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WHEN LAURA Fenamore set out to walk part of the Camino de Santiago in Spain sheinterviewed three travel experts. One had never been to Spain. One she found too hesitant andbereft of ideas. In the end, she hired Nicole Lee, founder of The Curated Travel in New York anda former private equity associate. Ms. Lee was well-traveled, had an eye for detail and knew thebest hidden tapas bars in Barcelona. She developed a multipage itinerary that occupied many ofMs. Fenamore’s waking hours.

“It had options for everything…buses and planes and trains. Hotels and food and museums. Ifwe went to a museum, the restaurant suggestions were nearby. It was complete,” said Ms.Fenamore. In the days leading up to the trip, Ms. Lee was in constant contact via text. Sheuploaded the itinerary to travel app TripCase so Ms. Fenamore could check it from her phone.Ms. Lee was available 24 hours a day once her client was abroad in case trains were late orairplanes were missed. “I felt so held,” said Ms. Fenamore.

Gone are the days of the old-school travel agents, with their 9-to-5 days and their reflexive loveof the all-inclusive cruise. Today’s travel advisers promise to deliver convenience, access andhard-core expertise. Often for a steep fee. Some fashion themselves as magazine editors forhire, able to identify obscure new destinations and food trends. Many have carved out acountry-specific niche, from Mongolia to the Maldives. Others have morphed into spiritualcoaches and party planners for the ultra-elite. Unexpectedly, the internet has helped themflourish.

“People desperately need travel planning help,” said Wendy Perrin, whose eponymous websitehelps people find travel planners for their specific trips. “You wouldn’t think so because ofExpedia. But they are frustrated by online stuff and don’t know who to trust.”

A time-rich traveler can still plan his or her own vacation but for those with high expectations

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https://www.wsj.com/articles/how-new-breed-travel-agents-can-give-you-an-edge-1514390557

TRAVEL

How New-Breed Travel Agents Can Give Youan EdgeOverwhelmed by planning a trip on the internet? 21st-century travel agents have recast themselves as

full-service experts—promising both obsessively detailed itineraries and insider access for as little as $15

a day

ILLUSTRATION: DAVE URBAN

Updated Dec. 30, 2017 2:44 p.m. ET

By Nina Sovich

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and complex lives (think: children, a desire to experience closed cultures, tight schedules andthe inarticulate but clear assumption of luxury) travel advisers are essential.

“Luxury is the absence of worry,” said Stacy Fischer-Rosenthal, the president of subscription-based travel and lifestyle planners Fischer Travel, which has been around since 1959. “We canspend months coming up with the itinerary and the client gets there in their plane and says,‘It’s raining.’ We figure it out.” Ms. Fischer said she recently convinced an ice hotel in Norway toadd a suite this season to accommodate clients who needed bigger rooms. She also helped awoman who thought she was possessed find a priest in Rome to perform an exorcism. (Thepriest informed her she was not, in fact, possessed.) In the old days, such demands weren’ttypically made of the humble travel agent.

Fischer Travel bends toward the extremely pricey end of the spectrum: The initiation fee is$100,000 with an annual fee of $25,000 plus trip specific fees on top of that. Other outfitscharge a yearly subscription. But many travel agents don’t charge anything at all or a minimaltrip-planning fee. They take a cut of hotel or tour payments, as well as first-class airline ticketsand trip insurance. Nicole Lee of The Curated Travel requires $15 a day for a simple trip such asa week in Europe.

The benefits lie not just in the service but in the trip planners’ abilities to negotiate after-hours

The traditional travel agency, like the one shown here in 1986, has morphed into a more full-service operation. PHOTO: GETTY

IMAGES

Though the Grand Kremlin Palace is normally o"-limits to tourists, Exeter International can pull strings. PHOTO: GREGORY

TEPPER

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or VIP access for their clients. Exeter International, a travel company with deep ties in Russia,can get you into the Grand Kremlin Palace, normally closed to the public. The agency Made forSpain and Portugal can arrange for a private, after-hours tour of the Prado. Italy’s IC Bellagiowill take clients to Gucci’s leather atelier near Florence or the Versace flagship store in Milanfor a private fashion show with runway models.

“People think ‘I’m going to Rome. Why do I need help?’” said Ms. Perrin. “You don’t, unless youwant to get in to the Vatican for a private meal or see the Sistine Chapel without crowds.”

Last year Rita Regimbal from Warren, N.J., sought assistance planning a two-week trip toIceland with her husband and four kids. Her children are all teenagers or older with variousinterests and eating habits. “Although we can afford the Ritz, we don’t always like to stay inplaces like that,” said Ms. Regimbal “We like to experience the country.” They turned to NicoleLee for guidance. She came up with a characteristically comprehensive minute-by-minuteitinerary. She booked the family an Airbnb (unusual for a travel agent since there is nocommission), a luxury hotel in Reykjavik and a converted farmhouse near the Skógafosswaterfall on Iceland’s south coast. They hiked during the day and played cards at night. Ms. Leebooked a local guide to take the family snorkeling in freezing water, which entailed a dry suitunder a wetsuit. “I never would have been able to plan something like that alone,” said Ms.Regimbal. “Snorkeling in Iceland didn’t occur to me.”

Ms. Regimbal paid $150 to The Curated Travel to plan that trip and considers the fee a bargain,especially since the vacation went off without a hitch. She recalls with horror a family holidayfour years ago that entailed a drive across much of Europe. She and her family got stuck at theborder between Germany and Austria because she lacked the right paperwork for her rentalcar. She was forced to pay a large fine. “It ruined the trip,” she said.

A desire for

convenience often goes hand in hand with a competing desire for authentic experiences. JaclynSienna India runs a small high-end agency, Sienna Charles, that caters to about 30 families andcosts $36,000 a year. She asks to meet her clients in person to get to know their tastes andinterests. She sees a rise in sabbaticals where clients take their children out of school to embarkon round-the-world tours complete with tutors. “My clients are top of their field and they wanttheir kids to be the same,” said Ms. India. “If they are learning Mandarin they go to China, if it’sRoman history to Rome.”

Adults also like travel’s educational aspects. Agencies are increasingly pairing art and historyexperts with travelers. Want to see the Vatican’s secret archives and library, normally not opento the public? Marchay travel agency (see “Much More Than Brochures,” at right) can arrange aprivate tour with a professor of theology as your guide. Sophisticated Travel will arrange for alocal Turkish archaeologist to lead you around Ephesus. Fischer Travel offers a meeting withHiroshima survivors followed by a tour.

Many people still use travel agents for the more basic service of getting deals. High-end tripplanners, such as those who are members of the Virtuoso network of luxury travel agencies, areable to secure room upgrades, free breakfasts and spa vouchers. More important, they are on

Eager to watch the Monaco Grand Prix like one of the pit crew? Try Unique Provence. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

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call if disaster strikes. On a recent family trip to China, Victoria Chen’s mother fell and brokeher femur. Ms. Chen, an attorney in San Diego, alerted her agency, Balboa Vacations in SouthernCalifornia, who worked with the Peninsula Shanghai to send the hospital sheets, towels, a robeand non-hospital-quality food. Balboa’s contact in Shanghai stopped by to see Ms. Chen andsent over a gift certificate for the Peninsula spa. The agency in California persuaded the hotel toadvance thousands of dollars to Ms. Chen to pay for the procedures, adding the charges to theroom bill. Then they found a doctor to fly to Shanghai and fly home with the Chens. “I wasn’tgoing to get such complete health coverage,” said Ms. Chen, referring to the trip insurance aBalboa agent convinced her to buy. “But he told me to. Thank god he did.”

MUCH MORE THAN BROCHURES //The Rise of Subscription-Based Travel

Planners

While most agents still take a commission from hotel and tour operators, annual subscriptions—or membership fees—ensure that enough money is coming in to the agency that they don’thave to automatically push $1,000-a-night hotels. That said the models vary in price andstructure. Some agencies are best-suited for billionaires who want the last room at Paris’s LaRéserve, others for an upper-middle-class family of four who wants to go to Japan but doesn’tquite know how to plan it.

Andrew HarperAndrew Harper

The agency, established in the 1990s, was recently acquired by the Travel Leaders Group. Itcharges $250 a year for unlimited trip planning and a digital subscription, which includes 12issues of Andrew Harper’s Hideaway Report—highlighting two or three destinations per issue—as well as digital guidebooks for varied regions and a directory of recommended properties,restaurants, seasonal tips, maps and travel notes from the editorial team who reportanonymously. Members get access to travel advice and content as well as special hotel deals onthe website. andrewharper.com

EssentialistEssentialist

Founded in 2016 by former Travel & Leisure editor in chief Nancy Novogrod (who has since leftthe company), Essentialist specializes in creative trips designed by travel writers. All memberspay $1,400 a year which allows access to a dedicated staffer to plan an unlimited number oftrips. Clients download an app from which they can access their itinerary and last-minuteevents like art exhibits. essentialist.com

Fischer TravelFischer Travel

This elite agency, started nearly six decades ago and passed from father to daughter, thinks ofitself as a lifestyle curator. The initiation fee is $100,000 with an annual subscription of $25,000on top of that plus added fees per trip. Expect rare service: The agency recently asked anemployee’s mother to fly a forgotten passport from Ohio to New York so a client could continuehis international trip. fischertravel.com

IndagareIndagare

Founded by the former editor of Town & Country Travel magazine, the agency specializes increative trips with a cultural bent. Membership starts at $325 a year and includes access tohotel booking deals and Indagare’s own online travel guides. Elite membership costs $675 ayear and includes the planning of one trip, typically 7-10 days. Connoisseur is $1,475 a year andincludes the planning of three trips. A fourth tier is for travelers who need unlimitedassistance; price upon request. indagare.com

MarchayMarchay

This 4-year-old agency caters to high-end travelers and corporate clients. A Premieremembership costs $4,500 a year and requires spending a minimum of $50,000 a year. Thisincludes a senior dedicated adviser, special deals on hotels and 24/7 flight assistance. There are

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no added fees. Classe Affair costs $2,500 a year, and the minimum spend is $25,000. Membersare assigned a team and additional fees may apply. marchay.com

DATE NIGHT AT THE LOUVRE //The RightTravelAgent CanOpen AllKinds ofDoors.Here, aSampling.

• Florida-basedExeter

International, which specializes in high-end trips to Central and Eastern Europe, can get clientsprivate access to the Kremlin before the grounds open to the public. Visitors may also visit theGrand Kremlin Palace, once home to the Czars and closed to tourists, where the president ofRussia entertains foreign heads of state. From $1,500 for up to 20 people for the Kremlin, from

$2,500 for the Grand Kremlin Palace, exeterinternational.com

• Touring Israel will arrange for visitors to play paintball in the Negev Desert or Galilean forestswith reserve members of the Israel Defense Forces. “We used to do family against the soldiersbut the families were getting whupped so we had to mix teams a bit,” said Joe Yudin, thecompany’s CEO. About $200 a person with 10-person minimum, touringisrael.com

• New York-based Sienna Charles arranged for five team members of the New York Rangers tosurprise a client’s husband on a 30th anniversary. After watching the game (the Rangers won)at the arena, the couple went to a private room at a nearby bar rented out by Sienna Charles.When the pair walked in, so did the husband’s favorite players. The cost of the event was

$70,000. siennacharles.com

• Indagare can organize a tour of the Louvre in Paris before or after it opens to the public, aswell as visits to the basement and restoration workshops, normally off-limits. The agency canalso plan a private dinner in the museum after-hours. Price upon request, indagare.com

•

Dehouche travel company, known for designing trips throughout South America, offers a “fullpackage” for Rio’s Carnival season, which includes bespoke costumes for clients, access to theCopacabana Magic Ball and a prime spot on a Samba float during the parade. For the crowd-averse, Dehouche can organize a camping trip to remote Patagonia, where chef FrancisMallmann will personally teach you his grilling techniques over an open fire. From $8,500 a

person for a five-day Carnival package and from $12,500 a person for up to four people on the

Indagare can arrange an after-hours tour—and even a dinner—at the Louvre in Paris. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

The agents at Dehouche can get you a prime-viewing spot for Rio’s Carnival—on one of the floats. PHOTO: ALAMY

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five-night trip to Patagonia, dehouche.com

• France specialist Unique Provence provides VIP access to a number of high-profile events inthe region, including the Monaco Grand Prix, where the agency can secure premium seats, pitvisits and entry to private parties. Prices vary widely but four-day itineraries typically cost

about $30,000. unique-provence.com

• The Altagamma excursions offered by Italian travel company IC Bellagio are a series ofbehind-closed-door experiences with designer brands. Among them: a visit to Gucci’s leatherworkshop outside Florence and a private showing of the newest collection with runway modelsat Versace’s Milan flagship store. From about $1,700 for two people for the Gucci excursion and

from about $15,600 for two people for the Versace excursion. icbellagio.com

• Brazil-based Matuete arranges a private sunrise picnic breakfast at the foot of the Christ theRedeemer statue in Rio. The outfit also arranges after-hour climbs of Sugarloaf Mountainfollowed by a private party hosted on the first mountain. Price upon request, matuete.com

• Sophisticated Travel, which specializes in trips to Turkey, can organize a Turkisharchaeologist to guide you around the ruins of ancient Ephesus and a private tour of Istanbul’siconic Hagia Sophia while it’s closed to the public. Ephesus tour for about $300; Hagia Sophia

tour price upon request, sophisticated-travel.com

• The Madrid-based company Made for Spain and Portugal will set up an after-hours tour of thePrado Museum with a Spanish painter and art professor. madeforspainandportugal.com

Appeared in the December 30,

2017, print edition as 'The New

Age of Bespoke Travel.'

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