Luxury Hotel Deals
Classic Travel Puts Personal Experience Online with Special Benefits
Jan 19, 2009
With online booking gaining popularity such as Expedia, Travelocity, Priceline, and a slew of other online travel agencies, it's still impersonal and you're still scouring on the Web for hours to find that perfect deal.
What You Might Be Missing by Not Booking a Hotel with a Travel Agent
Live agents you can call or visit have access to special reservation systems that cannot be accessed by the public, which means they have special deals only they can reserve. Experienced agents have either been to many of the hotels they recommend or have been visited by the hoteliers throughout the year. The personal relationships these professionals have established go a long way for their traveling clients.
Merging Personal Experience Online
Classic Travel is different not because it serves a niche luxury market but because many of its exclusive rates can still be booked online. They are a traditional travel agency, but they have their own unique technology. After an online reservation is made, the customer receives an email by the agent monitoring the transaction with a personalized Web address and a direct number. This way the customer can conveniently call a specific agent should there be any problems in the traveling process.
Even though the reservation is made online, the customer has full benefits to special deals that include free upgrades, complimentary breakfast, and VIP treatment — the many frills that are only accessible through Virtuoso agencies. Four- or five-star hotels often prefer to load these and other special rates onto the booking engines of travel agencies like Classic Travel instead of Travelocity or Orbitz, which cater to a market more interested in price than added value.
Being part of the Virtuoso network is coveted by all travel agencies because the consortium is recognized by travel suppliers from all over the world, and it is by invite only. Members are certified with training and have access to special Virtuoso rates that agencies outside of the network may not have. Notably, when the hotel sees that a person is booked by a Virtuoso agent, they pay special attention to that customer.
Highly Selective Luxury Hotels
ClassicTravel.com's agents have personally handpicked all 900 luxury hotels on the site, which constantly gets updated. Some hotels are also taken off if a customer has certain complaints about the hotel, and if improvements are made, it may go back on the site, as explained by Richard Beck, president and CEO of Classic Travel.
Destination Guides
ClassicTravel.com also has destination guides neatly divided by continent. Should you decide to go to Turkey or Ireland, the guide has a recommended list of day and night activities, shopping areas, restaurants and resources available to anyone who visits the site.
A unique aspect is their specialty travel section where they have favorite destination picks and suggested itineraries made by celebrity chefs like Mario Batali, and who better to make recommendations than famous chefs who knows more than a thing or two about taste.
So the next time you're surfing on the Web to find that "great deal," don't automatically go to the mass market travel agencies that have generic third-party reservation systems generating the prices for you—because sometimes when you find cheap, you get cheap. But if you want that luxurious experience with VIP treatment, try going to online Virtuoso-certified agencies like Classic Travel. Online or offline you're guaranteed professionalism.
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