Maison
栖迟
Sojourn — to stay awhile
The Name
Beneath a humble gate, one may rest at ease
“Qī chí” — to dwell at ease — comes from the Book of Odes, written some three thousand years ago. Even then it was understood: true rest is not stillness, but slowing down in the right place. It is the name we chose for this atelier, and the way we do everything.
What We Believe
What We Believe
The worth of travel lies not in how many places you have been, but in how many have truly passed through you.
So we refuse to be everything: six destinations, twelve departures, twenty-four commissions a year. Less is our only method of quality.
Our ties to each destination were gathered one return at a time — the guides, innkeepers, abbots and farmers there are friends, not suppliers.
Provenance
Every rule here has a provenance
Sojourn is a young house. We cannot offer decades in the trade, only the roads we have walked. Eight practices follow — each with the day it was born.
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One unscheduled afternoon in every place
A bench on a Manhattan plaza · day nine, afternoon
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One “must-see” a day
The Met · by the pool before the Temple of Dendur
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Put the quiet next door to the noise
Trinity churchyard · Wall Street at noon
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The best things are often not ticketed
Chelsea on a Thursday evening · the High Line overhead
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Choose the guide, then the route
A bird chart · a guide who walked by ear
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A place is worth seeing twice
The same river · a night run with the engine cut
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We promise only to put you in the right place
A canopy walkway thirty metres up · nothing appeared that day
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Every name, we were the guest first
That guide · the first on the list
Notebook I
Nine Days Alone in New York
Of nine days, the most New York thing about New York was the afternoon with nothing planned in it.
Read this notebook
Notebook II
Four Days Upriver, in Peru
Listen, then point, then raise a hand — that is how the birds were shown to us, one at a time.
Read this notebookWalked first
A young house. Every route is walked end to end by us before it is offered — including the days that were later cut.
6 / 12 / 24
Six destinations; twelve departures and twenty-four commissions a year. Never more.
Two seasons
Each road is walked at least once in two different seasons. An itinerary that only holds in fine weather does not count.
2 hours
Our average distance from the crowd — two hours ahead of it, or two hours behind.
Trust
Where certainty comes from
Entrusting a whole journey to one house requires reasons. We keep ours in plain sight.
Trip.com · Direct Partner
Platform-Vetted Operator
We work directly with Trip.com’s tailor-made travel platform as a strictly vetted operator — itineraries and funds under platform safeguard throughout. Should anything go wrong, behind you stands a platform’s rules, not merely a promise.
Ten Years · Certified
Accredited Travel Designers
Trip.com’s academy certifies travel designers by examination. All of our senior designers hold the certification, each with over ten years in the craft — your itinerary is written by people who have seen enough go wrong.
Before Departure · In Writing
Confirmations Delivered
Flights, houses, guides, entrances — all delivered as written confirmations before departure. We believe romance may be left open; obligations may not.