The top of the luxury travel pyramid: what a $100,000 vacation looks like

On a tour of the ancient city of Petra, Jordan, clients arrived by helicopter after business hours so they could explore the ruins on their own. On another trip, to Camp Sarika, a retreat in the Utah desert considered America’s most luxurious tented experience, visitors were given full access to the site before it opened to the public. And there was also the tour of Frogmore, the English “country house” closed to the public where Harry and Meghan lived before moving to the USA.

All are worthy contenders, but the ultimate example of the latest trend in super-luxury travel has to be a fishing adventure in the Bahamas: a stealth diver with a cache of previously caught live fish was hiding under the boat to hook a new one in case the fishermen didn’t. managed to catch enough fish on their own.

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“As long as it’s legal, we’ll do our best to make it happen,” says Max Rosenthal, operations manager at New York-based Fischer Travel, which organized all of the trips mentioned.

In the game of constant competition that luxury travel has become, the glamorous destinations and “Instagrammable” accommodations that once impressed affluent tourists are now an expectation. Agencies like Fischer offer a new level of concierge service, providing something similar to what the industry czars and barons of the past could expect.

The desire for more — more luxury, more exclusivity, more surprises and delights — is what drives the growth of these agencies, which serve a wealthy clientele in search of meaningful experiences but who lack the knowledge, connections and time to create them on their own.

“People want to have these big, transformative experiences, but they don’t want to deal with the chaos of travel,” says Amanda Teale, founder and CEO of Minerva Private Travel in Cobham, UK, who plans trips for a select group of clients in both countries. sides of the Atlantic. “We offer very serious support and do everything we can to eliminate the hassle and drama.”

Demand is on the rise. While there are no comprehensive statistics tracking the emergence of these exclusive concierge travel agents, both Fischer and Minerva have expanded their operations since the end of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fischer’s customer list, which is exclusive to members, has grown from about 100 to 130, with more people on the waiting list. “As amazing as it is to continue growing, we don’t want our standards to drop,” says Rosenthal. Minerva has never advertised and only accepts clients through recommendations — and also has a waiting list.

Fischer charges each client an annual membership fee of $25,000, plus per-service costs. “We bill similar to a lawyer,” says Rosenthal. “It depends on the difficulty of the order and how many hours it takes to organize.” Teale eschews the membership model: Minerva’s commission is 3.5% of the total trip cost, with complete packages ranging, on average, from $75,000 to $100,000 — and rising. The most expensive trip Teale ever organized — a private island rental in the Indian Ocean — cost nearly $1 million. “Some clients book three times a year, and others 12 times,” she says. “Not all of them will be big trips. If you want to buy a train ticket for your child to get home from college, we take care of that too.”

Wealth alone is not enough to secure Teale’s services. She interviews potential clients to make sure “we have a good connection and I can make their dreams come true.” She says she frequently turns away customers and has even fired some for being rude to staff or suppliers. As long as they behave, customers are given a single phone number — hers — and can call anytime, from anywhere, day or night.

Among the services these agencies offer are receptionists who guide customers through security checkpoints and private immigration stations to a lounge or suite, and from there to a car that takes them across the apron to the plane. Of course, many customers simply fly private — an option that has become so popular that Teale is considering setting up his own jet service.

It already has a collection of electric Mercedes sedans with uniformed drivers for transport around the UK, equipped with cashmere blankets embroidered with the Minerva logo, chilled bottled water and the latest edition of the company’s bi-annual lifestyle magazine.

“We know what your favorite snacks are, and we’ll have them there,” she says. “And if your child needs a car seat, it will be installed before we arrive.” A customer’s three children love cheese sandwiches, so Teale makes them himself and puts them in a picnic basket that waits in the backseat. “We believe your journey begins when you walk out your front door,” says Teale. “And we take care of everything ourselves, so we maintain complete control.”

When customers sign up with Fischer, they are assigned to a team of two or three people, with a 24/7 direct point of contact on hand to resolve issues and take advantage of the company’s vast network. A recent example: A client was on his way to a safari in South Africa when he called to say that his son had broken his braces during the flight. Fischer arranged for an orthodontist “to be waiting for them in the bush when they disembarked,” notes Rosenthal.

In addition to avoiding hassle, these wealthy clients seek truly unique experiences — that “wow” factor for people whose elevated lifestyles make it very difficult to impress. Fischer placed clients among heads of state at the Paris Olympics; took them by helicopter to a Taylor Swift concert 20 minutes before she took the stage; and even arranged for one of them to undergo an exorcism in the Vatican.

Essentialist, another membership-based travel company based in Mallorca, Spain, uses a network of local experts to identify unique spaces and create personal interactions that meet their customers’ passions. Itineraries can include visits to renowned artists and writers, cooking sessions with Michelin-starred chefs, or grape harvests and wine tastings organized by the family who owns the winery. For a client traveling to Tokyo with teenagers, the company had influencer Akane Chuma take the family on an epic shopping spree that included Japan’s top designers, as well as boutiques and vintage stores offering everything from vintage kimonos even crockery.

An annual Essentialist membership costs $2,600 plus fees and combines an app with personal “experience managers.” Founder Joan Roca created this approach after working at Travelocity. “I wanted to go deeper, beyond simply ‘where to go’ and into ‘who to know,’” he says.

Even with travel websites promising to simplify the booking process, technology has actually made planning a trip even more overwhelming for some. “I’ve always traveled a lot and I’ve always made all the arrangements myself, but as technology has evolved, everything has gotten more complex,” says Jim Durgin, 77, a former American Express executive from Cumming, Georgia. “I don’t want to do the work anymore. I want to be well taken care of, especially because I am the type of person who cares about every detail.”

Durgin and his wife have been using Essentialist’s services since 2017, and among the memorable trips they’ve taken is a visit to Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires’ national theater, which included a private audience with Paloma Herrera, an internationally renowned director turned director. artistic performance of the theater’s ballet company.

“Most of our clients are looking to optimize their time with loved ones,” says Elyssa Roberts, senior travel manager at Marchay in New York, an agency that charges $8,500 a year. “They want attention to detail, access and intelligence.”

Marchay regularly persuades museums to open early for clients, private castles to admit guests, and eminent people to meet and talk to visitors. On a recent trip to Paris, the company organized a tour of the Eiffel Tower — led by a great-great-grandson of its architect, Gustave Eiffel.

Of course, there are some travel details that even these incredibly efficient agencies can’t handle. It’s one thing to make sure the fish are biting, but all the money in the world still can’t make the sun shine.