There’s significant value in reserving luxury travel via Virtuoso, which generally necessitates booking through a qualified travel advisor. Many individuals are unaware that Virtuoso bookings can also be made online. In this article, I aim to explain how this process functions and discuss the advantages and disadvantages, particularly in relation to a recent article I published about TravelWits.
What is Virtuoso, and how does it function?
Virtuoso is a collective of luxury travel agencies, comprising more than 20,000 advisors globally. Virtuoso advisors can secure additional benefits when staying at over 1,700 luxury hotels worldwide.
The idea is straightforward — hotels utilize various strategies to sell rooms, and one approach is providing Virtuoso travel advisors with perks for their guests. This is meant to benefit both parties — guests receive enhanced value, while travel advisors can offer added benefits for their clients, without any extra charge to the clients.
When booking a hotel stay through a Virtuoso travel advisor, you typically receive the following extra advantages:
– Daily breakfast for two guests per room
– Room upgrade, depending on availability
– Early check-in and late check-out, based on availability
– A special Virtuoso amenity once during your stay (usually a $100 property credit, or a free massage, car transfer, meal, etc.)
It’s important to note that numerous hotel chains have their own exclusive programs providing similar benefits to Virtuoso. These include programs like Accor Preferred, Belmond Bellini Club, Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Hilton for Luxury, Hyatt Privé, Mandarin Oriental Fan Club, Marriott STARS, Oetker Pearl, Rosewood Elite, Shangri-La Luxury Circle, among others.
If you wish to reserve Virtuoso stays through Virtuoso’s website, you can only book the Virtuoso rate. For a comparison of all available rate options, you’ll need to work directly with a travel advisor or book through TravelWits (more details on that below).
How much more does a Virtuoso rate cost?
As a general guideline, the Virtuoso rate matches the best flexible rate directly offered by the hotel (this generally excludes pre-paid rates, promotional rates, and exclusive member rates). In most situations, you aren’t incurring any additional cost for booking via a Virtuoso agent, and occasionally, there may be Virtuoso exclusive deals available.
Typically, Virtuoso advisors receive a commission from hotels, so most of the time they won’t charge any fee for booking through them. Some agents might impose a planning fee based on the trip’s complexity.
Can you earn points when booking Virtuoso rates?
Since this is a blog about points, it’s a pertinent question. 😉 Yes, for those prominent hotel chains affiliated with Virtuoso, you can definitely earn points, elite credits, etc., when reserving a Virtuoso rate. This is classified as an “eligible” rate for all practical intents and purposes. After all, you are still billed directly by the hotel for your stay, hence it’s not Virtuoso that’s charging you for a hotel stay.
How can you book Virtuoso hotels online?
You have two methods for booking a hotel stay via Virtuoso:
In this article, I’d like to detail the step-by-step process for making Virtuoso hotel reservations online.
Virtuoso lists hotel rates online, but to actually book, you need to go through a page of a Virtuoso travel advisor. This must be an advisor who has specifically opted into this. For instance, for Ford Beckett Travel, you can access the Virtuoso page here, through which you can make a booking (other participating advisors are welcome to share their page links below).
On the initial page, you’ll find the “Hotel Catalog,” where you can enter the hotel’s name or location, your dates of stay, and the number of guests.
For example, if you’re searching for a stay in Frankfurt, Germany, on specific dates, you will see three hotel options available.
For each hotel, there is a tab labeled “Virtuoso Amenities,” which lists the specific perks offered by the property.
Additionally, there’s a “Room Types” tab that displays the rates you can book along with the room details.
After selecting a rate and clicking “Book,” you will be prompted to log into your account. If you already possess a Virtuoso account, you can simply log in. If you don’t have an account yet, click on “Sign up here.”
To create an account, you’ll need to provide your email address, name, country, and create a password.
The subsequent page will ask you to confirm your advisor, after which you’ll just need to enter your booking information. This includes your name, billing details, and loyalty number (if applicable). Ensure you review