Free VIP perks at luxury hotels when booking via Virtuoso

Friday newsletters always feature luxury travel contests, tips, series, or news.

Today (June 16, 2017): Travel Tip: 5 reasons why Virtuoso is one of my preferred sites to book luxury hotels.

As you can read in my tips for getting the best deal at a luxury hotel, I mainly use 3 websites to book stays at luxury hotels without breaking my wallet:

When I stay a property of one of the big hotel chains, I mostly make the booking directly on the hotel website to take advantage of a best rate guarantee program (not only will the hotel match the lower price you find somewhere else, but often throw in an additional 10 to 25% discount as well) and a hotel loyalty programs (to collect points towards a free hotel night). This is especially true when I stay at a property managed by Starwood or Hyatt, which both have an outstanding hotel loyalty program, but not so much for hotels of Hilton, Marriott, and InterContinental, which have far less rewarding and interesting loyalty programs.

Hotels.com – part of Expedia – is my overall preferred hotel booking website when staying at a non-chain property, mainly because of its very efficient best rate guarantee program (Hotels.com matches the price you find somewhere else), excellent customer support, and simple but rewarding loyalty program (you get one night free for every 10 nights you book with them). You can read here why I like Hotels.com and how it can save you (lots of) money when booking luxury hotels.

Jetsetter offers a limited but impressive selection of luxury hotels (in addition to private residences and tours) that you can book at up to 40 percent off the usual price. While deals (so-called ‘flash sales’) for a certain property are available for a limited time only (between five to ten days), these flash sales are often repeated throughout the year, so be sure to keep an eye out for their sales when you have a particular hotel in mind (by signing up to their newsletter). You can read here how Jetsetter can help you to make luxury travel affordable.

However, besides the 3 booking methods mentioned above, I often make use of a 4th booking medium, Virtuoso, which can be extremely rewarding when staying at the world’s best hotels, not so much in terms of saving money on the room rate, but rather in terms of complimentary VIP perks that you will receive at the property itself (e.g. room upgrades, dinner, spa treatments, early check-in, late check-out, gift, etc …). I hereby explain you why I love Virtuoso so much, and why you should consider it too when booking your next holiday at one of the world’s most exclusive properties:

GET FREE VIP PERKS AT AMAN RESORTS WHEN BOOKING VIA VIRTUOSO

Virtuoso is not your classic hotel booking engine website. It’s the industry’s leading network of luxury travel advisors, spanning over 26 countries and 9,000 travel advisors. So when you book your holiday with Virtuoso, most of the time, you will be in touch with a Virtuoso travel agent and not make the booking online yourself. There are some Virtuoso travel agencies though that offer an online booking tool, such as Classic Travel, which has an excellent website and is my overall preferred Virtuoso travel agency.

These days, the internet makes it very easy to research and book your own travel. So why would one still choose to work with a travel advisor? I agree you don’t have to, especially when you are a seasoned travel. However, IMHO, the Virtuoso travel advisors – who are carefully selected individuals – are the exception: they will help you create unique journeys and explorations in every corner of the globe, and arrange experiences that make a trip truly extraordinary.

The single best reason to book a stay through a Virtuoso travel agent is that it means value for money as it will get you access to special, complimentary VIP amenities and perks, such as room upgrade, free dinners, spa treatments and/or unique luxury travel experiences.

Virtuoso networks with the world’s most luxurious hotels & resorts, most of them belonging to the portfolio of the world’s most exclusive hotel brands. This includes brands such as Soneva, Four Seasons, Rosewood, Mandarin Oriental, Six Senses and Banyan Tree to name a few. All hotels were you can enjoy the Virtuoso extra perks are listed on the Virtuoso website.

The advantage of booking through Virtuoso is particularly evident when staying at an Aman property, the world’s top hotel chain. In line with Aman’s hyper-exclusive and ultra-luxurious reputation, you will never find a lower rate than the one published on the official Aman website. But booking through a Virtuoso travel agent rather than on the Aman website itself will get you some free, extra perks (often worth hundreds of dollars). So if you are an Aman junkie, like me, then Virtuoso is the way to go.

THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT VIRTUOSO

Most of the times, hotel bookings are not made online, but through a Virtuoso travel agent. There are exceptions though, such as the website of Classic Travel which offers an online booking tool.

Virtuoso does not offer the cheapest room rates in the industry nor does it match a lower price found somewhere else. In most cases, the Virtuoso rate will best the best available (and refundable) room rate that you can also find on the hotel website itself, but it does come with all the extra Virtuoso perks (which means a lot of savings in the end).

Holders of an American Express premium or Visa Signature credit card can often benefit from similar VIP perks when they make the booking via their credit card travel office and/or pay with their credit card. Contact your local credit card company to find out whether this service is offered.

Virtuoso does not have a loyalty program.

Enjoy the weekend and stay tuned for Monday when I reveal a new top 10 travel list.

Reviews of hotel stays that I booked through Virtuoso (including one of my favorite resorts in the world: Soneva Kiri in Thailand):

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Philip Wu says:
June 20, 2017 at 3:07 pm
Just out of curiosity, how do Virtuoso agents get paid, on commission from suppliers or a fee from clients? Thanks!
Guy Harrisson says:
July 9, 2019 at 8:39 pm
Hi Philip. mainly commissions from hotels and some agents also charge a servicefee.