I'm Chris. I wanted to fly since I was young. I spent much if not all of my "screen time" on Microsoft Flight Simulator instead of whatever everyone else was playing. The path to actually becoming a pilot didn't work out the way I'd planned, so I went to school for film instead. That turned into a real love of visual storytelling, and eventually into photography, which is still how I see the world today. I'm working on my Private Pilot License now, so the original plan is finally catching up to me too.
Runway Retreats is really where everything I care about converges. I've spent my career in corporate software sales, which taught me how to build something real and sell it honestly. I've built a life around travel and chasing unique experiences. And underneath all of it is something my mom instilled in me: making memories is the point, not a side effect. She's not here to see this, but that belief is baked into everything about how I'm building it.
Somewhere in the middle of all that travel, I started noticing there wasn't really a place where all of this lived together. Flying, photography, unique stays, the kind of trips worth remembering. Aviation had its own corners of the internet. Travel had its own. Nobody had built the place where a pilot could actually find and book the kind of destination worth flying to. So I started building it myself.
We're early. I'm personally vetting every host before anything goes live. It will be slower, but it's the only way I know to do this right. If you've ever landed somewhere and wished there was an easy way to find a great place to stay, this is for you. I'd love to have you along early.
