A new name,
a new chapter

To all our communities around the world,

It’s been more than a decade since we set out on this journey with you, when we took our first step with PURE Life Experiences back in 2009. Over the years, the industry has evolved, our family of delegates has grown enormously, and we came to the realisation that it was time to begin an exciting new chapter with all of you.

That’s why Beyond Luxury Media Ltd. has been officially rebranded and reborn as This is Beyond Ltd.

But this is much more than just an update to our name. This is a declaration of intent about all of the work we do: our ambition is to always aim for far more than is expected from us; to provide the best return on investment for our customers; and to bring a tremendous sense of value to the experiences we create. So this rebrand is a commitment to all of you that we will constantly strive to go above and beyond in everything we do, and that we will always be held accountable to this standard.

Luxury has changed, and brands must adapt

A name says a lot about who you are as a company. Beyond Luxury Media suited us 10 years ago when people first began rethinking notions of traditional luxury; but the industry has moved on a lot since then – and we wanted to evolve with it.

Nowadays, being ‘high-end’ is about promising a life that is optimised and amplified; it’s about self-discovery, self-fulfilment, and self-actualisation. We all want to be the best possible versions of ourselves, to have the best experiences we can while we’re on the planet, and to ensure each of those precious moments is truly remarkable, memorable, and leaves behind a positive legacy. That’s what our customers provide – and it’s also what our events strive to achieve.

Realising this, we went on our own journey of introspection to better understand our beliefs, our values, and what we stand for. It became clear that growth could only come through transformation, so we began the process of evolving our brand. After a year of soul-searching, we knew wanted to be a force for good; to make sure everything we do is always surprising, inspiring and positive; and to have the capacity to make real changes in the world.

Our purpose: Commerce should be a force for good

In the current global climate, the world is teetering on a cliff-edge – and unless radical action is taken, we’re going over the edge. Traditional politics is failing us, and the planet. As a result, sixty-three per cent of global consumers now prefer to buy from companies that stand for a purpose reflective of their own values and beliefs. So brands have to be the ones leading the way: combining profit and purpose to spread ideas, take action and inspire others to do the same. With its considerable reach and influence, the high-end travel industry in particular has a huge responsibility be a force for good in the world.

That’s why we want to aspire to do great things while making commerce a force for good. The two are not mutually exclusive. We’re extremely proud that this ethos is already embedded in each of our communities; you are all, in your own distinct ways, contributing to fuelling the greater good. By challenging the status quo, you are all disruptors and visionaries – and it’s never been more important for you to come together and continue inspiring each other to push boundaries and solve problems.

Our mission: Reshaping industries into inspired communities

We know there is great power in collective thinking; that more minds are better than one to overcome challenges and achieve the unexpected. There’s a phrase I love, “Alone we go fast, but together we go far”, which really embodies the whole ethos behind what we do. On our own, we would just be an industry of resourceful individuals, but together, we can do so much more.

That’s why This is Beyond creates immersive events, provides insightful content and curates only the most curious and influential people. We want every one of our communities to be a truly inspired space. This is our mission, the goal that will guide all of our endeavours as a brand. This is also a reminder that whichever of our communities you join, you are all part of something bigger: a united global movement dedicated to doing great while making commerce a force for good, driven by personal relationships.

Our vision: Showing the power of humanity in business

In an increasingly digitised age, too many companies are losing sight of the power of real, human connections. Humanity is an asset in the commercial world that should never be underrated – it has the potential to be an incredible driving force.

At This is Beyond, we believe that good business and great relationships go hand in hand, and feel privileged to have the mission of bringing together exceptional people through our events. But we always want that relationship to work both ways. We don’t have a board of advisors because you are all our stakeholders and consultants, and you all have the power to shape the future direction of our communities. Over the last 10 years we’ve listened constantly, and will continue to do so.

Put simply, you push us to be a better company.

With a new name, and a clear mission, we have never felt more inspired to move forward with all of you; to create unique, inspiring communities with humanity at their centre; and to push the boundaries of doing great while being good.

Yours sincerely,

Serge Dive
Founder & CEO, This is Beyond Ltd.

This is Beyond is for everyone. Here’s how we’re committing to make our events more inclusive.

We have always prided ourselves on being a forward-thinking, progressive company. For 11 years, we have strived to see and do things differently; to evolve conversations; to question the status quo.

But we recognise now that we have been at fault on several levels: by only defining ways to make our company more diverse, while not being proactively inclusive. These shortcomings were far from intentional – they were the result of complacency, ignorance, and yes, the fear of being judged while trying to do the right thing.

But ultimately, we’ve realised that to be loyal to our vision – to prove the power of humanity in business – we had no excuse to not try and do much better. Right now, not everyone is equally represented or feels equally comfortable at our events. We want to change that and embark on a journey where This is Beyond, with the help and advice of our industry friends, fights for increased diversity and inclusion, and works to prevent discrimination and racism of any kind, and at any level, in our ecosystem.

We believe if we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem, so we’re starting in-house with self-reflection and most importantly, action. We’d love to take you, our communities, on this journey with us, as we prioritise diversity and equality in our company and industry. We won’t always be perfect, but we are committed to progress. In every respect, it is the right thing to do.

In recent years we’ve been striving to diversify our communities, from speaker panels to press trips, but it’s not enough. Real, tangible change demands action, so we’re making new commitments we believe will make our company and events a place where everyone – including BAME (Black, Asian and minority ethnic) hospitality professionals, people with different abilities, and other underrepresented groups feel welcome, included, and able to thrive.

Diversity matters because travel needs stories: our industry is built on telling them. If we only hear the same stories and see the same type of travellers represented, it’s as if we’re reading the same page of a book, over and over again. Hearing the same stories is not just dull, but dangerous, because it sends a message that diverse stories don’t matter or that luxury travel is only for one kind of person. And in an industry built on widening perspectives, this cannot be tolerated. This is Beyond may be a small piece of a much bigger puzzle, but we want to work with the wider travel industry to encourage all of us to do more to drive the inclusion of diverse perspectives.

The global luxury travel industry isn’t as diverse as it could be. Our events have not been as inclusive to everyone as they should be. But together, we believe we can make a difference. Change begins at home, so we’re starting here. Having spent the past few weeks having frank, often uncomfortable discussions, here is our plan of action.

Together, we can prove that travel is the progressive, inclusive industry we know it can, and should, be. Let’s not wish for change; together, let’s be the change.

See below for the commitments we are making in our communities and internally at This is Beyond.

Internally, we are:

Learning and challenging. We held unconscious bias training for our team in 2019, and also produced a guide to antiracism and inclusivity in the workplace, which every Beyonder is required to read and sign when they join us. We will be building on this work by holding training on workplace microaggressions in the near future.

Widening our net. Many of us stumbled into this industry, but many more don’t know it even exists. That’s why we are creating a paid internship scheme for BAME and underrepresented graduates in our London and Cape Town offices. We are also adding a diversity panel to our hiring process, ensuring a fair and balanced interview experience for every potential Beyonder.

Building on the work of our Diversity & Inclusion Team. We have had an internal D&I Committee for over two years, but it will be the job of our new Diversity & Inclusion Union to critically assess every piece of marketing content – from party themes to the language we use – to ensure it is respectful, sensitive and does not have the potential to offend or hurt underrepresented groups.

In our communities, we are:

Listening. We are opening up the opportunity for our communities to talk to us transparently. How can we do better? How can your expertise help us do better? We are listening, we are accountable, and we want to hear from you – you can reach out to us at diversity@thisisbeyond.com.

Understanding. First, we need to assess the current levels of representation in each of our communities. From here, we will take actionable steps to improve diversity at each of our shows – PURE Life Experiences, L.E/Miami, We Are Africa, Further East, Do Not Disturb and SET.

Evolving the conversation. We are committing to a Diversity & Inclusion activation at each of our shows in 2022. These will serve as an open forum for us to host discussions and share how our communities are actively driving diversity and activism forward in travel. It is our goal to develop programming aimed at opening a constructive dialogue for our community around diversity in travel, and how to ensure more equitable treatment for all, across hospitality.

We are learning, we are accountable, and we want to hear from our communities. Talk to us at diversity@thisisbeyond.com – we’re all ears.

– Team This is Beyond

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