Virtuoso Sets The Stage for Travel Recovery

Virtuoso, the worldwide network of travel agencies, travel advisors and preferred partners leading the way in luxury experiences, has been steadily preparing for travel's great return by sharing insights and information amongst its global membership, doubling down on its marketing and PR efforts, transforming its website to better engage consumers, and hosting virtual events that bring together frontline travel advisors with the group's preferred partners.

While 2020 focused on supporting the network through its most challenging times, 2021 is about setting the stage for recovery by capturing pent-up demand that's more than a year in the making. Virtuoso is now seeing the results of its efforts paying off through increased consumer engagement, a significant leap in the number of people seeking out Virtuoso travel advisors, and an escalation in both domestic and international bookings.

Since January, Virtuoso's web traffic has reached levels that surpass 2019's pre-pandemic high watermark - a welcomed sign of things to come. Perhaps the strongest indicator of travel's rebound comes from the sustained 50 percent increase in consumers seeking out travel advisors through the site's Find a Travel Advisor catalog, featuring advisor bios, areas of expertise, contact details, and 100 percent-verified reviews and recommendations. This growth in advisor demand has maintained since January, as travel bookings for summer and beyond - along with the value of working with a travel professional - continue to gain momentum.

To further entice consumers to plan their travels through Virtuoso, the organization revamped its website to provide a content-forward, visually compelling experience, furthering the network's mission of utilizing technology to enhance consumer engagement. Virtuoso.com further draws in the site's visitors and connects with them on a more emotional level through timely articles and helpful guides that provide inspiration and motivate readers to spend more time on the site. In fact, the total number of visitors to Virtuoso.com is up by 50 percent, with a 15 percent increase in visit duration. The average number of pages a visitor views each session is up 15 percent and page views have also increased by 45 percent.

A key component of this engagement comes from the site's new Best of the Best digital hotel experience. Showcasing the network's more than 1,400 preferred properties, visitors will find rich details on the world's most unique and luxurious hotels, resorts, lodges, villas, and private islands, complete with video, images, property attributes, tips for how to get the most out of a stay and, of course, extras valued at more than $500 per stay exclusively available to Virtuoso guests.

"This data is a compelling indicator that people are ready to travel again, and they're pursuing travel advisors at an increased rate to help them navigate a new and complicated world," said Virtuoso's senior vice president of product, Travis McElfresh. "Virtuoso travel advisors will continue to be the most sought-after experts, as upscale travelers in search of peace of mind and unparalleled expertise visit Virtuoso.com to plan the getaway they've been dreaming about for more than a year."

Last week Virtuoso hosted "Ready, Reset, Go" - a virtual event designed to help prepare frontline advisors and partners for the rush of bookings likely heading their way. The online event brought together nearly a thousand people from 47 countries for more than 13,000 one-to-one appointments

Acknowledging that markets are at different points of recovery, but that there is potential to return quickly once restrictions lift, Virtuoso pointed to the upturn already underway in China, Australia and the United States thanks to domestic travel. Based on its proprietary Virtuoso Reports data that combines daily sales from affiliated agencies in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and select Latin American markets, there is already an identifiable uptick in all types of travel, but especially with hotels. Virtuoso said that its U.S. agencies saw sales increase 54 percent from February to March. In reviewing the data, Virtuoso also identified four key trends: closer in booking times; longer stays; a preference for outdoor and experiential activities; and a focus on domestic travel.

"We called this event 'Ready, Reset, Go,' but that could easily be the theme of this entire year," says Matthew D. Upchurch, Chairman and CEO of Virtuoso. "If last year was all about loss and staying afloat, with a $4.5 trillion industry hit and 62 million jobs gone worldwide, this year is the turning point we've been waiting for. And now that it's here - or at least on the horizon - we need to be ready to reset our businesses and our expectations.

"We have an immense opportunity to come back stronger than before and everything we've done, whether it's redesigning our website, delivering our Virtuoso Life magazine, holding events, or making sure that this network is more and better connected than ever through our Collaboration Teams, we are ready to work together to ensure we are collectively successful. With a potentially historic wave of demand growing, we intend to leverage our agency members' and advisors' leadership position in luxury travel."

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Virtuoso has been fostering meaningful communication through monthly meetings involving global sets of Virtuoso members called Collaboration Teams. With 19 Collaboration Teams in place, representing every country and region where Virtuoso operates, the meetings have brought together owners and managers to share and discuss hardships and concerns, confusion over fluctuating travel protocols and potential solutions, agency re-invention and evolving business models, as well as best practices for travel's new way forward. A hallmark of Virtuoso is the exchange of ideas and co-creation with its members, and these ongoing conversations reaffirmed the network's greatest strength as a global community of engaged professionals that come together to help each other.

Virtuoso Collaboration Teams continue to meet, and Virtuoso has no less than six more events planned for the year. Additionally, new announcements are forthcoming for Virtuoso Wanderlist, the group's travel planning and inspiration site, as well as other Virtuoso innovations in development.

For more information, visit www.Virtuoso.com.

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