“The travel industry will create 100 million new jobs by 2035. Global leisure travel
will triple in size as young people value experiences over things, and international travel is their #1 desire.” -David Kolner, Virtuoso Travel
Thousands of travel professionals from around the globe gathered again in Las Vegas for the 2025 version of Virtuoso Travel Week – an annual August affair as hot as the desert’s 112-degree temperature.
Members of the worldwide travel community held conversations, both in casual and scheduled settings.
The exchange of ideas sparked collaborations that will shape the industry with meaningful vacations and memorable adventures for the 2.7-million travelers who plan their trips via Virtuoso.com through its vast network of vetted advisors and providers.
Displaying Destinations, Desires and Data
Virtuoso Travel Week’s opening general session grabbed everyone’s attention by opening with a performance of manic bagpipes playing in front of pastoral scenes of Scotland, followed by other international musicians.
South African artist Boemo Diale, in a video, then spoke of her recent trip to the 61st Venice Biennale, the famed artist’s collective in Italy’s watery wonder.
Matthew Upchurch, Virtuoso Travel’s founder and CEO, then took the stage to detail events of the gathering’s tech summit. “Human connection is the key to sustaining competitive advantage. The quality of our future depends on how we blend the human and the technical.” He insisted.
He then shared his experience of a wellness experience he enacted, blending a trip to a wellness resort in Mexico with an exercise app.
Tales of Travel Terrify and Tempt
Marett Taylor, chair of Abercrombie & Kent’s Travel Group’s new global advisory board, then recounted her first safari, as a child, and told the tale of how a flat tire resulted in a nighttime face-to-face with menacing poachers toting assault rifles.
Her mother managed to get the men laughing until they released the family to go ahead, but warned them to take care down the road because the next gang they encountered might not be as nice.
“The circle of life is real – and in Africa, you recognize your place. We made it back safely to camp, but we make sure our client’s experiences are less dramatic. Africa is for all ages to carve out memories.”
A&K’s safari guides are vetted, as are those who lead their cruises through the Galapagos Islands and steer their luxury Crystal Cruise ships – a brand they rescued from dry dock.
What Can Travelers Expect? What Do They Seek?
Presentations came next, to the thousands filling the huge ballroom, from representatives of Puerto Rico, Orient Express and Virtuoso executives.
The concept of “quality vs. luxury” was pondered: a cheeseburger can bring as much joy to an individual as a gourmet meal.
Vitruoso’s members, planners and advisors use insight and instinct, plus booking data, to create enhanced travel satisfaction.
“Your influence and the way you make people feel, through your trusted expertise, resonates locally and personally. Virtuosos, working together, created an ‘orchestra of awe,’” said Helen McCabe-Young, Virtuoso’s senior vice-president of global products.
David Kolner, Virtuoso’s executive vice-president, shared travel trends. “The travel industry will create 100 million new jobs by 2035,” he revealed. “Global leisure travel will triple in size as young people value experiences over things, and international travel is their #1 desire.”
Kolner said the USA continues to dominate global wealth: in 2025, over 1,000 people
became millionaires every day.
“Sustainable Travel is a key trend for high-net worth luxury travelers – and they are willing to pay more. Boomer wealth will continue to dominate for the next 20 years. So, we have a growing target market, interested travelers who want to use an advisor and advisors and partners who deliver unreasonable service.”
The Concept of “Unreasonable Hospitality” Explained by Its Author
Will Guidara, the author of “Unreasonable Hospitality – The Remarkable Power of Giving People More Than They Expect,” then presented a keynote speech.
Guidara, a restaurateur who studied under celebrity chef Wolfgang Puck, included an anecdote of being nervous to meet celebrated chef Massimo Bottura.
“I have served tens of millions of dollars’ worth of lobster and wagyu beef, but it was a New York hot dog, bought off the street and plated by his chef, which resulted in the happiest response he had ever received from a customer at his three-Michelin-starred, Eleven Madison Park restaurant in Manhattan.
“Hospitality is about making individual people feel seen. ‘One size fits one.’”
A family of four from Spain received sleds, hot cocoa, and a ride to Central Park, provided by the restaurant staff, to sled in New York since it was the first time the children had ever seen snow.
Guidara quoted Teller, of Penn and Teller: “Sometimes magic is just someone spending more time on something than anyone else might reasonably expect.”
He also embraced the philosophy of poet Maya Angelou, who stated, “People will forget what you say and forget what you do, but they will never forget how you made them feel.”
First-Time Familiar – a Detroit Double-Header
Jacob Dondzilla is an MSU alum who is general manager of Detroit’s Shinola Hotel after high-profile stints at luxury properties in New York, Boston, Washington D.C. and Phoenix.
While this was his first time participating in Virtuoso Travel Week, he’d encountered Guidara during a gathering held by Claude Molinari at Visit Detroit.
“During his speech at that meeting, Will gave a shoutout to the hospitality of our night auditor, who welcomed him warmly and swiftly checked him in to Shinola very late,” Dondzilla beamed.
The concept that service and hospitality are not the same thing was the takeaway Upchurch reiterated before closing the opening session and sending the attendees to a massive, elaborate cocktail party in the next ballroom – and into the week of making travel more personally fulfilling for those who plan their trips via Virtuoso.com
Read more of Michael Patrick’s work at The Travel Tattler and contact him at MShiels@aol.com. Order his book Travel Tattler – Less Than Torrid Tales at https://amzn.to/3Qm9FjN
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