Tom Filippini has both a significant background and pedigree in the high end travel industry, and is a substantial traveler himself. Filippini has visited roughly 50 countries and nearly every state in the US. And, this passion led Filippini to become one of the co-founders of Exclusive Resorts, the world's largest destination club, where he served as Executive Vice President, generating over $750 million in new membership sales. Filippini and fellow Exclusive Resorts alum Erik Mitisek have since left their positions with ER, and have launched Next Great Place, an online travel planning company that streamlines the process of planning and booking unique, complex vacations.
The Next Great Place process begins with travelers submitting a vacation request, detailing information such as destination desired, number of guests, and budget. Next Great Place subsequently submits the request to a vetted group of vendors in the desired destinations. Over the next 48 hours, those suppliers create customized travel proposals that are returned to the traveler who chooses the proposal they like the most, locking in the proposed rates.
"Our vision is to improve the lives of travelers by facilitating their enjoyment of more frequent and better vacations with family and friends," Filippini told Luxist, "Our online travel network will match travelers seeking custom experiences to pre-screened travel suppliers, ultimately creating a more efficient and hassle-free way to plan unique vacations." Next Great Place will target family-oriented accommodations including condo-hotel residences and individual villas with each supplier vetted using the company's proprietary 300-point checklist to ensure the highest quality standards in every destination.
The video below shows the back story of exactly how a luxury residence meets the high, detail-oriented standards of Next Great Place. From thread counts to toilet seats, this video shows how exacting these people are!
Next Great Place residences at Esperanza, Cabo San Lucas.
At the present moment, there are two destinations available -- Cabo San Lucas, Mexico and Vail/Beaver Creek Colorado. However, every four weeks Next Great Place plans to add at least one additional destination, with a goal of 100 destinations in the next five years. Safaris, wine tours, heli-skiing, and other forms of experiential travel will be introduced also.
The Next Great Place soft launch will be on February 15th, allowing a select group of people, initially registered online or by phone, to start booking Cabo and Vail . During this preliminary launch, NGP services will be free to consumers. The commercial launch, planned for March 15th, will trigger a modest annual subscription fee for access to the network, and when all registered users will be able to book trips with two additional destinations.
"The traveler defines what price they're willing to pay for these various experiences, whether it's a resort experience or a safari," he said. "We will tailor our suppliers to what the traveler wants to spend."
0 comments:
Post a Comment