Virtuoso‘s Chairman and CEO, Matthew Upchurch, offered insight on the global luxury travel network’s overarching strategy and vision at last week’s Virtuoso Travel Week.
Addressing delegates at the Opening Session of Virtuoso Travel Week at The Bellagio last Sunday evening, Upchurch said “My team and I exist to champion you. So what are we focused on?”
There are three key areas Upchurch highlighted – network, innovation and technology/data.
“The network itself has evolved in diverse communities like the marketplace,” Upchurch explained. “We’ve organised geographic regions, specialisation Communities, but we see many more around market opportunities.
“We call this community as a way of doing business, where everyone benefits from each other’s strengths.”
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Innovation in consumer engagement was the second core area he spoke of.
“The purpose of Virtuoso marketing is to build consumer preference for Virtuoso at scale and achieve better combined results.”
Upchurch used the example of the network’s recognition a few months ago by Altagamma International Honorary Council “for your contributions to the Italian luxury industry”, saying now all Italian luxury brands “know how fabulous you are!”
And in the tech space, Upchurch said: “Our mission is to champion choice and cooperation. Our new digital platform integrates diverse systems.”
“Our work on collective data, something large competitors think they’ll have over us, but they won’t if we combine our data with personal relationships and trust.”
“We believe, when we combine these three strategies, you can do something very powerful. We can actually grow larger and smaller at the same time. This allows us to compete on two plains, powered by enriching lives and human connection.”
“The kind of magical connection that happens on a one-to-one basis but it’s even more special and amplified through shared travel experience.”
Travel is now a coveted business
Upchurch started his address by acknowledging the growth of travel and the opportunities that exist for newcomers to the industry.
He pinpointed Eli Wagner of Wagner Bespoke Travel (who later in the week was recognised as Virtuoso’s 2024 Rising Star Award winner). Wagner was previously a high-profile entertainment lawyer, who was passionate for luxury travel and spent decades staying in different destinations and accommodation.
Upchurch described Wagner as a “Millenial superstar who has only been an advisor for two years and is crushing it.”
” one of many advisors around the world going from zero to multi-million dollar producers in the shortest amount of time in history, that I’ve ever seen,” he said. “But it’s not just us.
“It’s the growth of travel. The rise of wealth that has made travel a coveted business. But also that makes it more competitive.”
“Our 20-year leadership in the elevation of this profession – the travel advisor – has paid off.”
“For traditional sources like consolidation and start-ups but now from industry crossovers such as financial and luxury goods. That drives new investment which of course drives high expectation on return on investment.”
Upchurch said “the concept of the commodinisation of quality, that is base quality improves, consumers are now driven by intangibles like purpose, human connection and trust.”
“Too many finance people still think of travel advisors as intermediaries,” Upchurch said. “But when clients can book easily direct, but instead choose an advisor, you are not intermediaries.”
He said that fortunately a growing number of finance people realise that travel advisors are “part of a smart, direct-to-consumer strategy. Professionals who consistently deliver higher value bookings with their personnel endorsement.”
The Virtuoso boss was also excited about innovation in the tech space, referring to a catchcry of “Automate the predictable, so that you can humanise the exceptional.” (Which in layman’s terms is, ways that advisors can leverage tools and systems to spend less time on repetitive tasks, and leverage information better and faster).
“AI is the big disrupter – the great news is no other technology this advanced has been made available to us faster and cheaper. But what I’m most excited about is ‘humanising the exceptional’ because artificial intelligence isn’t the only AI that’s in the ballgame.
“It has to be a win/win for the advisor as well as the client. In the advisory business, it’s not just time that is limited (and precious), it’s also your life energy, it’s renewable but not limitless.”
“And the great thing about the advisor business is that you can choose your clients – so keep refining your clienttel that provide you both ROI and ROL .”
“Human beings are actually wired to want to trust and I believe the trusted advisor will continue to grow in value. Especially with people that actually define luxury and being smart, with having luxury travel advisors in their lives,” he said.
