how your travel advisor can save you money

bill for two buffet breakfasts, FREE if you use a STARS travel advisor

It's a common misconception that hotel guests can find the best deals booking on the internet, either going to an online travel agency like Expedia or hotels.com or booking directly on the hotel's website. If you want to reserve a room at a luxury hotel or resort, that inclination is a fallacy.

This was our breakfast bill from this morning. My wife and I each ordered the breakfast buffet this morning at Ritz-Carlton Bacara Resort. At the end of the meal, our waiter brought us the pictured check to sign. If $77.58 sounds like a lot to pay for breakfast ... here's how you can enjoy that breakfast for free: make your booking through a travel advisor affiliated with a STARS agency. One of the perks you'll receive at Bacara is a free buffet breakfast for two each morning of your stay. And you'll get a late 4 p.m. check-out if available and a customized welcome amenity or service — all at the same rate you see on the web.

Even better amenities are coming, as I understand Bacara will soon be accepted into Virtuoso. Add to all of the above a $100 resort credit — and a room upgrade if available when you check in. That's even more value you can get just by using a Virtuoso travel advisor. 

So don't buy into the flawed logic that you're better off booking it on your own. You can find a Virtuoso advisor on Virtuoso.com.

copyright  (c)  2018 by Ourisman Travel LLC.  All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit our website.

Christmas vacation on the beach | not too late!

lying in the sun in Deià, Mallorca (c) 2017 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Yes, it's very last minute. Yes, you've waited too long to get the most choices and the best availability. But — no — it's not too late to make a reservation at a warm weather resort and enjoy the beach and the sun. The following fourteen luxury resorts are currently available for a 7 night booking, checking in December 25, checking out January 1. (I had to put in some dates).

If you click on the links below, you'll be able to change the dates, see the available rooms and pricing, register with Virtuoso.com, and reserve that Christmas vacation for your family. It's not too late to be a hero. Though there are normally, fees for Festive Season and fees for last-minute bookings, you can book these on Virtuoso.com and pay absolutely no fees. And we'll follow up to VIP your stay.

Why book through Virtuoso? Because for the same price everyone else is paying online, you'll get additional amenities that add hundreds of dollars of value to your stay:

• daily breakfast for two
• an additional amenity that's unique to each resort (valued at $100)
• a room upgrade if it's available
• free WiFi

Hawaii
Fairmont Orchid, Big Island, Hawaii

Mexico
The Cape, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico

Caribbean
Ritz-Carlton Aruba
Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, San Juan, Puerto Rico

Miami Beach area
SLS South Beach, Miami Beach, FL
The Miami Beach EDITION, Miami Beach, FL

Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour, Miami, FL
Ritz-Carlton Fort Lauderdale, FL

COMO Metropolitan Miami Beach, FL

Boca Raton Resort & Club, Boca Raton, FL

Florida Gulf Coast
LaPlaya Beach & Golf Resort, Naples, FL
Naples Grande Beach Resort, Naples, FL
Ritz-Carlton Sarasota, FL

Florida North Coast
Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island, FL

Just click and book! That could be you, lying in the sun, just like in the picture above.

copyright (c) 2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

3rd night free | can I get free breakfast with that?

If you could get free breakfast AND third night free, that would be a great value. New clients ask us all the time, "Do free night promotions also include Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Virtuoso, Diamond Club, (etc.) amenities?" The answer — for most of our luxury hotel partners — is YES!

There are a few luxury brands that are inconsistent about extending consortial amenities to free-night promotions. I regularly remind my sales reps about keeping up with the competition! But I'm happy to say that partners such as Four Seasons, Dorchester Collection, and Rosewood virtually always extend their amenity programs. You benefit from valuable perks such as free breakfasts, upgrades if available, and hotel credits. It's their customer-friendly policy.

Sometimes a promotion may appear on the consumer website ... but not show up on the preferred partner website or in Sabre. Not to worry! This means the person loading the rates accidentally left off a rate code, but can be solved with a simple phone call.

You can enjoy the best luxury hotel values possible by combining amenities with free night promotions. While I'm not allowed to post the exclusive Four Seasons amenities on a public website,  just drop us an email and we'll let you know.

P.S. — You can't book these deals with amenities online. You'll need to to make the booking through a connected luxury travel advisor ... at the very same price you'd pay online.

copyright (c) 2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

so much better than booking.com ...

booking.com quote for Le Meurice as of 2:50 p.m. PDT, June 25, 2017

Rick Steves posted a Facebook article yesterday in which he offered his alternative to making hotel bookings through online wholesalers like booking.com and expedia.com. Hotels have to pay a 20-25% commission to OTA's (online travel agencies) in return for having their rooms available online. He advises travelers to contact hotels directly and negotiate:

Those who book direct through a hotel’s website (and not through the booking agency site, thus saving the hotel about 20 percent) can be offered a free breakfast or free upgrade. Or, simply don’t book “online.” Just book by direct email or phone, in which case, hotels are free to give you whatever price they like (usually able to split the difference: charging 10 percent less and making 10 percent more).

You don't need this hassle! Over 1250 luxury hotels around the world already offer an even richer set of value-added amenities through Virtuoso, the world's leading consortium of luxury travel advisors, hotels, cruise lines, and tour companies. And we can often do even better than Virtuoso, thanks to our relationship with all the leading hotel companies in the world — Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Dorchester Collection, Rosewood, Belmond, Peninsula, etc.

Free breakfast is already negotiated, as is an upgrade upon availability (sometimes guaranteed at booking), as is an extra amenity valued at $100, as is free WiFi... and we'll even contact the hotel to VIP your stay.

We can do so much better than booking.com for luxury hotel bookings. Say you want to spend the evening of August 4 at Le Meurice, one of my very favorite hotels in the world.

Booking.com offers the "jackpot deal" seen at the top of this article: Double Room — $963 without breakfast, $1028 with breakfast

Here's what's available to me right now as a Dorchester Diamond Club agent: I can book a Classic Room at 760€ = $850. As a Diamond Club booking, my clients receive a guaranteed upgrade at booking to a Superior Room. And there's more! You get ...

• a 100€ hotel credit that can come right off your bill, so you pay 660€ = $739 with breakfast.
• a full breakfast, in any venue including in-room dining, literally anything on the menu except caviar and alcohol. Tax and gratuity are included.
• full premium internet access for unlimited devices.

Assuming you'll want to have breakfast at the Alain Ducasse restaurant at Le Meurice, you save $289, get personal recognition as a Diamond Club guest, get free internet, and order anything off the breakfast menu, service included!

copyright (c) 2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell, a Virtuoso® Member. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

the art of the (hotel) deal

One&Only Reethi Rah, cover resort for The Best of the Best 2017

Are you looking for the best deal?

You have now discovered the best-kept secret for getting better values at nearly 1,200 of the world's most luxurious hotels and resorts. Generally speaking, you'll pay the same best available flexible rate you can find online, but by booking through a Virtuoso travel advisor, you'll also receive the following valuable amenities:

Breakfast for two daily. Does the thought of paying $35 (or more) plus tax, plus gratuity, for a croissant, glass of juice, and cup of coffee send you out the front door of the hotel looking for a Starbucks? Virtuoso guests can enjoy a leisurely breakfast in the hotel's restaurant or through in-room dining. Many Virtuoso resorts offer a complimentary Full American breakfast, through room service if you wish, including buffets. I know the best free breakfast in whatever city you'd like to visit...

Room upgrades. Most hotels will upgrade you if available at the time of check-in, but perhaps 10% will do even better: upgrade you when you book. I know a hotel family that gives my clients guaranteed upgrades at the time of booking. Upgrades mean ... more space, higher floors, or better views!

Extra amenities (like a $100 credit towards food and beverage or the hotel spa) give you added values at every hotel I book. My favorite Virtuoso extra amenity? A VIP welcome at the jetway of your plane by an hostess who will fast-track you through the immigration queue, help you collect your luggage, and escort you to your complimentary limousine to the hotel. And your return trip is complimentary too! And you're guaranteed an upgrade at this particular hotel.

It doesn't cost a dollar, euro, or pound more, and you don't need an expensive credit card with a $450 annual fee to qualify.

The art of the (hotel) deal, indeed. Contact Ourisman Travel ... or any Virtuoso travel advisor ... to enjoy the best value at a luxury hotel.

copyright (c) 2017 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Nice | charming vieille ville by the sea

teddy bear at the memorial (c) 2016 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

La bêtise humain vient de frapper nice... This text on a banner in a public park in Nice says it all — human stupidity just hit Nice. I visited Nice yesterday and walked along the Promenade des Anglais, the wide pedestrian walkway running along the beach. Informal memorials have been set up along the promenade, a touching tribute to the grief of a city that suffered so much because of the insane actions of a madman. My own heart was deeply saddened to gaze upon such sorrow, and yet I am impressed by the resilience and determination of the people of Nice — and all of France — in the face of terror.

Nice has an "old town" (la vieille ville) that Claire visited while I did site inspections. She found Nice to be a charming and quite worthwhile place to tour. While there are stores on its streets selling souvenirs to tourists, this is a real neighborhood where people live, work, and shop. Claire enjoyed the vegetable and flower markets which give a real sense of local flavor. She had lunch at a small café whose patrons were mostly French. Nice has much to offer visitors — its shoreline, museums, cathedral, and beautiful gardens.

I made two hotel site inspections during my day in Nice.

First stop, the Palais de la Méditerranée, now a Hyatt Regency. A contemporary hotel behind an old art deco façade preserved from years ago, rooms are generously proportioned (if you book a Deluxe or higher). I liked the magenta/red accent colors found in some of the rooms, and the Premium Suite shown to me had a bedroom, large living room, and terrace with a sea view.

Second stop, the Hotel Negresco. A privately owned and run hotel (the owner is 93 years old and resides on the top floor of the hotel), this is a much more traditional hotel, over 100 years old, with lots of Napoleonic red. Most of the rooms are traditional — there are some modern rooms as well — but I was impressed by the whimsical touches in its interior design.

Both hotels are members of Virtuoso, and you get value-added amenities (such as free daily breakfast) just by making your booking through your Virtuoso travel advisor.

copyright  (c)  2016 by Ourisman Travel LLC.  All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Paris | I'll be there next Saturday

woman by the Seine (c) 2014 by David Ourisman, all rights reserved

Though I've been to Paris more than a dozen times, this is one place I can never get enough of. I inherited my love of travel from my grandparents who were intrepid world travelers in the 50's and 60's, and I always enjoyed my grandfather's slide shows of their travels. He traveled with his Leica, and I've photographed Paris with all sorts of cameras from a Minolta SLR and a Contax rangefinder to a Canon DSLR and a tiny Ricoh GR (which gets the credit for the photo above taken during my last visit).

Places to visit and things to do — here's a summary of the things I'm looking forward to this time around (and my travel partners who have helped organize the two walking tours).

Musée Marmottan Monet
Occupation & Liberation of Paris walking tour (Paris Personalized)
day trip to Giverny
Art Street tour of the 13th Arrondissement (W Travel France)
Quai Branly Museum
Bois du Boulogne

Hotels and places to stay — no visit to Paris would be complete (for me) without the chance to visit hotels. I'll be staying at and/or doing site inspections at the following:

Le Meurice
Le Bristol
Four Seasons George V
Grand Hotel du Palais Royal
Ritz Paris
La Reserve
Plaza Athenee
Peninsula Paris
d'Aubusson
Relais Christine
Saint James Paris
OneFineStay (apartment on rue Saint André des Arts, 6th arr.)

Please reach out to us for hotel bookings in Paris (with value-added amenities such as free daily breakfast and hotel credits that will save you hundreds!) and to consult with us to Discover More during your stay.

I'll be live blogging during my three weeks (!) in France, so subscribe to Travel Horizons or friend me on Facebook so you don't miss an article.

copyright (c) 2016 by Ourisman Travel LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

falling euro? time for European luxury travel!

With the Euro currently equal to $1.15, and the pound likewise devalued against the U. S. dollar,  this a great opportunity for luxury travel to Europe. The Euro has been close to $1.40 in recent months, meaning that you're getting a 17% discount on your European vacation if you travel today.

Here's how to save even more at the top luxury hotels of Europe. Our Preferred Partner hotel relationships translate into deals for you that are better than anything you're likely to find on an internet website.

Want proof? Here's a sample deal at Le Meurice, my personal favorite hotel in Paris with the perfect location right in the heart of the city. I chose a 3 night stay, 25APR-28APR, to take advantage of an amazing $1007 round-trip business class airfare from EWR to London (which you would follow with a short flight onto Paris).

Guaranteed upgrade! I can get you a guaranteed upgrade into a Deluxe Room (pictured above) for 860€ per night, inclusive of free full breakfast each day for two guests (including breakfast by room service), free premium internet for unlimited devices, and a 100€ hotel credit that comes right off your final bill. With the credit, your effective rate is 827€ per night = $949, including taxes and surcharges.

What about internet rates? Expedia is currently selling the same Deluxe room for $1,069.40 per night including taxes and surcharges ... and this is room only — no breakfast, no free internet, no hotel credit.

copyright (c) 2015 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Shangri-La | it's in our nature

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts hosted the Hotels Dinner on Wednesday night of this year's Virtuoso Travel Week. The dinner began with an amazing film that you can watch in the YouTube video above.

Virtuoso is an invitation-only consortium of the best luxury travel consultants in the world. About one thousand hotels and resorts are part of the program, and travelers can benefit from value-added amenities (such as free breakfast for two, room upgrades, and hotel credits) by reserving through their Virtuoso travel consultant.

Twelve Shangri-La properties are members of Virtuoso.

copyright (c) 2014 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

how to get breakfast for free at luxury hotels

Does the cost of breakfast intimidate you from staying at luxury hotels? The prices on the breakfast menu above are admittedly expensive, but if you think the only alternative is to leave the hotel and have breakfast in a diner, then you don't know the best kept secret in the luxury hotel business: how to get breakfast for free!

Do the math. If two guests order a continental breakfast every day at the New York City luxury hotel whose menu is pictured above, they will spend $56 per day, plus 8.75% tax — nearly $183 for a typical 3-day hotel stay. The continental breakfast includes a selection of pastries, fruit and berries, a glass of juice, and a cup of coffee or tea (and probably free refills).

Here's the secret to free breakfast: stay at a luxury hotel that's affiliated with a consortium like Virtuoso, and then use the services of a luxury travel consultant whose agency is affiliated with that consortium. There are also luxury hotel families — Four Seasons, Ritz-Carlton, Mandarin Oriental, Dorchester Collection, and others — that offer breakfast for free when you book through one of their preferred partner travel partners. You pay the same rate you're likely to find right on the hotel's own website, but you get additional value-enhancing amenities that include a complimentary daily breakfast for two, a room upgrade if available, and an extra amenity typically valued at $100 (such as a food and beverage or spa credit).

Want eggs and bacon instead of a continental breakfast? Some of my preferred partners will give you complimentary Full American breakfasts for two every day, including the breakfast buffet ... or the ultimate luxury of in-room dining. Or even if the amenity is a complimentary continental breakfast, you'll only pay the $4 supplement for a full breakfast.

copyright (c) 2013 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. We provide Virtuoso and other Preferred Partner amenities as an affiliate of Brownell Travel. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

FS Maui | winter vacation in Hawaii

adults-only Serenity Pool at Four Seasons Maui

You could be here! Winter is coming, and the ensuing months will bring cold weather, snow storms, and short daylight hours to much of North America. If you're anything like me, you'll want to escape the cold and damp of winter and enjoy a week at the beach, soaking in the sun.

Four Seasons Maui is by far the the most popular resort that my clients book. Rooms are spacious, luxurious, and attractive, and if you're traveling with kids, you have two options.

1. Most comfortable — book two connecting rooms, a King-bedded room for you joined by an interior room to a room with two Queen beds for your children.
2. More economical — book a King-bedded room which also has a Queen-sized sofabed for the kids.

Guests rave about the service at FS Maui. I spent a morning at their adults-only Serenity Pool (see my picture above). It's a quiet place to relax in the sun, lounge under the shade of an umbrella, or laze in the pool. Every hour or so, Four Seasons pool attendants come by with a treat — frozen fruit, chilled towels, ice water, or a spray of Evian mist.

Three on-property restaurants offer a variety of cuisines. DUO specializes in steak and seafood, Ferraro's offers casual lunch or authentic Italian cucina rustic cuisine served right by the beach, and Spago (Hawaiian fusion cooking). Wailea offers more restaurants and great shopping, and Four Seasons offers a complimentary car service to shop and eat anywhere in Wailea.

So much is included. Though not inexpensive, Four Seasons Maui offers great luxury value with no resort fee. Meals for kids 5 and under are complimentary at DUO and Ferraro's. Kids For All Seasons is a complimentary full-day children's program. And the list of inclusions goes on...

Here's a secret way to save hundreds of dollars over the course of your stay at FS Maui: don't book online through an OTA like orbitz or expedia. Make your reservation through a Four Seasons Preferred Partner. Your room rate will be exactly the same, including any "Experience More" fifth night free or resort credit rates that you may find, but you'll get free breakfast every day and so much more.

• Daily full American breakfast for two people per bedroom, served through In-Room Dining or in the hotel restaurant (including buffets)
• Food and beverage credit of USD 100
• Upgrade of one category, based on availability at time of check-in (excluding signature suites and villas)
• Complimentary high-speed Internet access for all suite bookings

Four Seasons Maui (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2012 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

Austria & Germany | next year's big trip

Old Town Salzburg across the Salzach River, by Jiuguang Wang (Wikimedia Commons)

It's never too early to start planning your next big trip, especially with the scarcity of frequent flyer award seats. My advice is to grab your award seats 330 days in advance, when they first become available, then fine tune your itinerary around the flights you're able to get. That's what I'm doing! Here's what's in the planning stages for my trip.

Vienna, Austria is a city on the banks of the Danube River with over 27 castles, 150 palaces, and 100 museums. The Schönbrunn Palace, former summer palace to the Habsburg rulers, is Vienna's most visited tourist attraction. There are five Virtuoso hotels in Vienna.

Salzburg, Austria is the birthplace and home of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, arguably the greatest of the Classical composers, and there is even a chocolate treat named after him, the Mozartkugel (a core of pistachio, marzipan, and nougat coated in milk chocolate). There are two Virtuoso hotels in Salzburg and a third Virtuoso hotel 10 miles to the east in a beautiful country setting on Lake Fuschl.

Munich, Germany, just an hour from Salzburg by train, is the capital of Bavaria. Munich was founded by a Benedictine order of monks (from which the city derives its name). We should be arriving at the very beginning of October and Oktoberfest. Also nearby Munich is the concentration camp of Dachau. There are three Virtuoso hotels in Munich.  UPDATE: because of Oktoberfest and scant availability of hotels during our dates, we'll probably have to substitute something for Munich.

Berlin, Germany, a short flight to the north, will be the culmination of our trip. My son previously spent 7 days in Berlin and reported that it's not enough time to see and do everything. The Berlin Wall, once the icon of the Iron Curtain, was demolished in 1990. I'm looking forward to a day trip to visit Potsdam. There are four Virtuoso hotels in Berlin.

What is a Virtuoso hotel? Virtuoso is a luxury travel consortium with nearly 1,000 five-star luxury hotels around the world. As a Virtuoso travel consultant specializing in luxury hotels, I can provide free amenities at each of these hotels, including free breakfast for two every day and other valuable perks. I will visit each of the 14 Virtuoso hotels in these four cities during the course of the trip and will be able to offer first-hand advice when you plan to visit Vienna, Salzburg, Munich, or Berlin. Click here for my google maps of the Virtuoso hotels in 45 different destinations around the world (also listing the Virtuoso amenities you can receive).

Virtuoso hotels (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2012 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website.

how do you shop for hotels?

standing by the rue de rivoli, looking west towards Le Meurice

If you had the choice, how much would you prefer to pay for one night in a Superior Room at Le Meurice in Paris?

     A. 690€
     B. 678.77€
     C. 621€

These are the actual rates that came up this morning for a comparison search that I ran this morning using Travelocity and Orbitz vs. the rate available to a Virtuoso travel consultant. The date of stay was November 15 for one night.

Contrary to popular opinion, the online travel agencies cost you more and give you less.

B. Orbitz — $879.82 = 678.77€. This is a pre-paid rate for room only. Orbitz will charge your card $879.82 at the time of booking.

A. Travelocity — 690€. This booking is 11.23€ more but requires only a credit card guarantee. It's also for room only.

C. Virtuoso — 621€, also requiring only a credit card guarantee.


Your Virtuoso travel consultant can not only get you a better price, you get better value for your money.  My clients receive the following when I reserve their room at Le Meurice.

• Daily American breakfast for two in the restaurant or via room service
• A bottle of French wine and home made petit fours in room on arrive
• Upgrade to Deluxe Room, if available

Moreover, like most luxury travel consultants, I will personally contact management at Le Meurice to VIP your stay. More often than not, my clients get upgraded to a Deluxe Room!

(And don't take my word for it... here's the actual Sabre listing. Double-click to see it full size.)

Over 975 luxury hotels around the world are part of the Virtuoso network, offering free breakfast for two every morning, room upgrades when available, and additional amenities that differ by hotel - usually at the hotel's best available flexible rate (and sometimes even lower). If you've been booking luxury hotels with online travel agencies, you've probably left a lot of value value on the table!


Virtuoso travel consultant (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2012 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website. .

would you fly Cathay Pacific for a wooden comb?

It's just a comb, so why am I blogging about it?

Cathay Pacific included this comb in its first class amenity kit on on a past flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong. There's something unusual about this comb — it's made of wood, not plastic. I didn't think much about it at the time, but as time has gone by, this has become my everyday comb. Unlike plastic combs, wooden combs don't attract static electricity which can muss up one's hair.

So if you're wondering about where to travel next, consider someplace that Cathay Pacific flies — lots of great destinations including Hong Kong, Thailand, Bali, and Vietnam. I can recommend luxurious Virtuoso hotels and resorts in each of those place and give you added values as a Virtuoso travel consultant: free breakfast for two daily, room upgrades if available, and extra perks that can include meal or spa credits (depending on the specific hotel).

And, of course, you should fly First or Business on Cathay Pacific for your own wooden comb!

Virtuoso travel consultant (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2012 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website. .

elevator speech | Virtuoso travel consultant

It's almost a cliche - having an elevator speech - but I got to give mine a couple of nights ago. Literally!

While staying at Vdara in Las Vegas, I was going down to the lobby one night to head over to Bellagio. When I entered the elevator on the 36th floor, a young couple was already in the car. The young woman wore a strikingly beautiful diamond ring on her left hand, and I asked if they were on their honeymoon. They were not. The couple was from Australia, engaged to be married, and on a vacation to Las Vegas.

     "Where are you going on your honeymoon?"

     "The Seychelles," they answered.

     "Are you considering the Four Seasons?" I asked, and the bride nodded yes.
     "I'm part of the Virtuoso event going on at Bellagio, and I can get you
      free breakfasts, a $100 food credit, maybe even get you upgraded."

As the elevator doors opened and we stepped into the lobby, I wished them well, and then the bride asked if she could have my card.

The concept of an elevator speech is based on the notion that someone in business ought to be able to provide a compelling explanation of their product in 30 seconds. That's easy, being a Virtuoso travel consultant. I save my clients hundreds of dollars every time they stay in one of 975 luxury hotels and resorts around the world, whether on a business trip or a romantic honeymoon. I just rarely get to make that speech … in an elevator!



Virtuoso travel consultant (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2012 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website. .

is the cost of breakfast keeping you away?

review for Four Seasons Maui from Trip Advisor

Is the cost of breakfast keeping you away from luxury resorts like Four Seasons Maui? The five-star review above was recently posted on Trip Advisor. This family of four loved everything about their stay — everything, that is, except the cost of breakfast. They paid $80-$100 per day for two adults, one 7 year old, and one 4 year old. (The 4 year old ate free and the 7 year old's breakfast was half price).

adults-only Serenity Pool at FS Maui

Too bad they didn't know to book their vacation through a Four Seasons Preferred Partner. Each parent would have received free breakfast every morning (including the buffet) as well as a one-time $100 food and beverage credit (and a room upgrade, if available at check-in).

If the cost of breakfast is the reason you're considering a stay in a condo instead of Four Seasons Maui, think again! My clients enjoy free breakfasts as well as the incredible service offered by Four Seasons, including the Serenity Pool for adults and the complimentary Kids for All Seasons program for kids up to age 12.



and more TripAdvisor reviews from guests who just didn't know…

brooklyn y, July 19: "breakfast for 2 was about $70 with just coffee and pancakes for 2. But I had the BEST pear syrup and apple pancakes - wowie. I still think of these."

rohanluktuke, July 16: "Breakfast buffet is great as well. Consider getting the bed and breakfast package deal."

poshgirl24, July 15: "We bought the breakfast package because that buffet is heavenly."

Four Seasons Maui (search here on Google)


copyright (c) 2012 by David Ourisman LLC. All rights reserved. If you have comments on this column, or questions about booking travel, email me or visit my website. .

Four Seasons Nevis | fabulous sunsets and more

There's a silver lining inside every rain cloud. When the skies cleared after a day of rain showers at Four Seasons Nevis, guests at the resort were treated to this stunning sunset in shades of blue, pink, and purple. My associate Sarah just returned from a site inspection trip and was truly impressed with the property.

The resort is set on Pinney's Beach on the western, leeward shore of Nevis. The Caribbean waters are warm and very swimmable, and the resort offers countless other recreational activities from golf, tennis, horseback riding, hiking, sailing, snorkeling, and Scuba ... or just stroll along the beach into historic Charlestown, the capital city of Nevis and the birthplace of Alexander Hamilton. As with every Four Seasons resort, the Kids for All Seasons program is complimentary for children between 3 and 9 years old. The eight hour supervised children's program gives parents an opportunity to play or explore on their own.

Summer values abound! Mountainside rooms start at just $345 with third night free and include your exclusive Preferred Partner amenities (free breakfast for two daily, upgrade if available, and a $100 Spa or Golf credit), so consider FS Nevis for your last-minute summer vacation getaway. Check the NOAA website or StormCarib to make sure the weather is clear ... and book your flights. Nonstop flights to St. Kitts (SKB) are available from Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte, Philadelphia, New York, and London on selected days.


Four Seasons Nevis (search here on Google)

copyright  (c)  2011 by David Ourisman LLC.  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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map your Virtuoso hotel

There are 900 Virtuoso hotels and resorts around the world (more or less), and you really should make your hotel booking through a Virtuoso travel consultant - and not directly on the internet. Why?

1. Because websites can be deceiving; a wide-angle lens can make the most cramped room look spacious. Most travel consultants make hotel site inspections when they travel, so why not ask someone who's been there and seen the rooms?

2. Because every hotel has its own personality. What are you looking for when you travel? Do you want a hotel that's warm and personable, a place where everyone knows your name? Or do you prefer a property that's businesslike and efficient? Do you go for traditional, contemporary, or even starkly modern interior design? A good travel consultant can quickly help you find what you want.

3. Because location matters. If you're not familiar with a city, you may not even know where in that city you want to stay. This is where professional expertise can be extremely useful.

4. Because a travel consultant can typically get you a better value than you'll find online. Pay the same rate as everyone else, but enjoy free breakfasts, room upgrades, and other complimentary perks through the power of Virtuoso.

5. Because there's no downside to using a Virtuoso travel consultant, many of whom do not charge booking fees. You pay at check-out and enjoy the same cancellation deadlines you'd get by booking online.


I've just updated my website, and one of the resources I'm most excited about is a page where you can map your Virtuoso hotel. I've spent a lot of time over the years putting together Google Maps of the Virtuoso hotels of selected cities, and I've made those maps available to you on this page. If you bookmark it, you can use this page to map the Virtuoso hotels in 30 of the most requested cities and countries in the world (with more to come). The dots on the map indicate not only the location of each Virtuoso hotel in a city but also the amenities you'll receive through a Virtuoso booking. (Hotels do get added and taken off these lists, and amenities can change from year to year, so these maps are a continual work-in-process.)


map your Virtuoso hotel (search here on Google)

copyright (c) 2011 by David Ourisman LLC. 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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what's better than Four Seasons City Breaks?

City Breaks is a winter promotion offered by Four Seasons through the end of February. It offers you a complimentary daily breakfast for two and either a $100 or 100€ Hotel Spending Credit.

Could anything be a better value than Four Seasons City Breaks? Yes. Just reserve your room through a Four Seasons Preferred Partner, and you will receive the following additional amenities:

• Enjoy your full American Breakfast either in the restaurant or via room service.
• An upgrade to the next room category upon check-in, if available.
• $85 lunch credit or $100 spa credit (depending on which property you visit)

These Four Seasons hotels and resorts are participating in this promotion:

Europe: Budapest, Florence, Hampshire, Istanbul (both hotels), Lisbon, Prague, Provence

The Americas: Atlanta, Austin, Buenos Aires, Chicago (both hotels), Denver, Houston, Los Angeles at Beverly Hills, Los Angeles at Westlake Village, New York, Silicon Valley, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, St. Louis, Washington DC, Mexico City, Miami

Four Seasons is always a compelling luxury value, especially with an additional 100€ or $100 hotel credit. Contact your Four Seasons Preferred Partner travel consultant for complete information.


Four Seasons Preferred Partner (search here on Google)


copyright (c) 2011 by David Ourisman LLC. 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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Ritz-Carlton STARS

Ritz-Carlton STARS has always been a "semi-secret" program, but now that the official veil of secrecy has now been lifted (including a new "for publication" logo), I'm free to tell the world about Ritz Carlton STARS.*

Sometimes the lowest price is not the best deal, and the STARS amenities make Ritz-Carlton a compelling value when considering your luxury hotel options anywhere in the world. Ritz-Carlton can be a better value than the competing Hilton, Hyatt, or Sheraton down the street.

What do you get?

Complimentary continental breakfast for two daily. This is a big deal, as breakfast can easily cost $30 per person at many luxury hotels. Your breakfast will be "on the house" on bookings made at the published rate - even weekend rates. (Free breakfasts are not available on negotiated corporate rates or promotional rates).

But the benefits only begin with breakfast. You can also get the following —

• Pre-registration and express check-in, upon request at time of booking.
  
• Late check out — a complimentary 4 p.m. departure upon request at time of booking, based on preferred availability.
  
• Clear space — every attempt will be made to clear space in sold-out situations.
  
• No walk policy — in sold-out situations a STARS client will never be "walked."
  
• First priority for requested room category, bed type, and connecting rooms.
  
• Complimentary, customized amenity, activity, or service. Whether you have a preferred welcome amenity, or just a very special request, that special courtesy can be extended to you.

These are very real benefits, and I've had clients benefit from each of them.


*Brownell Travel is one of 50 Ritz-Carlton STARS agencies, and as an independent affiliate of Brownell, any booking that I make for you entitles you to the STARS amenities at any Ritz-Carlton in the world.

Ritz Carlton STARS (search here on Google)


copyright (c) 2010 by David Ourisman LLC. 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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