The One Key Travel Card is a like a membership card to a time share but more upscale. It includes first-class homes, personalized service, and local knowledge, without a significant outlay of upfront capital or whole ownership. Members have access to a worldwide portfolio of selected homes, as well as a dedicated member services representative. Cards are available by number of nights: 15, 25 or 45, for $34,900, $49,900, or $84,900, respectively. Use the nights in any combination. Pricing includes access to One Key Homes, daily housekeeping, and member services. Inquire about membership here. Choices of home style / themes include beach, city, mountain, leisure, and "hidden gems."

The needs of the wealthy often require quick moves and the ultimate in discretion. That's where services like The Home Zone Company come in. Laura Naramore, a former corporate consultant, specializes in helping clients make lifestyle transitions whether it's creating a new life for retirees or helping an executive get a new footing in a strange city. How does one get into the business of helping the wealthy relocate and what does it entail? Laura Naramore gives me more details in our mini-interview:

Can you define in one sentence what The Home Zone Company does?
The Home Zone Company manages the entire process of lifestyle asset acquisition, which starts with location research and property scouting and ends with a fully renovated, staffed and provisioned lifestyle asset. ("Lifestyle Asset" is the category for boats, jets and homes.)

How did you decide to start this business?
I was frustrated by the inefficiency I experienced securing my own homes. First, the real estate agents are paid by sellers, prohibited by law and discouraged by self-interest from sharing relevant information and limited in scope to very tight geographic boundaries. The system works fine for people with narrow geographic options, but it is a time-wasting business model if you want to buy a secondary home "where it is warm in the winter". After months of research, hundreds of phone calls, dozens of look-see trips and finally finding a property by navigating all those agents, the demands on my time just got more intensive: I realized that I was the only nexus where my banker, lawyers, real estate agents, general contractors, designer, mover and employment agencies met.

All we wanted was an enjoyable bolt-hole but in order to get it I had to indulge this overwhelming, otherwise irrelevant cast of characters in my daily life. I joked one night to my husband that what we really needed was a lifestyle COO to manage all these P&Ls, and the company was born.

Who is your typical client?
What my clients have in common is cash flow, a sense of urgency, a deep sense of privacy and a preference for results without process. The circumstances for which they hire me vary. A pending divorce, transitioning senior parents, a change in financial circumstances and other "dislocation" events drive the majority of my referrals.

What's the strangest request you've ever gotten?
The strangest requests for me are the conspiracy paranoia ones- -recently, I was asked to pose as a prospective buyer to unmask a coalition of realtors who were suspected of intentionally driving my client's multi-million dollar property into foreclosure so that they could buy it themselves, flip it and share the profits. And what seemed exotic to me at first, like setting up love-nests or tucking away children, is now just part of the lifestyle ecosystem.

What's the average cost for your services?
We are hired on a project basis for individuals or on retainer for family offices. Our average retainer is $25,000 and our average project fee is in the $6-8k range. We are not paid in any way by the service providers with whom we engage on behalf of our clients.

A place to sleep is just a place to sleep when it all comes down to it, and since the atmosphere can only be so nice how do luxury hotels set themselves apart from each other? With the perks and services they offer, of course -- and you better believe they go all out and get seriously creative. Here are just a few of the crazier perks you can find at some of the best hotels, courtesy of Forbes Traveler:

• Helicopter transfers between the airport, hotel, and shopping (Hilton Sao Paulo Morumbi)
  
• A sleep concierge to ensure you get the best night's sleep possible (The Benjamin)
  
• Customized aromas: after finding out what your preferences are the housekeeper stocks your room with preferred scents (Palazzo Magnani Feroni)
• Pet perks like special bedding and dishes, pet sitting, walking, and massages (Nine Zero)
  

Is the worst part of traveling trying to get a good night's sleep? It can be tough to sleep like you do at home in even the nicest of hotels, but The Benjamin in NYC has something most places don't: a sleep concierge.

And the sleep concierge is just the beginning. They offer a menu of 12 different pillows, choices of specialized sleep enhancing snacks, and before-bed massages. In fact, The Benjamin is so sure they can give you a good night's sleep that's as good as what you get at home they'll give you a free night's stay if they fail.

Do you think it's worth it? What would you need to make the hotel feel like home?


Via A Luxury Travel Blog

Many of the people who indulge in rented luxury villas don't always get what they bargained for. You'd think, compared to a hotel, that a villa would be a nicer, better experience -- but most of the time it isn't. So Christian Jagodzinski decided to fix that by starting his own company of luxury villas that would deliver as he expected they should: Villazzo was born.

With most everything pre-arranged, Jagodzinski thinks of Villazzo as more of a hotel-type service than villas. He even makes a point to offer the same services as top hotels, such as porters and maids, strawberries and champagne, and even a helicopter in the France location to help guests avoid pesky traffic when traveling to nearby retreats -- there are 35 specific luxury services offered altogether.

So if you've been frustrated in the past and haven't yet tried Villazzo, maybe you should consider it. There are six locations around the world, with prices around $2000 per night/$14000 per week.


Via BusinessWeek

I've been watching the fraction boom for a long time. Timeshare used to have a negative connotation but these days fractional ownership is a great way to get access to vacation homes, cars, yachts and jets that you could not afford on your own. A new website, Fractional Life aggregates a variety of fractional offers and experiences in various categories. Unlike one of my faves, the Helium Report, the new site doesn't evaluate or provide commentary but it does get all those fractional companies in one place so you can can see all the potentials in one place and make your own decisions.

[via PSFK]

Imagine this, you are in Paris, France with your beloved. It's beautiful and spectacular but you are looking for a little excitement. If plain old Paris in all her French finery isn't good enough for you, ApoteoSurprise will create a magical experience for you. The adventures include a dinner cruise aboard a yacht,  a plane emblazoned with your message on its wings, or an evening that culminates with a man with a flatscreen TV on his head that had a slideshow of your favorite romantic moments. The experiences are completely outlandish, one even involves a man dressed up as TV detective Colombo.  Prices vary according to the experience but expect to pay at least a couple of thousand dollars for your Parisian surprise.

[via Orlando Sentinel]

Beginning this week, W Hotels is relaunching its Whatever/Whenever campaign. The hotels will offer five brand new services in addition to the existing "Whatever/Whenever" button on hotel phones that would allow a guest to make a request easily. The new services are:

Text messaging, which the hotels will use to alert guests when their rooms are ready, a package has arrived, etc. Guests can also text reservations and other requests to the hotel, which will pay for all W-related texts on guests' phone bills.

Wake up call options including inspirational messages and calls to cell phones, rather than room phones

A pillow menu, with three different pillow types for optimum comfort

Door-to-door package and luggage delivery, so guests don't have to travel with their bags in airports or anywhere else

Take-along prepared meals, specifically for guests who will be flying, since so many airlines have eliminated meal service. They will also print boarding passes and supply their own small version of an in-flight magazine for entertainment.