Retreats & Offsites: Facilitation in Kelowna and beyond

| A strategic time-out to reconnect and reimagine

Sometimes the smartest thing you can do for your organization is hit pause. Take a time out. Reset.

In 2026, companies and teams are finding themselves stretched.

Organizations are reporting that they are...

Under more pressure: Economic pressures, political uncertainty and the rise of AI has many organizations scrambling. (Spoiler alert: it will never stop. This is the new pace.)
Less connected: Return-to-office mandates are increasing commute times, and maybe also a little resentment. Are you finding yourself coming to the office, only to tune each other other?
Very, very serious: Perfectionism and professionalism has many of us wearing masks, not letting our guards down, and walking on thin ice at the office. It's been a while since we've allowed ourselves to laugh, and to – dare I say – have any fun at work.

But under the surface, people are yearning for connection, brimming with ideas and wanting to collaborate, ready to harness real momentum towards real change.

An in-person team retreat is an incredible way to help your group make massive advancements:

Look ahead: Retreats can help re-focus your strategy and vision. Come together to kindle a new imagination for what's possible. Create space to dream and look ahead.
Look back: An offsite can offer a way to take stock of where you've been, the ups and downs, the wins and failures. Celebrate and acknowledge the paths you've walked to get to where you are.
Look around you: Inspiration is out there – in nature, in other companies, in each other's beach reads. You never know what analogies and stories will spark that game-changing new initiative.
Look around the room: Building connection and relationship between colleagues is a massive investment in your long-term culture. The friendships and shared narratives that develop are unparalleled boons to health at work.

Team-building, inspiration gathering, reality-checking and future-casting are all hallmarks of a great retreat experience.

Why hire Co.school for your next retreat?

Co.school's facilitation style offers unique advantages:

You-first: We tune right in to your culture's reality, to design a custom experiences that speaks your language. It will feel like your company, not somebody else's, thanks to collaborative design.
Down to earth: Some facilitators can get really cringey. Really corporate. Really awkward. You know the type. Trust exercises that don't land, concepts that are too much of a stretch, agendas that leave people feeling deeply uncomfortable. Co.school's approach follows a more authentic, grounded path to collective experiences.
Experiential: Beyond the agenda, let's talk about venue, setting, food, activities, and overall flow. Let's tune into the holistic, human-centered intangibles that really make an experience meaningful and memorable, and not leave them as an afterthought.
Outcome-focused: The progress made during an off-site is often stunning. "We didn't think we'd accomplish so much," is a common refrain, or "We got more done during these few days than we could have on our own in 6 months."

Where does Co.school facilitate and host retreats and offsites?

Many folks appreciate the chance to get away from the day-to-day and spend time in a gorgeous, natural setting, to help the mind expand and people connect – a place like the Okanagan Valley. That's where we are.

If you're looking for a strategic facilitator for your company retreat in Kelowna, BC, Co.school offers bespoke, human-centered services to advance your organization's progress.

A few places around here that serve as great venues for Okanagan retreats:

Sparkling Hill – a luxury resort between Kelowna and Vernon. Picture a crystalline cruise-ship stranded on top of a mountain.
Soma Craft Cidery – a working farm with lodging and a great event space.
The Innovation Centre – downtown Kelowna, a well-appointed collaborative space with great food options nearby, right in the heart of the city.
UBC Okanagan – a mix of meeting spaces and accommodations, in a hillside campus known for innovation and collaboration.
Delta Grand, Manteo Resort, El Dorado – name your local lakeside lodging.

And if travelling to the Okanagan isn't in the cards, we're happy to travel to you or with you. We've zipped along to our client's preferred locations in places like a church grounds in Vancouver, BC, a creekside resort near Whistler, and a golf course in Calgary, AB, just to name a few.

Before it was Co.school, the team was also responsible for designing and hosting company retreats in-house for BC-based digital agency Domain7. As part of this brand, we hosted in spaces including:

A resort in Manning Park, BC
Loon Lake Lodge, outside Maple Ridge, BC, at the UBC Research Forest (connected with Canadian Cancer Society's 'Camp Goodtimes')
An airbnb in Bellingham, WA
A university campus in Claremont, California
And many more!

Who's the host and facilitator for retreats at Co.school?

Our principal facilitator is Kevan Gilbert, whose 20+ year career has seen him leading groups towards change for corporate clients and non-profits alike, social change innovators and supply-chain-optimizers. He has supported corporate groups like Deloitte, Shopify, Ubisoft, as well as charitable organizations like Canadian Cancer Society and Alberta Children's Hospital.