Today, 4 of the J5Travel team head to Las Vegas for no less than 8 days. Now clearly that would not be a personal choice of my top leisure trips as 3 days in Vegas is usually my max, but of course this is not a leisure trip.
We will be attending Virtuoso Travel Week, an event that brings together thousands of top luxury travel professionals and providers from over one hundred countries. During one-on-one appointments, professional development sessions, and compelling events, this week fosters authentic engagement that drives our business in a powerful way, and feeds down in to our clients travel experiences with numerous positive benefits.
Between us the team has around 400 meetings confirmed, and as hard as we have been working this year, this week will be the toughest week of the year by far, but also the most rewarding. Please bear that in mind if you contact us over the next week. We have to remain fully engaged for this major event and our response times will be considerably slower.
Here's the Top 5 of Virtuoso Travel Week benefits for us and for our clients.
Top 5 - Virtuoso Travel Week
1. Hotels
We will be sitting down one on one with numerous luxury hotel General Managers and Sales Directors. Previously we have found this high level of contact an essential element in providing the extra touches for our clients hotel requirements, and with 4 of the team present this year we hope this will be magnified even more.
The one I'm personally looking forward to most? Rosewood Little Dix Bay (above and below) which reopened in January 2020 after a 4 year complete overhaul and renovation. I am looking forward to telling Emily Minor, their Senior Sales Director, my story of how I proposed on the beach here back in 1993. We weren't even guests!
2. DMCs
To let you in on the coded language that us travel advisors use often, a DMC is a destination management company. They are usually absolute experts in a particular country or sometimes a region and they have a level of on the ground knowledge that we couldn't hope to match from the USA. Using a DMC means on the ground support in the country you are traveling, which provides an extra level of security and safety as well as the ability to react to issues or changes of itinerary much quicker than if contact was with ourselves first. This means we have to trust them completely and why meeting with Virtuoso DMCs next week is so crucial.
The one I'm personally looking forward to most?
I am hoping a client asks to visit Slovenia (above and below) soon. Not disimilar to a Croatia experience but with almost none of the crowds and considerably better value. I meet with Luxury Slovenia and their owner Matej Knific on Monday afternoon and I know I will be drooling over what he has to offer.
3. Virtuoso Communities
Between the team we are members of 4 of Virtuoso's exclusive travel advisor communities.
This membership enables us to specialize somewhat in the respective segments, and we each receive customized content through the year that increases our knowledge and coverage of relevant products. This Saturday is devoted to Community learning events hosted by the best of the best suppliers in their field. We will be attending Ultraluxe, Cruise, Adventure and Culinary extended meetings throughout the day.
The one I'm personally looking forward to most?
Meeting for the first time with Remote Lands, another DMC, in the Ultraluxe Pavilion. I have already worked with them on an intriguing itinerary we put together for a client to Azerbaijan (below) that received rave reviews.
4. Professional Development
As a business owner in charge of a small, growing team, I place a strong emphasis on helping develop all our team's talents in the best way possible, focussing on our strengths while making sure we have some overlap in skillsets between us all.
Sunday at Virtuoso Travel Week is devoted to professional development and we will be taking full advantage of several seminars that should enable us to continue to improve at what we do.
5. Magic
OK. So we do get to have just a little fun. I like to think we sometimes create some magic for our clients, whether that be an unexpected room upgrade, or a tour that connects our travelers with a location so deeply that they will hold the memory dear forever. However, I am also slightly obsessed with close-up magic and am way too excited to be seeing Shin Lim with the team tomorrow night. Vegas here we come!
If you're ready to start planning a vacation with our Virtuoso exclusive amentities let us know by clicking the button below. We're excited to share new products and our relationships to uplevel your next trip.
I love travel and I love travel planning just as much and I am proud to be building a team as passionate about exploring the world as myself. It took me a very long time to align my career with my undeniable passion for exploring, but now I and the team are here for you. Your personal travel tailors - award reservation and luxury custom itinerary experts. We provide a bespoke service, imagining and creating itineraries for independent minded families and groups.
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