Who could have predicted a last-minute boom on big-ticket travel this holiday season? Sure, the landscape looks different compared with this time last year, when, according to Melissa Biggs Bradley, founder of the members-only travel Web site and consultancy service Indagare, “even if a big CEO could afford to go on vacation, he didn’t feel that he could be firing part of his workforce and then flying off on a $100,000 vacation.??? But who could have foretold this last-minute run on luxury travel? Just as savage discounting of fashion goods irrevocably changed the retail landscape, the sudden cancellations and price discounting of last holiday season changed the way travelers view the top end of the market. No matter how deep their pockets, or how big their year-end bonuses, these consumers expect a quick turnaround and great value. Increasingly, travel clubs and elite travel agents are being called upon to speedily put together bespoke trips with rates and upgrades that 18 months ago would have been unthinkable.
Bespoke travel clubs—the kind you have to pay “entry??? to—have been experiencing somewhat of a growth spurt in spite of, or maybe because of, the tricky economic climate. Indagare’s advisory service is less than two years old, and while it won’t release exact membership numbers, it says it has seen business rise by 71 percent over last year. Nota Bene, which has been operating its travel-planning service for the past two years (Michael Kors and David Lauren are members), says it signed three new Bespoke-level members in one week this November.
And it’s not just about discounts and access to the inaccessible, it’s time saved. As the analyst Yesawich says, “Affluent travelers have gotten to the point where their lives are so frenetic that they would rather delegate. They don’t have time to kick through all the Web sites. They would rather pay someone to fit the pieces together.??? The Nota Bene client agrees: “I can’t be bothered to take the time to figure out what are the great places right now and then to try to get a booking. It’s just bang bang bang, here’s your weekend.???
