If you're like most luxury travelers surfing the web, I imagine you're looking for the best travel experience for the lowest possible price. I totally understand that logic, and in fact my services as a luxury travel consultant are all about obtaining the best possible value for my clients.
The search for the absolute lowest price, however, sometimes has unintended consequences. Making decisions simply on the basis of price, especially when we're traveling to unfamiliar and exotic destinations, can rob us of the very experiences we're traveling around the world to have. Here's a true story that happened to me.
Shortly after I became a Virtuoso travel consultant, I planned a trip for myself to Italy. I scheduled two nights in Naples, wanting to visit the famous ruins of Pompeii. I asked one of the Virtuoso onsites in Italy to provide me a quote for a tour of Pompeii — a car and driver to take us there and a half-day tour of Pompeii with a private guide. While their price was OK, I also emailed the Concierge of my hotel in Naples, asking him to quote me a price for the same services. The hotel's price came back perhaps 20€ lower. So I went with the lower price. What's the difference, I figured, between one guided tour and another?
Well, quite a lot, it turns out — a lesson I learned the hard way. Our driver was great. He picked us up in a comfortable car and drove us to Pompeii. Upon our arrival around 10 a.m., we were introduced to the guide arranged for by the Concierge. He took us into the ruins of Pompeii, explained the various sites that we were seeing, and then — at 11 a.m. — said "goodbye" to us.
"But we paid for a half-day tour," I said.
"I don't know anything about it," he replied ... and off he went to meet his next clients.
I saved 20€, but I didn't get the experience I was hoping for. When a three hour in-depth tour turns into a sixty minute cursory visit to one of the major attractions in Italy, you are going to feel cheated and disappointed. This was a valuable lesson.
Why do we travel, after all? We do it for those unforgettable once-in-a-lifetime experiences of seeing history with our own eyes ... and while I saved 20€, it shortchanged my experience of Pompeii (although we made good use of the extra time by having our driver take us to Herculaneum - not all was lost).
So here are the top reasons that Virtuoso travel advisers will use onsites to plan the components of a foreign trip.
- They are true experts about their locale. They know the best way to tour the sights and absorb the culture of their destination.
- They are vetted by Virtuoso, and you can be confident that these companies are financially secure and consistently provide exceptional service.
- They contract with the best available English-speaking guides.
- They know the best restaurants (and can make reservations) and can take you to out-of-the-way sights most tourists never see.
- They can arrange exclusive experiences that will give you "bragging rights" for a lifetime.
- If anything goes wrong on your trip, they are a local resource there to assist you.
It's not the least expensive way to travel and your travel consultant will receive a commission [disclaimer], but onsites offer the best possible return on your travel investment.
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copyright (c) 2009 by David J. Ourisman. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.
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