If you will, we’d like to share with you our reflections on 2020. We do so because our experience in 2020 is imprinted upon the very bones of our business. The gifts, the burdens, and the challenge of the last twelve months is entirely integral to the growth we expect in 2021, and beyond. 

 

Launching a new business alongside the unrest of 2020 may have seemed an inauspicious way to start. We certainly had moments where we felt down on our luck and uncertain for the future. But, in taking a step back, we can see the gift that 2020 gave us: time.

Time to dream, and time to execute upon those dreams. To lovingly craft something purposeful and strong. Time to do things right.

 

You see, in building Red Barn Vacations, we always wanted to shake things up, to do away with convention and ask ourselves at every turn: ‘how can we do things better?’ — a mantra that became our slogan, ‘ different by design.’

So, with the landscape of 2020, we were granted time to make intentional choices and solidify our resolve into something real.

Aside from the structural, philosophical start to our business, we also literally transformed ourselves, undertaking a massive renovation of the Red Barn itself, the Inn, the Stone House, and grounds of our business.

 

Inside and out, where we are today is very different than one year ago.

 

2020 was full of deep-in-the-mud, covered-in-dust, tired-to-the-bones days. 2021 will be, too. That was another lesson of 2020: that there is such joy in labor when we are crafting something that is ours.

In the madness of 2020, our resolve and our grit was challenged. In that challenge, we surrounded ourselves with a team, as well as a growing family of homeowners, that share a common desire to work hard and play harder.

We’ve discovered that instead of lamenting all that is lost, it feels better to celebrate the opportunities of now. Opportunities that are rooted in intimacy and quiet: moments of growth and contemplation, hunger for change, and hope for the future.

 

Last night, in our own homes and on own couches, we considered the tremendous blessings of the past year, our thoughts drifting to:

  • Our new homeowners, who we thank immensely for their trust in us.
  • The promise of a growing network of owners, who we can’t wait to ‘wow.’
  • The guests that allowed us to lift up their 2020 into something better.
  • Our incredible Red Barn Vacations team
  • All Incredible things due to come in the days ahead

 

In effect: we realized that 2020 was maybe the best thing ever.

If we forced 2020 to be good to us, 2021 is sure to be a banner year.

We can’t wait!