You know that time is precious to me, which is why I decided to structure this monthly letter as follows: a retrospective on the past month, an encounter with a creative mind, a taste sensation, a reflection to open up new horizons, an enlightening read, and a place where the values of hospitality are those that I love and cherish. TOMO is not just a newsletter. It is a companion that transforms readers’ time into something precious and unexpected.
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#7
Pioneer of time,
sower of emotions
October 15h, 2025
After a summer of discovery and renewal, September began in the most exciting way possible. After weeks of holding my tongue, I finally revealed the next 700,000 Heures Impact destination: Rwanda.
To celebrate this new chapter, I gathered friends, journalists, and hoteliers at Almisbah, a hidden gem in the medina of Marrakech (coinciding with the Pure travel show taking place in Morocco at the same time). This building, dating back to the late Almoravid era, takes its name from the Arabic word for “lantern” and is one of the rare survivors of the centuries. Originally a wealthy family’s palace, it later became a fortress to store arms and grain, and, by the mid-18th century, the kingdom’s first women’s prison. A place steeped in history, mystery, and surprises—much like the journey awaiting our travellers in the Land of a Thousand Hills.
Once again, I’ve decided to push every limit and create the world’s first immersive hospitality performance (I’ll share more about the concept below). A stay fuelled by art and imagination, because I firmly believe that travel should never shy away from a touch of madness. This project, born of my encounter with multidisciplinary artist Cédric Mizero (whom I mentioned here before), and the creative drive of local communities, will allow travellers to discover the country through the eyes of its finest ambassadors. If you have questions, we’ll be delighted to answer them.
Warmly,
Thierry
P.S. This project is quite an adventure, so for now we’re planning just one season — from 30 May to early September. The good news: reservations are now open! Here is the link to download the presentation
Today, I’d like to tell you about our second artist-in-residence at Dar Ahlam: Guillaume Sorge. I met Guillaume through the artistic director helping me build my website and Prélude, our platform dedicated to Dar Ahlam travellers. Including music on those pages felt essential. I listen to it constantly, and the key moments of my life are bound to specific tracks. I remember one stormy night in Cap-Ferret, mesmerised by flashes of heat lightning across the bay. Every time I hear the saxophone melody that played that evening, I’m instantly transported back there. The same goes for sunrises, candlelit dinners, or endless drives scored by playlists crafted by my children. It only felt right to give Dar Ahlam a true musical signature—one that guests could take home with them. Our playlist is available here, and my current favourite is Gaspar Claus, whose albums I can’t stop playing on repeat.
We often tell children not to play with their food. I’m convinced we should do exactly the opposite. During my last stay in Marrakech, I met Nikos Karaflos, founder of Dexamenes in Greece. In his raw, almost monastic concrete hotel, he transforms the constraints of dining into performance art. Without giving too much away, I invite you to explore his “illegal dinners,” which check every box of transgression while never compromising the ingredient itself. In the same spirit, his work reminded me of this DiverXO video from Madrid—a ten-minute capture of a dinner that borders on the delirious. These projects inspire me for Dar Ahlam, where we’re currently developing a palindrome menu that gleefully breaks taboos (yes, even talking with your mouth full…). I can’t wait to share more soon!
What exactly is an immersive performance? It’s a question I’ve been asked many times since announcing the Rwanda project. By now, you know my fascination for productions such as Sleep No More and Then She Fell. These invitations to curiosity—with no barriers between audience and actor, and a playful sense of discovery—have profoundly shaped how I think about staging and storytelling.
In practice, throughout the journey (from the narrow streets of Kigali to the tranquil shores of Lake Kivu), our guests will find themselves engaging with locals. Actors or residents? They’ll never know. A true adventure, in its truest meaning: what is meant to unfold. The logistics will be intricate, of course, but we know our craft and thanks to the detailed script and storyline we’ve just completed, all you’ll have to do is let yourself be carried along. I often say that hospitality must remain a living material, fuelled by the will and energy to always do better, to bring joy to our guests. This project is its most vivid expression yet.
Losing my father and sister so young meant I confronted death early. I didn’t get the innocence of childhood, but those events gave me an acute awareness of how vital it is to live fully. Living doesn’t mean chasing endlessly, but recognising the preciousness of each passing day. That’s why the name 700,000 Hours—the average time a human being has on earth—feels so fitting. It isn’t about how long, but how well. 700,000 can feel vast if each hour is lived with intention. The real question is not how much time remains, but what we do with it.
Serge Dive, founder of This is Beyond, once pointed out that the average American gets only 426 days of holiday in a lifetime. That number struck me: how did we get here? We must restore value to time, and I welcome every initiative that does so. Recently, I discovered the Swedish brand Koyia, which opened a minimalist perfumery deep in the forests of Småland. Their model is original: customers don’t pay with money, but with 599 seconds of their time, spent in contemplative silence. Ten minutes—the time needed for nature’s effects to settle into the body. A concept perfectly aligned with their conifer-based fragrances, whose stress-relieving benefits are scientifically proven.
At the root of hospitality, there is always a story. A thread strong enough to make us want to unravel it further. We believe we’re choosing a destination, but really, we’re choosing a narrative. From experience, I’ve learned that hosting is first and foremost about sparking curiosity. I love telling stories, stirring emotions in those I meet… a paradox for the introverted child I once was.
In that spirit, I wanted to share a book with you: The Seven Basic Plots. Through countless examples, from ancient myths and folk tales to theatre and classic novels, Christopher Booker shows us the seven archetypal themes that underpin every story, and the vital role narrative plays in our lives. The one that fascinates me most is, of course, “Voyage and Return”: epic journeys like The Odyssey or the Ramayana, where heroes overcome danger only to return home transformed.
We’ve all seen that striking image in a magazine or on social media—the Portuguese house where sand drifts into the living room and bedroom. That dreamlike spot in Comporta is Silent Living. I met its founder, João Rodrigues, in Lisbon during the pandemic, and I was immediately taken with the philosophy behind his projects. He refuses to work with travel agents, preferring direct relationships with travellers. He has truly grasped the essence of micro-hospitality, choosing to multiply distinct places rather than add rooms to one. Fishermen’s huts facing a river, a stone house near the Spanish border, an 18th-century building in Lisbon’s old quarter—each is the result of singular, sincere work that deserves support.
To follow everything happening around my projects:
> An interview with The A28 Dispatch newsletter, where I discuss my vision of luxury, the importance of flexibility and impermanence in hospitality, and of course, the blending of art and travel in our Rwanda project.
> A seat at the Condé Nast Traveler Points of View Summit on 12 November in New York. I’ll be part of a roundtable on authenticity in travel. How do we build real connections with communities? How do we identify genuinely regenerative practices?…