{"id":2423,"date":"2019-10-21T10:32:10","date_gmt":"2019-10-21T17:32:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/?p=2423"},"modified":"2019-10-21T10:32:10","modified_gmt":"2019-10-21T17:32:10","slug":"travel-industry-professionals-meet-for-virtuoso-travel-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/uncategorized\/2423\/travel-industry-professionals-meet-for-virtuoso-travel-week","title":{"rendered":"Travel Industry Professionals Meet for Virtuoso Travel Week"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Heart<\/a>

Heart rhythm vs. algorithm: thousands of lifestyle advisors and travel providers collaborated at Virtuoso Travel Week. (Photo by Harrison Shiels)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s on your \u2018Wanderlist?\u2019\u201d The question was posed at the 31st <\/sup>annual Virtuoso Travel Week \u2013 a recent gathering of over 6,500 travel industry professionals held in Las Vegas. \u201cIt\u2019s like summer camp for the travel industry,\u201d remarked David Hansen, senior vice-president of events for Virtuoso, the powerhouse travel agency network specializing in rare experiences, exclusive amenities and privileged access to hotels, cruise lines, tour companies and destinations globally via\u00a0Virtuoso.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The thousands of meetings held between Virtuoso advisors and top-class travel providers result in discovering rare experiences travelers would not even know they could ask for.<\/p>\n

\u201cWould you like to attend an after-hours, private concert in Vatican City\u2019s Sistine Chapel? Instead of observing the ancient ruins at Pompeii would you prefer to participate in an actual archeological dig?\u201d asked Misty Ewing Belles, Virtuoso\u2019s global director of public relations. She meant actually, not metaphorically. Travel Week speaker Chip Conley, the hotel entrepreneur who helped Airbnb become a global brand, encourages Virtuoso\u2019s active philosophy with advice suitable for customer relations in any business enterprise:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you provide a guest something they didn\u2019t even ask for you have a customer for life,\u201d he advised.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s the kind of expertise, security and customized service the current discount online travel dot-com booking services cannot provide.<\/p>\n

\u201cA computer cannot provide nuance or empathy. It lacks the human element. It cannot assist travelers in defining their dreams,\u201d said Virtuoso CEO Matthew Upchurch. \u201cAt Virtuoso we compete with automated algorithms by employing the rhythm of our hearts.\u00a0If dehumanization is growing at an exponential rate, we better be an exponentially more human-centric business \u2013 based in trust.\u201d<\/p>\n

Virtuoso has developed its\u2019 \u201cWanderlist\u201d software program in response to the online travel booking systems. The difference is that Wanderlist, found at\u00a0Virtuoso.com<\/a>, starts by discerning the needs, desires, priorities and timelines of vacationers and travelers. Then human expert advisors suggest the best ways to fulfill them.<\/p>\n

\u201cWanderlist is \u2018high-tech\u2019 but \u2018high-touch.\u2019 It is a lifestyle guide and a framework for dreams. It\u2019s an anticipation vehicle,\u201d said Upchurch.<\/p>\n

Psychologists have indicated the anticipation of travel emotionally outweighs the memory of travel, and some of Virtuoso\u2019s advisors and experience providers indicate people and families are increasingly plotting out their travel up to years in advance. \u201cI don\u2019t like the phrase \u2018bucket list,\u2019\u201d said Upchurch. \u201cInstead of talking about dying, let Virtuoso help you with how you want to live.\u201d<\/p>\n

Phillipe Brown, a Virtuoso travel advisor with London-based Brown and Hudson, said, \u201cPeople used to know where they wanted to go. Now they come to us and ask, \u2018Where can I take my kids and grandkids?\u2019 Now it\u2019s travel as a concept.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCountry coupling\u201d is also an example, according to Belles. \u201cA Virtuoso Wanderlist advisor can point out that if someone is traveling to Venice they might also consider also adding a stop in Slovenia just across the border to their itinerary for a totally different yet easily accessible experience.\u201d Luxury Slovenia\u2019s Mattej Valencic, another Virtuoso travel provider, would then offer expert advice and logistical arrangements to enhance the trip.<\/p>\n

Virtuoso\u2019s Wanderlist and YouGov surveys have provided data on what matters to travelers. Culture tops the list, followed by accommodations, food, new experiences, activities and atmosphere. And the top reason people are vacationing: relaxation and family togetherness.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Contact<\/em>\u00a0Travel Writer Michael Patrick Shiels at\u00a0MShiels@aol.com\u00a0\u00a0His radio program may be heard weekdays at\u00a0MiBigShow.com<\/a>\u00a0or in Lansing on WJIM am 1240\u00a0from 9-noon.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cWhat\u2019s on your \u2018Wanderlist?\u2019\u201d The question was posed at the 31st annual Virtuoso Travel Week \u2013 a recent gathering of… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":2424,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[4998,109,1023668,1023669],"class_list":["post-2423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-michael-patrick-shiels","tag-las-vegas","tag-virtuoso-travel-week","tag-wanderlist"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/34\/2019\/10\/unnamed-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2423","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/43"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2423"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2423\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2425,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2423\/revisions\/2425"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2424"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2423"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2423"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theaposition.com\/traveltattler\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2423"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}