Your Ultimate Guide to Luxury Travel: Answers to All Your Frequently Asked Questions
Planning a luxury vacation can come with many questions, and as expert travel advisors, we’re here to provide all the answers. In this comprehensive FAQ, we cover everything from general inquiries to the finer details of booking, planning, payment, and fees. You’ll also find insights into client experiences, itinerary design, our bespoke travel services, and the importance of travel insurance. Whether you’re new to luxury travel or a seasoned globetrotter, this guide is designed to help you navigate the process with confidence and ease.
General Questions
A luxury travel advisor is a specialized professional who assists clients in planning and booking high-end travel experiences. They provide personalized recommendations, access to exclusive amenities, and bespoke itineraries tailored to the client’s preferences and desires. Advisors often have extensive knowledge of luxury accommodations, transportation, activities, and destinations, aiming to create unforgettable and seamless travel experiences for their clients.
Using a luxury travel advisor offers several benefits:
Expertise: We have extensive knowledge and experience in curating high-end travel experiences. We stay updated on the latest trends, destinations, and exclusive offerings within the luxury travel industry.
Personalization: We tailor every aspect of your trip to your preferences and desires, ensuring a bespoke and unforgettable experience. We take the time to understand your interests, preferences, and travel style to create a customized itinerary.
Access to Exclusive Amenities: We have access to exclusive perks, upgrades, and amenities at top hotels, resorts, and travel providers. This may include complimentary breakfast, room upgrades, resort credits, and VIP experiences that enhance your trip.
Time Savings: Planning a luxury trip can be time-consuming and overwhelming. By using a travel advisor, you can save time and stress associated with researching, booking, and coordinating various elements of your trip.
Insider Knowledge: We have insider connections and insights that allow us to offer unique experiences and access to hidden gems that you may not discover on your own.
Peace of Mind: With a luxury travel advisor handling the details of your trip, you can relax and enjoy a worry-free travel experience. We are available to assist you before, during, and after your trip, providing support and assistance whenever needed.”
You can fill out a Travel Request Form or email us at [email protected].
Booking & Planning
Yes, a customized itinerary is offered through our Tailored Luxury service.
While we can theoretically book any hotel, we specialize in and have the strongest partnerships with 5-star luxury hotels.
We specialize in travel to wherever you want to go, because our specialty is understanding our client’s travel style and preferences. While our top-selling destinations are Hawaii, New York, Italy, London, Paris, Mexico, Bora Bora, and the Caribbean, we have traveled to and planned trips to a variety of destinations around the world, including a 7-week adventure through South Africa to a whirlwind journey of luxury and spirituality that included Tanzania, the Maldives, Bhutan, and Thailand. We have specialty partners in every destination to help elevate your travel experience.
We highly recommend planning around a year prior. Hotels publish rates about 11 months in advance, though sometimes advisors can get rates before they are published publicly.
Yes! We are just as passionate about hotels and itineraries as we are about the luxury cruise industry. We have a dedicated cruise specialist who can book your preferred sailing or recommend cruises and cruise liners based on your personal preferences. Book your cruise with us and enjoy exclusive benefits on thousands of voyages, such as upgrades, shipboard credits, pre-paid gratuities, and complimentary shore events. Our experience also allows us to make your planning process—including pre and post-cruise hotel bookings, transfers, and shore excursions—seamless.
Client Experience
Not only do online wholesalers like Expedia hide their fees and policies, but your reservation also gets overlooked by hotel management. Simply, you don’t have status, and in high-capacity situations, your room is bound to have the worst location and most faulty room product.
We understand that travel can be unpredictable. Whether you need a last-minute booking or face a travel emergency during your trip, we’re here to help. Our team is constantly monitoring our inbox, and we are ready to assist you in finding the perfect solution to any unexpected hiccups along your journey.
Yes! We request preferences such as room location and favorite beverages upfront on our traveler profile form. When we send our signature VIP letter two weeks prior to your arrival, these preferences are communicated with the hotel well in advance. While we do our best to request amenities specific to your celebration, if you have a particular request that you’d like guaranteed, it could incur an additional cost directly with the hotel.
We have been in business since 2006 and pioneered the hotel-only booking service. And not only have we visited these properties first-hand, but we have built very strong relationships with our hotel partners who want to give you the best because we’re associated with the best.
Payment & Fees
We are unique in that our hotel-only bookings are complimentary. However, we charge professional fees if you’re looking for expert consultation and itinerary design.
Our rates match the hotel’s website, with the added value of exclusive benefits. Discounted rates look like they save you money, but ultimately, our rates provide the best value.
We gladly accept all major credit cards and highly recommend using one to ensure your travel investment is fully protected.
All charges, except for our fees, which are paid directly to Brownell (our host agency), will be charged directly by our trusted partners (hotels or suppliers).
We get paid commission directly through the hotel, so it doesn’t cost you anything to book with us.
There is no minimum budget requirement; however, since we specialize in luxury hotels, most of our clients spend around $1,000/night for accommodations.
Tailored Luxury Itinerary Design
After an in-depth Discover Call, it takes about two weeks for us to complete a first draft proposal. After the draft is delivered, we ask that you review it and respond as soon as you can thoroughly review it to avoid losing any held space and prevent it from being booked by someone else in the interim. While we strive to meet our delivery timeline, unforeseen circumstances may arise that could cause a slight delay – such as a surge in requests for us and our travel partners.
Our $400 fee covers one destination and one itinerary proposal with 3 rounds of editing. Beyond that, additional fees apply.
Yes, you will receive a fully curated and designed itinerary including everything you need to know about your destination, hotels and logistics. We help with everything from a packing list, restaurant suggestions, and a tipping guide so that you’re well prepared before departure.
Luxury Travel Services
With over 15 years of experience in the luxury travel industry, our team is ready to help you find your desired destination or hotel. We offer personalized consultation, taking into consideration your budget, occupancy, travel style, and expectations. From there, we hand-pick potential destinations or hotels that perfectly match your needs and show you why they are the best fit for your dream trip.
Amenities are complimentary to our clients and often include benefits such as daily breakfast, $100+ USD resort credit, first priority for room upgrades, and early check-in / late check-out.
Through our preferred partnerships, we often access exclusive promotions that are only available when your stay is booked through a preferred agency like ours. A complimentary room upgrade is almost always a value-added benefit we can offer. However, it is often subject to availability either at the time of booking or at the time of arrival.
While you can’t redeem your points booking through us, you are able to earn points on stays booked through us, and your program status still applies.
Travel Insurance
Travel Insurance is optional but highly recommended because it helps protect your travel investment against the unexpected.
Depending on the level of coverage you choose to invest in, it can include protection against trip cancellation, interruption or delay, baggage delay, emergency medical expenses, and more.
Yes, we are always happy to send you an insurance quote and book your insurance coverage. We actually highly recommend it since we know exactly how much to cover and what type of specific coverage destinations require. While we are not a licensed insurance agent, we delegate our insurance quotes and book policies through our host agency’s exclusive Insurance Desk. All questions about coverage, claims, etc. should be directed to the Insurance Desk or Insurance Provider.
