Haute couture once recognised the talent behind a dress. Haute Villégiature asks the same of exceptional travel, and we were part of the research group that helped define it.
A few hundred years ago, when an aristocrat wanted a new dress to impress everyone at the ball, she would summon a talented peasant and commission a dress, throw a few pennies at the seamstress and impress all her friends at the ball. The peasant would buy a loaf of bread. Then came the rise of Haute Couture, initially in France. Suddenly talented peasants were sought after, valued, and showered with gold. It was understood that what they did was exceptional and a few pennies just didn't cut it any more.
Haute Villégiature, in this research, is one of the first steps to recognising exceptional travel in the same way. Certainly, some of the things we have done for our clients have had much more impact on their lives than a new dress, belt or pair of shoes - so it stands to reason that truly transformational travel should not be associated with the same value propositions as a Tripadvisor or Booking.com. It's time for truly exceptional travel to be valued correctly.
This visionary piece of research has been championed by Quentin Desurmont, the founder of TravellerMade. We are proud of the fact that we were on the panel of this initial research group, further cementing our position as global visionaries in luxury travel. The fact that a small owner-operated company from New Zealand is a part of such an initiative is another feather in the cap of this exceptional country. Furthermore, a very large influence on our development of the company has been the Māori values which have imbued every step of our journey - so we would like to acknowledge tangata whenua with thanks and respect.
Jean-Michel Jefferson
Director, Founder & CEO
