Real Time Retreats Library
We’re proud (and a little sad) to announce that our Real-Time Retreats series of virtual trips to fantastic places is came to an end after 16 months!
Here’s a look back, by the numbers:
We’ve visited 121 distinct hotels & resorts
31 different countries
Had 82 different ‘tour guides’ and hosts
‘Gone live’ to: Ireland, Greece, Sweden, Italy, England, Monaco, Peru, Mexico and Scotland
We’ve celebrated holidays like:
Seis de Mayo in Mexico (Rosewood Mayakoba)
St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland with Odyssey International, Adare Manor, The K Club, Hotel Europe
Thanksgiving in New England with Auberge Resorts Collection - The White Barn Inn, The Vanderbilt, Mayflower Inn & Spa
‘Wintered’ in Canada with Fairmont Hotels & Resorts Banff Springs Hotel, Chateau Lake Louise, Jasper Park Lodge, Chateau Whistler
Christmas in Scandinavia - live from Icehotel, Sweden
Mardi Gras in New Orleans with BBC DMC
Carnival in the Caribbean - Curacao, with Latin+Plus DMC Group and Synergy Connect
...and helped The Breakers celebrate their 125th birthday!
Combined video views for all 59 Real-Time Retreats videos comes to an astonishing 8,266!!! (That includes views on YouTube and our website). That also includes views by 6 of our competitors. Real Time Retreats videos below will remain on our website any time you want to refresh your memory or share these presentations, or just to see a screen’s worth of fun and friendly faces!
We’ve raised thousands of dollars for Wine to Water and the Auberge fund for families in need after the California fires.
We’ve given away (through the generosity of our destination partners and our favorite corporate gifting partner, Maui Jim):
78 nights’ stays in gorgeous locations
64 pairs of Maui Jim sunglasses
16 bottles of wine and/or spirits
9 pounds of chocolate
and 290 ‘first five’ gifts for those of you who logged in early
We’ve had wine tastings: Malbec from Argentina, South African wines with Mont Rochelle - Virgin Limited Edition, and California - Bardessono, Hotel Yountville in Napa.
We’ve experienced:
Live tango instruction
Yoga with flamingos
Hotel secrets from the general managers
‘Granny Bingo’
Sang ‘Whiskey in the Jar’ and ‘The Irish Rover’ with an Irish troubadour
Meditated under a banyan tree with Banyan Tree Resorts
Savored high tea in Ascot and Bermuda
Shared how our hospitality family gives back, recycles, repurposes and does good in the world
Visited live the barn where the ‘Bailey’s ladies’ cows make Bailey’s Irish cream
Found out how to sleep better with Equinox Hotel, Hudson Yards
Got busy in the kitchen and at the bar, making Madelines with Hotel Bennett, Hot Chocolate Bombs with Fairmont Hotels, grilled out in the desert with Enchantment Resort, made the famous Black Miso Cod with Nobu, and made cocktails with, well, just about everyone.
We’ve dressed up as Greek gods and goddesses, leprechauns, bottles of ranch dressing, the cast from ‘The Love Boat,’ saints, demons, gangsters, presidents, elves, Freda Kahlo, hippies, Mad Men, mobsters, moguls, the Rat Pack, Carole Baskin, spa-goers, mermaids, jet setters, flappers and flowers, ranch hands and revelers!
And finally, we’ve had 512 unique viewers and participants (thus far)! Whew!!!
These weekly gatherings have kept us creative, engaged with all of you and building relationships around the world with industry pros we would otherwise not have met. So for this, our team is extremely grateful! And we may be back for the occasional episode, as opportunity and time allows.
So, we want to thank all of you for participating and supporting these weekly destination deep dives! We hope they have surprised, delighted, entertained and informed you. Your enthusiasm, your creativity, the insights, stories and research you bring every week have enriched us all!