It’s been a while since I have added content to our blog, mostly because as business picked up we didn't have as much time for things like blogging. Even for a couple months after travel came to a screeching halt I stayed very busy. At first it was monitoring clients who were traveling to make sure we could get re-route them home safely and efficiently. Then once all of our clients were home safe we had cancellations to process for our clients for trips in March and April that were cancelled due to travel restrictions. This was not as seamless at it might seem. As we do many custom trips with several moving parts we had to work with our partners in trying to get a refund processed for our clients or in some cases travel credits. This was still not the end just yet. We are monitoring all trips to make sure refunds are processed and received by our clients, who were rightly anxiously awaiting to see their money returned. We do our best but due to the massive amounts of cancellations this is taking much longer than normal. All the while policies are changing daily so it is up to travel advisors to stay on top of these so we know how best to service our clients bookings. Then came the rescheduling which is still in process for many of our clients. We are doing our best to move our clients’ trips to new dates later in in the year or in many cases 2021. In this organization is key!
As the cancellations slow and time becomes more available I feel it’s time to start blogging again. I want to share with you past trips we didn’t log, or talk to you about what is trending for post COVID trip. We have created a survey for our clients to get a feel for what is going to be popular next year or even this fall. If you would like to take the survey click HERE. Once we have enough results we will start sharing our findings and highlight those destinations you all feel inclined to take. So far we are surprised how many are ready to get out here and travel as soon as possible. While staying close to home is popular we are also seeing more far away destinations like Australia, New Zealand and Africa pop up. Not only are we seeing trends from our survey but we are starting to get calls for new bookings. Yesterday we booked an anniversary trip to Blackberry Farm in August. We have started working with a group who is traveling on a transatlantic cruise on Cunard with a stay in New York and London at the Connaught. This gives us hope, and hope is what keeps us moving forward. Travel has always been my passion and I live, breathe and dream travel. I could not imagine doing anything else. This is why it HAS to come back. It will come back and even while there may be some changes we see coming, people will always travel the world. Travel creates memories, stories, frames who we are and what we share with one another. My children will grow up traveling the world, learning through experiencing other cultures, and ways of life, and I would never want it any other way.
I also wanted to add the new client whom we booked to Blackberry Farm for this August, was surprised and delighted that she gets our amenities at no additional cost. Not only does she get the $100 spa credit, early check-in and late check-out and upgrade, but the room rate was a few hundred less per night. After doing this over 16 years we forget that those who are not used to booking with a Virtuoso Advisor never receives these perks and VIP that our clients are accustomed to. On top of the monetary value we add, I always stress to new clients, you can’t VIP yourself” let us make your stays even more special by alerting the hotel of your arrival. Check-in and find a nice little amenity from us. You will never travel by booking online or direct again!