Human Depth Will Set You Apart | AI and Your Power to Remain Curious

Human Depth Will Set You Apart.

AI and Your Power to Remain Curious

By David, Founder of Venue Retreat, 2nd July 2025

We're living through a moment that feels both exciting and a little disorienting. Every week, there's another tool, another headline, another breakthrough in AI that's promising to revolutionise how we work, how we communicate, how we create. As a founder running a business that connects people through physical spaces and real-world experiences, I've been watching it all unfold with curiosity and caution.

We get alot of feedback from our clients and venue partners. Many of which love what we do here at Venue Retreat because we actually talk to them. We building relationships and communicate with them through human interaction. Not automated email responses or no response whatsoever.

But we have calls with them, learn about them as people, visit their venues, help them at their retreats or reply quickly in a chat which is not a AI bot. Even if our brand is not the face of the founder or one person, when you connect with us all you deal with is the founder and real experts, a small dynamic team that knows your name.

This is not the easiet way to do things, but just because it is easier doesnt mean we should adopt it. I think people appreciate this way more than the alternative.

An Early Adopter

I’ve always been an earlier adopter of innovative tech and social media. I remember having a Facebook account in the states when none of my friends in the UK knew what it was. Still loving Myspace not sure if to try this new site. But even then as an early adopter I stopped using it in 2008 when I realised how they were just using peoples data and profiting from it. Could my business have been more successful if I used Facebook over the last 20 years? I think so, but I think values also matter and sticking to certain principles and finding your own path to make it work.

The same difficult questions will have to be answered with AI, how we choose to use it when needed and helpful without allowing it to take away all privacy and human creativity.

The drive to automate, optimise, and "AI-ify" everything is palpable. Businesses of all sizes are scrambling to plug AI into every aspect of their operations—and in many ways, that's smart. There are brilliant ways to use AI to save time, streamline processes, improve customer service, and stay competitive. We use it ourselves at Venue Retreat to support research, systems, and admin work. But never to replace how we work with our clients and partners.

But here's the thing: the more AI-generated content floods our screens, the more generic everything is starting to feel. The same tone, the same formats, the same empty promises written by bots trying to sound human. A lot of it looks polished, but when you dig deeper, it's hollow.

In that environment, what becomes rare—and therefore valuable—is depth. Real understanding. Taste. Care. And that can only come from people who have taken the time to truly know the work they do.

I believe the companies and individuals who will really thrive in this new era aren't the ones who simply move faster with AI—they're the ones who have learned to integrate it without losing their edge. Their intuition. Their understanding of nuance. Their commitment to excellence.

Sure it will be easy for many to make a quick buck with the initial rush and boom in the industry. 3 years ago it would have been difficult to see any Linkedin bio saying AI expert unless you were actually working in that industry. Now every other new founder and start up are self proclaimed experts in the industry. The long game will reward those people who have actually taken the time, energy, years of being passionate about something who can actually offer real world knowledge and experience in a sector rather than those posing as them through AI agents. It will become to obvious in a few years with AI agents cannibalising each other and the market.

Of course the world of work will change and many true experts in their field may have no future because AI can just do it better, cheaper, faster and that we will not be able to change.

However. In the retreat and company offsite space, AI might write you an itinerary or generate 10 blog post drafts in a second. But it won’t tell you how a retreat space should feel. It won’t replace the years of insight it takes to know what makes a company offsite transformative, or how to design an experience that leaves people changed. That still lives with the human. AI agents can find you a hotel and book it for you, but as we all know, retreats are personal and need conversations with everyone involved from the team, event manager, hotel owners, reservation team, external staff and service sourcing. With every small detail needed to be communicated it will still require humans and connections, relationships even if AI is helping us along the way.

And this is where it gets really interesting.

Retreats Are the Antidote to Digital Fatigue

As AI makes it easier to fill the internet with content, the real luxury of tomorrow is going to be disconnection. Presence. Immersion. People won't be craving more screens—they'll be craving time away from them.

This is where retreat leaders have a powerful role to play. They create space for people to drop the noise and tune back into what matters. As the world leans further into the digital, the hunger for embodied, human experiences will only grow. The rise of AI will make retreats more relevant, not less. We have already seen this trend in the last 15 years with social media, smart phones and the need for digital detox retreats souring.

Wellness journeys. Team reconnections. Creative residencies. These aren't things that can be replicated in ChatGPT or coded into an app. They require human presence, emotional intelligence, and real-world energy—all of which become more valuable the more we're asked to live behind a screen.

Real-World Businesses Will Be AI-Resilient

The same goes for our venue partners. These aren’t digital products—they’re real places that offer connection, nature, stillness, and inspiration. A beautiful retreat space in the hills of Tuscany or the coast of Portugal isn’t just a commodity. It’s a sensory experience. It’s a setting for something deeper to happen.

Of course, AI can support these businesses too. It can help with guest communications, booking management, marketing content, even dynamic pricing. But the core of what they offer—a sense of place, a container for transformation—is un-automatable. It is, in a sense, future-proof.

At Venue Retreat, we try to sit at that intersection: helping our partners and clients use AI wisely, while staying rooted in what makes their work matter. We help retreat leaders communicate better. We help venues tell their story. We help companies find offsite spaces that spark ideas and bring teams closer together. We use technology to enhance, but never to replace.

A wellness yacht retreat in Croatia, digital detox to get people connected in inspiring places.

Humans Will Always Matter

This is what I keep coming back to: humans will always matter. Human connection. Human insight. Human emotion. These are the things that build loyalty, spark transformation, and create memories. And as AI continues to evolve, I think those of us who build businesses with heart, clarity, and depth are going to stand out even more.

So yes, use AI. Automate where it makes sense. Let it make your life easier. But don’t let it become a shortcut around learning what makes great service, content, or hospitality.

Because in the end, people won’t remember you for how efficient you were. They’ll remember how you made them feel.

And that's something no machine can replicate.

Get in touch with us below if you are a retreat leader, company in need of a space or a venue owner. Only humans please.