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Using the new
Virtuoso.com Booking Tool

Do you enjoy researching hotels? Do you prefer to book last minute getaways, weekend breaks, business or other short trips on your own? Then this Virtuoso self-booking tool is for you! Now, you can get the instant gratification from booking online and still receive VIP treatment. This tool gives you instant access to Virtuoso rates and VIP amenities and upgrades on your own. The Virtuoso Booking Tool gives you the ease and convenience of online booking – plus the value and VIP treatment we know you love.

You can secure exclusive amenities, that we’ve always delivered, at over thousands of Virtuoso properties around the world, such as:

- Room upgrade on arrival -
- Daily breakfast for two -
- Hotel credit for food, beverage or spa -
- Early check-in/late checkout -
- Special Virtuoso experiences -

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The Benefits

The Virtuoso Booking Tool offers the convenience, and speed of being able to look up rates and book Virtuoso hotels on your own; from the hotel’s perspective, nothing changes. We will still receive your booking information and, as with any booking, will still reach out to the hotel(s) personally to communicate your details, preferences, and special requests.

STEP 1: Choose an advisor

All you have to do is sign on and identify Sam McClure as your Virtuoso Advisor. If you see rates, but are not able to book online, double check that you’ve selected Sam as your advisor. 

STEP 2: BOOK ONLINE

Follow the easy instructions in the booking tool. You’ll provide your dates, view rates and availability, select the room you want, provide your contact and payment details, and voila! You’ve made your booking.

Please note we do not recommend this tool if you are booking multiple rooms, looking for connecting room options, or have multiple destinations/hotels in a larger/longer trip.

STEP 3: TRAVEL LIKE A VIP!

Once you make a booking, we get an alert, and we will follow up with you and the hotel as a part of our usual VIP hotel booking process. Your check-in experience will be seamless and you will receive all the usual recognitions for booking with Virtuoso and Small World Travel.

Things to know:

Please keep in mind this a brand new, innovative tool – For a new product launch, we have seen very few bugs or glitches! But, full disclosure, it’s typical for any new tool to see a few hiccups before all the kinks are ironed out. If you run into anything, please contact Virtuoso Help Desk – your feedback is very valuable in continuing to make this tool better!

Not all hotels are participating – You will see that not all hotels are participating in the program and many will direct you to contact your advisor to request a booking. In those cases, you can use the web from on Virtuoso.com or email us and we’ll get you squared away. If you see rates, but are not able to book online, double check that you’ve selected Sam as your advisor.

Book any time, any day! – The main benefit of this tool is that it operates 24/7. While we would love to be available to you 24/7, we do have to sleep! If you are worried about availability or a rate change, this booking tool will allow you to lock your trip in immediately– even if it’s 3 am on a Saturday night!

You can also use this tool to view rates and availability and send us an email inquiry that includes hotel, dates, and rooms desired directly from Virtuoso.com. If you are worried about availability or a rate change, this booking tool will allow you to lock-in your reservation, at your convenience without any wait. As always, please contact us if you need to change or cancel your booking, as this cannot be done through the Virtuoso booking tool.

USD is the only currency displayed – While this enhances convenience for you, keep this in mind when booking foreign hotels. If your rate is not full pre-pay at time of booking (which we don’t recommend!), your exchange rate may fluctuate before your travel dates.

Promotions – Keep in mind that not all promotions are created equal! Some promotions will not combine with Virtuoso rates, so you may not see all of them available when searching rates. If you have your eye on a special promotion, feel free to reach out to us to look into it!

Last Minute Bookings – There are two things to keep in mind if you are booking a last minute (anywhere from 7 days prior to travel, to time of arrival)

If you book via Virtuoso.com, our last-minute fee will not apply. This fee is to cover our team’s time for prioritizing last minute rate inquiries; which of course does not occur if you are booking directly through Virtuoso.com!

While we will do our best to follow our typical VIP process of contacting the hotel directly for any booking; we cannot guarantee this process for last minute bookings through Virtuoso.com.

 

When NOT to book via Virtuoso.com:

Some programs will trump Virtuoso – As you may know, we are fortunate enough to be able to work with many exclusive luxury hotel programs in addition to Virtuoso. While it’s rare, there are a few programs that we will recommend over Virtuoso. In these instances, we recommend you still request your trip through us to get the best value!

  • Four Seasons Preferred Partner – Higher VIP status and better breakfast amenity (includes room service)
  • Dorchester Diamond Club – Often receives upgrade at booking
  • Mandarin Oriental Fan Club – Credit amenity received is more flexible than the Virtuoso credit
  • Shangri-La Luxury Circle – Often receives upgrade at booking

When your hotel booking is not simple – The booking tool is not designed for multiple rooms, special requests, trips involving multiple hotels, or any other “booking complications.” Anytime you have a booking request that goes beyond the most basic hotel reservation, it is still best to contact us first!