Tech startups keep workers remote but plan elaborate "bonding trips"

The big picture: For tech startups, the new model for these retreats means that "PowerPoint presentations in hotel conference rooms are replaced by more enjoyable endeavors: mountain biking in Colorado, swimming with dolphins in Mexico and dancing the tango in Argentina," writes the Journal.

• The business-software company, People.ai Inc. closed its headquarters in San Francisco as well as most of its other offices, and ditched plans for a new office in London. Instead, the company's real estate budget is being fueled into several company trips, reports the Journal.
• The startup incubator All Turtles Corp. also closed its offices in Paris, Tokyo and San Francisco and is planning "twice-yearly excursions" for all its employees.

What they're saying: “The genie is out of the bottle for remote work and if we wanted to bring everyone back to headquarters I don’t think it’s doable,” Oleg Rogynskyy, CEO of People.ai, told the Journal, adding that doing so “is how you lose your best employees.”

Of note: These sorts of retreats could cater to young, single employees.

• Rogynskyy is considering a child-care stipend to help "support spouses and kids when employees are away and in some cases pay for families to travel along," per the Journal.