorable summer event
A poorly located summer seminar immediately loses effectiveness. Too long a journey, complicated access, poorly anticipated weather, unsuitable capacity... These mistakes detract from the experience:
- A dense plenary session between 2pm and 4pm, especially outdoors or in a poorly ventilated room, greatly reduces the ability to concentrate.
- Eliminating structured working time in favour of purely recreational activities gives a positive impression at the time, but leaves little measurable impact when the new year starts. on the other hand , too many meetings create fatigue.
- A magnificent estate that is difficult to access can create logistical tensions. Similarly, underestimating transport time, especially when teams are travelling from different cities, can put a strain on the collective energy on arrival.
FAQ - Organising a summer seminar
When is the best time to organise a summer seminar?
The best period is between mid-June and mid-July, before the mass departures on holiday. The end of August can also work. The key is to ensure that at least 80% of the team is present.
What types of activities are best for seminars in summer?
Favour outdoor activities suited to the climate: collaborative challenges in the forest, water sports by the sea, urban rallies in the morning or structured relaxation formats at the end of the day. avoid intense physical effort at the hottest times of the day.
How do you choose the right venue for your team?
The venue should correspond to the actual number of participants, the level of comfort expected and the objective of the seminar. Check the capacity of the rooms, the quality of the accommodation, transport accessibility and the possibility of alternating work and relaxation without logistical constraints.
