From judging the Olympics to film school to owning his own hotel representation company, Shawn Rettstatt has one hell of a resume. An icon in the luxury travel sector, Rettstatt is the link between us, the travelers, and the exclusive luxury boutique hotels that we’ve always dreamed of staying in. Representing safaris in Africa, log cabins in upstate New York and cottages in London, Rettstatt’s company Selected Escapes provides a service that people often don’t understand or deem as necessary. Yet the role of representation companies in travel experiences is often underestimated, for the hotels carefully chosen by Selected Escapes are simply the best.

Selected Escapes works with luxury boutique hotels and experiences, providing them with representation to travel agents across the world. Since it is expensive for hotels to market themselves to every travel agent, they use a third party like Selected Escapes to help them reach future travellers. But this company won’t just work with any hotel. Rather than representing chains or larger hotels with bigger marketing budgets, Selected Escapes has a portfolio of unique luxury properties that offer an intimate experience for guests. There are no five hundred room hotels under Selected Escapes, only intimate travel experiences that offer something truly special to each guest. Whether that is a dinner party with other travellers or all-day game driving, there is nothing that these hotels will say no to.

Due to the effects of the current global pandemic, Selected Escapes is now even more valuable. With a new norm of being socially distant, travel agents do not want their offices full of strangers trying to sell them singular hotels. Instead, representation companies provide the same services and limit contact between people. As the future of connecting hotels with clients, Selected Escapes is a leader in the luxury travel sector.

However, Shawn Rettstatt did not always work with luxury hotels. He started off as a competitive figure skater, a lover of both preforming and adrenaline, two skills that he’s taken with him when working with travel agents. While he attended New York University for a film degree, Rettstatt started working at a hotel on the side. Within six months, he was managing the hotel. During these years, Rettstatt became flexible, taking on the role for any hotel worker that called out. This gave him a deeper understanding of how hotels operate, and he got to know every detail that went into running a luxury hotel.

When he acquired Selected Escapes, he took these skills with him. The competitive need to make a deal happen stems from his past of figure skating, his ability to connect with hotel managers comes from the fact he used to be one. Using his editing skills from his film classes at NYU, Rettstatt makes videos about his hotels for Selected Escapes’ YouTube Channel. With every aspect of his past helping him along the way, Shawn Rettstatt became the successful person he is today.

For Selected Escapes, it’s not about the number of hotels and experiences they represent, but the quality. Working with mostly five-star hotels, Rettstatt is very careful when selecting which luxury boutique hotels to include in his portfolio, focusing on a few simple traits that make each hotel “the best”. The hotel needs to speak to him, displaying a personality within its walls that caters to the exclusive experience. He needs to love the hotel and connect with it in order to sell it to travel agents.

It also needs to be homey, making guests from thousands of miles away still feel at home. This comes from a friendly staff and an inviting atmosphere. Guests travel to these places to relax and to have a new experience, making it each hotel’s mission to provide them with the most enjoyable time possible. Meaning, that if the hotel does not live up to this expectation, then it is not a place worth going. Rettstatt also considers the location of the hotel. Even if it is the nicest hotel in the city, it will not be selected for Selected Escapes if it is in a less-than-desirable location.

Anagama Mara is another hotel represented by Selected Escapes. Located in Kenya, this luxury boutique hotel overlooks the Mara Triangle. Guests can watch migrations of animals from the comforts of their rooms or choose to get a closer look by taking a ride in a hot air balloon over the grassy plains. While they stay in luxury tented suites, with glass windows for the perfect view of the sunrise and wildlife, guests get the ultimate safari experience with the best guest service imaginable.

Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the trends for luxury travel are changing. With social distancing in place, boutique hotels are now more popular than ever because of the intimate gatherings. Rather than staying in a high-end hotel with hundreds of rooms, guests prefer a hotel with a smaller capacity. Guests are also looking to stay out of cities, traveling domestically to remote areas where they can get away from where the virus is spiking. Experimental traveling is leading the way, where each experience is personalized and exclusive. Each hotel represented by Selected Escapes provides these small, luxury experiences so guests get the most out of each trip and remain the safest they can possibly be.

Whether you are traveling domestically or to a new city abroad, the best luxury boutique hotels are represented by Selected Escapes. Carefully chosen, each of these five-star hotels offers an experience unlike anything guests have seen before, catering to any want or need imaginable. By connecting smaller exclusive hotels with travel agents, representation company Selected Escapes help guests find the trip perfect for them based on their individual interests. Not only are these experiences unique, these hotels are simply the best.

The most important trait for Shawn Rettstatt is that it provides an experience that separates the hotel from its competitors. The hotels chosen for Selected Escapes do not need to be the most expensive place to stay in the area, they just simply need to be different. Unique experiences are a trend within luxury traveling. Guests staying in luxury boutique hotels do not just want the traditional vacation experience; they want something more. Any hotel featured in Selected Escapes certainly provides an experience like no other.

One of the standout hotels represented by Selected Escapes is The Point Resort in Upstate New York. Built by the Rockefellers, this log cabin style hotel has eleven rooms, perfect for guests who prefer an intimate travel experience. Dinner at The Point is reminiscent of a traditional house party, where all guests converse and dine together in the Great Hall. Offering a homey environment, guests are sure to be in touch with nature while enjoying this luxury resort. Between fishing, boating, water-skiing, and ice skating, The Point is the perfect exclusive boutique hotel for any time of the year.