About Ultitude
How would you go about creating the definitive travel experience in destinations around the world? Experiences that offer value for money, and yet, because of the quality of the amenities are created for the discerning few?
That was our task as we created Ultitude based on our forty years experience in the operation and marketing of travel products with some of the best known names in travel.
We started with a clean sheet of paper and determined what elements would be necessary to create something new and appeal to the growing segment of sophisticated travelers.
First, the program needed to be all inclusive or as close to it as possible since our potential clients would not want to be constantly reaching into their pocket. They would want to pay once, have us take care of all the details and not have to deal with credit card bills on their return.
Second, it needed to be built around two people to provide the highest level of personalized service; people who wanted to be immersed in a culture and offered new horizons but were not enthralled with the idea of a group tour. Based on client input, however, we determined that some couples or even a few women friends were looking to share the travel experience so we are happy to create and operate custom groups for up to six people.
Third, we needed to offer and recommend the option of business class airfare as part of the program since the land experiences should not be compromised by the risk of a middle seat either at the beginning or end of the trip especially since many of our destinations involved longer flights. Our guests, accepting our recommendation would arrive at the destination in better shape to start their adventure and would also end their experience on a high note.
Fourth, when guests arrived they needed to be met and assisted by their own private car and driver and also when they are ready to depart. These professional and personable drivers would also be on hand to take clients from destination to destination showing and explaining interesting sites along the way.
Fifth, we needed to personally select hotels that matched our commitment to personal service. Since our departures were small, boutique hotels including private tented camps in Africa were a first priority but we also did not exclude properties such as Raffles which, while larger, offer an uncompromising focus on service and fit their market. A review of the accommodations will, we hope, validate our effort.
Sixth, we believe that meals are not only a matter of sustenance but an enjoyable entrée into the culture of the destinations, so we include all meals in the vast majority of our programs. Based on geography, you will find that some meals are taken at the hotel; we also have local hosts who will take you to their favorite restaurant for local cuisine or we may combine a cooking class with a meal as a learning experience and a cultural exchange.
Seventh, when in a city we wanted guests to fully immerse themselves in the culture so we assign knowledgeable and licensed private guides to each couple allowing maximum interaction. The guides would conduct walking tours through neighborhoods, food markets, museums and art galleries and would make each destination come alive.
Eighth, we would need to offer our potential guests a large variety of programs so that they would have the luxury of choice in deciding what was best suited for them and be prepared to create a custom program if our initial offerings were not quite right.
Ninth, we would use the Internet to get the information to our potential guests and to make it efficient we designed a highly interactive destination search capability which would make it easy for consumers to research and compare various options.
Tenth, while sophisticated travelers would be comfortable using the Internet to research their ideal travel experience they would also want personal attention when it came to answering questions and completing the booking. That is why we created personal trip coordinators who are assigned to each client. It is their job to answer any questions either directly or, if they don't know, finding out and getting back to the guest. They coordinate all the pre-trip activities and even call ahead to the hotels once you are en route to ensure that you are treated appropriately. Your personal trip coordinator is assigned to you from an initial call to a welcome home call.
We believe that you will find our travel experiences to be unique, creating for our guests a "once-in-a-lifetime" experience