There’s huge value to be had with booking luxury travel through Virtuoso, which typically requires booking through a qualifying travel advisor. What many people don’t realize is that you can actually make Virtuoso bookings online as well. In this post, I’d like to outline how that works, and talk about the pros and cons, especially in light of a recent post I wrote about TravelWits.
In this post:
What is Virtuoso, and how does it work?
Virtuoso is a network of luxury travel agencies, with a total of over 20,000 advisors worldwide. Virtuoso advisors can get you extra perks when staying at over 1,700 luxury hotels around the world.
The concept is simple — hotels use all kinds of techniques to sell rooms, and one thing they do is offer Virtuoso travel advisors perks for their guests. This is intended to be a win-win — guests can get more value, while travel advisors can add perks for their clients, without their clients having to pay more.
Typically for booking a hotel stay through a Virtuoso travel advisor, you receive the following additional benefits:
- Daily breakfast for two people per bedroom
- Room upgrade, subject to availability
- Early check-in and late check-out, subject to availability
- A special Virtuoso amenity once per stay (usually a $100 property credit, or a complimentary massage, car transfer, meal, etc.)
Now, it’s worth noting that many hotel groups have their own proprietary programs, offering similar perks 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, and more.
If you want to book Virtuoso stays through Virtuoso’s website, you can only book the Virtuoso rate. If you want to compare all the available rate options, you’ll want to work directly with a travel advisor, or book through TravelWits (more on that below).
How much more does a Virtuoso rate cost?
As a general rule of thumb, the Virtuoso rate is the same as the best flexible rate offered directly by the hotel (this typically excludes pre-paid rates, promotional rates, and member only rates). In most cases you’re not paying anything extra for booking through a Virtuoso agent, and in some cases, there may even be Virtuoso exclusive promotions available.
Virtuoso advisors typically get paid a commission by hotels, so most of the time they won’t charge any sort of a fee for you booking through them. Some agents may charge a planning fee based on the complexity of the trip.
Can you earn points when booking Virtuoso rates?
Since this is a points blog, this is a natural question. 😉 Yes, for those major chain hotels that belong to Virtuoso, you absolutely still earn points, elite credits, etc., when booking a Virtuoso rate. This is considered an “eligible” rate for all practical purposes. After all, you’re still charged directly by the hotel for your stay, so it’s not Virtuoso that’s billing you for a hotel stay.
How can you book Virtuoso hotels online?
You have two options for booking a hotel stay through Virtuoso:
- You can book directly through an advisor, by email, phone, etc.
- You can book online through Virtuoso’s website, on the portal linked to an advisor
In this post, I’d like to walk through the step-by-step of how to make Virtuoso hotel bookings online.
Virtuoso displays hotel rates online, though in order to actually book, you need to go through a Virtuoso travel advisor’s page. This has to be an advisor who has opted into this specifically. For example, for Ford Beckett Travel, you can find the Virtuoso page here, through which you can book (other advisors who participate in this are welcome to leave their page links below).
On the initial page you’ll see the “Hotel Catalog,” and you can just enter the hotel’s name or location, the dates of your stay, and the number of travelers.
For example, say you’re looking at a stay in Frankfurt, Germany, over certain dates. You’ll see that there are three hotels to choose from.
For each hotel, you can see a tab that lists “Virtuoso Amenities,” which shows the property specific perks.
Then there’s also a “Room Types” tab, which shows the rates you can book, and the details of the rooms.
Once you select a rate and click “Book,” you’ll be prompted to log into your account. If you already have a Virtuoso account, you can just log into it. If you don’t yet have an account, click on “Sign up here.”
To create an account, you’ll be asked to enter your email address, name, and country, and to create a password.
The next page will just ask you to confirm your advisor, and then you’ll just have to enter your booking details. This includes your name, billing information, and loyalty number (if applicable). Make sure you review the Virtuoso amenities, cancelation policies, total including taxes and fees, etc. You’ll then receive an email confirmation directly from Virtuoso.
Note that when you’re booking through Virtuoso, you’ll be charged directly by the hotel, in case that impacts which credit card you pay with (for example, which card offers the most points, which offers a hotel credit at the brand you’re staying at, etc.).
Is using the Virtuoso hotel tool right for you?
If you’re going to book a hotel through Virtuoso’s website, there are a few things to be aware of:
- You must be connected to an advisor to confirm a booking online; you can’t do it if you’re not connected to an advisor
- There is a field to add your loyalty program number to the reservation during the booking process, if applicable
- If you want to book multiple rooms, you’ll need to make separate reservations for each room
- If you want to cancel, you can’t do so through Virtuoso; you can either call the hotel directly if you need to cancel immediately (or go to their website, if they allow that), or you can contact your Virtuoso advisor, though you’ll want to leave some time if you choose to contact your Virtuoso advisor to cancel for you
Who should book hotels through the Virtuoso online booking tool? It’s good to book through the Virtuoso website if you just want to instantly confirm a booking, and know what you’re doing, if you’re booking two or fewer guests (sometimes there are issues with the rates displayed if there are more guests), and/or if you’re booking at least one business day in advance (same day bookings aren’t generally available through the Virtuoso booking tool).
How do Virtuoso and TravelWits tools compare?
The ability to book Virtuoso hotels online has been around for years. However, for those who prefer self-booking, there’s another option. I recently wrote about TravelWits, which is a tool that select travel advisors can offer, in order to provide extra perks at a variety of hotels.
What’s the difference between booking through the Virtuoso tool vs. booking through TravelWits? I’d argue that TravelWits has some major advantage:
- TravelWits allows you to compare a wider variety of rates and perks, as it doesn’t just give you access to Virtuoso rates, but also to the other rates travel advisors can offer, like Four Seasons Preferred Partner, Rosewood Elite, and much more
- TravelWits is a bit more robust of a platform, as you can typically even easily cancel your booking on your own online, without needing to contact the hotel or a travel advisor
I’d say the only potential downside to TravelWits is that the portal needs to be password protected, so you need to get the password for TravelWits from a travel advisor (this is so that all partner rates can be offered). However, beyond that, there’s not a need to otherwise register for an account).
As I mentioned in the previous post, Ford Beckett Travel has their TravelWits portal here, and you can email [email protected] for the password.
Bottom line
There’s a lot of value to be had in booking through a Virtuoso travel advisor, and if you’re someone who wants to book instantly or avoid human interaction, being able to make a Virtuoso booking directly online can be a great option.
However, it’s also worth being aware of TravelWits, which is a similar concept, but a little more robust. The catch with TravelWits is that you need to manually request the password, but once you have it, it lets you pretty seamlessly compare the various exclusive rates.
This is a good overview. I am a Virtuoso affiliated travel advisor. If a client wants a luxury hotel booking, I do not charge anything extra to book. I love extending the extra amenities. I also reach out personally to the hotel staff on behalf of my clients to notify them of any celebrations, special requests etc. I really genuinely want my clients to have that feeling of hospitality, as do most luxury hotel staff.
The whole point of these hotel programs is to work with a live person to guide you through the property and the options. Virtuoso should not allow online bookings.
Long time and regular readers of this blog know who Ford is and don’t necessarily need to be reminded of who he is every time.
Ben’s high ethical standards are still high compared to some of the others out there.
We are a Virtuoso (and all the other preferred partner relationships) without any minimum booking volume. Feel free to reach out to us directly at [email protected] (or if you prefer not to self-serve, regardless of booking volume).
Any agent who doesn't mind a booking for a night or two? I don't book these a lot but when I contacted Ford he said he is busy and my guess is that he doesn't wanna be bothered by a small amount of booking but I am sure there are some agents who don't mind and happy to do it, especially now it is bookable online. Please leave your link or email in reply. I will reach out
I have been thinking the same. I would like to use a travel agent for Virtuoso or the hotel’s preferred programs if need be but like Ken said and which Lucky does not emphasize in his posts is that Ford and his company employees are too busy to deal with those small bookings. And IIRC it is now at least $1,000 for the booking and before it was $500 and way back when there wasn’t...
I have been thinking the same. I would like to use a travel agent for Virtuoso or the hotel’s preferred programs if need be but like Ken said and which Lucky does not emphasize in his posts is that Ford and his company employees are too busy to deal with those small bookings. And IIRC it is now at least $1,000 for the booking and before it was $500 and way back when there wasn’t a minimum amount set for the bookings. Soon, it may be $10,000 minimum because as one reader pointed out his $5,000 booking was rejected.
I'm happy to make bookings with no minimums, feel free to reach out anytime at [email protected]
Yea I had reached out to Ford a few years ago about a booking. It relatively small because it was in a market in Asia that was not super expensive. He said he couldn't do it because of a minimum.
So instead I reached out to someone else cold, who was LOVELY, happy to accommodate my booking, exchanged emails, and more. Turns out, she is one of the top producing agents for Four Seasons and...
Yea I had reached out to Ford a few years ago about a booking. It relatively small because it was in a market in Asia that was not super expensive. He said he couldn't do it because of a minimum.
So instead I reached out to someone else cold, who was LOVELY, happy to accommodate my booking, exchanged emails, and more. Turns out, she is one of the top producing agents for Four Seasons and Rosewood globally.
...and although my initial booking was a drop in the bucket for what she probably usually books, she could not have been kinder or more accommodating with her expertise and time.
I've ended up using her for a lot of business at luxury hotels in the last three years, and always book on her Travelwits site when I know exactly what I want. If something isn't working, or I need something special, I email her and she responds promptly having reached out to the hotel or pulled up what I need with her agent access to the hotel group's reservations.
It meant a lot to me as someone dipping my toe in to the world of using a travel advisor that she even gave me the time of day, not to mention treated me like an actual client she cared about. And still does, even though my hotel spend (while in the tens of thousands per year) is almost definitely nowhere close to what some of her clients probably spend on a few days stay. So, it pays to take small bookings sometimes! Because you never know when the initial small booking is the tip of the spear of a very loyal client!
Please share her name/contact details! I need someone like this for an upcoming 7 week trip......
Nice that you found her and that it worked out for you,,
I was in a different industry and used to tell our sales force that when someone came into our booth at a convention, to treat them like they had a million dollars in their pocket. Like your post, this proved to be very successful. We would get orders from people that were treated poorly at a competitor's booth because of the way they were dressed, or if they were known to be from a different...
I was in a different industry and used to tell our sales force that when someone came into our booth at a convention, to treat them like they had a million dollars in their pocket. Like your post, this proved to be very successful. We would get orders from people that were treated poorly at a competitor's booth because of the way they were dressed, or if they were known to be from a different territory than the salesperson was. One of the most successful stories was like this when a person flew all night from South America to get to Las Vegas, and walked in all disheveled from the flight. After being ignored at a different booth, he placed a large order with our sales person, and then became a regular customer. No order should ever be too small. Period
[email protected]
You can reach out to me at [email protected]
Hi Ben, I really appreciate the high ethical standards your blog typically maintains, which is why I was surprised not to see a clear disclaimer that bookings made through the posted links would benefit your husband Ford's copamny.
While I'm sure the recommendation is genuine, transparency about personal relationships and financial incentives is important for maintaining trust with readers. A simple note like "Full disclosure: My husband works for this company and we may...
Hi Ben, I really appreciate the high ethical standards your blog typically maintains, which is why I was surprised not to see a clear disclaimer that bookings made through the posted links would benefit your husband Ford's copamny.
While I'm sure the recommendation is genuine, transparency about personal relationships and financial incentives is important for maintaining trust with readers. A simple note like "Full disclosure: My husband works for this company and we may benefit from bookings made through this link" would have been appreciated.
I value this blog and its content, which is exactly why I think this kind of disclosure matters.
Hello Uli, please be advised that you are not the only reader who has noticed the slipping ethical standards in relation to this website.
Far too many posts, from a variety of contributors are edited out from the comments pages. One will not be surprised to see this very response to your question will suffer the website administrators delete key stroke. Thankfully Mr ‘Screenshot’ can be prevailed upon to verify the editing situation.
...
Hello Uli, please be advised that you are not the only reader who has noticed the slipping ethical standards in relation to this website.
Far too many posts, from a variety of contributors are edited out from the comments pages. One will not be surprised to see this very response to your question will suffer the website administrators delete key stroke. Thankfully Mr ‘Screenshot’ can be prevailed upon to verify the editing situation.
Then there are the rude, crude, racist and revolting posts which are allowed uncensored or challenged in any way by the website administrators.
Yes AeroB13a. Too many racist and discriminatory remarks made on OMAAT.
I am doubtful if the Virtuoso portal based on your description is compatible with Californian law: If you book online, you need to be able to cancel online.