Privacy, Please: What's Next for Exclusive Travel

03.04.2024 - 13:05 / cntraveler.com / Jean Georges Vongerichten

There's a scene in Succession, that near-Shakespearean takedown of the superrich, where eldest son Connor complains that he had to fly back “scheduled.” Family patriarch Logan Roy oozes sarcasm: “Oh, I'm sorry, son. That's really tough.” In fairness, to misquote Kate Moss, nothing tastes as good as private feels right now—especially when you're at 41,000 feet being served a menu concocted by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. The private airplane has been the poster child of elite travel ever since the original jet-setters started flying down to Acapulco, with Sinatra on the airwaves (or on board), in the 1950s. There's an eternal allure to taking off at a whim, unscheduled. Put simply: to freedom.

But recently, our idea of exclusive travel has broadened. There's an inclination to go further and deeper, to be more spontaneous and creative, with bucket lists overflowing. Since the era of social distancing, a desire to reconnect with friends and family has led to more ambitious group trips. The rise of hyper-personalization is trouncing the one-size-fits-all holiday thanks to canny travel fixers and tour operators that are threading the desire for off-menu, bespoke experiences into travel's ever-evolving DNA.

That could look like a marine safari around Lamu on a chartered private dhow with Journeys By Design or a buy-out of Venice's Palazzo Garzoni (take all four residences) or Thuwal Private Retreat in the Red Sea (take the whole island). Hotels are getting wise, adding private residences, like Rosewood London's Lincoln House and the aptly named Villa Inkognito at Oslo's Sommerro, while The Reserve at Savoy Palace in Madeira has just unveiled a hotel-within-a-hotel, complete with a personal assistant just a WhatsApp message away. And if what you crave is total solitude, save for perhaps the primates in the wilds of Gabon, experts like Pelorus can curate a bespoke expedition just for you without ever skimping on all the luxe comforts. Now that is a new style of luxury. —Rick Jordan

True to its name, the exuberantly designed Villa Inkognito is a secluded house next to Oslo's Sommero.

Cheval Blanc St-Barth comes with a dedicated butler service.

It's no surprise that hotels are riding the private travel wave, granting guests exclusive access, bespoke experiences, and even greater privacy. Concierges are acting more like personal fixers: At J. K. Place Roma, in the 17th-century Palazzo Borghese, Giulia De Sanctis uses her connections to take visitors behind the curtain of the Italian fashion scene, from exclusive events for new collections to coveted invitations like Vogue's Valentino shindig. Tours are getting more elaborate too. The Four Seasons Hotel Sydney can organize a private jet to the Lightning Ridge Opal