Places with a Soul. Who Knows How to Find Them?
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POSITIV MAN
Places with a Soul.
Who Knows How to Find Them?
Petr Kok didn’t set out with a business plan – he simply wanted to share something extraordinary.
Today, Amazing Places inspires thousands, as does its founder. But the journey hasn’t been without
hardship: burnout and the tough decision to overhaul most of the team became a turning point that
propelled the project forward. He now understands that the magic doesn’t stem only from a place’s
atmosphere, but also from the courage to make changes – even when they’re hard.
When you came out of your dark retreat with
the idea for Amazing Places – do you remember
the very first place that came to mind, one you knew
should be included?
Dobčické rybníčky – that was the very first place
I thought of, one I already knew was exceptional
and still undiscovered. That soon changed, of course,
and even today, booking a stay there means making
a reservation at least a year in advance…
Do you notice a shift in what people considered
“luxury” ten years ago compared to today? How have
guests’ expectations evolved?
You can really see the change, especially when it comes
to cottages. Owners have significantly raised the bar,
putting much more focus on quality and thoughtful
architecture – both in the interiors and the finer
details. Many of them have been drawing inspiration
from our Amazing Places project for years now, which
is something we’re genuinely proud of.
People often say they want to get away for a few
days, to escape “somewhere else.” Where do you
go? Among the hundreds of places you know, do you
have any personal favourites – not necessarily
the most luxurious, but those you return to because
they move you in some way?
I’m actually quite conservative in this sense – I enjoy
going back to the same places like Café Fara, Zikmundov,
and Mezi Plůtky. But I also love the wonderfully
unconventional Anybody Hotel in Brno.
Could a project like Amazing Places even function
without technology? And on the other hand – what
remains purely human about it? Do you have
a “must-have” tool or app you can no longer imagine
doing business without?
Some say we’ve become more of a tech company than
anything else. The truth is, we work with data analysis
every single day. Our core platform is the Raynet
CRM, which everyone on the team uses, along with
tools like Notion, Slack, and others. I originally started
the project using Basecamp – which my colleagues
eventually took away from me because it no longer met
our needs – but I have to say, it served us well in the
beginning.
What was the hardest part for you in shifting from
an individual to a leader role?
It’s still hard – it really comes down to the number
of mistakes I make and my belief that I’m doing it for
the good of the whole project. What matters most
is making decisions – and making them as quickly
as possible, especially when it comes to choosing
the right people around you. In the past, I struggled
more. I felt like I had to protect everyone and try to lead
them to better performance. Today, I’ve realised that
if it doesn’t work, you need to find more capable
managers and part ways quickly with those who aren’t
up to the task. There are now more than fifteen of us
in the office, plus about the same number of external
collaborators. Fortunately, I have an amazing partner,
Vašek Vítek, who leads the team now, which allows
me to focus more on other aspects of the business.
Don’t let money be the measure
of success. What maers is that you
believe in it 100% and go aer it.