Let’s get the clickbaiting out of the way first: we’re not technically building a house, we’re renovating an existing villa. To make it more suitable for remote teams. The rest is true, though. It’s on a unique subtropical island in the Atlantic Ocean! OK, but why on Earth would a software company build a vacation villa? The answer is about a decade old.
When Niteo was just starting out, I stumbled upon Plone, a Web CMS with a fantastic community. I regularly attended conferences and “sprints”, week-long coding marathons with fellow Plonistas at various locations around the World. These sprints were great to learn from the best developers, to meet different cultures and to have a heck of a good time!
One time at Sauna Sprint, somewhere deep in the Finish forest, with my laptop in my lap, lounging by the lake after a long sauna session, my bucket list grew for a new item: someday, I want to have a beach house where I can throw sprints by the sea.
That day has come.
Niteo House is a 3-bedroom villa on Lanzarote, an EU island of eternal spring. It can sleep up to 6 people, enough for small sprints, or enough for the organizing team of a bigger event. There are similar villas and a few hotels in the direct neighborhood, so plenty of accommodation options.
Obviously, there’s FTTH broadband. Lots of outside seating areas, semi-private corners to break-out into smaller groups, wall mounted TV for presentations and a pool for brain resets between sessions.
The location is Costa Teguise, a seaside town on Lanzarote. 15 minutes drive from an international airport, spring-like climate all year round, warm enough for T-Shirts, but no tropical heat & humidity, lots of sunshine, a protected beach for swimming, open air gyms, promenade, sunrise yoga, (wind)surfing and numerous local restaurants are just a few minutes walk away from the House.
The work is definitely not finished yet, but we’ll soon be ready for our first Ocean Sprint (covid-permitting, of course), one of many to come.
See you at Niteo House!
