PEEK AT SOME TRAVEL FOR THE VERY, VERY RICH,
LUXURY ADVISERS MAKE THEM PERFECT
The rich really are different from you and me — at least when it comes to travel. For ordinary travelers, the Presidential Suite might sound like the ultimate luxury. For the traveler with the 25,000-squarefoot home or office, though, it’s not much of a wow. “It’s going to look like a closet,” said travel adviser Bobby Zur, owner of Travel Artistry in Franklin Lakes, N.J. His agency is part of Virtuoso, a worldwide network of luxury travel advisers, whose membership is by invitation only. Zur’s clientele includes rock stars, billionaires, CEOs and pro sports icons.
Luxury travel isn’t about the biggest and the most lavish anymore. The rich have been there, bought that. Today, they’re spending their money — investing it, actually — in experiences rather than material possessions. “It’s really about intangible things,” Zur says. “It’s about how they’re made to feel.”
Small is big today in luxury travel: boutique hotels; private airline terminals; special-access tours; and those little touches that have always been part of the “VIP treatment.”
And more Americans are in that VIP category now than at any point in U.S. history: There were an estimated 10.8 million millionaires by the end of 2016, up 400,000 from just the year before. The wealthy travel more and spend more per trip; the luxury market is growing almost a third faster than the overall travel industry.
The established brands in the luxury market — from accommodations such as Aman Resorts or Four Seasons to cruise lines such as Silversea, Crystal and Uniworld, and tour operators such as Butterfield & Robinson, Abercrombie & Kent, Lindblad Expeditions and Micato Safaris — are adapting to the new luxury traveler in ways big and small.
High-end hotels are emphasizing more personalized service, providing training in how to anticipate guests’ needs, solve their problems, manage crises. At the Fairmont Pacific Rim in Vancouver, for instance, VIPs get monogrammed bathrobes, pillowcases, or both, and toiletries with the guest’s name printed on the label. And in case you felt like taking a run or hike and only packed your pumps or oxfords, they’ll send up a pair of Nikes you can borrow, in just your size.
Wellness has become a major focus for luxury travelers, so hotels are ramping up their spa services — some offering treatments reflecting local traditions. Hotels are meeting the demand for authentic and unique experiences by arranging anything from an after-hours museum tour with the curator to a cooking lesson with a local chef. Marriott teamed up with hotelier Ian Schrager for its luxury Edition brand, where the staff includes a cultural director responsible for programming and events. CRUISING FOR LUXURY Cruise lines are making some of the biggest waves in the luxury arena.
One emerging trend, according to Carolyn Spencer Brown, editor in chief of Cruise Critic, is the “luxurification” of expedition cruising. “It used to be — and sometimes still is — that an expedition cruise was considered luxury because of the hard-to-get-to destinations it visited — places like the Galapagos and Antarctica,” she says. Originally, the accommodations were basic. “Now, lines such as Crystal, Ponant and Scenic have created ships that carry cruisers to adventure in a luxurious ambiance,” offering personalized service by butlers, or private helicopters in port.
Dining also is being revamped. Silversea’s Silver Muse, which made its debut recently, has eight restaurants and no main dining room. Today’s luxury travelers don’t want to be told what to do — they want choice.
There’s long been a yacht-style of cruising (Seabourn was a pioneer, and Windstar is top of the line now) but Crystal’s Esprit and Scenic’s upcoming Eclipse both are courting the type of traveler who might otherwise charter his or her own vessel.
Cruise ships also are creating exclusive areas for their luxury clientele. The Haven on Norwegian Cruise Line top deck features the “most luxurious” suites (a three-bedroom villa among them), private inner courtyard with pool, butlers, dedicated restaurants, and priority on and off status in ports.
Crystal arguably is taking the deepest dive into luxury: Along with the ultra-luxury yacht Esprit, it launched Crystal Luxury Air, a private jet charter service, in April. Crystal AirCruises debuts in August, offering roundthe-world journeys via private jet. For those who need to stay put for a while, the company has a portfolio of Crystal Residences. PERSONALIZED EXPERIENCES Some critics say that the new luxury options — especially those “behind the velvet rope” arrangements, such as The Haven, may be creating resentment and ani- mosity between the classes (not unlike walking through first class to your seat in coach). On the other hand, the proliferation of luxury and experiential options gives the average traveler an opportunity to go for the occasional splurge, say, on a great hotel room while still going budget on other parts of a trip.
The options for luxury are more plentiful today, but that one-percenter — the billionaire, the A-lister, the client Bobby Zur works with, for instance — isn’t taking a trip right off the rack.
“The one-percent want blowme-away experiences,” says travel adviser Catherine Heald, CEO of Remote Lands, part of Virtuoso, whose clientele skews affluent and ultra-affluent. “They want to do things and go places that no one else has gone, to earn bragging rights for dinner party conversation, such as taking a helicopter to Everest Base Camp,” she says.
They use travel advisers because “they want smooth, seamless, white glove service. Flawless logistics. If they are taking a route that has no commercial air service, such as from Chiang Rai (in Thailand) to Siem Reap (in Cambodia), they will charter a small jet rather than take a connecting flight in order to save half a day, which is precious to them.”
“True luxury is getting exactly what you want, in the precise way you want it,” says Terrie Hansen, senior vice president of marketing for Virtuoso. “It sounds straightforward, but it requires an actual human being to fulfill, and I go back to the importance of the human connection. If you want to impress someone who has everything, make sure they get what they want before they have a chance to ask for it.”
Luxury travel advisers focus on making that connection; Virtuoso even offers a certificate course in it. Clients may not know exactly what they want on the initial visit, and advisers will spend hours to get to the heart of a client’s vacation aspirations.
Zur has his clients fill out a questionnaire, asking about their best vacation ever, notable disappointments, favorite hotels and other basics that provide subtle guidance and insight.
His fees range from $500 to $1,000. For that, they get the benefit of Zur’s travel connections, among other things.
One such connection was the key to fulfilling a request from one of Zur’s clients, a “legendary international pop/rock band” that wanted a place to rehearse and bond for two weeks before starting their next world tour. It had to be in or near Turin (Torino), Italy. It also had to accommodate 20-plus people, including the band members and staff. And it had to be completely private.
A friend who was the GM of the Four Seasons Milano put him in touch with a 90-year-old “contessa” whose family finances were flagging. He and the band’s tour/travel manager persuaded her to rent the entire estate to the band. “They then proceeded to turn this 12th-century palazzo into a 21st-century high-tech space with Wi-Fi.” They brought in new beds, built a music studio for rehearsals, and went on tour.
One more travel memory that will last a lifetime — for the band, the contessa, and Zur.