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Luxury Travel Companies: Experiences
Most of us go ahead and book our own travel ourselves, and then are out to fend for ourselves in the battlefields that are airports, hotels, grand transportation systems, etc. Irregular operations are all but abnormal, and we just bite our tongues and deal with it...
I recently reviewed statistics showing that while personal booking is plateauing, personal travel management (sort of like what was seen in the past with travel agents) is on a quick rise. People are looking to pay a little bit extra to get an overall better, more reliable travel product, without devoting much time (opportunity cost) to the booking/management process.
My question is if anyone has had any experience with such "luxury travel management companies," which companies those are, and whether you find the services rendered worth your dollar.
Thanks!
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well, thats why i asked the follow up questions to the OP, because personally his OP didnt sound like he was looking for a tour operator.
I'm not really sure what the OP is asking for. Perhaps some type of expediter service that gets one through lines and such at airports, or guarantees one a seat for late bookings, etc.
Maybe "luxury" is a misnomer. Nevertheless, A&K is about as top-end of a travel agency that one can get, IMO.
I'm not sure that this is what the OP had in mind. Last summer I booked a tour of the Stans with Geographic Expeditions. Very pricey. I had originally tried to book with a local company (generally my preference), but it fell through and I was left at the last minute trying to find someone who could put a tour together for me.
I was unhappy at the food in one country--very cheap (and this trip was not cheap) and I got very sick. I got several phone calls from the woman who had arranged the trip (from San Francisco) making sure that the food was OK and that I was getting better. I have never had a tour company call me to make sure everything was going well. (I had emailed my concerns to her)
Martinis at 8, i definitely agree re A&K, but there are some other great companies as well. one similar company that comes to mind is cox & kings, but there are also many smaller companies that are solely ultra high end.
i think i see where you were coming from now. luxury > tour. my initial thinking from OP was luxury > concierge.
Martinis at 8, i definitely agree re A&K, but there are some other great companies as well. one similar company that comes to mind is cox & kings, but there are also many smaller companies that are solely ultra high end.
i think i see where you were coming from now. luxury > tour. my initial thinking from OP was luxury > concierge.
If you have a list of these, please post. Firms like A&K I find useful. They pointed in the right direction for a tour on the Eastern & Orient Express
