Have you ever been a tourist in your own hometown?
 
It’s amazing how much we take our cities for granted. San Francisco is a world-class destination that people from around the globe come to see and yet for the Bay Area, it’s just The City.
 
I was invited last week to a special session at the Cavallo Point Cooking School. I had heard the buzz but never had the chance to experience it for myself. I will admit, being domestically challenged, I was a bit intimidated by the array of fresh ingredients in the kitchen and the box of sharp knives on the counter, but it turned out to be a wonderful night out. Head Chef Tony Adams is not only incredibly talented but he’s a riot. He kept us in stitches by mentioning insights like how he got his “body by burrata” (I’m tempted to make this into a t-shirt) while sharing his culinary tips.

​As we bring in the New Year, we begin to reflect on our accomplishments and look forward to the coming year. We review personal goals as well as business goals. We focus on health and prosperity. We set milestones and often choose a word to represent our focus for the year.
 
Through all of this planning and preparation, we lose sight of our most precious non-renewable resource-our leisure time. While we prepare for most everything else, we don’t give much thought to our time off and how we’ll make the most of it. Did you know that in 2018, the U.S. Travel Association reported that over 50% of Americans left 768 million vacation days on the table? That’s time we’ve earned but have not used. 

Photo credit: Celebrity Cruises
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​There’s been a lot of buzz about the wellness offering at hotels and resorts, but there’s much effort being extended by some cruise lines to cater to the wellness traveler. We’re not just talking about a small gym on board or a yoga mat in the cabin, cruise ships are now offering everything from bikes to enjoy at local ports to healthy meal options. Excursions are getting away from bus tours and allowing for more active pursuits such as hiking and biking through local towns. There’s also some wonderful partnerships forming between traditional land packages and cruising. Here’s a sample of what’s in store with wellness cruises:
 

Photo Credit: Paul Gauguin

​Cruising offers many benefits. You can see several destinations without constantly packing and unpacking, there’s plenty of entertainment on board and there's scheduled excursions once you get off the ship. For the most part, cruising also offers an all-inclusive rate, so most meals and drinks are included in the cost.
 
What about those of us for whom being on a ship with 6,000 other passengers scurrying for the buffet line doesn’t seem like much of a vacation? What about those that prefer more active vacations, higher levels of service, better food options and want to see more of the places we’re traveling to rather than being confined to waterslides and shopping malls onboard?

​It used to be that when I mentioned Wellness Travel, it conjured up visions of sitting alone on a mountain top meditating in silence. While this may still be the case for some, the new idea of wellness is centered around what you need most at any given time. This may just be a quiet respite away from the demands of your work and family or it may be an active vacation focused on doing what you love the most, whether that be biking, golfing or surfing. Wellness travel may mean that you need a reset and are seeking out a place to help you get back on track with healthy eating and a regular fitness routine. It may also mean you are needing to reconnect with your spiritual self and are looking to grow or transform yourself from the experience. 

Most of us got wind of the latest restrictions for travel to Cuba from the Trump administration early last week. With a swift and broad stroke, all cruise travel originating from U.S. ports was banned as was the "People to People" tours under which U.S. citizens could visit this island nation. There was a caveat in that if you had already purchased some component of your trip by June 5th, either flights or hotel for example,  you could be grandfathered in and still proceed as scheduled. For those that had been dreaming of going to Cuba or were planning on visiting in the near future but hadn't acted on it yet, you may have felt that you missed your window of opportunity.

We all talk about how we'd love to get away, yet over half of Americans don't take the time off they've earned. The research conducted by Project:TimeOff shows that we leave 705M unused vacation days on the table annually, 212M of which were forfeited!

The Project:Time Off Coalition is comprised of organizations committed to changing the thinking and behavior of Americans about vacation time. As part of a national movement, coalition members understand that putting our wasted days to use will provide a $236 billion boost to the economy, and, more importantly, improve the health, happiness, and careers of overworked Americans.

Whether it's the feeling that you'll return to a greater workload or that your employer will question your dedication, there's many excuses for why we delay taking our much-deserved time off.  When interviewing managers, Project: TimeOff discovered that the majority (91%) of them WANT you to take your vacation days but just wished you had told them about it at the beginning of the year. 

Neurological disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer's are becoming increasingly prevalent. Alzheimers is the 6th leading cause of death and the only one in the top 10 without a cure. So when LifeWorks wellness resort in Montana approached me to experience their program focused on brain health, I was more than a little intrigued. Headed by Dr. Rob Velin, a neuropsychologist and former research professor at University of California San Diego, and based strictly on science and research-driven programs, LifeWorks’ mission is to help their VIPs lead healthier lives, specifically by increasing and protecting their brain health.
 
The program focuses on 7 pillars: Advising (life coaching), Adventure (exploration and activities leveraging the natural surroundings), Conditioning (fitness), Movement (yoga, mindfulness, meditation), Nutrition, Neurofeedback and Virtual Reality/Mixed Reality (to increase neuroplasticity and manage stress). This holistic approach to wellness provides the tools for the intervention and prevention of neurological diseases such as dementia and Alzheimer’s. 

​It’s that time of year…Virtuoso Travel week is right around the corner in August! It’s the most anticipated gathering of luxury travel providers in the world and for the first time in the history of the event, it is sold out. It’s also my annual opportunity to connect with the upper management teams for the top hotels, cruise lines and tour operators globally and act as a buyer on my clients’ behalf.

This week-long event in Las Vegas is the epitome of speed dating between luxury travel advisors and suppliers. We “switch partners” every 4 minutes for 4 full days, learning about the latest updates from tourism boards, hotels, resorts, cruise lines and tour operators. We then have the opportunity to set up appointments specifically with those we’d like some extra time.

As someone who’s keenly interested in ensuring I continue to partner with the best and most innovative companies, I want to reach out to you to find out what’s on your bucket list for 2019. Have you been dreaming about a magical rooftop dinner in Paris overlooking the Eiffel Tower? How about exploring the riches of the Mekong river on a luxury river cruise? Are you stressed out, burned out and needing to find a wellness resort to help you connect with yourself and nature? Milestone birthday or anniversary coming up? Girls’ trip or family vacation on the horizon?

Whatever is on your mind or on your radar for the coming year, please send me a note to let me know so I can prepare to collaborate with the best of the best for you!

Virtuoso Travel Week is a maddening week of appointments, dinners and cocktail events but one I come away from having learned so much about luxury travel and deepening my relationships with the people that help me provide you with elevated travel experiences.

I look forward to hearing from you and learning more about where you’re headed in 2019!