Virtuoso Week 3 (1)
We have three of our wonderful travel specialists attending Virtuoso Travel Week (VTW) in Las Vegas this week. VTW is often referred to as the Fashion Week of Travel, and is one of the most memorable, whirlwind weeks of the year for our business. A time when more than 5000 Virtuoso travel advisors from 98 countries bunker down in three huge Las Vegas resorts with hundreds of suppliers (hoteliers, cruise lines, tour operators and the like) to discuss client and business needs, hear keynote speakers, and plan for Virtuoso traveller perks and privileges.

Each of our staff has a schedule of appointments matched with the suppliers that best meet our business and client focus. They have hundreds of them during the week, and will build the kinds of relationships that genuinely benefit our clients, the kinds I’ve written about before. Over the course of Travel Week more than 320,000 one-to-one appointments will take place, totalling more than 1.5 million meeting-minutes or the equivalent of nearly 3 years. The objective: Building relationships that lead to better traveller experiences.

As I’m writing this our travel specialists are networking their tails off, developing their careers, reaching for those famous VTW hallway high-fives at the Bellagio, running into old and new friends, attending fabulous parties, making the most of an ‘anytime meeting’ opportunity, and absorbing the latest Virtuoso travel news and market trends to ensure they’re ahead of the curve.

The personal connections we develop with our Virtuoso suppliers at VTW each year run as deep as those with our clients. We really get to know each other. We can call on them for those wondrous waivers-and-favours, and the perks they lavish on our clients simply for booking through us really are the icing on the cake.

Customers who book with a Virtuoso agent get privileged access to more than 1,300 of the world’s top hotels, resorts, cruise lines and tour operators who happily serve up exclusive prices and services, experiences and perks. Book a Virtuoso hotel through a Virtuoso agent like Spencer Travel, for example, and you’ll receive breakfast for two daily included during your stay. If available, you will also get a room upgrade as well as early check-in and late checkout. And finally, you will receive an exclusive Virtuoso amenity or perk to make your stay even more memorable.

Combine that with the personal connections we have with those very same suppliers, and our annual trip to Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas isn’t just a visit to Nevada’s so-called Sin City, it’s absolutely a trip to Win City.

So, next time you’re thinking, “If only I knew someone at that amazing hotel to help me sort out something special!”, we’re that someone.