Make Some Serious Noise: A Wake-Up Call to Action for Travel

Bashar Wali,  one of the pioneers in the boutique hospitality world, just left as the president of Provenance Hotels after 14 years. This is a departing email he sent recently to employees and friends, which has generated some buzz in the industry, you'll see why below. We are printing this here with permission. “This is unprecedented.” That sentence has become our collective mantra over the past few weeks. Who are we kidding? Make that the past four years. It’s been repeated so often. The words have lost their meaning. Their sharp urgency has been dulled to a droning hum. We have become inured like the urbane city dweller who is so accustomed to the constant noise that they don’t look up from their phone whe