A Summer Survival Story

2020 was supposed to be our greatest year. 

By March, we had already doubled our bookings in comparison to 2019 and we were expecting the highest participation. By mid-May and after the mass lockdowns, it was obvious that most of our guests as well as our teachers wouldn’t be able to travel due to travel restrictions and to the overall insecurity.

We didn’t want to admit it to each other but we were both thinking that we should look for another job.

It felt unfair because we’ve worked hard to build a brand from scratch in the middle of the Greek economic crisis. This thought of cosmic injustice made us stick our foot to the ground and try to change the game in our favour.

‘Fykiada’ could have been one more case of a business that disappeared within a couple of months but something else happened instead.

We quickly embraced Greece’s positive media image as a ‘safe destination’

We structured our comms around the moto ‘Retreat with Safety’. We worked closely with our location partners to put together a set of rules following all the health protocols and secure a safe retreat.

What kept our guests on board was the fact that we did our best to not leave them hanging.

Week on week, we were adjusting to new measures and communicating with them clearly. They felt someone was caring and we did care.

In the afternoon of the 25th of July, we found ourselves breathing deeply in our Koufonisia shala

Everything went smooth and with absolute safety. What stroke us was how deprived was everyone from human connection and the simple acts of joy such as walking down the beach with no masks, sitting around the table with fresh food and moving our bodies freely.

By the end of the retreat our guests’ posture and facial expressions had changed, their cheeks had found their color and people were grateful they’ve offered this gift to themselves. The right to summer!

Fykiada Retreats has run two successful retreats so far and is getting ready to host one more in October

Planning ahead seems similar to astrophysics. That said, we know now the below:

There’s a way to make things happen if you stay strong to your values and flexible with your systems & processes.

PS. Sign up to our 2021 Waiting List to be the first to be informed on our upcoming retreats!

*Cover story image credit: Miklos Selva