Building a successful luxury travel agency doesn’t just happen overnight. It takes a lot of work to establish a client list of affluent customers, but the payoff is quite lucrative when booking high-ticket items such as yachts, private jets, hotel suites and private guides becomes a regular part of one’s workday.
But where does one begin? We asked luxury travel advisors, many of them serving ultra-high-net-worth clients, to provide insights for those who’d like to build a book of business with high-end clients.
Each has forged different strategies, but all shared a consensus that the luxury client shouldn’t be aggressively chased, and that blatant advertising doesn’t always bring positive results in this sector of the market. Rather, relationships should be built individually and nurtured on a one-to-one basis.
Grow Your Knowledge First
“Do not begin by trying to find rich clients. Begin by becoming the kind of advisor people trust with important travel,” Eric Hrubant, founder and president of CIRE Travel, an affiliate of Global Travel Collection, tells Travel Pulse.
“Learn the business thoroughly. Be responsive without being frantic. Develop excellent relationships with partners, pay attention to details, and learn how to remain calm when plans go sideways.”
Hrubant says it’s also important to never pretend to know something you don’t and never recommend something simply because it is expensive.
“Most importantly, understand that luxury service is not about champagne amenities and flashy itineraries. It is about judgment, access, discretion, and making complicated things feel easy. That reputation takes time to build, but once earned, it becomes your most valuable source of new business,” he says.
Taking Care of Each Client
Limor Decter, a travel advisor with Embark Collective, says that when she started in the travel industry 10 years ago, she never would have imagined that one day she would be booking private villas, luxury yachts, or planning journeys for ultra-high-net-worth clients who travel on their own Gulfstreams.
“The truth is, I didn't build my business by chasing luxury clients—I built it one relationship at a time,” she tells Travel Pulse.
“From the very beginning, I treated every client and every trip as though it was the most important journey I had ever planned, regardless of the budget. I wanted every client to feel cared for and genuinely valued,” she says.
One piece of advice she’d give her younger self, 10 years in? “If you build it, they will come. Don't chase luxury clients—focus on building trust, delivering exceptional service, and creating unforgettable experiences for every client, regardless of their budget.
Decter says that if you consistently exceed expectations, your reputation will grow, referrals will follow, and over time the right clients will find you.
In her case? “One referral led to another, relationships deepened, and over time my business evolved into something I never could have imagined,” she says
Ask for the Referral
Barbara Khan, luxury travel advisor at Journeys by the Book LLC, powered by Global Travel Collection, said she tried advertising her travel business in local Florida newspapers back in 1998, with poor results, which was surprising because she was living in one of the state’s wealthiest zip codes.
“What I did get were lots of tire kickers, no real serious bookers and no long-time client relationships,” she tells Travel Pulse.
Fast forward to 2026 and Khan says that the single best thing that she has done to grow her business is to ask for referrals from her current client base.
“Don’t be shy about it,” she says. She also advises hosting wine and appetizer events to bring clients, and their friends, into the agency.
“Make it very casual, not a hard sell. Just talk about travel in general, ask them about their travel experiences, tell them funny stories about trips you’ve booked and trips you’ve taken. Just enjoy a light experience,” she says.
Looking back, there is one thing she’d have done differently, she says. “I was doing corporate travel, and I had lots of high-net-worth clients, she says. “I did cultivate them for leisure trips, but I should have done more. I would have advised myself to write a monthly newsletter highlighting my services and destinations I wanted to promote.”
Go Where the Money Is
It's also vital to be where your prospective clients are so they can get to know you.
Anne Marie Brown, founding partner and travel advisor at Alpenglow Travel, grew up in the travel business; her family owned Outrigger Hotels for three generations prior to her family’s sale of the company in 2016.
She herself is an ultra-high-net-worth traveler, which helps her relate well to her clients at the agency, which she launched with her partners just over a year ago. Alpenglow Travel has already surpassed $5 million in booking volume this year.
“I’d say that it starts with establishing your network by being in the places your clients are,” Brown tells Travel Pulse. “I sit on the boards of several non-profits; I volunteer to chair charity galas and I’m also on the boards of a few educational institutions.”
In fact, some of her best clients are those she met while traveling. “If you go on a Silversea cruise or a luxury river cruise, you’re likely to meet people who love travel and have the financial backing to afford it. They see that you love to travel the same way, and it instantly establishes your credibility,” says Brown.
Most of her book of business is referral based, with clients coming from a large network of friends from graduate school, boarding school, and life in general.
But Brown is also using the most current tools in the business to garner new clients. She has a Substack called The Upgrade Weekly that’s growing quickly. (Most recently she wrote about the micro- and macro-economic forces shifting patterns in luxury travel.)
“I enjoy sharing what I’m seeing in the industry weekly on Substack and I have several clients who found me through my writing on there and my posts and comments on Reddit forums, like Chubby Travel,” says Brown. “I think if people see you as an industry expert, they are more likely to trust you with their travel.”
Make Them Feel Heard
Leslie Tillem of Eltee Travel, powered by Global Travel Collection, says that when she started in the industry, she wanted to sell travel and to travel herself.
“It was that simple,” she tells Travel Pulse. “So, the best advice I may offer is to provide whatever it takes to build a level of comfort and trust with any client regardless of net worth.”
Tillem says you should know your audience and do whatever you can to make them know you hear them and understand their needs and desires.
“Listening is always a good rule of thumb, and every request needs to be addressed,” she says. “For example, a UHNW client asked me to create an itinerary that had the feeling of a recent Netflix movie. I made sure I watched the movie that evening so we could discuss how I would create this to accommodate his family.”
For the latest travel news, updates and deals, subscribe to the daily TravelPulse newsletter.
Topics From This Article to Explore
