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Airalo's Company Retreat in Phu Quoc, Vietnam.
How Moniker helped a team of 300 build culture and have meaningful connection on their annual retreat.
Making the world more connected.
Airalo is a travel tech company on a mission to make the world more connected. As the world's first eSIM store, they've made it possible for travellers to stay connected in 200+ countries. But here's the thing about building a company around global connection: you have to live it internally too.
Remote since day one, Airalo's 400+ person team spans more than 60 countries. They don't just talk about breaking down borders, they've built their entire culture around it. And every year, they prove it by bringing their whole world together in one place.
This was Airalo's third retreat with Moniker, following previous gatherings in Thailand and Mexico. Each year the ambition grows. Vietnam was their biggest yet.
“Our big thing is about connection. We don't do anything work-related, we go just for the connection, to get to know each other and have fun.”
“Once they go to the retreat, they know what they're trying to achieve.
People left with a real sense of that.”
Five days, packed with purpose.
From the Company Connect all-hands to floating lanterns on the last night, every moment was designed to do one thing: make 300 strangers feel like one team.
Welcome to Vietnam
300 people from 60 countries landing in Phu Quoc, jet-lagged and buzzing. A beachfront welcome reception kicked off the week, the moment when names in Slack finally became real faces across a table.
All Hands, All Heart
A company-wide all-hands gave 300 people a shared foundation before the fun began — ensuring newer team members left Vietnam not just with new friends, but with a clear understanding of the mission they were all working toward.
Island Discovery Day
Beach Yoga at sunrise. Then: your day. Island tours, a cooking class, Duong Dong Town, or a hammock and a book. Airalo picked up lunch. The bonfire on the beach brought everyone home.
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Community Litter Pick
They spent the morning giving back — a beach clean-up, three coaches, the whole company pitching in. Then the night took over: Vietnamese Night Market on the sand, golden hour drinks on the beach, and a DJ set at Ink 360 that didn't stop until midnight.
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Farewells
The last morning was slow — breakfast by the water, one final look at the beach, then the long journey home. Vietnam had done its job
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Finding time to breathe
Every day included generous leisure time, optional hotel activities, pool and beach hang-outs, games room, and beach movie screenings under the stars. The unscheduled moments were just as intentional as the programmed ones.
"What we're struggling with, as you grow quickly, is bringing all those people on the journey with us. Once they go to the retreat, they know what they're trying to achieve. People left with a real sense of that."
From typhoon reroutes to the last lantern, handled seamlessly.
When Moniker takes on a retreat, every person actually gets to enjoy it — including when a typhoon hits. Here's what that looked like for Airalo.
Before a single activity was planned or venue scouted, the Moniker team took the time to understand Airalo — their values, their culture, their people. That understanding shaped every decision, from the intimate property choice to the final night production. On the ground, the Moniker team became part of the fabric of the retreat itself.
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End-to-End Planning
Group flights coordinated across six continents. Passport management. Bi-weekly planning calls. Every logistical detail owned, end to end.
Destination as a Strategy
A setting that naturally pulled people together — at breakfast, at the pool, at 2AM around a bonfire.
Calm in Crisis
When flight disruptions swept across the region, Moniker was already rerouting. When medical emergencies arose on the ground, Moniker's people were there — not as coordinators, but as the kind of calm, present person you'd want in your corner.
“We do so much for our team. The main thing we ever hear back is how much they love the retreat. That says everything.”
“Erin and the team were super organized. The attention to detail, how much the Moniker team knows their stuff — we could never handle it in as much detail ourselves”
Charlie — People Team, Airalo
This is what it feels like months after.
Three hundred people returned home more connected — not just within their own teams, but across the entire organisation. Cross-functional relationships that would have taken months to build organically were forged in five days.
In a company that offers stock options, bonuses, and a genuinely exceptional benefits package, the annual retreat remains one of the top rated perks. Not because it's the most financially valuable, but because it's the most human.
9.7/10
Post-retreat satisfaction score.
Trust, Forged
Names in Slack channels became real people. Real people became trusted colleagues. The kind of cross-departmental trust that makes a company actually function, built in five days.
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Hours saved by letting Moniker own the planning, logistics, and on-the-ground execution.
Culture, Carried
Every new hire left Vietnam understanding the mission they were working toward. Not from a handbook, from three days floating next to a colleague on a branded pool float in the South China Sea.
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Years Airalo has trusted Moniker to bring their team together
The Top Perk
Months later, Vietnam is still the thing everyone's talking about. In a company with impressive benefits, the annual retreat is consistently rated the team's favourite. That says everything.
"What we're struggling with, as you grow quickly, is bringing all those people on the journey with us. Once they go to the retreat, they know what they're trying to achieve. People left with a real sense of that."
From Help Scout's perspective.
“Having a team that genuinely cared — not just about the logistics, but about our people. They felt like family.”Charlie — People Team, Airalo
“Knowing it was handled. From the typhoon to the medical emergencies to the last night party — we didn't have to worry about a single thing.”Charlie — People Team, Airalo
"How embedded they became. The whole company knew Erin and the team by name. That's not something you expect from a planning partner"Charlie — People Team, Airalo
"Before a single activity was planned or venue was scouted, the Moniker team took the time to understand Airalo — our values, our culture, our people"Charlie — People Team, Airalo
"Is serious about culture and serious about their people — and wants a partner who is too"Charlie — People Team, Airalo
Plan a retreat your team will actually remember.
Whether you're bringing together 100 people or 1000, Moniker handles every detail — so you can show up and enjoy it too.