BC Business
Travel resolutions to keep.
Experts say that turbulence, already the leading cause of injuries to air passengers and flight attendants, could triple in the next decade due to climate change effects. The biggest threat: so-called clear air turbulence, which comes on suddenly, without clouds or storms. Planes can withstand it, and staying seated with your seatbelt fastened and bringing approved child seats on board (instead of holding a baby or toddler in your lap) are your best safety bets.
Several Fairmont hotels are now proudly free of non-essential single-use plastics. At locations reaching from the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald in Edmonton to the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver, guests will now find perks such as large-format pump bottles of signature Rose 31 amenities from Le Labo in the shower, Flow Tetra Paks instead of bottles of water at bedside and cloth bags for dirty laundry.
B.C. will soon have its third Ageless Living clinic, with locations in Langley, Victoria and Kelowna. Its unique pre-vacation wellness packages will help get you in tip-top shape. Options can include customized skin care and vitamin-packed IV therapy, as well as bio-hacking treatments like hyperbaric oxygen (boosts immunity and circulation, reduces inflammation), pulsed electromagnetic field therapy (optimizes the body’s recovery capability) and NuCalm (balances the nervous system). Clinic founders Michael Forbes and Dr. Jean-Paul Lim have deep experience in medical- grade longevity treatments and technologies, along with a team of licensed medical staff and certified wellness pros.
Namrata Inn
Naramata Inn will clear only three weekends in its 2023 summer calendar for a few lucky guests to buy out the entire resort for private events. Check in with 26 friends and family members for a two-night stay that includes all 12 guest rooms, a gathering at the hotel’s Eliza bar, a wine reception and a four-course dinner featuring chef Ned Bell’s French Naramatian cuisine. The CEO Forum and other business, family and wedding parties have already experienced the inn’s legendary hospitality on bespoke stays.
Burnaby-based Darci Murray is the president of Hooked on Travel, offering sober-curious travel packages that “expose our clients to healthy habits they might not engage in their own backyard,” Murray says.
On corporate trips with networking, brainstorming and teambuilding goals, “you throw alcohol into the equation and the brain neurons are barely firing to bounce off ideas, and people can’t remember what they discussed with one another, making strong team bonds impossible.”
Instead, Hooked trips encourage “full-sensory travel,” a booze-free state in which experiences can feel more intense: for example, a blindfolded dinner. She suggests corporate retreats can also include individual “personal reset” goals or a group wellness challenge.
It can feel like there are more hours and opportunities in the day on an alcohol-free trip—for anything from coldwater plunges to escape rooms and outdoor activities (like axe throwing, line dancing, rafting or surfing) or a team-building cooking challenge.
“The world’s most successful people set their alarms for 5 a.m.,” Murray says, so trips include optional early-morning activities. And with murder-mystery and game nights or evening fondue or dessert tastings, your colleagues will never miss the cocktails. Upcoming trips include Canmore, Alberta, in February, plus Italy, Morocco, Iceland and Tanzania in the future.