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Luxury for Less
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By: Debbie Hunter, Issue 38 – Autumn 2009
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(Tips & Hints for Luxury Travel)
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WANTING TO HEAD OFF THIS SEASON, WITH A TAD LESS PAIN TO THE POCKET? WE EXPLORE TEN SMART WAYS TO ENSURE THAT MONEY DOESN’T SLIP THROUGH YOUR FINGERS LIKE GRAINS OF SAND.
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There’s no escaping the fact: economic times are slow. If you want to keep travelling in the manner that suits you best, there are ways and means. Try these insider tips.
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1. Stay Boutique:
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Boutique properties often have the designer style – without the price tag of the stellar chains. And what they lack in size, they make up for in personality. ‘Boutique’ and ‘unique’ also go hand-in-hand. The new luxury safari-style camp, Sal Salis, beside Western Australia’s famous Ningaloo Reef for example, is touted as one of the best back to nature experiences money can buy. A minimum two nights under canvas costs $1,370 per person including all food and wine, guided gorge walks, and some of the world’s best snorkelling. The experience alone is hard to put a price on. What’s more, some boutique hotels can’t be classified five star simply because they lack certain amenities like an in-house restaurant. In Paris, where good restaurants abound, this would hardly raise a plucked eyebrow. These hotels offer fine accommodation at a more affordable rate.
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2. Travel ‘Off Season’:
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There are plenty of advantages to travelling outside peak times – no crowds, substantially lower prices and more local colour. The biggest disadvantage is generally the weather, but it doesn’t have to be. For example Winter in Vienna is the busiest time for concerts and balls giving you the perfect excuse to retreat indoors. The rainy season in the Maldives simply means you can expect an afternoon shower. On the other hand, Tahiti’s high and low season is generally dictated by the American holiday calendar. Plan around this, and you can still enjoy the best destinations and conditions for less.
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3. Never pay rack rate:
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Why would you, when there are so many great internet deals around? And you don’t necessarily have to book far in advance or off-peak to score one. A five star hotel is no Dubai souk, but don’t be afraid to haggle. Ironically, the more you are prepared to pay (and the longer you stay) the more you’ll save. Penthouse suites are almost always negotiated. Generally reserved for celebrity VIPS and special events, they are vacant more often than not. If you time it right, you could live in ultimate comfort and style for a lot less than you might have imagined.
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4. Let the cookies crumble:
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A hidden trap with booking travel online is that all the information you provide, including how much you pay, is recorded on tiny files, called cookies, stored on your internet browser that records the particular websites you surf. This means that every time you browse a favourite website you could be quoted an inflated price based on your previous spending history. Don’t risk being duped into paying more than you have to. Delete those cookies before you begin each internet search. (This type of computer housekeeping varies from computer to computer, so seek help if you are not sure).
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5. Name your price:
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Online auction rooms, like the Harper Marketplace, have made exclusivity a little more affordable. Membership of Andrew Harper’s uber travel services, includes a subscription to the highly respected Hideaway Report, and means you could save thousands on accommodation, cruises and premium tours. One smart shopper recently saved more than US$1,000 for two nights in one of the Stafford Hotel London’s master suites.
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Andrew Harper
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6. Join an exclusive travel club:
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It’s the economical way to own your own villa for less. Time-share holidays, which lost their gloss in the 1990s, have been reinvented and travel clubs are now the ‘joie de vivre’ of discerning travellers seeking hassle-free holidays in the world’s premier locations. Distinctive Holiday Homes offers a collection of luxury homes, lodges, apartments and yachts from Paris to Fiji, Colorado to Noosa. You’ll pay as little as $5,900 a year for a week’s holiday inclusive of all amenities, luxury vehicle, food and drinks, butler service and concierge. A Leisure Boating Club membership lets you walk on and off your five star cruiser for a certain number of days year round. With access to clubs across Queensland, NSW and Victoria, it’s like having your own boat in every fashionable port of Australia.
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Distinctive Holiday Homes
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Leisure Boating
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7. Know your destination:
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Knowing where to go, and when, isn’t just about the rate of our dollar against other currencies. It helps to know a little about your destination. In Las Vegas for instance, although new development along the famous casino strip is booming, domestic tourism is declining leading to a swag of available five star rooms for under US$100. The trend looks set to continue with the opening of several new luxury developments this year, including the 3,800-room Fontainebleau Resort and the addition of Caesars Palace’s 600- room tower. New and recently refurbished luxury hotels will also lure guests with some very attractive grand reopening specials.
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8. Get a bespoke travel agent with real contacts:
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Upmarket travel agents like Sydney’s Travel Specialists Mosman and Mary Rossi Travel have spent years gathering specialist knowledge of the luxury travel market. Their greatest assets are their business contacts to elite associations like Virtuoso, which hand picks its luxury travel partners. These are the connections you need to access exclusive rates and value-added amenities such as room upgrades, theatre tickets or use of a car for a day. Make sure each travel dollar you spend is invested wisely.
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9. Set sail:
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Pre-booking and paying for as much as you can before you leave Australian shores is one of the best ways to counteract the wildly fluctuating value of our dollar. An all-inclusive holiday is another. Anyway you look at it, luxury cruising offers great value. All your accommodation, food, transport, round-the-clock entertainment, first-class service (and in some cases wine and shore excursions) is paid upfront, leaving you with no nasty surprises (or credit card bills) when you get home. Cruise companies like Seabourn and Silversea offer substantial savings to their passengers who book early, pay in advance, re-book while onboard, or extend a cruise. Many of these savings can be added together. The difference could mean a first-class holiday for virtually half the published price.
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10. Redeem those frequent flyer points:
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Heed the economists and spend, spend, spend. Using credit cards to pay for expensive items like property, cars or household utilities (then paying it off quickly) could help ‘pay off’ a large chunk of your travel expenses. Frequent travellers now have a wide range of cards to choose from with improved benefits to help them get to their next destination faster. For example, the popular American Express Platinum Card offers 1.5 points for every dollar spent. Members can transfer those points to six leading airline reward partners including Cathay Pacific and Singapore Airlines. Costly domestic and international travel insurance is also included. These credit cards are jostling for your business, so get maximum benefits for travel.
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