We often obsess over finding the best longevity tricks and experiences to extend and add more years to add our lives, but Kaer, a holistic wellness travel brand and platform, thinks almost the other way around. Instead, their core concept is all about ‘Adding life to your years’.
“Add life to your years is our core philosophy; it’s about proactive, joyful longevity,” says Barbara den Bak, Founder of Kaer and an entrepreneur with nearly 20 years of experience building and scaling brands in the fitness and wellness industry. Up until now, the wellness brand was already a true leader when it came to organising B2C and B2B group retreats, but just recently they decided to evolve and go one step further: evolving into a retreat concept and production partner for luxury hospitality brands.
“Add life to your years is our core philosophy; it’s about proactive, joyful longevity,” says Barbara den Bak, Founder of Kaer and an entrepreneur with nearly 20 years of experience building and scaling brands in the fitness and wellness industry. Up until now, the wellness brand was already a true leader when it came to organising B2C and B2B group retreats, but just recently they decided to evolve and go one step further: evolving into a retreat concept and production partner for luxury hospitality brands.
Barbara den Bak, Founder of Kaer
"We design and produce signature wellness retreats that luxury hotels offer to their own guests."
“Kaer started with highly curated group retreats, and those years taught us what guests need and what hotels are missing. Today we bring that knowledge to luxury hotels. We design and produce signature wellness retreats and journeys rooted in each property's place, heritage and in-house expertise, which the hotel offers to its own guests. Alongside that, Kaer By Design creates bespoke multi-day programmes for private groups such as founder clubs and family offices," explains Barbara enthusiastically.
In Kaer’s case, it’s clear that tech is building the future of bespoke wellness travel without losing focus on what’s truly important. For the traveller, the new platform makes booking a complex wellness stay completely effortless, and that also comes down to AI’s help: “If a hotel has a strong restorative offering, we turn it into a structured multi-day Sleep journey, balancing its best treatments with the right rhythm of movement and rest. The guest books directly with the hotel, and knows the programme carries the Kaer stamp of quality".
In Kaer’s case, it’s clear that tech is building the future of bespoke wellness travel without losing focus on what’s truly important. For the traveller, the new platform makes booking a complex wellness stay completely effortless, and that also comes down to AI’s help: “If a hotel has a strong restorative offering, we turn it into a structured multi-day Sleep journey, balancing its best treatments with the right rhythm of movement and rest. The guest books directly with the hotel, and knows the programme carries the Kaer stamp of quality".
This next chapter has been directly inspired by their guests, after actively listening to them. “Someone would attend one of our group retreats, have a transformative experience, and then tell us: ‘I want to come back here in two months with my partner, but on our own schedule’. We needed a way to facilitate that. By introducing the always-on model, we can answer the specific, year-round needs of our guests,” says Barbara.
At the same time, the team started to see a growing demand from high-net-worth individuals and private groups who wanted the depth of a Kaer retreat but with absolute privacy and discretion, which then led to the creation of Kaer By Design.
At the same time, the team started to see a growing demand from high-net-worth individuals and private groups who wanted the depth of a Kaer retreat but with absolute privacy and discretion, which then led to the creation of Kaer By Design.
But how does this work in practice for hotels? Essentially, the system helps hotels design multiple-day wellness journeys based on the treatments and activities they already offer, tailored to specific themes such as movement, sleep, longevity, etc. “In every collaboration, we look at the unique strengths, treatments, and activities a hotel already has in-house. We take those existing assets and package them into distinct, structured Kaer programmes. We help hotels translate their a la carte spa menu into cohesive, multi-day journeys focused on themes people are actively searching for, such as Longevity, Sleep, and Women's Health. We provide the concept and the content, allowing the hotel to utilise its own staff and facilities to their highest potential,” she explains.
“By bringing the right people together through our platform and our exclusive Kaer events, we are laying the strategic foundation for our ultimate goal: Kaer Residences, with our first development currently in preparation in Portugal”
At present, Kaer has already welcomed various renowned properties to the platform, and will soon be adding hotels from the Vestige Collection, Sublime Portugal, Es Racó d’ Artà in Mallorca and many others. That said, they are actively open and looking for new hotel partners. Specifically premium boutique hotels and private estates with an existing strong wellness infrastructure: “The ideal partner is a property that can serve as a stunning backdrop for our high-energy, facilitator-led retreat 'activations', while also having the in-house expertise - excellent therapists, great culinary teams, beautiful movement spaces - to seamlessly execute our always-on packages year-round”.
Of course, many of these hotels already offer spa treatments, movement classes or wellness experiences, but Kaer helps them transform these existing assets into complete, bookable multi-day journeys without reinventing what they already do. Rather, the company simply changes the narrative and structure. As Barbara explains, a hotel might have an amazing lymphatic drainage massage, a great nutritionist, and guided hikes. However, separately, they are just activities. “We weave them together into a targeted Kaer package. By curating a sequence that makes physiological sense, we elevate what the hotel already does into a highly marketable, results-driven journey that speaks directly to what modern wellness travellers are seeking,” she asserts.
Of course, many of these hotels already offer spa treatments, movement classes or wellness experiences, but Kaer helps them transform these existing assets into complete, bookable multi-day journeys without reinventing what they already do. Rather, the company simply changes the narrative and structure. As Barbara explains, a hotel might have an amazing lymphatic drainage massage, a great nutritionist, and guided hikes. However, separately, they are just activities. “We weave them together into a targeted Kaer package. By curating a sequence that makes physiological sense, we elevate what the hotel already does into a highly marketable, results-driven journey that speaks directly to what modern wellness travellers are seeking,” she asserts.
Son Ermita, in Menorca, Spain
From a hotel’s perspective, the greatest benefit of partnering with Kaer is the opportunity of establishing a multi-layered, long-term partnership. First off, Kaer’s group retreat 'activations' bring immediate visibility, brand association, and a new demographic to their property. Secondly, the always-on packages drive individual bookings throughout the entire year.
For hotels considering joining, Barbara offers a genuine, warm welcome: “Kaer offers a sustainable, highly curated way to elevate your wellness positioning and capture a demographic that travels with profound purpose”.
Beyond travellers and properties, however, they would also like to scale the platform by partnering with key wellness travel agents: “To our travel agent partners, I say: we are here to provide the ultimate foundation for your clients. We design the programmes and packages, we have secured the most beautiful partner locations, and in collaboration with our network of expert facilitators, we can craft truly stunning, tailor-made experiences. Whether you need a ready-to-book wellness package for a solo client, or a fully bespoke private offsite for a family office through Kaer By Design, we take the complexity out of crafting exceptional wellness travel. We do the heavy lifting, allowing you to focus entirely on your client relationships”.
Beyond travellers and properties, however, they would also like to scale the platform by partnering with key wellness travel agents: “To our travel agent partners, I say: we are here to provide the ultimate foundation for your clients. We design the programmes and packages, we have secured the most beautiful partner locations, and in collaboration with our network of expert facilitators, we can craft truly stunning, tailor-made experiences. Whether you need a ready-to-book wellness package for a solo client, or a fully bespoke private offsite for a family office through Kaer By Design, we take the complexity out of crafting exceptional wellness travel. We do the heavy lifting, allowing you to focus entirely on your client relationships”.
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ABOUT: BARBARA DEN BAK
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Barbara den Bak is an entrepreneur with nearly 20 years of experience building and scaling concepts in the fitness and wellness industry. She founded and successfully exited several renowned brands, grew engaged communities from the ground up and built studios from concept design to opening. Her expertise lies in translating a brand's why into every touchpoint of the guest journey. Barbara lives in Amsterdam with her family. On LinkedIn, she regularly shares an unpolished and honest behind-the-scenes look at the realities of entrepreneurship.
“Throughout my career, my focus has always been on brand building, growing engaged communities, and creating strategic partnerships, always striving to do things differently. I thrive on challenging the status quo, identifying new opportunities, and thinking in broader ecosystems rather than isolated projects.”
kaer.co
ABOUT: BARBARA DEN BAK
Barbara den Bak is an entrepreneur with nearly 20 years of experience building and scaling concepts in the fitness and wellness industry. She founded and successfully exited several renowned brands, grew engaged communities from the ground up and built studios from concept design to opening. Her expertise lies in translating a brand's why into every touchpoint of the guest journey. Barbara lives in Amsterdam with her family. On LinkedIn, she regularly shares an unpolished and honest behind-the-scenes look at the realities of entrepreneurship.
“Throughout my career, my focus has always been on brand building, growing engaged communities, and creating strategic partnerships, always striving to do things differently. I thrive on challenging the status quo, identifying new opportunities, and thinking in broader ecosystems rather than isolated projects.”
kaer.co
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