There are retreats you remember because they were perfect from the start. And there are retreats you remember because they taught you what it truly means to be there for the client. Our first retreat in Greece was the second kind.
It started with a simple conversation. We reached out to Moran, the owner of a Pilates studio in Kfar Saba, and offered to produce a retreat for her in Greece. We thought it was a perfect fit. She works with an amazing community of women, and it was clear to us that a retreat in Greece could be exactly what they needed.
She told us she was already working with another company on a retreat. We told her that was completely fine, wished her success, and hoped the retreat would turn out as well as possible. And we put it aside.
But then, a few days later, Moran reached out to us. She said she had thought about it and wanted to give us a chance. She wanted us to produce her dream retreat in Greece. In that conversation, she shared something we had not known: she had already had a retreat fully closed a few months earlier. She had planned it, built it, everything was ready. And the day before the date, the flights were canceled. The war broke out, and the retreat did not happen.
You can imagine the disappointment. Women who were excited, who had prepared, who had dreamed about it. And Moran, who had invested her heart and soul into planning that experience.
We told her something that felt right in that moment: this time it will happen. Her dream will come true no matter what.
We started working. Three months of planning, coordination, building the concept. We found a perfect location on the island of Evia. We coordinated everything with the hotel, the flights, the transfers.
We built the schedule together with Moran. We even held a meeting with all the participants. It was clear to us that this time everything would run smoothly.
And then, three days before the date. Boom. The war starts again and the flights are canceled.
I remember that moment. The call with Moran, the feeling that the ground had fallen out from under our feet. Not again. Not to her. Not after everything we had been through.
But this is where we learned something important. Something that became the core of who we are as IN ZEN.
Our service is not only production. It is being there. Supporting. Not giving in. Telling Moran that no matter what, this retreat will happen this time.
So we worked. We searched for alternative flights. We called the hotel. We spoke with every supplier. We did not let it go. We did not say "we will postpone" or "we will try next time." We said, "we will find a solution."
And we did.
We found flights for the next day. Twenty-two girls, all of them could make it. The hotel moved other groups to make room for us. Everything worked out. Not easily, not without effort, but it worked out.
And they landed in Athens.
From there we drove to the island of Evia. And four days of a dream retreat took place. Not "good considering the circumstances." Not "fine despite everything." Truly dreamy. Better than we had imagined.
I remember the moment I saw Moran with the girls on the first day. They were sitting together, looking at the sea, laughing. It was clear that they were there. Present. Not thinking about what almost did not happen, but living what was happening now.
That was the moment I understood that we did it not only for Moran. We did it for those girls. For their experience. For that moment when they could stop, breathe, and be together.
After the retreat, Moran shared with us that it was one of the most meaningful experiences she had ever had. Not only because of the retreat itself, but because of what it represented. The persistence. The belief. The feeling that someone was truly there for her.
And the girls? They wrote us messages afterward. About what they experienced, how it affected them, the connections that were created between them. Some of them said it was exactly what they needed at that moment.
That retreat taught us something that stays with us to this day: producing retreats is not only about perfect schedules and logistics that run smoothly. It is also about being there when things go wrong. About not giving up. About believing it is possible even when it looks impossible.
And above all, it is about remembering that in every retreat there are real people with real dreams. And when you promise them it will happen, you do everything to keep your word.
Maya.