#I need you more than ever upgrade#

We know who spent their time traveling and researching new product within their own country even when Americans weren’t able to travel there. We know who kept paying their staff and guides to keep them on. How can an individual traveler properly vet all the options out there? Certainly, you can look up online reviews, but do you know if the person who wrote the reviews has similar tastes or standards to you? We have built relationships with our partners and suppliers around the world, and we know what they have been doing for the past two years. Sadly, many travel suppliers didn’t weather the pandemic, and we are seeing lots of new companies popping up. In turn, we have years of building trust with our suppliers. Our clients work with us because we have built a level of trust. Also, now more than ever, it’s so important to have confidence in who you are working with. “One of the ways to do that is that we know alternatives that will suit our clients style and wishes - maybe this summer Malta instead of Italy, Guatemala instead of Costa Rica. “We’re seeing a desire to avoid places that are overcrowded and over visited,” said Getaway Guild’s Washington.

The advisor I suggested steered them to Crete, the largest Greek isle, and one where they still were able to get availability at a top but not well-known resort and enjoy great restaurants. But most Americans know only international hotel brands-not as big a factor in Greece-and a handful of place names they’ve seen in travel magazines: Athens, Santorini and Mykonos. Greece was the first major foreign destination to welcome visitors back from the Covid lockdowns and for quite a while it appeared that it might be the only place in Europe people could go, so it immediately became a super-hot destination for 20. Two: Priceless advice, local knowledge and local connections.

#I need you more than ever upgrade#

By way of comment, Anne Scully instead sent me a thank you note quote she got from a customer: “The General Manager and his staff of this 5-Star property knew us on arrival and kept treating us like we were top VIPs…that was a first for us and we loved the upgrade and the beautiful amenities in our room - or should I now say suite!” If you are not, a good advisor turns you into someone who is treated like one. If you are a celebrity or CEO, good for you (and almost every celebrity and CEO uses an advisor). Want to be treated like a VIP when you travel? Use a travel advisor.

“They’ve realized that when they book directly, even if they spend thousands of dollars, they get the worst room in the category because they don’t know anyone at the hotel.” “We’ve gotten a lot of new luxury clients, not from other agencies, but from converted DIY travelers,” said Anthony Goldman, third generation owner of leading Australian agency the Goldman Group. Bingo, through their advisor, the newlyweds got rooms at a very popular hotel in booked up Venice in the busiest summer on record. Who do you think they care more about keeping happy? Plus, top agents personally know the GMs, in many cases for decades.

Good travel agents bring them multiple bookings every year (or month), while even luxury travelers bring them just one booking every now and then or maybe one in a lifetime. It’s hard to believe, but while the internet is great, many top hotels do not list their suites and better rooms online, and many keep vacancies just for top producing advisors. One: They get better rooms and can get rooms at “sold out” hotels when you cannot. This true honeymoon story immediately illustrates four of the many reasons why travel agents/advisors are indispensable to great vacations. Working with a good travel advisor can take these details off your plate and make sure nothing falls through the cracks.” Many sites have changed their max capacity or other protocols, also making advance planning so much more important. Advance dining reservations are basically imperative these days. Now if you show up with no plans, you could very well be out of luck. “Pre-pandemic, if you showed up in Paris with just a hotel reservation and no plans or dinner reservations, you might be able to wing it and get some tickets and reservations after waiting in line or working with the hotel concierge. “Now the stakes are even higher!” said Beth Washington, an advisor at and founder of Getaway Guild, a top Washington, DC agency affiliated with Virtuoso (more on this below).