Corporate retreats have a notoriously stuffy reputation: People sitting around a
conference table in a bland, cookie-cutter hotel conference room — drinking cup
after cup of stale coffee in order to stay awake through lectures about KPIs and
sales numbers.
But as businesses evolve to center more conversations around corporate social
responsibility, those corporate retreats must evolve, as well. What better way
to engage staff in these conversations than to gather in environments modeling
sustainability and participate in activities that reenergize teams while giving
back to the planet?
That’s the intention behind Ærli — a new
Norwegian network of nine properties rooted in regenerative practices,
intentionally marketed for business travel.
“We believe it’s possible to create these experiences where people actually do
something that is relevant in the sustainability agenda,” Øystein Hagen, CEO
and founding partner of Æra Strategic Innovation, the
consultancy firm behind the brand, told Sustainable Brands®.
Æra works across a wide spectrum of industries on sustainability-related
projects. In light of the challenges created by Norway’s quantity-driven
tourism
policies
common across the world in the years leading up to 2020, the firm set out to
find a way to support those destinations already independently focused on
sustainability. The result is Ærli.
The platform, which officially launched in June 2022, amplifies innovative
Norwegian properties for the use of corporate gatherings — often focused on
sustainability issues — with the intention of reflecting the very essence of
sustainability.
Image credit: Pan Treetop Cabins
“This means staying longer, connecting even deeper with the planet that we’re
supposed to build strategies to protect and thrive in,” Hagen explained. “We
also wanted to make the whole sustainability thing less technical and more
practical, and to build experiences around that.”
Meetings held at Ærli properties are inspired by each property’s setting, and
business travelers are invited to participate in unique place-based experiences
— from organic farming to tree planting — that encourage them to fully immerse
themselves in nature. “It’s definitely not just a place to sit down and look at
a screen together. We want to create something different than that. We want
people to go out to these places, sit together, work in a different way than
they think they need,” said Siri Østvold, CEO of Ærli.
Image credit: Stokkøya Strandhotell
At Stokkøya Strandhotell, for example, guests can
participate in a beach cleanup; help remove Canadian pine, an invasive species
planted in the 1970s; or work with the gardener to mitigate their carbon
footprint.
“We want everyone to be more aware of the climate situation and to lower carbon
in the tourism industry,” said Torild Langklopp, co-owner, co-founder and
manager of the property — which has operated with an environmentally focused
philosophy since the business was established in 2005.
In addition to facilitating the relationship between the business market and
properties listed with Ærli — and assisting property owners with experience
creation for those travelers, if needed — Æra also provides
sustainability-focused content programming.
Ærli’s focus on business travel is also a strategic move for participating
properties: “This helps these destinations economically in their low season to
spread out traffic, so they can keep their employees for the whole year and help
keep their businesses more economically sustainable,” Østvold said. To fully
recognize this possibility, Hagen said one of the long-term goals is to develop
relationships with the companies booking through Ærli in order to service their
year-round gatherings, from board meetings to holiday celebrations.
Image credit: GLØD Explorer
But Ærli is more than just a brand promoting and selling the most progressive
Norwegian tourist destinations to the business market. It is also a network that
brings the like-minded business owners of these properties together to further
develop their own sustainability work, discuss shared challenges and solutions,
learn from each other and explore collaboration opportunities.
“Æra is dealing with these issues in so many businesses; and we can learn so
much from them and from each other,” Langklopp said. “The owners of these
properties are hard-working; and they have a lot of the challenges we have. So,
we ask a lot of questions — about sales, marketing, running a business, creating
menus, developing partnerships.”
Importantly, the in-person gatherings — which happen twice a year — rotate
throughout the properties, so business owners can see a wide variety of
sustainability initiatives and experiences in action: “I’m looking forward to
meeting up again because there are always a lot of ideas, creativity and problem
solving. I think we make each other better,” Langklopp said. The community also
meets virtually twice a year.
Though Ærli is still relatively new, bookings are already racking up.
“The product is incredible. The destinations are incredible. But they haven’t
been accessible for businesses, so this is very exciting,” Hagen said. And,
Østvold added, “this is really about the development of the local communities in
a really good, sustainable way. These destinations really prove that is
possible.”
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JoAnna Haugen is a writer, speaker and solutions advocate who has worked in the travel and tourism industry for her entire career. She is also the founder of Rooted — a solutions platform at the intersection of sustainable tourism, social impact and storytelling. A returned US Peace Corps volunteer, international election observer and intrepid traveler, JoAnna helps tourism professionals decolonize travel and support sustainability using strategic communication skills.
Published Oct 4, 2022 8am EDT / 5am PDT / 1pm BST / 2pm CEST