Why Use a Travel Advisor?

What 92 Meetings in Las Vegas Have to Do With Your Trip

With so much travel information available online, you might reasonably wonder why you should use a travel advisor at all.

I spent last week in Las Vegas at Virtuoso Travel Week, where I had 92 scheduled seven-minute appointments, plus lunches, dinners, receptions and longer conversations with hotels, destination specialists, cruise lines and other travel partners.

Seven minutes sounds almost absurdly short, but those meetings are part of relationships that develop over years through bookings, site visits, client stays and ongoing conversations. That is why I go. Not because I particularly enjoy spending a week in Las Vegas, but because those relationships become part of the work I do for my clients later.

Travel Planning Is Still a Relationship Business

A hotel website can tell me which room categories exist. Reviews can tell me what someone thought about breakfast. A booking engine can tell me what is available on a particular date.

What those tools cannot always tell me is which room was just renovated, whether the entry-level category is worth booking, how the service actually feels, or whether a particular hotel is right for a solo woman, a first-time visitor to Paris or a family traveling together.

Those are the questions I can ask directly when I know the people behind the property.

Sometimes Those Relationships Matter Most When Something Goes Wrong

I got a reminder of that while I was still in Las Vegas.

I had clients preparing for a trip to Scotland when an issue came up with part of their arrangements. One of the people I had connected with offered to step in and help if I needed him. I ultimately resolved the situation without taking him up on the offer, but having someone on the ground willing to help changed the equation considerably.

That is the part clients do not always see. Sometimes the value is not the hotel recommendation itself. It is knowing who to call when something changes or a problem needs attention.

A Five-Star Hotel Is Not Automatically the Right Hotel

There are plenty of beautiful five-star hotels in Paris. The more useful question is which one is right for a particular traveler.

Some people want a grand, formal hotel. Others want something smaller and more relaxed. Some care enormously about location, while others would rather have a larger room or quieter atmosphere. That is why I continue to visit hotels in person. I want to see the rooms, understand the location, meet the staff, notice what has changed and determine who I would actually recommend the property to.

The goal is not to hand someone a list of highly rated hotels. It is to narrow the choices and explain why one makes more sense than another.

The Meetings Do Not End in Las Vegas

I am leaving shortly for Amsterdam and France, and some of the conversations I had at Virtuoso Travel Week are already turning into hotel visits while I am there.

That matters because hotels change. Management changes. Restaurants improve or decline. Rooms are renovated. New properties open. The only way I can give current recommendations is to keep updating what I know.

So, Why Use a Travel Advisor?

Because access to information and knowing what to do with that information are not the same thing.

A good travel advisor brings firsthand experience, professional judgment, supplier relationships and an understanding of how the different pieces of a trip fit together. That may mean knowing which hotel is right, which room category is worth paying for, which itinerary makes sense or who to contact when plans change.

There are plenty of travelers who enjoy doing all of that themselves. For those who do not, having someone who has already done much of the research and knows how to interpret it can be valuable.

That is really what I came home with after 92 seven-minute meetings.

The information is everywhere. The judgment is not.

And, Why Should You Care About My Week in Las Vegas?

You probably do not need to care about the meetings themselves.

What matters is what happens afterward.

When I recommend one hotel over another, suggest a particular supplier, tell a client which room category I would choose, or reach out to someone when a trip needs support, there are years of travel, research, professional relationships and firsthand experience behind that recommendation.

Virtuoso Travel Week is one week of the year. The useful part is what I bring home from it.

About the Author

Jennifer Verville is the founder of French Escapes Travel, a Virtuoso-affiliated travel advisor specializing in France, Paris, European river cruises, and select luxury travel throughout Europe. She has traveled to France for more than 30 years and returns several times each year to revisit hotels, meet with local partners, and keep her recommendations current. Her approach combines firsthand destination knowledge with practical trip planning, hotel expertise, and strong industry relationships.