Tag Archives: Posh Voyage

Ritz. Paris, France

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The most iconic hotel in the world recently opened its doors after a 4-year renovation speared by Egipcian owner, Mohamed Al-Fayed (also known as Lady Di’s future father-in-law), after pouring 500 million Euro for a major facelift to an already spectacular hotel.

The Ritz first opened in 1898, which makes one of the oldest luxury hotels in the world. The new hotel was constructed behind the façade of an 18th-century town house, overlooking one of the most exclusive Paris central squares, Place Vendome.

The hotel was reportedly the first in Europe to provide a bathroom en-suite, partly due to the ambition of Mr. Cesar Ritz of building the most luxurious hotel in the world. This attracted the most famous names of the XX century like Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Marcel Proust and Coco Chanel, who lived there for 34 years.

During the 1940’s it became the residence of Hermann Goering, the second most powerful Nazi after Hitler, as well as the headquarters for the German airforce. His quarters took up an entire floor and consisted of three bedrooms, maids’ rooms, several opulent salons.

Al-Fayed purchased the property from the Ritz family in 1979, he closed its doors for an overdue renovation to bring it back to its former years of glory. The wear and tear was starting to become obvious, and the hotel needed to catch up with the modern technology to stay competitive.

Thorough the two major renovations the essence of the 18-century palace still stands, which I think personally it is exceptionally hard to do. Grand hotels around the world like Waldorf Astoria in New York City and St. Francis in San Francisco have tried to mimic the same undertaking, only to find that the elegance and beauty of the old world has been vanished due to their desire to become part of big hotel chains, as well as their need to bring cost down and occupancy high at any cost.

The hotel closed its doors once again in 2013 for a four-year renovation which turned to be longer due to an unforeseen fire three months prior to their opening in 2016, the opening got delayed by a few months. Almost one third of the hotel is still being renovated to this day (not that you would ever notice).

From the moment you walk into the Ritz, the astonishing architecture, the elegant décor and friendly faces will make you feel like you are walking home. Well, I take that back, it makes you feel like you are walking into the home you have always dream about.

The attention to detail is superb. For instance: Every gold detail in the hotel (which by the way there are a lot) is all gold plated with the most exquisite details. Everything from door handles to furniture was sent to the best antique restoration company to ensure the history wasn’t erased out of any piece.

The number of rooms was reduced from 150 to 98 after the renovation, to ensure that every guestroom was more spacious and grand. There are 650 full-time staff which is more than any luxury hotel in Paris, all to make sure that the ration of staff to guest is at its highest to ensure perfect service.

 

Overall the Ritz was, is, and will be the Grand Dame of Paris.

Press: Posh Voyage Inteview

Travel News

See full interview: www.diwyy.com

See full video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BJAwLXC6fjU

Stefanie Dee Kronemeyer Coppel set out to create incredible travel experiences for her customers.

If her early successes are any indication, we say she’s accomplished that and more.

We recently sat down with Stefanie, founder and CEO of Posh Voyage, a travel concierge firm that helps travelers narrow down the infinite travel destinations and luxury hotel options worldwide. It was awesome connecting with Stefanie and learning how she launched her travel business.

Below you’ll find her outlook on business, pursing a career while leaving time for travel, and some of her favorite locations to stay.

What is Posh Voyage?

Posh voyage is a luxury travel concierge and blog that recommends the best hotels worldwide, as well as plans bespoke itineraries for savvy globetrotters looking to travel stress-free.

Posh Voyage also features insider tips like which rooms have the best view, which restaurants are worthy of your visit and what to order when you get there.

My passion for hotels and obsession with luxury triggered the desire to start Posh voyage. However, when I say luxury, I do not mean necessarily the most expensive, but the most unique. My latest find was a gem in Florianopolis called Ponta dos Ganchos.

The idea is to turn a simple travel idea into an unforgettable experience for clients that do not have the time to do so. A recent example was when a client emailed me to book three hotels in different regions in France for his Honeymoon. Naturally this plan seemed like it was missing the WOW factor, so I told him to give me two days and transformed the bland 3-hotel itinerary to a Fairytale countryside voyage. Starting with a few nights at Plaza Athenee in Paris filled with unique private museum tours by night, architecture walks, foodie tours with a renown Parisian chef and dinners at the most decadent Michelin-starred restaurants, before heading to a unique boutique hotel in the Champagne region where they were welcomed with a hot air balloon ride and a private visit to the Dom Perignon cellars.

A few nights after, they drove to Dijon and stayed at an enchanting typical French castle and had the most unbelievable private mustard tasting tour upon visiting the best vineyards in the region. Then they headed to Bordeaux for a few more fantastic wine-tasting tours. Followed by a truffle hunting expedition in Cahors, before indulging a meal made by the truffles they had picked. Finally, they headed to Provence and stayed in a world-famous spa. There they had private cheese and wine tasting tours before heading back home… probably a few pounds heavier.

Who are your clients?

High-end clientele that do not have the time to plan a vacation, but want to have an amazing experience, clients that require a personalized itinerary with complex logistics and clients that want a better deal for their money. The fact that my client gives me a $50,000 budget for a ten-day trip, doesn’t mean I book necessarily the most expensive, I always look for the best possible offer with the most amount of amenities.

Using numbers and stories, how big has your success been?

So far the company has been running for 10 months, and the number of monthly blog visitors went from 0 to 5,000 in the first few months, increased to 10,000 by the 6th month and currently up to 20,000 visitors for December. Now with the Travel Concierge Tool, most of the clients come from visiting Posh Voyage’s website and feel inspired by my articles to plan a trip in the near future. Since the opening of Posh Voyage Concierge in November, I have planned more than 40 bespoke trips worldwide.

Where did the idea for your business come from?

I arrived to Sao Paulo International Airport, and waited 2 hours for a car that was supposed to pick him up to take me to The Fasano. I then called the AMEX Centurion travel agent, only to find out the agent booked my flight arriving to the wrong airport, and forgot to book the car transfer. Attention to detail while traveling is imperative, and since that very moment, I decided to create a business that caters to jetsetters looking for personalized attention and bespoke itineraries while traveling.

The business idea also came while working in a luxury concierge service in New York. Since I had to be “in-the-know” in the travel and food world, all my friends, and friends of friends, started asking me what hotels I recommended for different destinations, and what to do in that specific location.

What did you do before this business?

Make impossible travel requests happen at Quintessentially Concierge. Working in the luxury concierge business, there is nothing you can’t do, and if there is, then this job is probably not for you. Two crazy requests I got from clients were: One was to have her private jet painted pink for a bachelorette party that I organized for her, and the second one was to book 3 presidential suites in 3 different countries because the client didn’t know which of the locations he was going to prefer that night, and did I mention they were non-refundable?

After working at Quintessentially for two years, I got offered a job at one of the most successful Private Sale Sites located in Boston, Rue La La, to help launch the Travel Flash Sale Site. My time in Rue La La inspired me to start my own on-line business with a focus on travel planning. I started working on my own business plan for Posh Voyage after work, and during the weekends. A year and a half later I left my job at Rue La La to launch Posh Voyage Blog and Concierge.

What was your first product/service like? How successful was it?

The initial idea was to have a blog featuring the best hotels in the world. After doing this for 4 months, I felt like I needed to put my previous experiences in to practice and start planning travel. I then had to take numerous tests to get certified as a Travel Agent by IATAN, a corporation that recognizes the best suppliers in the travel world.

What is your favorite inquiry?

Where the client gives me the travel dates, the type of vacation they want, but lets me go wild with the itinerary. I get to build the most unbelievable experiences, as simple or over-the-top as the client wishes.

How did you get your first customers?

Thanks to my great contacts in the industry, I emailed them as well as friends and family to introduce the new site. Since then, most of the clients contact me through word of mouth of satisfied costumers. I do not advertise, because I am a firm believer that if I exceed my client’s expectations, they will be the ones advertising me with their friends.

The biggest advantage is that I have actually traveled to most of the destinations and I have a firsthand experience, therefore I can give more accurate advice (taking into account what type of traveler you are, what style of the trip you are looking for and who you will be traveling with), than a travel agent from AMEX Centurion that most likely gets her information from the hotel’s website.

What have been some of your biggest challenges?

Getting customers to trust the “travel agency” world again, it is wrongly associated with adding an additional percentage to the price, when the truth is I get the best industry rates out there, therefore the client gets a better price, with additional hotel amenities like spa credit, late check-outs, breakfast included and other great perks.

What have been some of the biggest milestones along the way?

Getting certified as a Travel Agent by IATAN and planning travel for the CEO of one of the biggest technology companies in the country.

Based on your experiences, what advice do you have?

As an entrepreneur you have a great idea, but the real challenge is to actually make it happen. Along the way I had to be my company’s CEO, lawyer and marketing expert, therefore feeling lost along the way was a completely normal feeling, but I always remember that I was trying to master new subjects while running my company. Learning something new every day is a regular thing, so patience is key.

Do you think the travel industry has been affected by new media?

It has affected the travel agencies focused on short and simple itineraries due to the user-friendly online travel agencies like Orbitz, but it has enhanced the luxury travel industry.

There has always been a need for personalized travel planning, and media has only affected it positively, making my clients more aware of the infinite travel options out there.