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Virtuoso – How It Works, Travel Advisors, Upgrades & Benefits

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Everything you need to know about virtuoso, final thoughts.

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If you routinely focus on luxury travel, you might have heard of Virtuoso , an incredible network of travel agencies that deliver huge added value to your hotel stay.

With tens of thousands of travel advisors worldwide capable of delivering extra perks to thousands of luxury hotels in the world, you’ll want to keep this company in your back pocket.

Sure, we pride ourselves on being able to use points for luxury hotel stays, but what if you want to save your points for a different trip? What if you don’t have enough points? Or what if wherever you’re traveling to doesn’t have points hotels?

That’s where Virtuoso can come in. In this guide, we’ll show you how Virtuoso can fit into your travel plans. We’ll walk you through the A to Z of what Virtuoso is, what benefits you can get, and how you can book Virtuoso rates.

Let’s get started!

What Is Virtuoso?

So what exactly is Virtuoso? Virtuoso is a worldwide network of travel agencies with specializations in luxury and experiential travel.

Virtuoso’s network consists of more than 20,000 travel advisors, each of which falls under a larger member agency.

Its travel advisors bring personalized travel recommendations and bookings to the table, whether you’re looking for hotels, cruises, or tours.

Importantly, though, bookings made through Virtuoso come with value-added perks for no additional cost to the traveler.

Virtuoso Benefits

In almost all cases, hotel stays booked through Virtuoso come with the following benefits:

• Daily breakfast for 2 guests per room
• Room upgrade (subject to availability)
• Early check-in (subject to availability)
• Late checkout (subject to availability)
• A special Virtuoso amenity (typically a $100 property credit or other amenity valued at a minimum of $100, like a free massage or round-trip car transfer)

Fees To Use Virtuoso

Virtuoso rates almost always cost the same exact price as the best available flexible rate .

This isn’t the same as a prepaid, advance purchase, non-refundable rate, corporate rate, or member-only rate.

However, if you usually book the best available flexible rates, you’ll literally get hundreds of dollars in added value just by going through a Virtuoso advisor .

In addition, Virtuoso advisors generally don’t charge you any commissions for hotel bookings — they get a commission on the back-end, but that cost won’t be passed on to you most of the time.

This isn’t the same as a planning fee — if you’re booking a complicated trip, you might be quoted for this extra fee depending on the travel advisor.

Hot Tip: Get in touch with Leigh, a next-level Virtuoso agent. UP’s very own Leigh Rowan has deep connections with some of the best hotels and hoteliers in the world. Reach out to him about your upcoming luxury hotel trip, and watch how he’ll upgrade your next stay. Submit your Virtuoso booking request to [email protected] .

Virtuoso Hotel Properties

The complete catalog of Virtuoso hotels includes name-brand luxury chains like:

• Aman Resorts
• Conrad Hotels & Resorts
• Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts
• Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts
• Mandarin Oriental
• Rosewood Hotels & Resorts
• The Peninsula Hotels
• The Ritz-Carlton
• Rocco Forte Hotels
• Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts
• St. Regis Hotels & Resorts
• Viceroy Hotels & Resorts
• Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts

As you can see, this more or less encompasses all luxury hotel chains . In addition, you can book luxury boutique properties that may not have multiple locations. These properties are incredibly helpful if you’re looking to book a more exotic vacation where there aren’t many luxury hotel options.

Earning Points on a Virtuoso Rate

Booking Virtuoso rates is a lot like stacking benefits! Because a Virtuoso hotel rate still goes through the hotel’s internal system, you can earn hotel points, elite night credits/stays, and even enjoy hotel elite benefits when booking through a Virtuoso travel advisor.

For example, if you’re a Marriott Bonvoy Titanium member and you’re booking a Virtuoso hotel stay at an eligible Marriott property, you will earn Marriott Bonvoy points and enjoy Titanium benefits on your hotel stay.

The reason this works is that your travel advisor will also enter your loyalty number when booking your stays.

Virtuoso Travel Advisors

The first thing you’ll need to do is have a stay in mind. You can view the rates for hotels by visiting the hotel search catalog , but you will need to contact a Virtuoso travel advisor (such as Leigh Rowan from our team)  to enjoy these benefits.

Hot Tip: You can even browse Virtuoso travel advisors by their destination specialties or travel interests!

Other Programs Like Virtuoso

Virtuoso is the largest consortium with thousands of luxury hotels and resorts within its purview.

However, other programs offer similar benefits, including Four Seasons Preferred Partner , Belmond Bellini, Dorchester Diamond Club, Hilton Impresario , Rosewood Elite, Marriott STARS, Marriott Luminous , and Mandarin Oriental Fan Club.

Virtuoso actually includes all of the brands above and offers similar benefits — as a result, Virtuoso offers a “one-stop-shop” for booking luxury hotel stays and getting benefits regardless of which exact chain you stay at.

Virtuoso vs. Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts

Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts is similar to Virtuoso in the sense that it offers perks like free breakfast and room upgrades. However, Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts offers a guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout .

Virtuoso is bookable without a specific credit card, while Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts requires a premium Amex card like The Platinum Card ® from American Express .

However, you need to have a Virtuoso travel advisor to help make your booking for you ( online or over the phone). On the flip side, you’ll also get a human who can offer recommendations and advice based on your destination and travel style.

Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts and Virtuoso both have overlapping hotels — that’s not terribly surprising when you consider that these luxury hotels are worldwide chains.

One thing you might notice is a significant markup on Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts rates . For example, if you look at The Ritz-Carlton Osaka stay searched through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts and compare it to a Virtuoso search, you’ll see a big difference in rates:

Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts is charging $568 per night before taxes and fees, while Virtuoso’s rates are $511 per night. In this case, booking through Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts would cost 11% more than booking through Virtuoso.

Sometimes, the 2 programs have the same rates — however, in many cases, Virtuoso’s prices will beat out Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts.

On the other hand, Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts may have special offers such as a fifth-night free benefit, so you’ll need to evaluate the economics on a case-by-case basis.

Virtuoso is the secret tool that luxury travelers use to get hundreds of dollars worth of extra value on their bookings, especially hotel stays.

Some of the world’s most prestigious hotel brands like Four Seasons, Aman, Rosewood, and The Peninsula are available to book through Virtuoso. It also includes small luxury boutique hotels that aren’t a part of a larger hotel brand, so you can enjoy a boutique experience as desired.

With this program, you’ll enjoy benefits like free breakfast, room upgrades, early check-in, late checkout, and so much more — all for the same price as the best available flexible rate. Virtuoso rates are also often cheaper than Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts rates, so it’s definitely a no-brainer to consider Virtuoso!

For rates and fees of The Platinum Card ® from American Express, click here .

Frequently Asked Questions

How does virtuoso travel work.

Virtuoso is essentially a travel agency network focused on luxury accommodations. With tens of thousands of approved travel advisors worldwide, Virtuoso allows you to enjoy extra elite-like benefits and perks when staying at thousands of luxury hotels and resorts around the world… but the real gem is you won’t need to pay extra to enjoy these benefits.

How much does it cost to join Virtuoso?

Virtuoso doesn’t hire travel advisors, but they recruit advisors for its member agencies. You can join Virtuoso as a travel advisor via a member agency or  join Virtuoso as a member agency .

What are Virtuoso amenities?

Virtuoso amenities may vary by hotel and property, but they usually include preferred rates at hotels, room upgrades upon arrival subject to availability, property credits like spa and shopping credits, daily breakfast for 2, and early check-in/late checkout subject to availability.

How do I join Virtuoso?

Travel agents can join Virtuoso via its website, but if you’re looking to book a stay with Virtuoso, you’ll want to book directly with a Virtuoso travel advisor.

Who owns Virtuoso Travel?

Virtuoso was founded by Jesse Upchurch in 1986, but it’s currently helmed by his son Matthew D. Upchurch. Virtuoso is a private company and has hundreds of employees.

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Matthew upchurch celebrates 35 years of virtuoso travel week.

The Virtuoso travel network CEO talks industry demand, sustainability and the value of human connection

by Eden Herbstman

August 9, 2023

Virtuoso CEO and cofounder Matthew Upchurch / Photo: Courtesy of Virtuoso

It’s likely you’ve stayed at a hotel or resort that is part of Virtuoso’s global network. The luxury travel organization carefully vets properties that receive its seal of approval, with affiliated brands including Aman, Belmond and Waldorf Astoria. But that just scratches the surface of Virtuoso’s ecosystem. For those seeking a bit more than a hotel—perhaps a private villa in Italy, an exploration cruise, or a sustainable wellness retreat in Bali—Virtuoso offers an arsenal of experiences. It’s also possible your travel agent is a member of Virtuoso’s advisory network, which encompasses 20,000 agents. “My family roots are in tour operation. But if you would have told me at 22 years old I would be hanging out with travel agents the rest of my life, I would have run for the hills,” says Matthew Upchurch, CEO and cofounder of Virtuoso. Today the company is a one-stop shop of extraordinary travel offerings, but its roots go back to 1950 as Allied Travel, established by independent agencies to share resources, people and technology. “Back in those days—and I mean no disrespect—being a travel agent was a clerical job. Airlines began cutting agency commissions by 15 percent trying to get rid of them. The feeling was travel agencies were dinosaurs.” In 1986, alongside his father, Jesse, Upchurch rebranded Allied as Virtuoso. “The birth of the Virtuoso brand came from everyone looking at travel agents as the lowest common denominator. We needed to do something to show the consumer that these people are different. Advisors can add value before, during and after a trip.”

This month marks the 35 th anniversary of Virtuoso Travel Week in Las Vegas, bringing together industry professionals for conferences, networking and dealmaking. At press time, 4,000 attendees from 102 countries had been confirmed. “I’m prouder of the 102 countries than the attendee number. Not many things today bring that many countries together.” Here, Upchurch takes Business Traveler inside the Virtuoso brand.

For readers who aren’t familiar with Virtuoso but may have seen its logo on a hotel or travel agent’s website, what does Virtuoso signify?

We want to make sure we have a product that meets the needs of the now very diverse luxury traveler. Looking back on my youth in the business, luxury used to have a narrower definition. The old luxury of years ago meant opulence. Today luxury could be remoteness. It’s finding the best in class, but it also depends on each individual trip, because everyone has diverse desires. Where I want to stay in Paris when I’m with my kids is different than where I want to stay in Paris when I’m just with my wife, or at a board meeting. It involves room quality, food and beverage service and, most importantly, the relationship.

What do you look for in partners who want to join Virtuoso’s network?

A Virtuoso-affiliated property comes with solid relationships. Whether corporate or leisure, every single property, and frankly every single member, must have a dedicated Virtuoso liaison. Virtuoso advisors have to be able to communicate with someone about their clients. It’s a known fact inside our community that properties where the general managers are emotionally and physically involved in the relationship get a disproportionate amount of business. This is why general managers and owners attend Virtuoso Travel Week, like Le Sirenuse and Jade Mountain. The number one question I get about travel agents is, “Isn’t it true that agents send their business to the people who pay them more money?” I’ve heard that for decades and I always laugh. We deal with a high-end market of educated, tech-savvy travelers who have God status with Delta and Buddha status with American Airlines and Jesus status with Marriott. They’re already at the top of the pyramid. If that’s the way we ran our business, we just wouldn’t be around. We send those clients to people and advisors who are going to make their experiences better and elevate everything. That’s how we get repeat business, and why we keep doing better.  

Virtuoso affiliate properties Jade Mountain, St. Lucia / Photo: Courtesy of Jade Mountain

Virtuoso is mostly known for its leisure travel offerings. How does Virtuoso cater to business travelers?

Luxury and experiential travel are definitely our wheelhouse. Agents like Priscilla Alexandra at Protravel, who joined Virtuoso in 1999, or Valerie Wilson of Valerie Wilson Travel didn’t join Virtuoso for the corporate side—they joined for the leisure side. But they found how useful we became for the ability to provide added value to the experiences of their C-suite or senior executives in planning their vacations. For certain corporate clients, there’s not much difference between their corporate and business travel. On the business side we help with board meetings, like how to make them  really  special and different. What’s the difference between a high-net-worth family that wants to go to Italy or Iceland and a board meeting that wants to do something that’s experiential and adds value?

I’ve seen firsthand how travel agents in Virtuoso’s network use the affiliation to get the best possible experiences for clients. It’s almost like the word “Virtuoso” has become a secret password in the travel industry to unlock the best of the best. When did you start realizing the connective power of the brand and the cachet of the name?

I kind of knew it at the time, and I really know it today, but I didn’t realize how lucky we were to get the URL and trademark for the word “Virtuoso.” It’s turned out to be an insanely powerful word and brand because there’s no translation for “Virtuoso” in any country. It’s a Latin derivative and such a specific word. The team in Singapore oversees our Chinese members and I literally see presentations where everything is in Mandarin except for “Virtuoso.” Typically a brand is all about consistency, but because our network is so diverse, one Virtuoso advisor isn’t a clone of another. They’re incredibly different. We share excellence, care, connection and humanity. The word “Virtuoso” means someone at the top of their art. It’s mostly associated with musicians, but it can be anyone, a painter, a poet or a travel agent. We grew as a brand because businesses like Hotel Cipriani in Italy were proud to be part of Virtuoso and align our logo with their brand on their business cards, website and letterheads. The word signified commonality and helped to create a total unified brand between the hotels, travel advisors and agencies.

Given this year’s avalanche of AI-dominated conversations, how do you feel about AI’s potential impact on the travel industry? Are you anxious this might challenge the role of travel advisors?

Every major technological revolution in the history of mankind has had its positives and negatives. It’s the duality of life. I understand all the debate that’s going on at a higher level and the fears of AI actually  taking over. Those are thoughtful debates that need to happen. I’m generally optimistic, though. The only reason we exist as a species is because we are social animals. It’s embedded in our DNA. I think AI can end up being significant in the evolution of the advisory business, and the human connection business. My North Star around technology for 20 years has always been automate the predictable so you can humanize the exceptional. How can we leverage technology to allow human beings to spend  more  of their time in activities that are fundamentally  more  human? I think a year from now we’ll be laughing that we gave the AI conversation this much attention. But I’m very bullish about this, and I think there is tremendous potential for AI to accentuate what we do.

Hotel Cipriani, Venice, Italy / Photo: Courtesy of Belmond

What trends are driving revenues this year, especially coming out of the pandemic? 

Bookings for 2023 are 91 percent higher than they were in 2019 leading into 2020. Air capacity is a big issue right now, but I’m not surprised by what’s happening. There’s a reason why travel hit an all-time high in 2019. We’ve never had in the history of the planet five generations of people all traveling at the same time. 80 percent of all human beings who have reached the age of 80 are alive today. Nothing motivates human behavior like having something taken away from them. That’s why we’re seeing tech companies laying off tens of thousands of people, because the digital-to-human-connection pendulum swung. People want to be with people. Virtuoso-preferred hotels are experiencing extremely high demand, with bookings 193 percent higher than in 2019. Cruising looks very strong; Virtuoso bookings are up 55 percent compared to 2019. Luxury is up 79 percent, expedition is up 83 percent and river cruising is up a whopping 128 percent.   

Sustainability has long been a core pillar for Virtuoso, and your wife, Jessica Hall Upchurch, oversees the sustainability practices. What’s been your approach to successful and realistic sustainability over the years?

Sustainability in our book isn’t just the environment. It’s the preservation of local and natural heritage and the benefiting of the local economy. We’ve been supporting sustainable tourism for 15 years now. I’ve been in the travel industry my entire life and I was amazed how adding sustainability as a proactive part of our itineraries made travel more meaningful. Every time I show pictures of The Brando resort, I never show pictures of the food or the villa. I show our two boys smelling coconut oil out of a beaker, or the saltwater air-conditioning system, which are really just photos of pipes. If there was ever an industry for sustainability, it’s ours. If we don’t sustain it, we have no product, period. Our motto around sustainability is, “No shame, no blame,” and just start where you are. In Europe now there’s a huge movement not to fly or go long-haul. Does that mean you won’t fly long-haul to some of the poorest parts of the world? Or to expanding biodiversity? Of course we need sustainable air fuels, but we learned through Covid the horrendous effects when tourism dries up. From a practical perspective, we have data that shows more and more people want to give their money to organizations that not only satisfy their needs but also are doing something positive.

Are you starting to think about what the future of Virtuoso will look like, possibly with your children becoming involved?

I have always felt that my role in this organization, which is not your typical corporate structure, is based on the concept of servant leadership. Our vision for Virtuoso is to make it a self-perpetuating community of innovators who are advocating for the principles and values of human connection. There does seem to be some interest from my children in that servant-leadership perspective, and if they want to pursue it, I know they can make a great contribution to Virtuoso.

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Former Virtuoso Chairman and Travel Industry Luminary Jesse Upchurch Passes

Jesse Upchurch and his son Matthew, 2009.

Jesse Upchurch, the founder of numerous travel industry companies and former chairman of Virtuoso Travel, passed away this week. He was 93.

In a Facebook post and accompanying letter sent to Virtuoso Travel members, his son and current Virtuoso chairman Matthew Upchurch reported that Jesse Upchurch “passed peacefully” on Feb. 26.

Upchurch called his father “an inspiration, not only to me in my career, but to countless others around the world.”

In more than 50 years in the travel industry, Jesse Upchurch owned a yacht charter company, a hotel rep company in Mexico, and Mexico’s first timeshare. He purchased Percival tours in 1962, offering FIT and group travel programs, and launched tours to the South Pacific and Asia.

But he likely will be best remembered for his timely 1986 merger of Percival Tours with the API travel agency cooperative. Reeling from a travel downturn following a series of terrorism incidents and the U.S. bombing of Libya by President Ronald Reagan, the combination of the two organizations was the begginings of Virtuoso Travel.

In 2000, Allied Percival International was rebranded Virtuoso, and is considered one of the world’s leading networks of luxury travel advisors. Today, Virtuoso has more than 800 agency locations representing more than 16,000 advisors in 45 countries throughout North and South America, the Caribbean, Asia-Pacific, Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Jesse Upchurch served in numerous capacities in industry organizations, including helping found the U.S. Tour Operators Association, at one point serving as USTOA’s CEO, president and chairman.

With a love for Africa, Jesse Upchurch at one time served as the chairman of the African Travel Association, and was an original founder of the World Wildlife Fund’s 1001 Club. He purchased and donated land to Kenya’s African Fund for Endangered Wildlife, helping provide conservation of Kenya’s wild giraffes.

The history of Virtuoso and Jesse Upchurch’s life were the subject of his 2014 autobiography, “One Thing Just Led to Another.”

On Matthew Upchurch’s Facebook page, Mary Gallo, strategic account manager at Seabourn Cruise Line called Jesse Upchurch “an icon in the industry and an inspiration to all.”

“Jesse has left all of us with some great memories and certainly laid quite a foundation for what is today Virtuoso. A true pillar of luxury travel.,” said Shawn Johnson, CTC, senior director, sales and national accounts at Abercrombie & Kent.

The Upchurch family will celebrate Jesse Upchurch’s publicly in the months to come, Matthew Upchurch said in a letter to Virtuoso members.

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What is Virtuoso? Unraveling Luxury Travel’s Finest

Travel transcends beyond being a mere pastime to being an immersive experience that stitches together unforgettable memories. It unlocks doors to unparalleled adventures, culinary delights, cultural treasures, and heartwarming encounters. To truly accentuate and customize these experiences, a knowledgeable guide is essential. That’s where Virtuoso steps in.

What is Virtuoso?

Virtuoso is an elite, invitation-only consortium consisting of top-tier travel agencies worldwide. Specializing in luxury and experiential travel, Virtuoso has carved out a niche for itself in the travel industry. With more than 20,000 advisors, Virtuoso is the key to unlocking an array of unique travel experiences. Its expansive network spans across 50 countries and includes the finest travel agencies, tour operators, cruise lines, and hospitality entities. This colossal network’s main aim is to design, curate, and execute experiences that echo the client’s dreams and desires.

The Unmatched Expertise of Virtuoso Travel Advisors

The heart of Virtuoso’s service is its travel advisors. These advisors are not merely booking agents; they are architects who design your dreams into a tangible itinerary. A Virtuoso advisor is your confidante who knows your travel aspirations, style, and preferences. They work tirelessly, drawing from their vast resources and insider knowledge to tailor a travel experience that caters to your every need and fancy.

Whether you want a luxury cruise down the Mediterranean, a cultural escapade in Southeast Asia, or a culinary adventure in Europe, your Virtuoso advisor is your concierge, guide, and troubleshooter. They align with the best cruise lines, luxury accommodations, and local tour operators to plan your journey, ensuring a seamless, unforgettable travel experience.

Unique Experiences and VIP Treatment: The Virtuoso Promise

What sets Virtuoso apart is its relentless pursuit of unique, experiential travel journeys. Its extensive alliance with premium hospitality entities and service providers across the globe ensures clients enjoy VIP treatment throughout their journey. This includes exclusive upgrades, flexible check-ins and check-outs, customized welcome amenities, and access to experiences typically off-limits to the average traveler.

Imagine enjoying a private, after-hour tour of the Louvre or a close-up encounter with African elephants in a conservation field. Perhaps a masterclass in Italian cuisine in a Tuscan villa? Virtuoso makes these experiences possible, crafting a travel story that’s as unique as you are.

Deep Diving into Luxury: Virtuoso’s Extensive Network

Virtuoso’s vast network connects you with over 1,800 premier hotels and resorts, the finest cruise lines, the most sought-after tour operators, and in-destination experts. This robust network lays the canvas for the travel masterpiece that your advisor paints, keeping your preferences at the forefront. Be it the rustic charm of a private island, the opulence of a heritage hotel, or the adventure of a luxury cruise, Virtuoso connects you to the finest experiences the world has to offer.

Final Thoughts: The Virtuoso Difference

Luxury travel with Virtuoso goes beyond the norms of high-end accommodations and premium amenities. It’s about sculpting unique, cultural experiences that resonate with your personal travel style. It’s about journeying beyond the destination, diving deeper into the local culture, history, and ethos.

Scott and Thomas strive to give our clients a personalized travel experience. We fuse our commitment, expertise, and the exclusive resources offered by Virtuoso to craft your perfect journey. So why wait? Reach out to us today and embark on your dream voyage with Scott and Thomas. Enjoy the Virtuoso difference – it’s luxury travel, personalized.

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The Secret Tool That Gets You EXTRA Value on Hotel Stays

While it’s true that we can choose to use points for luxury hotel stays, maybe that’s not always the best choice. After all, points don’t just drop out of the sky and into our accounts, right? Maybe we’re saving our points stash for another travel adventure. Or maybe we’ve spent our points and simply don’t have enough for an upcoming hotel stay. Or what if your travel plans take you to a destination that doesn’t have hotels you can book on points.

That’s where Virtuoso can come in. Let’s dig in and see how Virtuoso can work for you, what Virtuoso is, what benefits you can get, and how you can book Virtuoso rates.

Access Luxury Perks & Upgrades : If you’re looking to book a luxury hotel stay via Virtuoso —Katie, a member of our PointMe team, is a Virtuoso agent. She can help get you complimentary room upgrades , daily breakfast for 2, late checkouts and more (for no extra cost). Contact Katie for a fast reply to access these special perks.

Everything You Need To Know About Virtuoso

What is virtuoso.

What exactly is Virtuoso? Virtuoso is a worldwide network of travel agencies with specializations in luxury and experiential travel.

Virtuoso’s network consists of more than 20,000 travel advisors, each of which falls under a larger member agency.

Its travel advisors bring personalized travel recommendations and bookings to the clients. They have expertise when you’re looking for hotels, cruises, or tours.

Bookings made through Virtuoso come with value-added perks for no additional cost to the traveler.

What Are Virtuoso Benefits?

In almost all cases, hotel stays booked through Virtuoso come with the following benefits:

• Daily breakfast for 2 guests per room
• Room upgrade (subject to availability)
• Early check-in (subject to availability)
• Late checkout (subject to availability)
• A special Virtuoso amenity (typically a $100 property credit or other amenity valued at a minimum of $100, like a free massage or round-trip car transfer)

Are There Fees To Use Virtuoso?

Virtuoso rates almost always cost the same exact price as the best available flexible rate.

This isn’t the same as a prepaid, advance purchase, non-refundable rate, corporate rate, or member-only rate.

However, if you usually book the best available flexible rates, you’ll literally get hundreds of dollars in added value just by going through a Virtuoso advisor.

In addition, Virtuoso advisors generally don’t charge you any commissions for hotel bookings. This does vary from advisor to advisor though so check with them upfront. They get a commission on the back-end, but that cost won’t be passed on to you most of the time.

This isn’t the same as a planning fee. If you’re booking a complicated trip, you might be quoted for this extra fee depending on the travel advisor.

Virtuoso Travel Hotel Properties

The complete catalog of Virtuoso hotels includes name-brand luxury chains like:

• Aman Resorts
• Conrad Hotels & Resorts
• Jumeirah Hotels & Resorts
• Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts
• Mandarin Oriental
• Rosewood Hotels & Resorts
• The Peninsula Hotels
• The Ritz-Carlton
• Rocco Forte Hotels
• Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts
• St. Regis Hotels & Resorts
• Viceroy Hotels & Resorts
• Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts

This list just about covers all luxury hotel chains . You can book luxury boutique properties that may not have multiple locations or be part of a hotel group.

• Do you find it difficult to book award flights with your miles and points? I do! That’s why I turn to Point.me. They get me great deals and save me money and time.

Can I Earn Points on a Virtuoso Rate?

Booking Virtuoso rates is a lot like stacking benefits!

Because a Virtuoso hotel rate still goes through the hotel’s internal system, you can earn hotel points, elite night credits/stays, and even enjoy hotel elite benefits when booking through a Virtuoso travel advisor. If that’s not a win-win, then what is?

For example, if you’re a Hyatt Globalist member and you’re booking a Virtuoso hotel stay at an eligible Hyatt property, you will earn Hyatt points and enjoy Globalist benefits on your hotel stay.

Your Virtuoso travel advisor will also enter your loyalty number when booking your hotel stays, so you’ll be good to go earning hotel points on stays.

How Do I Find Virtuoso Hotels and Virtuoso Travel Advisors?

Do you have a stay in mind? Good. That’s the first step.

You can view the rates for hotels by visiting the hotel search option here , but you will need to contact a Virtuoso travel advisor (such as Katie ) to enjoy these benefits. You can even browse Virtuoso travel advisors by their destination specialties or travel interests!

Are There Other Programs Like Virtuoso?

Virtuoso is the largest group offering thousands of luxury hotels and resorts to choose from. Virtuoso was founded by Jesse Upchurch in 1986, but it’s currently lead by his son Matthew D. Upchurch. Virtuoso is a private company and has hundreds of employees.

However, other programs offer similar benefits, including Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Belmond Bellini, Dorchester Diamond Club, Hilton Impresario, Rosewood Elite, Marriott STARS, Marriott Luminous, and Mandarin Oriental Fan Club.

Virtuoso actually includes all of the brands above and offers similar benefits.  Virtuoso offers a “one-stop-shop” for booking luxury hotel stays and getting benefits regardless of which of these hotel chains you prefer.

Pro Tip: Do you Pruvo all your hotels stays? If not, do what I do and let Pruvo monitor your reservations for price drops. It’s  free and it’s the easiest way to save money on all your hotel rooms.

Virtuoso Travel vs. Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts

Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts is similar to Virtuoso in the sense that it offers perks like free breakfast and room upgrades. However, Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts offers a guaranteed 4 p.m. late checkout.

Virtuoso is bookable without a specific credit card, while Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts requires a premium Amex card like The Platinum Card® from American Express. However, you need to have a Virtuoso travel advisor to help make your booking for you (online or over the phone).

Amex Fine Hotels & Resorts and Virtuoso both have overlapping hotels.

Sometimes, both programs have the same rates. But sometimes not. Best to check both programs to see if there are price differences even at the same properties.

Don’t MISS OUT on the BEST current travel credit card offers!

Final Thoughts on Virtuoso Travel

Virtuoso is the secret tool that luxury travelers use to get hundreds of dollars worth of extra value on their bookings, especially hotel stays. The best part is you won’t need to pay extra to enjoy these benefits.

Some of the world’s most prestigious hotel brands like Four Seasons, Aman, Rosewood, and The Peninsula are available to book through Virtuoso. It also includes small luxury boutique hotels that aren’t a part of a larger hotel brand, so you can enjoy a boutique experience as well.

With this program, you’ll enjoy benefits like free breakfast, room upgrades, early check-in, late checkout, and more all for the same price as the best available flexible rate.

Related  Articles:

• My Favorite Travel Resources and Products
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• Don’t miss out on the BEST current travel credit card offers!

The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.

Shelli Stein

Shelli Stein is a travel writer, personal development coach , and story teller. She has come to realize writing as a way of sharing travel experiences brings her a lot of pleasure! Her areas of expertise are: all things  Southwest Airlines ,  hotel reviews , and what to do, see, and eat in destinations around the world. She sees travel as an adventure, trying to somehow get inside and experience a different way of life, a different cultural heritage. Maybe she can  show you something  you’ve never seen.  Inspire you with new ideas  for your next vacation. Attempt to  put a smile on your face . Help you learn from her mistakes . Or challenge your  assumptions about the world . She lives life with humor, gratitude, and humility and always sees the coffee cup as half full!

Best Way to Search For Hyatt Hotels Anywhere in the World

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Virgin Galactic Is Partnering with a Luxury Travel Agent to Take Space Tourism Mainstream

Richard branson's space tourism company is partnering with virtuoso, a network of luxury travel agencies, to provide a limited number of seats to customers interested in spaceflight..

Virgin Galactic (SPCE) , the space tourism company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson , has entered a partnership with Virtuoso, a network of luxury travel agencies, to provide a limited number of spaceflight seats to Virtuoso customers, the two companies announced on July 21. Although Virgin Galactic has yet to start commercial operation, the partnership helps establish space travel as a new category of luxury tourism. 

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Virgin Galactic sells 90-minute round trips to and from the edge of Earth’s atmosphere (about 50 miles above sea level) in a spaceplane for $450,000 per person. In July 2021, the company successfully flew a full-crew test mission for the first time, with Branson and five Virgin employees on board. The company says it has sold more than 700 reservations. Through the new partnership, Virtuoso travel advisors will have exclusive access to a limited number of reservations within Virgin   Galactic ’s first 1,000 seats, according to a press release.

Virgin expects to roll out its commercial spaceflights in the first quarter of 2023, the company said in May. Until then, prospective customers who have put in a deposit are provided access to member activities, including astronaut training programs and events and trips around the world.

Virgin Galactic is competing with Blue Origin, which launches paying customers to a similar altitude but using a rocket rather than a plane. Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, began commercial launches last summer. But its booking system and pricing are less transparent than that of Virgin Galactic, which charges a flat rate.

Virtuoso is a platform for more than 20,000 travel agents who connect high-income customers to more than 2,200 hotels and resorts, cruise lines, airlines and tour companies in 100 countries. Virtuoso agencies sell $25–$30 billion worth of travel annually, making it a significant player in luxury travel. Partnering with Virtuoso could help Virgin Galactic reach a wide base of potential customers. It’s estimated more than 2.4 million people in the world can afford its $450,000 price tag.

“For our advisors who have clients seeking pioneering, transformational travel, a  Virgin   Galactic spaceflight is the ultimate experience,” Matthew D. Upchurch, chairman and CEO of Virtuoso who has reserved a seat on Virgin Galactic, said in a statement.

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Virgin Atlantic’s CEO says he received complaints about the airline’s tattoo policy—and he doesn’t care: ‘Society will catch up’

Virgin Atlantic CEO Shai Weiss says he understands why many air travelers are cranky. Overbooked flights, delays, a myriad of problems with Boeing planes, stricter lounge access, long security lines, lost luggage, and crowded airports have made air travel a shadow of its former glamorous self.

“The public is justified, yes. You know, they pay a lot of money to get a great service,” says Weiss, who in 2019 became CEO of the airline founded by Sir Richard Branson in London 40 years ago this month.

And therein lies the opportunity for Weiss to make his mark on an airline founded by an iconic, some might say eccentric, businessman. Such is Branson’s prominence that both Reuters and the  Times of London ran  recent pieces on Virgin Atlantic  that barely mentioned Weiss while quoting Branson at great length.   Financially, there’s also an opportunity for Weiss to help Virgin Atlantic fully return to pre-pandemic strength after filing bankruptcy protection in August 2020, when revenue plunged at the start of the COVID-19 crisis. 

Weiss thinks he can bring the fun back to flying, which he says is Virgin’s big differentiator. The airline is on firmer footing, he says, with operational profit approaching breakeven. Virgin, which only offers long-haul flights, was, after all, the first international airline to offer fliers a sit-up bar in 1989 and, in 2006, replaced archrival British Airways as James Bond’s preferred airline in  Casino Royale .

That has ranged from upscale upgrades—last year Virgin introduced its “Retreat Suite,” which features large first-class seats with sliding doors for privacy and the ability to host a dinner companion—to socially progressive policies, such as allowing crew members to display tattoos and wear whatever gendered uniform they choose. It also extends to environmental stewardship, with advocacy for the greater use of sustainable aviation fuel, and additional routes,  including a return to London-Toronto  flights next year.

“This is a highly competitive market, and you can always find a better carrier. That’s really our unique selling point—being better,” says Weiss.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

Fortune:  There is so much vitriol thrown at the airline industry on social media. Why is the traveling public so cranky?

Is the public justified? Yes. They pay a lot of money and expect us to be on time, clean, reliable, and safe. The issues of the pandemic and the ability to cope with record demand for travel show that, collectively, we have a few issues to work through. I’d say we are at the top of the pole in addressing these industry problems.

If more governments follow the Netherlands’ lead and limit flights to and from an airport, could we see a return to the days when commercial air travel was the province of affluent people only?

No. There is no doubt that fares are higher, but they are accessible in economy cabins, especially on international travel. I don’t see a return to the ’50s and ’60s. What we are seeing is a transient problem behind rising airfares, not a structural one, and there is a ton of competition. Lots of issues are being conflated, like the Boeing issues and the supply-chain issues that are prohibiting the whole airline system from running smoothly. But this is still a highly competitive market, and you can always find a better carrier.

Last year, Virgin Atlantic operated the first-ever flight fueled entirely by sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). But SAF is still a tiny fraction of the fuel the airline industry needs to address the climate problem, and supply is limited. How do you create a market for SAF to make it economical?

We call this radical collaboration, and it requires all stakeholders, including the major airlines, the oil majors, governments, engine manufacturers, and so on. Government support to create incentives for investors, entrepreneurs, tech companies, and the majors is required to create those SAF plants and a nascent industry. I would say we get there in the next 20 to 30 years.

You now allow flight attendants to have their tattoos exposed and to wear the uniform of the gender they wish. Are you able to do that because Virgin has a reputation for being quirky?

We prefer to say “irreverent.” When we announced the policies, I got complaints, but I knew that we were right. We know that some of the stuff we do is not pleasing to everyone all the time, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t right. It ensures that everyone is welcome, can be their best, and perform at Virgin Atlantic. I know some people will find it too progressive, and that’s okay. Society will catch up. We’re not just running a popularity contest. It’s not a PR stunt.

Virgin Atlantic’s founder, Sir Richard Branson, is a larger-than-life character. What’s it like to work with such an iconoclastic CEO?

I’ve known Richard for 20 years. I’ve been affiliated with Virgin Atlantic for 12 years; I was on the board, and I did the deal with Delta. ( Delta Air Lines bought a 49% stake in Virgin in 2012, with Virgin Group holding the rest.) Richard has always let people do whatever they need to do. I talk to him very often or not so often, depending on the situation. But I run the company. He does not. We are not the same person. But we have a lot in common: We try to make customers smile, and we both believe in that ethos. We’re here to have some fun along the way. 

What is one destination Virgin doesn’t serve that you wish it did?

Japan. We took it out about a decade ago because it wasn’t performing well. We were flying into the wrong airport. But Japan would be a nice route.

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2 books offer just the right summer mix of humor and nostalgia

Maureen Corrigan

Sandwich Harper Collins hide caption

Summer reading. For me, those words suggest an unhurried expanse of time to lose myself in a good story — fiction or nonfiction. Save the dystopian novels till the fall, please; right now, I want books that glimmer like fireflies with dashes of humor and nostalgia. I’ve just read two that fit those summery specifications.

Catherine Newman’s new novel is called Sandwich , after the town on Cape Cod where her characters have rented a cottage for one precious week every summer for the past 20 years. The title also winks at the situation of our main character, Rachel, nicknamed “Rocky” who’s “halfway in age between her young adult children and her elderly parents” — all of whom crowd into that ramshackle cottage.

In the opening scene of Sandwich Rocky’s husband, Nicky, stands paralyzed, plunger in hand, before the cottage’s single, overflowing old toilet. As Rocky’s vacation week progresses, other things also slosh and overflow: secrets; messy emotions, like anger and shame; and, as Rocky tells us, her own aging body:

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Menopause feels like a slow leak: thoughts leaking out of your head; flesh leaking out of your skin; fluid leaking out of your joints. You need a lube job, is how you feel. Bodywork.

Newman elegantly segues from Nora Ephron -like comic passages like that one to elegy. To return to the same place every summer, after all, is to be periodically brought up short by the passage of time. In the middle of the novel, for instance, Rocky uses another metaphor to describe her position in her family and this time her tone is infused with anticipatory grief:

Life is a seesaw, and I am standing dead center, still and balanced: living kids on one side, living parents on the other. Nicky here with me at the fulcrum. Don’t move a muscle, I think. But I will, of course. You have to.

Sandwich is my idea of the perfect summer novel: shimmering and substantive. One more aspect of Newman’s book deserves highlighting: like many other recent novels by best-selling female authors — I’m thinking of Jennifer Weiner , Ann Patchett and Megan Abbott — Newman introduces a storyline here about abortion. She writes about that contested subject — and the emotions it engenders — in a way that I’ve never encountered in fiction before.

When Women Ran Fifth Avenue Doubleday hide caption

As a city kid who grew up in an apartment without air-conditioning, I have happy memories of seeking relief from the heat by wandering around grand New York department stores like Bloomingdale's, Macy’s and B. Altman. Julie Satow’s new narrative history, called When Women Ran Fifth Avenue , is a treat for anyone like me who yearns to time travel back to some of those palaces of consumption at the height of their grandeur. But even more revelatory are the stories Satow excavates of the women who presided over three of the greatest and now-vanished New York department stores: Bonwit Teller, Lord & Taylor and Henri Bendel.

Geraldine Stutz rescued Bendel’s in the 1960s — as shopping moved to the suburbs -- by turning its small size into an advantage: creating exclusive boutiques within the store that attracted customers like Gloria Vanderbilt , Cher and Barbra Streisand . Some 30 years earlier, Dorothy Shaver of Lord & Taylor, who Life Magazine dubbed America’s "No. 1 Career Woman” revolutionized fashion by championing the sporty “American Look” at a time when French designers held sway.

'The Plaza' Is A Nostalgic Look At The History Of New York's Most Famous Hotel

But the stand-out figure of the trio is Hortense Odlum, a self-described “housewife” whose husband bought a near-bankrupt and “sagging” Bonwit Teller during the Great Depression and asked her to visit the store to judge it with a woman’s eye. One of her first smash successes was the introduction of a “hat department” on the main floor. In 1934, Hortense became the first woman president of an American department store.

Two summer suspense novels delight in overturning the 'woman-in-trouble' plot

Satow specializes in entertaining cultural histories — her previous book was a history of New York’s Plaza Hotel. Here, she intersperses descriptions of such wonders as Salvador Dali-designed window displays at Bonwit’s with accounts of the racism pervasive in these department stores.

For those readers immune to the allure of shopping or the shore, be assured that more of summer reading recommendations — especially mysteries and crime novels — are coming your way. You can also see what NPR staff and critics are recommending here.

National News | President Biden pardons potentially thousands…

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National News

National news | president biden pardons potentially thousands of ex-service members convicted under now-repealed gay sex ban.

Biden’s action grants a pardon to service members who were convicted under the Uniform Code of Military Justice’s former Article 125, which criminalized sodomy. The law, which has been on the books since 1951, was rewritten in 2013 to prohibit only forcible acts.

Those covered by the pardon will be able to apply to receive proof that their conviction has been erased, petition to have their discharges from the military upgraded and move to recover lost pay and benefits.

“Today, I am righting an historic wrong by using my clemency authority to pardon many former service members who were convicted simply for being themselves,” Biden said in a statement. “We have a sacred obligation to all of our service members –- including our brave LGBTQI+ service members: to properly prepare and equip them when they are sent into harm’s way, and to care for them and their families when they return home. Today we are making progress in that pursuit.”

The president’s use of his pardon powers is occurring during Pride Month and his action comes just days before he is set to hold a high-profile fundraiser with LGBTQ donors in New York on Friday. Biden is trying to rally support within the Democratic-leaning community ahead of the presidential election.

Administration officials declined to say why Biden did not act on the pardons sooner.

This is the third categorial pardon by Biden — using his clemency powers to cover a broad group of people convicted of particular crimes — after moves in 2022 and 2023 to pardon those convicted federally for possessing marijuana.

The White House estimates that several thousand service members will be covered — the majority convicted before the military instituted the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy in 1993 that eased the way for LGBTQ troops to serve if they didn’t disclose their sexual orientation. That policy was repealed in 2011, when Congress allowed for their open service in the military.

Service members convicted of nonconsensual acts are not covered by Biden’s pardon action. And those convicted under other articles of the military justice code, which may have been used as pretext to punish or force-out LGBTQ troops, would need to request clemency through the normal Department of Justice pardon process.

Biden had previously ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs to move to provide benefits to service members who were other than honorably discharged because of their sexual orientation, gender identity or HIV status.

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