Safer Travel

1) Tailored Seamless End-To-End Programs

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Luxurique’s approach to achieving safer travel is by coordinating, managing, and overseeing all

aspects of our guests’ itineraries from start to end. By doing so, we are able to control all the

variables within a trip and make sure that there are no loose ends that could pose a threat to our guests’ safety.

This leads to our guests not only having a highly safe experience in Japan, but also a thoroughly enjoyable one, as their needs are tended to at every step of the way with top-quality support.

 

Some of the strategies we employ to deliver such a seamless experience are:

 

• Well designed, all-encompassing events: Make sure we understand what our guests want and will expect during their event and execute detailed plans to pre-arrange everything that might be needed based on their preferences. This means less need for unplanned changes and ad-hoc requests

• End-to-end. Arrangement and coordination of all aspects of seamless itinerary to keep guests away from public and partner staff. This can include VIP entry and exit to the country as well as the usual private transportation, dining, accommodation, activities, celebrations, meeting etc.

• Manage the detail: Monitoring execution and timeliness of Private tours/Corporate/Incentive programs pre-arranged activities to ensure faultless execution and efficient travel Includes: private transportation to all locations (dining, accommodation, itineraries, meeting and etc.)

• Own and resolve Problems. Management and resolution of issues and problems that arise eliminating need for Guests to be involved

• Be there for all guest needs. Using our Luxurique Concierge service provides support for all of the ad-hoc needs of our Guests allowing them to get what they want without effort or exposure to the public

• Best-in-class real-time communication. The use communication and social media platform such as Slack, LINE, and Zoom to support and all guest interactions. Guests can text or video-call for anything they need during their trip.

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2) Managed Private Hotels and Alternative Accommodation

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There are many options for accommodation that Luxurique can employ in our guests’ events and programs to minimize risks of exposure to unauthorized people and non-controlled facilities. During our planning phase of the project, our experienced planners will work with our guests to decide which of the safer accommodation options they wish to include in the program. Once decided, Luxurique will work with various partners and accommodation suppliers to have everything ready for guest arrival. Some of the options available are:

 

• Private Accommodation

 

• Rental of private accommodation which is specially COVID-19 prepared and supported for the guests visit.

 

• Hotels

 

• Separated accommodation, e.g. villas which are separate from the main hotel building

• Use of Discrete and Private access and entrances

• Private check-in

• Use of Luxurique Staff to check-in and out

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3) Managed Private Transportation

 

Luxurique has extensive experience working with our transportation service partners to provide discrete and dedicated travel options for our VVIP customers. We have also worked with these providers to plan enhanced travel options for our guests in post-COVID-19 travel times.

Some of the available options are:

 

• Private limousines, planes, luxury buses, helicopters, dedicated luxury train carriages, and more.

• Managed bookings and ticket arrangements to keep guests away from public ticketing spaces

• Drivers/Chauffeurs/Pilots health management and requirement of PPE

• Drivers/Chauffeurs/Pilots go through health and hygiene training

• Limo and Luxury Bus drivers training on distancing procedures

• Luxurique provides portable disinfectants and sanitizer

• Where shared transportation is used require operating at reduced capacity

• Keep same drivers for whole program :  Our chauffeurs will be personally designated, so one driver will be responsible for the whole trip.

• Minimizing contact, the chauffeur will take care of opening and closing doors, the loading and unloading of luggage, disinfecting the luggage

• Items such as magazines and pamphlets replaced with digital entertainment

• Reusable items replaced with one time-use options

• Frequent ventilation of vehicles

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4) Venue Selection and Preparation

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Luxurique has worked with its extensive network of venue providers to identify venues which are suitable for use in the immediate post-COVID-19 period. We can provide many options on venues for small group events to large company incentives. Furthermore, we have worked with these venues to design and implement enhanced approaches inside and outside the premises to further enhance guests’ safety and reduce exposure risk. There are many options available but some of the things we can do are:

• Using specialized venues with specially setup facilities

• Contact tracing technology

• Electronic temperature checking systems

• Capacity limitations to prevent over-crowding

• Dedicated pre-checked staffing resources

• Personal catering from approved and trusted partners

• Private chefs where venues have kitchens

• Provision of hybrid event capabilities

• Having a dedicated floor for the event/meeting

• Access to meeting space via private entry or staircase

• Outdoor venue options

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5) Bespoke Activities and Experiences

 

Japan has so much to offer to visitors; the culture, art, fashion, history, nature, architecture, and people provide a destination that is second to none. The unique and varied selection of things to see and do combined with our highly skilled planners enable Luxurique to create an endless selection of bespoke, tailored experiences and programs that truly align to our guests’ needs and wants.

 

Luxurique’s knowledge of Japan and track-record of paying special attention to the detailed planning and execution of trips allow us to stand out as an industry leader. We consider all elements of the trip as critical and provide oversight and management for each component to minimize issues and promote guest satisfaction.

 

It is by using this experience and working with our extensive network of activity providers that we are able to review and modify our unique activities and experiences to ensure guest safety. Where appropriate, we have redesigned the activities we provide to protect our guests from COVID-19 exposure and infection – whilst still allowing them to have the cultural and immersive experience visitors love so much.

 

The activities that are to be included in an event of guest program are worked out with our guests for each program and specific safety measures would vary based upon the activity and number of guests – but it’s our expectations that we can tailor something special for any event to help make the program memorable and worthwhile to the traveler.

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6) Technology Deployment

 

Luxurique is involved in several industry bodies which are continually looking at how technology can be used to help in the struggle to minimize COVID infection transmission. Through this knowledge and network of partners, Luxurique is able to create technology based safer travel approaches for its guests based upon the trip’s content, purpose, and number of guests. Specifics planning and solutions deployment will vary with the needs and circumstances, but examples of what can be provided are:

 

• Mobile devices with pre-loaded support information and resources

• Mobile communication apps to link with Luxurique customer care, concierge and help desk staff in real-time for requests, queries, issues, and problems

• User tracking apps to monitor and record guest’s location and movements

• Apps which will notify users and coordinators of potential COVID hotspots and locations to avoid

• Provide contactless interaction through digital menus, online check-in systems, etc.

• Secure access systems for venues to ensure only approved guests are allowed entry.

• Apps to help ensure social distancing, including those that monitor and notify when the recommended number of people in a facility (or room) is exceeded.

• Mobile language support apps for guests using mobile chat / video call technology and support connected to Luxurique’s Help Desk

• Apps which provide real-time updates on international and local transportation information

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7) Partner Oversight and Preparation

 

In the same way that we make attention to detail and robust oversight of execution a key element of every part of what Luxurique does internally – we also select and manage our partners with the same expectations and requirements.

 

In this new era of travel, we especially concentrate on our partners’ adoption of standard hygiene and safety policies as well as their willingness to be flexible and work with Luxurique to develop heightened and industry leading approaches for keeping our guests safer than if they were to travel independently.

 

Our special working relationship is based upon putting time and effort into the engagement and providing good communication and support to ensure our suppliers understand the special standards we expect for our guest programs as well as being fully versed with the specific components of the program. For example, we make sure our partners communicate with and through our customer care coordinators to ensure there is control and always a consistent view of issues or issues with a program’s status

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8) Restaurant, Private Dining and Personal Chef Experiences

 

Japan’s unique and varied gastronomy scene and access to a multitude of the highest quality culinary experiences continues to be one of the main reasons discerning visitors come to Japan again and again. There are so many types of delicious types of Japanese cuisine and even within those types, variation from season-to-season is cause for delight amongst even the most demanding of foodies. From Michelin star sushi and world-famous Kobe beef to amazing street foods like ramen and yakitori – Japan never fails to impress.

 

It’s with this in mind that Luxurique has not only worked with our pre-vetted and approved restaurant network to ensure compliance with the latest COVID-19 risk mitigation policies but also to develop and number of ways to ensure our guests can experience the best of its cuisine, restaurants, and chefs.

 

With this in mind, we work with our guests in the planning stages of the trip’s planning to create a gastronomic program to fit the overarching plan of destinations and guest preferences.  We would expect to propose a combination of in-restaurant experiences (reduced capacity seating with social distancing measures), private chef experiences (where our top partner chefs cook for our guests in a private one-on-one, dedicated basis) and private dining at a private venue and chef dining experience (where we arrange for a private venue with kitchen and provide the full restaurant experience outside of the restaurant itself.

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9) Concierge Services

 

Luxurique has been providing concierge services for many years supporting high-end guests and VVIP event attendees. We have used that experience to review and modify the ways we support our guests during the post COVID-19 recovery period as a key element of our safer travel approach.

 

Essentially our safer travel concierge service will fall into 3 categories:

 

• Private product showings

• Personal shopping

• Ad-hoc support requests and services

 

• Private Product Showings

 

Our private product showing service can be utilised by private or corporate guests. Here we work with our established network of special suppliers and high-end retailers (e.g., haute couture, collectibles or even department stores) to create a bespoke private showing of merchandise for the guests. This can either be at specially set-up venues, at the guest’s hotel accommodation, or at the retailers premises out of hours and with discrete access. Our safer travel venue related protocols would be applied for the premises used in the private showings

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• Personal Shopping

 

For personal shopping, our experts help our guests identify and source the most iconic and exclusive Japanese products through our extensive network of special suppliers and personal shoppers and purchase the items on the guest’s behalf. Where needed we will disinfect and sterilize the packages and wrapped goods before they are presented to the guests

 

• Ad-hoc Support Requests and Services

 

While it is usual that our guests ask us to provide a fully managed and end-to-end travel experience in Japan there are often last-minute and unplanned needs that our guests need support with. To this end our concierge is also set-up and ready to provide support for ad-hoc support services through our extensive network of tried and trusted partners. In this situation our concierge agents give advice on the requirements, source the service make arrangements and coordinate the service execution. This allows our guests to avoid physical contact with non-vetted people. Options of what can be arranged are endless however examples of likely options guests could need are as follows:

 

• Secretarial support

• Guides

• Translation/Interpretation

• Travel advice and guidance for additional “safer travel” sightseeing

• Restaurants

• Personal services

• IT support

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10) 24/7 Customer Care and Help Desk Support

 

Luxurique's customer care and support model ensures that our visitor programs are delivered to our guests exacting standards while ensuring guests are pampered and taken care of with the highest level of customer satisfaction. The customer care manager is also a critical part of our effort to keep our guests safe and protected from the virus.

 

Essentially the customer care manager is the dedicated trip and program manager whose sole focus and responsibility is to make the program a success. The customer care manager oversees the end-to-end program (from the minute guests arrive until they depart) and the minute-by-minute execution of each component of the trip and staff/partners involved. In relation to COVID-19 safety and risk avoidance the customer care manager is critical in providing the following support.

 

• Oversees and manages the faultless execution of the itinerary – everything to plan means the pre-planning to avoid potential exposure to COVID-19 risks will be effective and problems avoided

• Acts on behalf of the guest in doing the physical interfacing with partners and suppliers where needed (e.g., where Luxurique provides a managed hotel check-in and luggage management service)

• Ownership for managing unforeseen issues and dealing with external parties (with language support) to keep our guests away from with non-vetted external contacts

• Provides point of contact and ownership for customer queries and request

 

Help Desk - the Luxurique help desk will provide support to the guest and program resources 24/7 at all times throughout the guest program. In addition to the usual support of program coordination, reporting, and communication, the help desk will provide the following support as part of the customer care discipline.

 

• Monitoring and communication (electronically and in own language) of local health and emergency notifications and warnings from central government and local government offices

• Provide COVID-19 aware advice and suggestions to the customer care manager and guests including answers to queries and requests

• Provide Luxurique help desk connected personal phone to use throughout the trip for concierge contact

• Provide a coordination point for COVID-19 situations:

• Connection to expert medical support to handle medical incidents and emergencies (COVID-19 or other cause)

• Providing a list of phone numbers and address of the English-speaking hospitals in the local area

• Contacting English-speaking hospitals, and assistance regarding local quarantine procedures

• Provide assistance and language capability to support the processes required to be followed by local authorities in-case of COVID-19 symptoms (currently

the public health center hotlines do not provide service in English)

• Consultation on interpretation and understanding of local medical guidelines

• Provide access to local Luxurique partner clinics or hospitals

• Help arranging PCR tests and/or medical checks

• Help coordinate activities for guest’s family or traveling companions should there be a need for complex local processes to be followed (e.g., requirements to self-isolate). This might for example include finding and booking accommodation, transportation, and evacuations

• Working with the Luxurique concierge to arrange delivery services during quarantine period: including Luxurique food, or personal products

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11) Entry Visa and Pre-Arrival Planning and Support

 

As Japan opens up its borders to foreign visitors it is likely that travelers will need significant help to ensure the process of applying for and getting prepared for inbound Japan travel is efficient. Given the risks involved authorities will also be very careful and so the process may well be slow and complicated especially to people not familiar with travel processes and who do not have Japanese language capabilities.

 

Luxurique is therefore looking to provide an entry support service to its guests in order to simplify the process and make the process painless and efficient

 

• Guidance on the latest entry requirements plus procedure to be followed upon arrival (such as visas, written pledge documents, certificate of pre-entry results, health, and movements confirmation questionnaires)

• Assistance to complete forms and applications which need Japanese language

• Develop and create a detailed itinerary and schedule of the trip and activities while in Japan which can be used to track and monitor whereabouts and may be required by authorities

• Translation of foreign vaccination and travel authorization documents

• Provide visitor briefing documents with description of what the traveler can expect upon arrival and how to stay safe while in the country

• On exit, assistance with flight checking in and the forms/certificates they will need for the next step of their journey

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