Experiencing the Magic of the Accelerate Women Leaders in Travel Retreat for the First Time

Accelerate isn’t just a retreat…it’s a revolution in how women show up, lead, and lift each other. I came in curious and left inspired.

While Rachel Vandenberg has led the Accelerate Women Leaders in Travel Retreat for 6 years, this was my first time attending and experiencing the magic of her conference.  Located at Mill Falls at the Lake, a picturesque resort in Meredith, New Hampshire, on the shores of picturesque Lake Winnipesaukee, my first thought upon arrival was:  I’m On Golden Pond!  For those who don’t know the movie, I’m dating myself, but the serenity & beauty of the location was the first clue of how different this event would be.

Rachel started the Retreat when she was overseeing operations at the hotel she still owns, the Sun & Ski Inn in Stowe, Vermont, and she decided to build the community she needed.  What she has since developed is an incredible group that reflects New England lodging, with women from across the 6 New England states, many of whom operate independent, seasonal resorts.  Indeed, Accelerate Board Members were often at the podium, visibly representing the welcoming Accelerate community.

The Retreat has since grown to 100 women who attended in April 2025, and it focuses on building connections and new leadership skills.  Indeed, it’s not about “networking” as we typically think of it at conferences but about showing up vulnerably, with an openness to sharing one’s fears and insecurities, thereby allowing the community of women in the room to support and help you grow into your full potential. Discussions were led by seasoned executive coaches, Ann Fogolin, Elias Scultori, Karen Laos, and Rachel herself, who has also become a leadership coach.

Day 1:  Impacting Your Sphere of Influence & An Inspiring Journey

We find out upon arrival to the ballroom that we have been assigned to a round table of 8 women, so we can mingle and meet new people.  Karen kicked off the program by teaching us a “secret formula” for introducing oneself - who knew there was a formula? Guess what - it works!  Like many of the skills we learn during this Retreat, we pair-off with a tablemate to practice our new-found way of introducing ourselves.  I’m definitely keeping this one!

Rachel then set the tone for the Retreat by facilitating the attendee-created lists of our intentions for the Retreat, how we want to show up, and naming the distractions that often keep us from being more present.  Out of that came the saying that “What Happens in New Hampshire, Stays in New Hampshire!” which was our way of saying this was a safe space where we could share the things that often go unspoken.

Elias and Ann then led a discussion of how we can Impact our Sphere of Influence and How Key Coaching Skills Make All the Difference in the workplace.  We learned about the difference between Transactional Listening vs. Transformational Listening and how to ask questions that lead others towards discovery.  Once again, there were lots of exercises for us to immediately put our learnings into practice.

One of the most inspiring moments of the Retreat came at the end of Day 1, with Cocktails & Conversation, a fireside chat with Rachel Humphrey, led by Nancy Mendelson.  With espresso martinis in hand, we heard about Rachel’s full circle journey from growing up in New Hampshire, to D.C. courtrooms as a trial attorney, to her rapid rise to C-Suite leader of AAHOA, followed by her current chapter where she founded the Women in Hospitality Leadership Alliance, and right back to this stage in the Granite State.  Her path and the lessons learned along the way helped us see anything is possible with hard work, resilience and intention.

Rachel Humphrey and Nancy Mendelson during "Cocktails and Conversation"

Day 2:  13 Lessons from Taylor Swift, 7 Ways Women Give Away their Power & Following Your Dreams

I had the privilege of starting Day 2 by presenting the inaugural “Stories that Shape Us” session, which I called 13 Lessons from Taylor Swift, the Businesswoman.  It gave me the opportunity to weave my journey and realizations into the discussion.  Despite navigating a number of biases women often face, Taylor has emerged as a shrewd and highly successful businesswoman, offering many inspiring lessons that can help those struggling with how best to show up and thrive.

Karen then took the stage to walk through 7 Ways Women Give Away Their Power, an enlightening session that had us all rethinking how we approach things in our daily lives, and how we could approach things differently to deepen our influence and impact.  A favorite segment was Karen demonstrating what to do when someone talks over you – I can’t wait to see how it works IRL!

Rachel Vandenberg brought the Retreat to a close by asking us to set our intention by Creating our Career Vision.  A key highlight of the last moments of the Retreat included Rachel sharing a recent video of her United Airlines training & certificate ceremony, where Rachel achieved a childhood dream of becoming a flight attendant.  What better way to inspire everyone in attendance than to model what it looks like to do all the things we’ve ever dreamed of – proving it’s never too late, it’s just the next chapter!

Here’s to bold dreams, brave conversations, and the magic we make when we come together!