Getting to Know Nocturne Villas, Part of the ‘Next Great High End’ Travel Segment

The villa segment is having a moment. Put on the map for a lot of travelers because of the pandemic, the segment, which is exploding across client types, is not losing any momentum. The segment, like others before it, is now ready to move from an alternative experience to the mainstream for all travelers, no matter their wants and needs. 

Enter Nocturne Luxury Villas, a villa company that is growing specifically to meet the needs of the high-end, luxury client that is seeking a combination of privacy, customization, and uniqueness in their vacations. 

Travel advisors will recognize the CEO of Nocturne Luxury Villas, Scott Wiseman, the former president of Travel Impressions and former senior vice president and general manager of Apple Leisure Group, who joined Nocturne just about a year ago. 

Nocturne owns and operates six different leading luxury villa rental management companies, including some that already have a relationship with the trade, such as WIMCO Villas, St. Barth Properties, Cabo Villas, Exceptional Stays, and more. Even with the newness of Nocturne, those brands have been around, operating successfully in the high-end market, for several years. 

Wiseman told TMR that he believes villas are going to be in luxury travel, a segment that is going to grow and multiply as more and more high-net-worth people get introduced to it. 

“I truly believe it’s going to be the next great high-end leisure format,” he told TMR. 

Villa portfolio
In total, the Nocturne portfolio includes over 1,400 properties in the Caribbean, Mexico, and the U.S. at destinations. In total, among the six companies that Nocturne has under its umbrella, there are villas in six destinations—

The minimum cost per night is around $1,000, but the average is somewhere between $2,500 to $3,000 per night depending on the villa, destination, and time of year. There’s also a minimum at each of the properties, which can be as short as three nights and as long as 14 depending again on the villas, destination, and time of the year. 

Each property is vetted by the Nocturne team, which acts both as the front end and the DMC for the advisor and, in some cases, the property manager, depending on the villa. There’s a concierge and team on the ground to handle all client requests in destination. 

While housekeeping is always included, some properties can also include a full staff on hand, too. 

Here is a brief introduction to some of Nocturne’s villas:

• La Datcha (see above): a 10-bedroom, 12-bathroom, 20,000 sq. ft. villa in Cabo San Lucas inspired by traditional haciendas. Includes a fire-lit outdoor seating area, a gym, a Turkish bath, a massage room, a snow room, and views of the Pacific Ocean that can feature sightings of migrating whales during the winter months.
• Villa Las Rocas: another Cabo villa, the 14,000 sq. ft. Villa Las Rocas sleeps 16 adults and 6 children across 7 bedrooms. The property sits on 1.6 acres on a scenic beach and includes a commercial kitchen, 8-person outdoor Jacuzzi, cocktail bar, and more, just a short drive from downtown Cabo San Lucas.
• Loulou and Studs Beachhouse #79: a pet-friendly, designer house in Florida’s Santa Rosa Beach, the beach house sleeps 14 across 5 bedrooms with a heated private pool and splash bed, complimentary use of a 6-seater golf cart, complimentary taxi bikes, parking for 3 cars, a gourmet kitchen, separate powder room, and more.

What makes Nocturne different in the market
Wiseman told TMR this week that Nocturne’s offerings are not for everyone. The cost and the travel type will eliminate a lot of the general traveling public. But for those high-end clients, looking for a unique experience, with a high potential for customization, that includes a level of privacy that they can’t get in luxury hotels, villas check all those boxes and more. 

“We can do anything you can do in a hotel or a resort, plus more,” Wiseman said. That includes bringing in yoga or pilates teachers, setting up milestone celebrations, booking entertainment to perform on-site, and more. All of that is in addition to provisioning a home before when guests arrive. 

It’s customizable, high-end, luxury properties for ultra-high net worth clients, something that Wiseman said does not exist outside of Nocturne in the market. 

That shows up in how Nocturne’s guests come back again and again—Wiseman said there’s 50% repeat rate for its guests, a number that typically goes even higher during the festival and holiday seasons. 

Travel advisors
While some of the brands under the Nocturne portfolio already have relationships with agency groups—for instance, WIMCO and St. Barts is already preferred with Virtuoso—Nocturne has not made a concerted effort to expand its formal relationships with hosts and consortia just yet. Rather, it’s hoping to grow its trade business by showcasing the uniqueness of its product, and becoming a reliable, and profitable, part of the advisor business. 

For commission, Nocturne offers at least 12% commission on all bookings, which can only move up with some bonus commission promotions and other incentives. 

“We see travel advisors as a super valuable way for us to reach the client we want to reach,” Wiseman said. 

Wiseman said that since he joined, he’s gotten a lot of individual advisors reaching out to him and his team to start selling Nocturne. He told TMR that for those who are in the same boat, the first place to go is to the Nocturne travel advisor page. 

From there, advisors can submit a request and start communicating with the 150-member Nocturne team.

Wiseman also emphasized that he is personally available to all travel advisors, both familiar and unfamiliar to him, who are interested in connecting with Nocturne. His info is also available via that advisor page on the Nocturne website.