2023: Year In Review

YEAR IN REVIEW 2023

WHERE WE WENT & WHERE WE'RE GOING

Index

Table of Contents

Foreword Sean's Foreword

02

Winter 2023 Monikon | St. Martin

03

Sourcegraph | Barcelona

04

Vivun | Da Nang

05

Spring 2023 Helpsout | Tulum

06

Real Brokerage | Arizona

07

Top Brokers Trip | Scotland

08

Bluecat | Muskoka

09

Summer 2023 Emblem | Mykonos

10

Marlin Spring | Tuscany

11

Monikon | Tuscany

12

Sourcegraph | Mexico

13

Fall 2023 Auvik | Toronto

14

Plex | Quebec

15

Airalo | Phuket

16

Matador | Mexico City

17

Harvest | Barcelona

18

8 Elm | St. Barth’s

19

2024 Sneak Peek

20

Sean's Foreword

2023: A Year of Transition

Sean’s Foreword Looking back on 2023, it was

truly a year of transition. COVID finally seemed behind us, the world embraced our new AI overlords with ChatGPT, Barbenheimer brought people back to the Box Office, and Taylor Swift proved that even NFL fans could be Swifties.

Travel was in transition too, with people embracing ecotourism and carbon offsetting, “DNA pilgrimages”, and wellness holidays.

Going off the beaten path became en vogue, and traveling to obscure destinations became a trending badge of honour for the InstaGlitterati and TikTok crowd.

Borders opened up (finally!), “slow travel” became a thing, and the post-pandemic Digital Nomad generation embraced the ability to work from wherever, with coffee shops and coworking spaces around the globe rejoicing in the hybrid and remote working revolution. (We were no different!)

The Moniker team grew to 17, and we celebrated our 10 year anniversary in Tuscany, where the whole team came together for an an especially memorable week where many laughs (and Aperol Spritzes) were shared.

But enough about us. Let’s turn our attention to where we travelled in 2023, the memories we created, and the moments we made. And also a sneak peek of where we’re already headed in 2024!

Monikon \\ St. Martin Location: St. Martin Mes Amis Villa Days: 8 Pax: 16 For our first bi-annual internal retreat, we wanted to celebrate a successful 2022 and look into the future for 2023 in sunny St. Martin. We take this time to come together as a team to

participate in invaluable workshops, enjoy unique teambuilding games, and re-energize for the year ahead. During our sessions and meetings, we reflected on what we can improve, learned from our missteps, celebrated our successes and aligned on our goals for 2023.

"We’re ready for the exciting year ahead!”

A highlight was our absolutely epic team olympics which included creative costumes and cheers, 7 team challenges and an additional scavenger hunt through St. Martin’s capital, Philipsburg.

Other highlights included a catamaran trip to

Anguilla, our very own Moniker Oscar awards and water sports.

After a week in the sun, we were left knowing we’d strengthened our bond as a team and that we are ready for the exciting year ahead!

Sourcegraph \\ Barcelona Sourcegraph chose the perfect escape from February weather, and the ideal location for both business and pleasure, Spain!

Just an hour outside of Barcelona, The Atzavara hotel provided the perfect remote setting to enjoy team alignment, togetherness and bonding. The week started off with board

Location: Barcelona, Spain Hotel Atzavara Days: 5 Pax: 200 games and mingling, in order to break the ice and was filled with valuable company wide presentations, team breakouts

and energizing workshops. We of course made time for some hilarious team-bonding such as trivia and karaoke!

The Sourcegraph team also ingeniously took this opportunity to offer new company headshots to their team. A truly fantastic week was spent soaking up the Spanish sun!

Vivun // Da Nang Location: Da Nang, Vietnam Pullman Da Nang Days: 5 Pax: 140 A fun-filled week both on and offsite, Vivun’s retreat was jam-packed with presentations, unique teambuilding exercises, funky get-to-know-yous, and adrenaline-pumping activities. With an emphasis on cultural awareness and the history of this unique destination, the team participated in a traditional cooking class, a food tour, a “day in the life of a fisherman” afternoon, and volunteer activities.

Hotel Highlight:

On the beautiful Bac My An Beach and ideally located just ten minutes from Da Nang, the gorgeous 5-star Pullman resort offers the perfect balance of remote luxury and bustling city life!

Help Scout // Tulum This global remote software company brought their entire team of 115 people to the white sandy beaches of Tulum, Mexico for their spring retreat.

An unforeseen event at our original property had the Moniker team pivoting to The Conrad Tulum half-way through our planning process. Our team along with Help Scout took it in stride, found creative solutions to any challenges that came up and the retreat came out even better than we had anticipated!

“What an excellent experience to hang out with teammates in such a beautiful location!”

Location: Tulum, Mexico Conrad Tulum Riviera Maya Resort Days: 5 Pax: 115

The team enjoyed group meetings and engaging sessions while also getting some well-deserved relaxation.

Help Scout also got to join in on Save the Ocean Project, a perfect team-building activity that also gave back. Delicious Mexican cuisine, a catamaran cruise over the turquoise Caribbean waters, a lively karaoke night and a sunset beach dinner rounded off this exciting retreat and left the entire team feeling recharged.

Real Brokerage // Arizona Location: Scottsdale, Arizona The Boulders Resort Days: 3 Pax: 93 Real Brokerage, a real estate tech company, brought their entire remote team to Arizona for a weekend of team-building activities and work sessions. As well, the Boulders Resort offered the perfect location for a few outdoor meetings and

a few fun optional activities such as a hilarious karaoke night and lawn games. Soaking up the Arizona sun in between meetings was the perfect way to keep energized!

The week culminated in a competitive night of pub trivia for the perfect end!

Real Estate Top Producers Trip // Scotland Location: Loch Lomond, Scotland Cameron House Days: 4 Pax: 105

A real estate company took their top producers to the rugged moors and beautiful countryside of Loch Lomond to celebrate a great year!

Throughout this exciting trip, the group got to enjoy numerous unique and traditional Scottish activities including a boat day

trip to the charming village of Luss, skeet-shooting, 9hole golf, whisky tasting, a spa day, mountain biking and a highlands 4x4 experience.

The final night gala included a kilt fitting bag-piping and a Robbert Burns supper. The perfect Scottish evening!

IT Company // Muskoka For their annual kick-off retreat, Bluecat took their team to one of Ontario, Canada’s most beautiful and iconic destinations; Muskoka. Starting with a lakeside welcome dinner, the team enjoyed an exciting few days of team sessions, a keynote panel and networking opportunities. We also focused on creating

Location: Muskoka, Canada Deerhurst Resort Days: 4 Pax: 385 a unique team-building activity, so we put together an afternoon of dragon-boat racing for the entire group. This activity was

the perfect healthy competition to inspire team-bonding and hilarious memories.

The team ended the week with campfire circles, laughter and sparklers on the beach as well as a lively after party and dancing. The entire group left feeling inspired and excited for the year ahead. What a blast!

Emblem // Mykonos Location: Mykonos, Greece Myconion O Hotel Days: 5 Pax: 23

To celebrate their top brokers and all their hard work, Emblem took their top brokers to the stunning island of Mykonos on the shimmering waters of the

Mediterranean. Staying at the gorgeous Myconion O Hotel, the group enjoyed some unique destination activities and also some well-deserved relaxation. in the sun! Highlights included a mega yacht cruise and delicious lunch, leisure and free-time,

some amazing shopping and of course, delicious traditional Greek cuisine. At the end of the week, the group left feeling relaxed, recharged and reenergized for the year ahead!

Marlin Spring // Florence & Tuscany For their top brokers trip this year, Marlin Spring whisked their team away to the iconic destinations of Florence and Tuscany in Italy.

Rolling hills, lush green vineyards, award-winning cuisine and iconic history and landmarks, this gorgeous destination truly has it all!

The team started their experience in the heart of Florence with a fascinating walking tour as well as shopping and dining. Then they travelled in style in vintage cars to their second location in Tuscany.

There they enjoyed a tasting of the region’s most delicious

Location: Tuscany, Italy St Regis Florence & Toscana Resort Castelfalfi Days: 5 Pax: 12

export; wine! A traditional Italian cooking class also topped the list of highlights. And of course, the cherry on top was the once in a lifetime experience of a sunrise hot air balloon excursion over the iconic and stunning scenery of Tuscany. The group truly had the best Italian summer!

Monikon // Tuscany In 2023, we reached a huge milestone: Moniker is officially 10 years old! So for our second biannual retreat, the team headed to a place near and dear to our hearts: Italy! In a gorgeous villa in Tuscany, we not only came together to celebrate and unwind but also to continue to learn, grow and improve.

Location: Tuscany, Italy Fattoria Casamora Days: 7 Pax: 15 Throughout the week, we participated in numerous sessions and presentations including an invaluable and engaging enneagram workshop to better understand our team dynamics.

We also of course took part in some elaborate and hilarious team-building activities including Moniker jeopardy, charades, a painting class “a la Bob Ross” and a pasta-making class with the in-house chef. Our team got creative with a special “Dolce Vita” themed dinner in the courtyard, complete with costumes and live music!

The trip wouldn’t be complete without the opportunity for some destination activities and once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

We had the chance to go hot air ballooning over the Tuscan hills, and go truffle-hunting before learning how to cook with them.

The entire team also took a day trip to Florence and enjoyed a historic scooter tour of the city before shopping, exploring or visiting one of the city’s many museums. We ended this amazing trip with a visit to a winery in Chianti. We sat down to a private dinner with live music in the heart of the vineyard. We toasted to our hard work, shared memories and goals for the future and even danced together under the stars. A perfect way to celebrate 10 years as a team!

Sourcegraph // Playa Mujeres Location: Mayan Riviera, Mexico Atelier Playa Mujeres Days: 5 Pax: 155 Sourcegraph decided that sunny Playa Mujeres was the perfect destination for their second bi-annual retreat. They used their week for company-wide meetings, team breakouts, and a hackathon to generate new ideas as a team. They of course included their signature team-building activities such as board games and karaoke for a fun-filled week!

Hotel Highlight:

A beautiful, authentic masterpiece made by Mexican creatives, the resort features avantgarde design, modern amenities, a beautiful golf course and more, all complimented by jaw - dropping views of the Caribbean Sea.

I

Plex // Montreal & Montebello Location: Montebello, Quebec Fairmont Le Château Days: 6 Pax: 111 For Plexcon 2023, we got to take the team to our home country for an epic retreat in Quebec, Canada! The Plex team embraced their Canadian

destination with a Canadiana theme! The Moniker team got to flex their creative muscles by offering incredibly unique team building activities.

These included an epic challenge

“The team somehow perfected on the formula from Plexcon 2022!" called the “Canadian Games”, a curling tournament and a 1920's murder mystery complete with live actors that had to be solved throughout the week! Of course they squeezed in invaluable team sessions and presentations. The retreat ended with an unforgettable Great Gatsby party to celebrate a fantastic week!

Airalo // Phuket

Location: Phuket, Thailand Marriott Phuket Merlin Beach Days: 5 Pax: 180

I

Airalo took their team to Phuket, Thailand for a week of all-hands meetings, team breakouts, and lots of brainstorming sessions. Coming from over 40 plus countries around the world, they stayed at the stunning Marriott Phuket Merlin

Beach. The week was also jampacked with teambuilding activities, such as an amazing race around the resort, a Thai cooking class, as well as snorkelling, paddleboarding and even a chance to visit to an elephant sanctuary!

Matador // Mexico City

Location: Mexico City, Mexico Andaz Condesa Mexico City Days: 5 Pax: 64

Matador’s main goal for their retreat was to bring their remote team together for a series of all-staff meetings, teambuilding activities, and fun optional excursions. Mexico City provided a beautiful backdrop for both culture and adventure

based activities.

The trendy neighbourhood of Condesa offered an ideal spot for these activities.

And the best part?

The delectable cuisine that the team got to enjoy after busy days of meetings and sessions and team-building!

Harvest // Barcelona

We brought Harvest, a tech company, to Barcelona for their bi-annual retreat. The fantastic cuisine and trendy neighbourhoods of the city offered the perfect spot for their team to gather for a blend of team meetings and destination fun! Mornings were spent in departmental breakouts and

and all-staff meetings, as well as educational sessions for the team. This was a great way to realign on goals for the company moving forward.

Afternoons were saved for the fun stuff! Harvesters were treated to local Spanish activities such as a regional wine tour, cooking class and

Location: Barcelona, Spain The Hoxton Poblenou Days: 5 Pax: 77

food tour. In the evenings, group dinners and leisure time gave the everyone some time to unwind, with a huge offsite party on the final night! By the end of the week, everyone on the Harvest team left satisfied and rejuvenated after a productive week in the stunning city of Barcelona!

8 Elm // St. Barth’s This real estate company wanted to celebrate their top brokers with a spectacular trip to the gorgeous island of St. Barth’s. The entire team enjoyed the fantastic shopping, iconic French cuisine and beautiful beaches of this luxury Caribbean destination. They also got to participate in activities

Location: St. Barth’s Hotel Christopher Days: 4 Pax: 24 such as a spa day, jet-skiing and of course, a day on a catamaran soaking up the sun and diving into the sparkling waters!

Where We're Headed Already In 2024 With more destinations in the works!

Los Cabos, Mexico

Marigot Bay, St. Lucia

Rome, Italy

Maldives

Niagara Falls, Canada

Saint-Sauveur, Canada

Marbella, Spain

Tuscany, Italy

Cartagena, Colombia

Marquis Los Cabos

Anantara Dhigu Resort

Kempinski Hotel Bahía

Zoetry Marigot Bay

Hilton Fallsview

St Regis Hotel & Castelfalfi

Hotel Villa Pamphili Roma

Manoir Saint-Sauveur

Hotel Casa Ananda