JET SETTER

Ray Signorello Jr. runs importer Evolution Fine Wines from Vancouver and is proprietor and co-wine maker of Signorello Estate in the Napa Valley. Since losing his Napa home and winery tasting room in the 2017 wildfires, Signorello has been working out of rented quaters— he knows his hotels.

“Hotel ratings are a bit like wine ratings,” he says. “If five wine critics like a wine, my guess is I'll like the wine, so I like to see several recommendations for a hotel before I book.”

Signorello starts on Tripadvisor, using the map to pick an area, and consults Condé Nast Traveler's Gold List and Travel + Leisure. He'll research flights on Kayak but book airline-direct (Singapore and Emirates are faves), “which makes it far easier if I need to cancel or change a flight—or if my flight is delayed or cancelled.”

How does Signorello find time to book his own travel? “For me, travelling –whether on business or on my vacation with my family–is important time, and I don't want to hand it over to someone else like a travel agent or employee who doesn't know my values,” he says. “If you are willing to invest the time to plan your travel, no one is going to do it as well as you can. But you definitely have to set aside the time– so I'll carve out an hour on a Sunday to do the research.”