New Platform Gives Advisors Access to Complimentary Concierge Services for Their Clients

Luxury hotels have long provided high-touch concierge services that clients can use to book hard-to-come-by restaurant reservations or get tickets to the hottest show in town. But what if travel advisors had the same access to those concierges before their clients traveled?

This was a question The Luxurist CEO David Amsellem had. The original founder of John Paul, a membership-based concierge service provider (sold to Accor in 2016), Amsellem saw a gap in the market. While there are many programs and technological solutions to connect advisors with hotels, other than working with DMCs, there was nothing to help advisors drill down to the most specific details of their clients’ vacations.

“As an avid travel enthusiast, I recognized that 2025 marks a pivotal moment in our industry,” he said. “The emergence of AI has created an unprecedented opportunity to reimagine the travel experience, truly placing the traveler at the heart of everything we do. In this technological revolution, I firmly believe travel advisors have a unique opportunity to showcase the irreplaceable value of emotional intelligence and human connection in delivering genuinely personalized experiences.”

To find out more about their frustrations related to this aspect of their businesses, Amsellem interviewed more than 100 advisors.

“First, they said that although mass market is well addressed with many players, giving them exclusivity, rates, and so on, the luxury segment was not,” he told TMR.

Second, they expressed irritation with how much time they needed to spend in order to craft personalized experiences, particularly in areas they’re not experts in.

“If they are experts in accommodation and travel, they’re less experts on knowing which table to book in every city around the world or how to get access to this restaurant or how to connect with the chef to come to the table to talk and say hello,” he said.

Third, he heard that advisors felt they had to spend too much time comparing different platforms for amenities, rates, and flexibility.

To help solve for all three frustrations, Amsellem founded The Luxurist, a technology-based platform that connects advisors with a curated selection of global luxury properties and on-site experiences, along with complimentary access to on-the-ground concierges.

Airfare can also be purchased via The Luxurist, and advisors can earn commissions on most bookings with accommodations paying 12% to 15% commission and flights paying 3% to 5%. As the concierge service is free of charge, there is no commission paid for those services.

Handpicked Properties and Advisors

At the heart of The Luxurist is a desire to keep the platform exclusive, with hand-selected properties and advisors. Currently, The Luxurist offers a collection of 3,300 luxury properties. 

“Number one is curation,” Amsellem told TMR. “What we are trying to create is a dedicated luxury ecosystem where both luxury properties and luxury travel advisors feel comfortable to do business together.”

Like other hotel programs, all the rates and amenities have been negotiated by The Luxurist on behalf of its travel advisor users.

The company is as selective with advisors.

“To be honest, we select the advisors we want to work with. Today, we keep about 70% of the applications. Our ultimate goal is to create this luxury travel ecosystem, so we are very demanding in terms of who we are welcoming to the platform.”

Dedicated Concierge

While the platform’s curated collection of properties is valuable for advisors who might not otherwise have access, The Luxurist’s free concierge service is what sets it apart.

By using one of The Luxurist concierges, advisors can free up time that can be put to better use.

“It’s not [only] to save time. It’s to have more time to spend with their clients. It’s to have more time to focus on nurturing the relationship, getting to know them better, to anticipate their needs… Instead of spending an hour over the phone to contact the right restaurants, it’s delegating these tasks to someone you can trust.”

The best thing about The Luxurist’s concierge service is that it’s free for advisors to use. The only cost involved is if the concierge needs to make a purchase. Restaurant reservations, arranging for a chef meet and greet, and other similar requests cost nothing.

On top of not costing anything extra, many of the experiences these concierges can arrange make advisors look like rock stars. A client spending $1,000 a night on the nicest room in a hotel won’t talk as much about their accommodations as they will about the chef coming out to talk to them at a special dinner.

“This is the kind of behavior of luxury travelers,” Amsellem said, adding “It’s something money can’t buy because there is no price.”

Amsellem also pointed out that while the concierges’ main purpose is to assist travel advisors in planning their clients’ trips, they are available to support clients during their travels, as well.

Consortium Partnerships

The Luxurist is currently in talks with several consortia, including Virtuoso, Travel Leaders, and Signature. In some case, the company is working to integrate its system with the consortia’s existing one. In others, the partnership simply gives consortia members access to The Luxurist.

Generally, though, Amsellem said, The Luxurist doesn’t want to be “considered an additional platform… We want to be a place where everything can be consolidated.”

Virtuoso advisors, for instance, he said, will have access to Virtuoso’s contracted properties via The Luxurist, allowing Virtuoso to leverage the company’s AI technology.

“They leverage our tech, but they don’t pay us for that. They just have access to their contacts, but whenever they need our inventory it’s seamless.”

Membership Levels

Though there is no fee to join The Luxurist, advisors must apply for membership. There are three levels of membership: silver, gold, and platinum with each level offering a different level of commission.

Advisors may also want to check with their consortium or Host to see if they’re already in conversations with The Luxurist to offer their members access.