Beyond

Celebrity Event Planner Colin Cowie on "Whatever It Takes" This week, Jack and Annie catch up on:• Super last-minute summer trips + what to book this fall + villas • Annie’s new love of beach clubs (at least if it's in Cannes) & the next evolution of Hair Botox in LondonThen, world-renowned lifestyle expert and event designer Colin Cowie joins the show. Known for creating experiences for celebrities and royalty, Colin shares what it takes to deliver The Gold Standard in service, going beyond expectations to delight your guests or customers every time. Colin on:• Giving your clients what they didn’t know they wanted• Always planning ahead• The power of culture in his team ("The gas in the tank is called culture")• The small pleasures that make life worth living• The go-to gift he always keeps in his housePlus, starting at 33:50, a lightning round including his favorite places to host events (Italy and South Africa) and his favorite hotels and restaurants around the world:Favorite Hotels:• Belmond Mount Nelson, Cape Town• The Saxon Hotel, Johannesburg• Hotel du Cap-Eden-Roc, Antibes• Claridge’s, London• Costa Careyes, MexicoFavorite Restaurants:• Quattro Passi, Nerano• Lo Scoglio, Amalfi Coast• Conca del Sogno, Nerano• Pastis, Miami• Mother Wolf, Los Angeles• Chez Bruno, Provence (during truffle season)• Francis Mallmann in Argentina Colin: "My favorite restaurants are all within a three-minute walk from each other on the Amalfi Coast."

This week, Jack and Annie talk where to go when you're hot in the summer (cruises in Iceland, Scandi cities, Bavaria), and debate whether Jack might be talking a little too much about beach clubs–Annie thinks yes but that isn't stopping her from flying to La Guerite in Cannes. Then, top travel and lifestyle journalist Mark Ellwood joins to talk about what joy really looks like in travel today, why “authentic” is just a filler word, the continual proliferation of fine dining in hotels, and why you should live like a tourist, not a local. Plus, five of Mark's favorite hotels (and why Venice is so romantic in the winter), and three luxury brands he loves that aren't by LVMH or Kering.  Jack & Annie Intro 15:45 – Mark Ellwood Interview Begins  42:55 - Five of Mark's Favorite Hotelseriro in the Austrian AlpsEden Rock in St. Bart’sViolino d’OroRaffles London at the OWOAeolos Hotel in Koufonisia On living away from the UK and living in NYC forever – “The longer you’re away, the more you become a weird version of not yourself. If you go back to where you’re from, the shape that you left behind you no longer fit but people don’t realize. But I relish that…a citizen of nowhere.” 

We sit down with Filippo Arnaboldi, CEO of Frette, to explore the power of relationships, how to stay relevant in a changing world, what to do if you and your partner can’t agree on sheets, the myth of high thread count, plus his favorite hotels and where he'd live for the rest of his life. Why does everyone love Filippo? This episode will help explain it. We also talk about why Jack flew to Greece for a day and talk about why we launched the Embark Luxury Salon in NYC and some learnings: Is less actually more? How fractional leadership is redefining work (ours and everyone else's)Why we love the phrase irrational generosity 

We’re joined by the legendary Marcy Blum, who shares the hotel she’d happily live in forever and her secrets to working with some of the world’s biggest personalities. We also dive into our word of the year, the rollercoaster state of the world, yacht charters, Mallorca, and why Zara jeans might just be unbeatable.

Where We've Been and Where We're Going (Personally and Professionally) Jack and Annie on a true mixed bag of topics including:2025 GoalsJack’s Brand Crush (vs. Industry Crushes)The Best Hotel at Disney WorldJack’s Business GoalsAre People Using Websites Anymore?Annie Has Two Lives (Travel + Home)Paris in the WinterTurks & Caicos RecapThe Glorious History of BeaverbrookIs The Most Insane Suite in the World in...Houston?And - Why Go to L.A. Now

The dynamic Cindy Novotny has been branded the “Radical Mentor” and holds rooms of hundreds and thousands of people in rapt attention. She tells us about living with no balance, why you should never fake it, secrets to career success, how passion is a combination of love and anger, and always starting with the most important person in the room, the customer. Hotels she loves: Borgo Egnazia, Grand Hotel Mackinac Island, Four Seasons Prague, Royal Mansour Marrakech, and the Belmond Hotel Cipriani in Venice.  First, Jack and Annie’s airplane pet peeves, like pretzels that make your breath smell, boarding groups 1 to 3 together when you’re Group 1 as British Airways Gold, and why do they make you put your laptop away 45 minutes before the flight lands?

CEO of Virtuoso and the greater purpose of enriching lives through human connection, his top advice for how to become a luxury travel advisor, and SOME OF his favorite hotels (not his ONLY favorite hotels) which include The Brando in French Polynesia, &Beyond Masai Mara Bateleur Camp, the Bulgari in Rome, Capella Bangkok, Raffles Old War Office in London, and the Bellagio in Vegas. First, Jack and Annie’s hotel pet peeves, from lighting and trash cans to soap and open bathrooms.

We talk to the amazing Bob Chavez of Hermès, who heads up a team of 1,800 people, on everything from how to scale a business through culture, how store directors (not managers) go to Paris 4x a year to buy product for their individual store–plus, fun stories on why the Hermès box is orange and how Sex & the City changed the trajectory of the Birkin bag. Annie asks if he has special insurance for his NYC closet–and we find out some of his favorite hotels, including Amanpulo in the Philippines; the Hotel Villa Cipriani in Asolo, Italy; and Como Laucala Island in Fiji.  First, a quick rant on why we think there should be a dress code on airplanes.