Skip the Hotel: How Villas Are Shaping the Future of Personalized Travel

Five-star amenities and top-notch service once simply defined luxury travel. But today, the benchmark is also determined by how well an experience reflects the traveler’s specific needs and desires. As demand grows for more personalized getaways, villa accommodations are staking their place as a leading choice for clients seeking something beyond the traditional hotel stay.

From multigenerational families to small groups and couples, travelers are increasingly being drawn to spaces that can be fully tailored to their preferences and lifestyle. With customized services—think private chefs, curated local experiences, and dedicated childcare—villas offer travel advisors a distinctive way to design highly individualized journeys for their clients. The result is a style of travel that feels less like a packaged trip and more like a seamless and luxurious extension of home, set anywhere in the world.

When Villas Trump Hotels

For clients seeking customization, villas have been gaining momentum as the ultimate accommodation choice, trumping traditional hotel/resort options.

Linda Kibak, independent travel advisor, FROSCH by Chase Travel, explains: “While hotels have a general concierge for hundreds of guests, the villa companies that I work with always have a dedicated staff for each of their villas, which always includes housekeeping, and then for additional costs can include private chef and butler—whose sole focus will be my clients. The staff will always and quickly learn of their specific preferences, such as how they all take their morning coffee; if there are specific pillow types; and of course dietary requirements, to anticipate meals.”

Along the same lines, Rochelle DeBaun, founder and lead travel advisor, Luxury Travel Design at Five Senses Journeys, says: “A villa is our clients’ home for the duration. There are no shared lobbies, no fixed dining times, no compromises. That sense of ownership and privacy over their space is what makes everything else possible; once they’re truly settled in, we can shape every detail around them.”

The Customization Travelers Most Want

There are some tailored services that consistently make the most impact for travelers. And for Jen Campbell Boles, founder & CEO, Explore More Travel Co., they are “the ones that remove friction and make the experience feel effortless.

“Pre-stocking groceries, so a family arrives to a fully ready kitchen. Making sure the villa is set up with the right gear for little ones, if there are young children in the group. A private chef is another gamechanger, especially for multigenerational groups, where getting everyone out to a restaurant for every meal is not always realistic. Having a chef come to the villa means the group stays together, the meal is tailored to everyone’s tastes, and the experience feels incredibly special without anyone having to lift a finger.

“These are the details that tell a client their advisor thought of everything—and that is the difference between a nice vacation and one they will talk about for years.”

For DeBaun’s clients, “a private chef is almost always the gamechanger. Meals become the heart of the trip, rather than something to figure out each day. And when a chef is sourcing locally, adapting to everyone’s preferences, and putting something special on the table, it changes the entire feel of the stay. Many of our travelers are deeply interested in culinary culture, so we always aim to find a friendly chef who might invite guests to a local market or welcome them into the kitchen.”

She adds a caveat for planning purposes: “Don’t wait to start planning curated services. The best chefs and the best experiences are rarely available at the last minute. Start early and finish on top.”

Standout Curated Examples

Nothing drives home a point like practical examples. DeBaun offers this description about one of her bookings that included curated services not typically offered at a hotel, that greatly impressed her clients: “I arranged a month-long stay for a large family-friend group at [a château] in France, with private visits to Fontainebleau and Versailles, fireworks for a special birthday, plus a private chef curating meals for the whole group throughout. Most luxury hotels simply aren’t designed to deliver that kind of experience.”

And Campbell Boles tells of her experience: “I’m working with a mother whose three grown sons, one of whom now has a young child, wanted one last big trip together before more grandchildren arrive and long-haul travel becomes more complicated. She identified this window intentionally, knowing it would not last.

“They wanted a villa in Italy. Many clients default to a Tuscan countryside villa, but for a group of young adults in their twenties, Florence has the energy and culture they wanted, so we found a villa in the heart of Florence. What made the villa the right choice was that they could be together, in the heart of the city, without anyone feeling like they were staying in separate hotel rooms down the hall from each other. Being under one roof is exactly what she wanted, and being closer to the action is exactly what the boys and their partners wanted. There are a lot of villa options outside of what is typically thought of as villa territory—just knowing where to look for villas for your clients is an example of our expertise.”

She continues with: “Because the matriarch loves to cook, instead of sending the group to an outside cooking class, we brought the chef and the lesson to the villa, so the baby could stay in a safe, familiar environment while the rest of the family enjoyed the experience together. And I arranged for a photographer to come and document the trip. When I mentioned that detail, I could just hear the happiness in her voice. She knew immediately what it would mean to have those images of this particular trip, at this particular moment in her family’s life.”

Privacy & Flexibility are Key

In addition to customization, two other elements of villa stays that strongly attract travelers are privacy and flexibility.

“They are everything, especially for multigenerational groups,” notes Campbell Boles. “Privacy means the baby can nap while the adults linger over dinner. It means the grandparents can go to bed early and the twenty-somethings can stay up late without anyone feeling like they are inconveniencing each other. Flexibility means making the trip feel like it belongs to that specific family and not a generic itinerary that could apply to anyone. That combination of privacy and flexibility is what makes a villa feel like a home rather than an accommodation.”

Kibak agrees, saying: “Privacy depends on the client; for high profile clients, this is extremely important. But for all, in these days, they prefer to not be in an elevator with six other people, For family and friends, flexibility is key—not adhering to any meal schedule at a hotel, going into their pool at midnight if they want to, etc. And being able to relax in a living room, or around a pool is paramount, rather than squeezing into a two-person sofa in a hotel room.”

The Client Fit

Families are one subset of travelers that is particularly drawn to villa-centered vacations. Kibak reports that she has “been booking just families. These are families that have five people, so they would need two hotel rooms, and prefer either connecting or a suite; so a villa ended up being a lesser-priced option, even at festive times (between Christmas and New Year’s, the most expensive time in the Caribbean and Mexico).”

Campbell Boles concurs: “Multigenerational families are the biggest growth area I am seeing. These are groups where a single hotel room or even a suite just does not work. They need shared living space, multiple bedrooms, and room to spread out. Beyond that, I am seeing a lot of milestone travelers: families marking a significant birthday, a graduation, a reunion, or, like my Florence clients, a window in time that they know is fleeting.”

But, of course, villas are not just for families. Other potential clients, for instance, might include groups of friends, affluent couples or single travelers, companies offering work-related retreats, or even long-term renters.

Best Advice for Travel Advisors
Some parting advice from DeBaun for advisors who are looking to book personalized villa stays: “Know your client, and know your villa partner even better. I seek partners with exclusive, vetted inventory in a destination. Strong onsite contacts are essential for the planning process and readily reachable in the moment should something come up. That human layer on the ground is everything.”

As traveler expectations continue to move toward more meaningful and personalized experiences, villas are well-positioned to meet the moment. Their blend of privacy, flexibility, and fully customizable services allows advisors to create journeys that feel both effortless and deeply personal. For clients who want more than just a place to stay, villas represent an opportunity to turn a trip into a truly tailored experience—one that reflects exactly how they want to travel.

FROM THE SPONSOR:
Villas of Distinction® is a premier luxury villa provider with over 35 years of expertise in curating exceptional villa experiences. Our portfolio comprises over 3,000 luxurious villas in more than 55 destinations worldwide, offering travelers unparalleled privacy, comfort, and personalized service. Each villa guarantees a unique getaway, crafting memories that last a lifetime. As a commitment to delivering exceptional experiences, Villas of Distinction® stands as a trusted partner for discerning travelers and travel advisors alike. Advisors partnering with us gain access to a dedicated villa specialist and a personal concierge, ensuring seamless planning for their clients’ dream vacations while earning 10% commission for every booking. Elevate your clients’ travel experiences with Villas of Distinction®, where luxury meets personalization, creating journeys beyond the ordinary.