SarahandRoger

Hi Everyone

My partner and I are looking to book our honeymoon at FS Maui and i've stumbled across a few posts about FSPP. Can anyone tell me if the UK has any preferred partners? I've spent the night searching via Google but to no avail. Any assistance or further information about this would be fantastic.

Thanks for your help

Sarah

Raffles

There are some who post on here who are London based (ajinlondon ?) but you can also deal easily by email with some of the US ones like DavidO. These two are both Virtuoso, I'm sure there are non-Virtuso FSPP's in the UK but I don't know any. I've used DavidO who has done a few Four Seasons Hampshire bookings for me - which is 1 hour from my house - even though he is 5,000 miles away!

Kagehitokiri

SarahandRoger

Thanks Raffles. Can you explain the benefits of Virtuoso and how did you come across them? I haven't heard of them previously so curious to find out more. I assume they can book multi trips with all flights and hotels.

Raffles

There is Virtuoso website. Basically, it is a grouping of independent travel agents in the US and Canada who focus on rich people (put simply!). Whilst us Brits have given up on travel agents, North Americans still like using them for trips to 'far away places' .

Luxury hotels therefore like to suck up to Virtuoso travel agents by offering them exclusive deals, in an attempt to get the agent to recommend luxury hotel x over luxury hotel y in a particular city. All Virtuoso agents can offer Four Seasons Preferred Partner amenities and there are similar arrangements with other chains.

Four Seasons Preferred Partner rates are NOT cheaper than the online rates - they are identical. However, you get extra benefits - free breakfast (so you can often book a cheaper room-only rate instead of a B&B rate), late check-out, upgrade at check-in if available and a free amenity - FS Hampshire gives you �57 per room towards lunch.) These benefits are also applicable in conjunction with FS offers like 'pay 2, stay 3'.

I have never a Virtuoso to do anything than book hotels, although they obviously can book anything you want. However, we always do our own flights (90% of the time on BA or BMI miles).

If there is no special Virtuoso package, quite frankly you are better off booking with the hotel directly online, as you can make any changes direct without e-mailing the US every time you need a change.

(If you have an American Express Platinum charge card, Amex in the UK has something similar called Amex Fine Hotels & Rewards, although Four Seasons are usually not included. This covers a few hundred luxury properties worldwide and gets you a guaranteed 4pm check-out, free breakfast, upgrade if available at check-in and a special amenity, usually a free lunch. These packages can only be booked on the phone with Amex - US cardholders can book online but we can't.)

If you are looking to book a full honeymoon package (flights and hotel) you still might get a better deal by going to an upmarket UK travel agent like Carrier or Seasons In Style. They probably have better hotel deals than any FSPP and more importantly can probably access cheaper flights than you can directly because they have access to 'IT' (travel agent only) fares.

(And, totally off the point, but Maui is a l-o-n-g way away and none of the hotels there has a truly great reputation. Jet lag is also an absolute nightmare. Unless you are stopping off in California on the way, the Maldives or Barbados / Antigua would be easier! 2 very nice FS in the Maldives plus the One&Only Reethi Rah, and British Airways now does direct flights.)

irish mark

from what i understand the TA below is a FSPP; The GM of a FS recommended them as a good FSPP in the uk

Colletts Travel
79 Brent Street
Hendon
London NW4 2EA
Tele: 44 208 202 8101
Fax: 44 208 202 0993

Kagehitokiri

sticky covers just about everything...

only some overlap

FSPP etc

most FS are included, can also have TA book through amex

unpublished FS promos are very rare, and some of them are FSPP

indeed, but OTOH there is FS hualalai on big island

luxury

I have had some, albeit very infrequently, Preferred Partner rates come up cheaper than the published rate on the FS website -- so it does and can happen!!

In addition, many schemes promise an "upgrade, upon availability at check-in". At Four Seasons, apparently Preferred Partner bookings have the highest upgrade priority. However, this does not guarantee an upgrade.....

Raffles

I am currently 3/3 for NOT getting a FSPP upgrade!

TAHKUCT

Raffles,

At what properties did you have such luck? Were they fully booked?

luxury

Sorry to hear that..... my experience has been the exact opposite. In the past 3 years I have only had two instances where I did not get an upgrade -- at the George V over New Year's but did get one of the nicest rooms of that category, and at the FS Seattle due to the size of the hotel (the hotel has only a small number of suites and they were apparently occupied).

Prior to that, I have not been upgraded at the FS BKK and Tokyo-Marunouchi. I understand Marunouchi due to its size but have troubles with BKK when they were happy to upsell me to the room I should have been upgraded into!!

However, every other FS property I have stayed at in the past few years I have received an upgrade. Very thankful and appreciative for the efforts of my TA!!

uprightposition

fwiw: just checked whatahotel this morning for a FS where i want to stay next weekend and while their website shows the same rates as the FS website, according to their giant yellow banner on the page, only the much higher rates are bookable if you want the pp amenities.

curious to learn how one books the best rates available and gets the perks through that website.

seems that you do pay for them in your rate.

Earthman

So far exactly the opposite thankfully.
It's dependent on availability of course.I'd also like to know what properties?

I've been using Davido by the way for a couple of years and find him efficient and very helpful.
I'd highly recommend him.[I know you've used him before aswell from posts here]

I've never had a situation where we were denied access to the best available rates.

DavidO

I think the What a Hotel website is simply wrong and/or not showing all of the Preferred Partner rates. There is a Preferred Partner website (password protected) on which every Preferred Partner rate is posted. These typically include Rack Rates as well as the "Experience More" (third night free, hotel credit)-type rates. A PP can log in and make a booking very quickly and easily for you.

Occasionally an eligible promotional rate will not be loaded - in error. In this case, all a PP need do is contact the reservations office (and/or the sales manager) of the hotel directly, and it can quickly and easily be taken care of.

uprightposition

thanks for the explanation. on their chart there were definitely rates marked PP, but their reservation results page had a banner that clearly stated that to get the perks they listed (breakfast for 2 and a lunch) you were required to book only the specially marked rates.

it seems to me that a PP rate already has those inclusions (breakfast), so as a first timer to the PP concept, i was confused by what that particular website was presenting to casual readers, such as i and presumably the OP would be.

thanks again.