Be the reason someone smiles today

Richard Branson smiling at the launch fo Son Bunyola hotel in Mallorca
Virgin Limited Edition
Virgin Galactic
Richard Branson's signature
Published on 3 August 2021

I have been working hard to keep my fitness up this year and recently I’ve been including some tough cycles up the unforgiving hills on Virgin Gorda into my workouts. I was on my bike a few weeks ago when we spotted this rather sweet hand-made sign, which has stuck with me: Be the reason someone smiles today. I’ve been cycling past it recently with Holly and Sam and they’ve both spotted it and smiled too.

A few days after I first saw the sign, I found myself stateside celebrating the launch of our new Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. It was a wonderful weekend with the team as we painted the town red with concerts, dinners, yoga, beach clubs – even ice hockey.

I always enjoy test-driving our newest products and experiences and was sure to give some feedback on what I loved and what we could make even better. It was really useful hearing feedback from our guests and theteam, which of course I wrote down in my trusty notebook, and a real pleasure seeing everyone having a blast.

On my last day in Vegas, I wanted to say thank you to our customers and employees for making theUnstoppable Weekend such a special occasion. I thought back to the sign: be the reason someone smiles today.

I pulled on a Master of the Keys outfit, complete with vintage keys, and we collated a selection of tantalising treats to hand out to our guests. Suitably dressed, and with Virgin Hotels’ trusty team by my side, we set off around the hotel to surprise people.

It was great fun offering shoppers free lunches, gamblers free club passes, diners free suite upgrades. I got into the kitchen in the Commons Club and served up some dinners, and gifted one of our hard-working casino team a relaxing spa day.

It was a delightful way to wrap up a fantastic launch weekend and it’s brilliant to see Virgin Hotels Las Vegas getting off to such a fun-filled start. I hope I made a few people smile, too.