A Luxury Travel Blog

The magical Northern Lights have bewitched humans since time began. Now you can create your own Aurora Borealis, against a fairytale Norwegian backdrop at Visit Norway.  Paint the sky above a dramatic northern Norwegian coastal landscape with your mouse, or use your astrological constellation, in a palette of colour reflecting your mood, to create your own Aurora Borealis. Your personal Northern Lights display will be saved for you to share with your friends via Twitter, Facebook or email.

A new luxury travel website has recently been launched by the passionate duo, Mr. & Mrs. Crystal, who have extensively researched the most hip, trendy and charming hotels, restaurants, bars and beach clubs in Europe. The result is a personal travel concierge service with exclusive recommendations and tips for 27 luxury destinations, which you may want to use for your next holiday.  Recognising that travellers feel inundated with information, Travel Hedonism differentiates from other websites by providing a selective handful of reliable tips. In addition to easily navigating to a particular destination, users can also choose one or more “vibes” such as “romance”, “hip” or “foodie heaven” and Travel Hedonism will suggest luxury hotspots and tips which match the user’s preferred theme.

I’ve talked previously about innovative ways the travel industry is embracing Twitter and one of the latest comes courtesy of Lufthansa. With MySkyStatus they are allowing users to update their Twitter (or Facebook) accounts with their whereabouts whilst in flight.  While you’re in the air, MySkyStatus automatically sends altitude, location, departure and arrival updates.  And the service isn’t just limited to Lufthansa – it can be used for any commercial airline. The idea has lots of potential (with the ability to update loved ones of your progress) and it’ll no doubt prove a big coup for Lufthansa to have got there first.

As I’m sure you are aware, there are a number of flight comparison sites out there.  You would think they would all essentially do the same job, but they do have notable differences.  Many airline tariffs – particularly those of the budget airlines – are complicated by extra charges. This makes it very difficult for comparisons to be made, particularly since different travellers have different requirements.

The moral of the story?  Try out a few comparison sites – and even visit the websites of the airlines themselves (and sign up to their newsletters). You would think it does but a flight comparison site does not, unfortunately, negate the need to shop around for the best price.

Tell us what sites you use and why.  What are your tips for finding the best fares?

Here’s an interesting site I recently stumbled upon: Marine Traffic.  It shows the locations of large vessels at sea around the world, on a Google Map.  Different types of boat are colour coded for ease of recognition.  Look out for the blue icons and you can identify moving and anchored passenger ships (ferries, cruise ships, etc.) around the globe.

I’ve resisted writing about this for some time but don’t feel I can any longer. It’s not an issue that specific to the luxury travel sector but it’s certainly one that can be important to it. I really believe it’s high time that travel review sites took their responsibilities a little more seriously.  A savvy internet user will often readily identify reviews that are fake – they might be overly-positive or – if operating under a different agenda – overly negative.

But spoof reviewers are getting cleverer, writing reviews that look plausible, hiding under a thin veil that might appear to show some degree of balance. Identifying these people is a more arduous task, but there are still a variety of ways in which it can be done.  Even without being privvy to such information as IP addresses, there can be some tell-tale signs. If you see a batch of reviews where all the reviewers have similar style usernames, where the style of grammar is similar, or where there is a sudden flurry of activity in a short period of time, could all be possible indicators.

I’m looking at one particular hotel on Tripadvisor at the moment – a hotel which I know quite well – and the reviews are surprisingly favourable. Management is also responding to many of the reviews saying things like “We’re glad you enjoyed your stay” so it’s evident that they’re very active on the site.  ”So what?” you might ask… they’re just being diligent.  Think again. I’ve noticed that virtually all the reviewers have only ever reviewed this hotel and nowhere else. If you look through some ‘real reviews’ you’ll find it’s more common for reviewers to have been to a varying number – some might have only reviewed one place, but others would have reviewed multiple places, so it’s unusual to find that ALL these reviewers are one-time reviewers.  Actually, I say ‘all’ but that isn’t quite true.  A couple of the reviewers had reviewed another hotel just up the road from this one… and guess what? That hotel is owned by the same people and is given similarly favourable reviews!

Identifying unscrupulous activity shouldn’t be the task of the users of the site – it should be the responsibility of the site owners and you would think that it would be something that’s put high on their agenda.  Afterall, their users are – quite simply – being misled.  This can be costly to those people and to the hotels that are shed in a less favourable light relative to the competition.  It can also be highly lucrative for those who are successful with their deception.

So what needs to be done?  Well, for starters, you’d think review sites would act more quickly when concerns are flagged; see here for example where it took Tripadvisor two weeks to acknowledge a concern about violation of their TOS and, more than a month on from then, there appears to be no further update.  You’d also think they would be more adept at preventing false reviews from even being published in the first place.

I know that on some sites where reviews can be placed, you are only invited to post a review if you book through that site.  This would strike me as a good first step in ensuring that you are dealing with people who have truly stayed at the hotel in question, but it does of course limit the review site in terms of the number of reviews it can collate.  Unfortunately, the review sites are competing for quantity, and not just quality.

Please post a comment and tell us your thoughts on the matter.  What, if anything, do you think needs to be done?

I’m noticing an increasing tendancy for people involved in the luxury travel to turn to social media tools and more innovative ways of getting their message across online.  One such example is OutriggerHawaii.com which is celebrating its first birthday since its launch. Departing from the traditional hotel Web site, it showcases the allure of Hawaii by featuring unique stories and video vignettes that capture the spirit and adventure found only on the Islands. Launched in July 2008 by Outrigger Enterprises Group, the destination Web site has won several awards for sharing the culture, history, and beauty of Hawaii, with people around the world.  It certainly seems to be a little more pro-active than many hotel websites in getting across information such as local events, and by updating its blog.  It also uses the likes of Twitter, Facebook et al.  What do you think?  Will we see more luxury travel businesses making use of social media tools?

A weekly pick of luxury travel links for your perusal…

• Compare prices on UK hotels
• Luxury hotels and resorts from Kiwi Collection
• Meet Francis Gimblett, The Wine Adventurer
• Hotel Babylon is back on the BBC

Recently I was reading the Tripadvisor reviews of a hotel that I’m familiar with and noted that all the reviews, although seemingly plausible, were all consistently giving full marks.  That alone shouldn’t necessarily be grounds for suspicion but I delved a bit deeper and noticed that most of the reviewers had not reviewed another hotel (or restaurant or whatever) on the site.  Again, that alone isn’t grounds for the reviews necessarily having been fabricated but it does arouse a little suspicion.  This was heightened further when I noted that the few exceptions (ie. reviewers of this hotel who had reviewed more than one property on the site) had in fact just reviewed a sister hotel to the one in question with equal praise.  This had been going on for at least 2 years and seemingly Tripadvisor has done nothing about it (presumably because they are not aware). When I delved further, I was interested to see that the hotel – despite having consistenly good reviews – still didn’t hold the #1 position for the hotels in the town where it was situated; on the contrary, it was a few places down.  So, being curious, I looked at the hotels that were ranked above only to find that they, too, were getting good reviews by a seemingly similar means.

Tripadvisor have a thankless task keeping on top of misleading reviews, but are they doing enough to combat it, do you think?

The travel agency Luxum Travel has launched a new luxury hotels search engine. Dluxehotels.com, created by a team with long experience in the tourism and new technologies industry, is born with two clear objectives: to develop the best selection of luxury hotels in the world and to facilitate online bookings without renouncing the guarantee of a trusted travel agency. This web site allows real-time booking of 4 or 5 stars hotels that have been carefully selected for their charm, their avant-garde design and singular architectural forms, their excellent service service or idyllic location. The hotels are classified by feature in order to facilitate the search to those looking for a hotel with golf course, with spa or a business hotel.

Microsoft are making another attempt at conquering the search engine arena, this time with Bing.  Although the search results seem generally good (this blog is in the top 10 for a search for ‘luxury travel’ so I could be a little biased!), I am left thinking that they needed to offer something better still to make a significant impression on Google’s dominance.  I don’t personally buy into the ‘decision engine’ nonsense that they talk about (in fact, I find that terminology a little irritating!) and I’m not convinced that a pretty background is what users want.

Anyway… now they have unveiled Bing Travel.  You may recall that last year Microsoft bought Farecast and Bing Travel looks to be a combination of this technology and editorial from MSN Travel.  It’s a little early to give any well-researched feedback at this early but it looks to be a good facility, if a little cluttered and US-centric.  What do you think?

Catherine Leech has worked in luxury travel for more than 25 years. She started in PR before becoming European Director of the Cayman Islands Department of Tourism, then Managing Director of luxury tour operator, Caribtours. After the tsunami of 2004 she moved to Sri Lanka where she worked for two years, mostly as a volunteer, to develop sustainable tourism projects in affected communities. Catherine is now director of a new travel website, 101 Holidays.

What is it that you do exactly?

No two days are ever the same. In the last few months, I have been focused on bringing 101 Holidays to life. We launched it in January after an intense period of planning, designing, testing and liaising with the two editors (travel writers David Wickers and Mark Hodson).

I am based in a chocolate-box village in south-west Dorset where I take daily walks on the hills with the next door pub’s springer. I make occasional trips into London for meetings, client briefings, etc. In the past month, I’ve written an outline proposal for an emerging new destination, completed a client benchmark survey for a PR agency, moderated a weekend conference of independent travel agents in Warwick and organised a client event for an alliance of luxury tour operators called Seven Wonders.

London is 2hrs 40mins away by train. There was a time when I would have viewed that as too far but after the six-hour car journeys to get to each of my project sites in Sri Lanka, the train ride goes by in a flash and I keep in constant touch with my iPhone.

What do you enjoy most about what you do?

I relish being involved in the industry I know and love but, especially, I value the variety and being relatively removed from the day to day office run, staffing issues, office politics, etc. In fact, I think it is my distance from the daily drag which allows me to cut through some of the BS and see solutions, come up with ideas and work with people to find new ways of moving forward. I also love not having to doll up in heels and make-up every day.

What would you say are the 3 best places you’ve ever stayed?

My “life-changing place” was Huzur Vadisi in Turkey, on a week’s yoga retreat where I bared my soul amongst 22 strangers and changed my life (resigned from my job and moved to Sri Lanka).

For romantic bliss, it is definitely the Koyao Island Resort close to Phuket where I had a week with the dishiest of boyfriends – yoga on the beach at sunrise, breakfast, dive, Jenga, lunch, swim, massage, backgammon, dinner, backgammon etc.

For ultimate luxury, it was joining my gay best friends’ honeymoon at the Plaza Athenee, just weeks after returning from Sri Lanka. The sheer hedonism was dizzying but such a treat and a delicious reminder that you can take the girl out of the luxury tour operator but…

What’s been your most memorable dining experience to date?

It was my 46th birthday in Sri Lanka. I asked my new-found friends to join me at my favourite spot, Beach Wadiya, just outside the centre of Colombo. It will never win awards for interior design (it’s a shack on a beach across a railway track) but I loved the warm sea breeze, toes in the sand, haphazard but charming service, devilled prawns dripping from sticky fingers, baked crab backs, grilled fish and an ice-cold beer or two – all for about £6. Of the 14 people around the table, I counted 10 nationalities, seven religions and not one over-inflated ego.

Have you rubbed shoulders with the rich and famous, either through your work or your travels?

I don’t suppose I can count the evening I leg-wrestled with Oliver Reed in the Malta Hilton? I’m not a great celebrity spotter but I did share a lift at the Waldorf Astoria with Tom Berenger and dived with Jean-Michel Cousteau for a week in the Cayman Islands.

What currently ranks highest on your travel wishlist?

The Isles of Scilly, snorkelling with whale sharks on Ningaloo Reef and a return to Sri Lanka to see how the various communities I worked amongst are getting along.

Thank you, Catherine. I’ll be watching 101 Holidays with interest to see how it progresses.

I’m pleased to be able to announce that we’ve converted our long-established UK hotel site into a UK hotel comparison service.  Currently the site is able to search availability with Active Hotels, LateRooms and Superbreak (with more being added as I type) and return the best price.  Sometimes there is little difference but every now and then it throws back some fantastic savings.  For example, a double room for the nights of 13th, 14th and 15th February (Valentines weekend) at The Goring in Belgravia would set you back £1304 if you booked it through LateRooms but £775.08 if you went via Superbreak – a massive saving of over £500!  To add insult to injury, the LateRooms booking is on a room only basis, and the Superbreak one includes breakfast.

You might think that certain sites are consistently cheaper than others, but this does not appear to be the case.  For example, for the same period and requirements, LateRooms comfortably beats Superbreak for a stay at the five star De Vere Grand Harbour in Southampton (£423 versus £463).

The moral of the story: using a comparison service can save you a small fortune… enough in some cases to allow you to stay an additional night!

From early next year, the entire portfolio of hotels with Kiwi Collection (2,100 in total) will be available for online booking to visitors of Forbes Traveler.  Speaking of the partnership, Kiwi Collection CEO Erik Haugen has said:

This is a great fit. Forbes Traveler and Kiwi Collection are completely focused on providing luxury travelers with trusted advice. Our sole purpose is to help people achieve their ultimate travel experience and get the best possible room, rate and service during their stay. Not only is it a great match for us but, more importantly, for our customers.

A weekly pick of luxury travel links for your perusal…

• Beautiful by nature: the Turks & Caicos Islands
• A new Mexican resort and residences: Nizuc
• Passionately designed jewellery from Loree Rodkin
• Designed for New York’s long term visitor: Bristol Plaza

A weekly pick of luxury travel links for your perusal…

• On the Baja Peninsula’s southern tip: Villas del Mar
• Ulysse Nardin: fine timepieces since 1846
• Luxury motor yachts from Sunseeker
• Revolutionary jet ownership from Vitesse Flight Partners