What Do We Mean When We Talk About Luxury Travel?

Over the course of human history, a lot of things have been elusive:  Atlantis (Plato’s sunken civilization), El Dorado (the mythical city of gold) and the Ark of the Covenant (the biblical chest lost to history) to name a few. I’m not an archaeologist, but I have seen a thing or two in my time in the travel industry. And there is one question that, as someone who has worked in luxury travel for a good while now, continues to come up: what exactly is luxury travel?  

As I see it, luxury travel is like a diamond with many facets. What you see when you hold a diamond up to the light is wholly governed by the way you turn it in your fingers. Each facet reflects a little bit of a diamond’s glory, but no single facet captures all of it. 

Let’s dive into the seven facets of the diamond we call “luxury travel.”

Budgeting and Cost
If you spend much time around travel advisors, you will likely hear them joke about those customers looking for a trip that is “cheap yet elegant.” 

But elegance comes with a price tag. A true luxury customer understands that they must bring a reasonable budget to the table. Luxury travel must be fueled by a sufficient capital investment on the part of the traveler. This is why asking a prospective client their budget is one of the indispensable qualifying questions.

Supplier Partners
In the travel industry, you’ll find that there are a number of suppliers who would place themselves firmly in the luxury travel category. A short but far from exhaustive list would include cruise lines like Seaborn, Regent, Silversea, Explora Journeys; river cruise lines such as Uniworld River Cruises, Riverside Luxury Cruises, and Tauck River Cruises; land companies like Abercrombie and Kent, Micato Safaris, and Queen of Clubs.

These are companies who have invested a fortune in infusing luxury into every aspect of their products and services. Utilize any of these partners, and several others, and you can rest assured that your customer will have a luxury experience.

Personalized Vacations
The typical luxury traveler rarely buys an off-the-shelf vacation package. Because they are spending a significant amount of money, they prefer travel that is tailored to their unique needs and preferences. This is often known as curated or bespoke travel. 

These customers often come into the conversation armed with some specific items they want included, but likewise expect their travel advisor to recommend touches they have not considered.  Forbes earlier this year cited research that found that 48 percent of high-end travelers ranked having exclusive experiences as one of the top three requirements of a luxury holiday—a clear signifier of their desires. 

The Right Trip Pacing
It is safe to say that luxury travelers, by and large, have an aversion to returning home more exhausted than when they left. A fatal mistake many non-affluent travelers make is to try and compress a month’s worth of experiences into a week. This is the famous “Seven countries in seven days” syndrome. 

Similarly, a common mistake some advisors make when booking a luxury client is not recognizing the priority they put on pace. They do not want to be hurried, buffeted, pressured, rushed, or jostled. To these travelers, luxury equals a lackadaisical, leisurely, or even languid pace. They are traveling to escape pressure, not to increase it. They want a vacation that finds the happy balance between active and restful experiences. Likewise, they expect the leisure time to immerse themselves in an experience without the cattle prod of a forced schedule.

Creating Memorable Experiences
Let’s be honest: the typical luxury traveler wants to feel special. An almost certain way to guarantee that an advisor’s client will come home a diehard evangelist is to find a few limited, private access experiences to throw into the mix—the more exclusive the better. 

They may not have a butler at home, but they love the idea of having one on vacation. Likewise, they may not have a resident chef, but a multi-course meal prepared by a chef will warm the cockles of their heart. The average luxury traveler enjoys nothing more than casually dropping these little travel nuggets into cocktail conversations back home.
 
Maintaining Privacy
Most people seeking out luxury put a high premium on discretion and seclusion. That could mean private jets, private villas, or secluded resorts, to name a few. These travelers will choose a boutique hotel over a busy one every time. Any opportunity to bypass crowds, whether in airports, hotel lobbies, or tourist sites is leapt at. Think yacht, not mega cruise ship. Think mountain retreats or remote islands, not popular destinations. Think shoulder or even offseason, not peak travel times. An example might be a private tour of Normandy with an accredited historian. The luxury traveler is often looking for a sanctuary, a respite from the noise and turmoil back home. 

Priceless Moments
What ultimately makes a vacation priceless? It’s not what you take home with you, nor is it the souvenirs stuffed into every corner of your suitcase. Rather, it is the memories, the unforgettable experiences. What’s more, it’s not just the insights gleaned from observing another culture, but the way experiential travel gives you fresh eyes to cast upon your own country. Nothing enables you to view the culture that envelopes you like traveling to a foreign land vastly different from your own. When your traveler returns from their carefully crafted and curated travel experience, they will enjoy an awakened appreciation for both “over there” and “back home.”