Virtuoso Ltd. is the travel industry's leading luxury network. With more than 21,000 travel advisors and a presence in more than 54 countries, Virtuoso specializes in curating unique experiences you can't plan for yourself. Want to sip cocktails in a luxury African treehouse before embarking on a gorilla encounter? Would you like to explore Greenland's glaciers in a sea kayak? Do you prefer snorkeling with sharks in Bora Bora? Virtuoso's advisors can grant your wishes because they are in the business of making travel dreams come true.

But in 2023, the elite travel industry was not yet resting easy. As Virtuoso prepared to celebrate its 35th anniversary, its membership was navigating spotty weather patterns. At the time, the world was emerging from the heavy shadows of COVID-19. The short distance from the pandemic to the promising future was fraught with turbulence. For planners in the premier travel business, recovery was anything but even. Staffing woes, stretched teams, and cautious commitments contributed to an uncertain climate. Some agencies and advisors were airborne, while others grappled with the hard landings of lingering economic challenges. Above all, the persistent clouds of do-it-yourself or AI-assisted travel threatened to scoop up their prospects.

Amid these conditions, Virtuoso's 2023 Travel Week faced a unique challenge — uniting what was a fragmented industry and reestablishing a profound sense of purpose, community, and momentum. The objective was clear: bring people together and incentivize participation across a diverse audience of Virtuoso's core membership. The goal was not only to foster a sense of belonging and pride within its network but also to drive business growth and reinforce the value of in-person connection. But like any complicated journey, the first steps can be the hardest to put in place.


Crème de la Crème
Virtuoso Travel Week is a five-day odyssey that attracts more than 5,000 in-person participants from across the globe, as well as a virtual audience of 400 guests. Set against the backdrop of the Las Vegas Strip, this grand event is a bustling marketplace of ideas and opportunities. Attendees set sail on a journey that includes networking events, business meetings, professional development classes, and glittering awards ceremonies.

Beyond being a substantial revenue stream for Virtuoso, this event is a powerful magnet, attracting and ultimately converting prospective travel agency members into committed participants. It weaves a tapestry of community across the network, enabling attendees to forge and strengthen invaluable business relationships. More importantly, it marries members with partners to create collaborations that elevate their competitive edge in upscale bespoke travel planning. After all, a virtuoso is an individual who possesses talent or ability in a particular art or field.

Virtuoso advisors deliver high-end experiences with a personal touch at their core because their target client demographic demands it. Virtuoso's clientele consists of high-net-worth individuals with more than a million dollars in assets. When these guests seek adventure, they aren't pulling canned tours from the shelf. Virtuoso's audience is searching for curated excursions that are only possible with incredible connections. Reminding the membership of their importance to the organization and making them feel valued was one of the conference's largest and most salient goals.

That's So Virtuoso
Virtuoso and its partners at The Producer's Lounge introduced the theme — “So Virtuoso” — to its 2023 Travel Week to emphasize the irreplaceable value of human relationships. This debut campaign celebrated the unique personalized attributes of Virtuoso-advised travel through a series of evocative “So Statements.” Adjectives like “So Connected,” “So Inspiring,” and “So In-The-Know” led to a crescendo of “So Virtuoso” as a triumphant declaration of the power and influence of Virtuoso members. This creative approach aimed to showcase travel as an essential and enriching activity while highlighting the talent and sophistication of Virtuoso's travel advisors.

The campaign began well before anyone's arrival at the event in order to amp up the excitement and remind the audience of Virtuoso's influential network. The creative team designed a pre-event communication package that reflected the campaign. Every invitation, Zoom background, and PowerPoint template carried the message. By the time guests arrived, their veins were pumping with the underlying message of unity.

The opening session further underlined the “So Virtuoso” campaign with a custom, commissioned song. Written by guitarist Andy Timmons and performed by “America's Got Talent” alum Haley Reinhart, “So Virtuoso” was a powerful ballad emphasizing “there's no place you can't go” with the influence of Virtuoso. Reminding attendees of their dream-making abilities helped stoke the fires of pride within the Virtuoso network.

A Journey of a Thousand Miles
The campaign was more than words. Virtuoso Travel Week fit into one hotel's conference space for much of its history. However, over the years, the event's popularity grew to the extent that the 2023 event required it to expand to three neighboring resorts on the Las Vegas Strip. It was a good problem to have, but the sprawling event now needed a unifying, branded solution to ensure cohesiveness across venues. Attendees traversed literal miles between the resorts as they found their destinations. Flowing like luxury liners between the posh ports of Bellagio Las Vegas, Aria Resort & Casino, and Vdara Hotel & Spa, attendees needed to navigate more channels than they had in previous years.

With such a wide gulf between the three resorts, planners faced the daunting task of creating a flowing unity between the properties. To mind the gap, the team pulled the visual thread of the “So Virtuoso” campaign and stitched it into strategic signage that appeared across all of the hosting resorts. The campaign became a champion theme woven between the properties.

Planners slathered signage on connected hotel breezeways and walkways and affixed large-scale wall clings in the public spaces of secondary hotels. Distinctive arrival displays alerted guests when they were in the right place. The signage not only served as wayfinding for attendees but also blanketed the resorts in Virtuoso branding. The event's audience could easily follow the breadcrumb markers to their destinations, while nonattendees couldn't help but experience the branding through osmosis.

But it wasn't just any signage. Harnessing the potency of the product its advisors promise, Virtuoso peppered its imagery with powerful pictures of sumptuous sojourns. Like snapshots from your favorite vacation, rich stills of enviable excursions decorated every proverbial and literal step. Shots of graphite elephants hulking across saffron Serengeti plains, couples in lavish spas surrounded by lush jungles, and silhouettes of explorers against ice-capped peaks freckled the walkways and conference spaces. The images were postcard reminders of the power of travel, especially when people are granted the opportunity to experience it in its most luxurious form.

Nonstop Nomad
The week-long itinerary was jam-packed with purposeful events to maximize the attendees' time at the conference. Its four-day intensive formal networking event is integral to the Virtuoso Travel Week puzzle. Critical players in the Virtuoso relationship are the key partners who provide the goods. Hoteliers, airlines, tourism boards, cruise lines, and other destination suppliers comprise a large portion of the audience. Virtuoso puts on its matchmaking hat in a Grand Central Station experience similar to speed dating to ensure that attendees receive appropriate face time. Thousands of participants move through full days of networking that occur in 10-minute intervals. Partners remain seated as advisors and agencies hop from table to table, gathering relevant information for their prospective clients in less time than it takes to boil a kettle of water. Advisors engage in up to 26 meetings daily, resulting in hundreds of connections by the end of the week.

Face-to-face interaction wasn't limited to the dizzying formal networking. Each day was bookended with various celebrations that brought partners and advisors together in themed experiences. Kicking off the week was a Choose-Your-Own-Adventure afternoon. Guests picked between a Technology Summit, Sustainability Luncheon, or Globetrotting Lounge. A casual welcome reception allowed guests to break the ice over an open bar. Evening events, with a travel-themed flair, created more opportunities for connectivity. Cruise partners enjoyed a dedicated black-and-gold gala filled with live music and awards on the first evening. An “Around the World” event on the second night brought the entire audience together for a bustling reception reminiscent of an international marketplace. Themed food and drinks set the tone while costumed performers danced through the crowd and on the main stage. The climax of the week was the final gala night. The sophisticated House of Virtuoso event highlighted moving travel imagery through design and performance. Tableaux of destinations decorated the room while models in worldly fashions strutted the stage. As live music swelled, a singer costumed in a 25-foot-wide dress, which doubled as a video screen, belted out top hits while travel-related projections streamed over her skirt.

The heady combination of a whirlwind week populated with mind-blowing engagement, food, and entertainment delivered the audience an experience not unlike what Virtuoso advisors regularly plan for their clients. Even virtual attendees were able to get in on the action. Portions of the week were livestreamed, online recaps were accessible, and virtual networking appointments were possible.

Admiring Their Souvenirs
When Virtuoso counted its mementos from the event, the results added up to a trunkful. Participants engaged in more than 185,000 total appointments. Media coverage exceeded 2,000 stories in 53 countries, with more than 1.3 billion media impressions. In addition, the event exceeded revenue expectations by 24 percent.

The most telltale sign of a successful adventure is the lingering experiences that live in the memories of those who journeyed. An after-event survey captured attendees' postcard flashbacks and impressions, covering every element of the week. From food to content to special events, no stone was left unturned. Attendees were able to wax nostalgic about the time they had at Virtuoso Travel Week 2023, and the survey results exceeded the organization's KPI satisfaction score goals, with 81 percent of respondents rating the event higher than an 8 out of 10. Saturating attendees in a bespoke “So Virtuoso” odyssey paid off for the judges, too. One Corporate Event Awards judge called the conference “a totally encompassing event that bathed the attendee in all things Virtuoso.”E