Why You Should Book Your Hotels With a Travel Advisor
One of the questions I get asked most is:
"What is the best hotel in...?"
The truth is, there usually isn't one.
The best hotel is the one that's right for you. Your travel style. Your priorities. Your budget. Your personality.
Helping our clients figure that out is one of my favorite parts of this job. It's basically playing matchmaker, travel industry style. :-)
Firsthand Knowledge Matters: We spend a significant amount of time every year visiting hotels around the world, meeting their teams and understanding what makes each property unique beyond what you'll find online.
In the past 12 months alone, I've personally inspected more than 100 hotels.
Add in the hotels the rest of the LGT team visits, our relationships with owners, general managers and sales teams, and the hundreds of meetings we have at industry events each year, and we have a pretty incredible library of firsthand hotel knowledge.
We know which hotels are worth the hype, which rooms to avoid, which are best for families versus honeymooners, and which properties consistently deliver.
But What If You Already Know Where You Want to Stay?
You should still book it through us.
As preferred partners with many of the world's best hotels, we're able to add VIP recognition and benefits that can include complimentary breakfast, hotel credits, upgrades, early check-in and late check-out.
And when upgrades are available, our clients are generally prioritized ahead of credit card and online booking programs.
Yes, that includes Amex Platinum.
And let's not even talk about where the Expedia reservations fall on that list... :-)
The Virtuoso Difference
Lora Greene Travel is part of Virtuoso, the world's leading luxury travel network, which gives our clients access to benefits and preferred treatment at many of the best hotels around the world.
When we book a Virtuoso hotel for you, you're not simply another reservation coming through the system. You're arriving as a VIP client of Lora Greene Travel and Virtuoso.
Depending on the hotel and program, that can mean complimentary daily breakfast, a $100 hotel or resort credit, room upgrades when available, early check-in, late check-out and other property-specific benefits.
And here's the part that people don't always realize:
VIP status matters.
When a hotel is deciding who gets that last available upgrade or who receives a little extra attention during a busy weekend, how you booked can absolutely make a difference. As the newsletter puts it, LGT clients are prioritized for upgrades ahead of Amex Platinum bookings—and “let's not even talk about where the Expedia bookers are on that list...”
We Make It Personal
The perks are great, but this is the part I think matters even more.
Before you arrive, we personally reach out to the hotel.
Maybe you're celebrating an anniversary. Maybe you're traveling with your kids and connecting rooms are really important. Maybe your flight lands at 7 a.m., you prefer a certain room location, or you've stayed at the property five times before.
We want the hotel to know that before you ever walk through the door.
And because we have personal relationships with so many of these hotels, that message often isn't going to an anonymous reservations inbox. It's going to an actual human being we know.
That's where the thoughtful surprises, extra-special welcomes and little touches often come from.
And If Something Goes Wrong...
Flights get delayed. Rooms aren't quite right. Plans change.
Instead of spending your vacation waiting on hold with a customer service line, you have someone in your corner who already knows both you and the hotel and can usually resolve an issue much more quickly.
That kind of peace of mind is difficult to put a price on.
Same Rate. More Value.
Here's perhaps the best part:
We book the same rates you're seeing on the hotel's website.
But your reservation can come with VIP recognition, preferred-partner perks and our team working behind the scenes to make your stay better.
And if you already know exactly where you want to stay, we don't charge a planning fee for hotel-only reservations.
Need some help figuring out where to stay? Our hotel recommendation service is a flat $500, regardless of the length of your stay.
So...Why Wouldn't You?
Whether it's one night or two weeks, don't ever think a hotel reservation is too small to "bother us" with.
We love hotel bookings.
If you're going to stay at the hotel anyway, why not arrive as a VIP, receive additional benefits, and have someone looking out for you behind the scenes?
Where you stay matters. So does how you book it.