好英语网富豪与精英们享受的顶级专人服务
Say you want a private breakfast on the top of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris, last minute dinner reservations at The French Laundry or better yet, a private meal prepared by Thomas Keller in his home.
试想，如果你想在巴黎凯旋门顶上吃一顿私人早餐，想在最后一分钟订到The French Laundry的晚餐，甚至想在托马斯·凯勒（Thomas Keller）的家里品尝他为你准备的私人菜肴。
Such unique experiences remain out of reach for the vast majority. But for a privileged few – the travelling elite, who are time-poor and prepared to pay top dollar – there exists a whole industry of fixers who cater to their every whim.
这种独一无二的体验并非普通大众所能享受。但对于少数特权阶级（例如那些收入高但时间少的"空中飞人"）来说，却有一批专门满足他们每个奇思妙想的"专人服务团队"，形成了一个完整的产业。
Top-tier members of these clubs have dedicated “lifestyle management” teams across continents who do everything from arranging travel, to introductions to influential people and invites to hot social events.
这些俱乐部的顶级会员拥有专门的"生活方式管理"团队，团队成员跨越多个大洲，为他们提供各种服务，包括安排旅行、引荐重要人士以及邀请其参加热门社会活动。
For Jaclyn Sienna India, founder of luxury travel company Sienna Charles, telling clients “no” would be a good way to torpedo her business.
对豪华旅行公司Sienna Charles创始人贾克林·西恩纳·尹迪亚（Jaclyn Sienna India）来说，拒绝客户的要求，对客户说"不"，会让她的公司彻底完蛋。
She juggles seemingly impossible requests. Booking sought-after hotel rooms that have been sold out for months and arranging private shopping sessions with top fashion designers in France are all just part of the job.
她经常收到很多看似无法实现的要求。例如，预订早在几个月前就被抢订一空的热门酒店，安排法国顶尖时装设计师陪同客户进行私人购物。这只是她工作的一部分而已。
“If I need to get on a plane to make a reservation happen, or hop in a taxi and talk to someone in person, I will do it,” she says. “I operate in a world where anything is possible.
"如果我需要坐飞机才能完成客户交付的任务，或者要跳上出租车跟某人当面对话，我肯定会这么做。"她说，"在我的世界里，任何事情都有可能。"
She once arranged a trip to Ethiopia for former President George HW Bush and personally brought non-alcoholic beers and peanut butter in her luggage to make sure he had the right ingredients for his desired snack while abroad.
她曾经为美国前总统乔治·HW·布什（George HW Bush）安排了一趟埃塞俄比亚之旅，并且亲自在行李箱里放了一些不含酒精的啤酒和花生酱，确保布什出国时也能用合适的佐料制作自己喜欢的零食。
“There is no way to prepare for these things, we get a request and I just figure out the way to get it done no matter what it takes.”
"这些事情根本没法提前准备，我们收到要求后，无论是什么任务，都必须想办法完成任务。"
The deep pockets of many of her clients helps: “Obviously, anything is possible if you have enough money,” she says.
好在很多客户都财大气粗。"很显然，如果你足够有钱，任何事情都有可能实现。"她说。
India’s company is just one of many luxury travel concierge services in a growing industry: People with disposable income are increasingly spending their money on experiences rather than things, and a 2017 study revealed that the luxury travel industry is outpacing overall travel in terms of annual growth.
豪华旅行专人服务正在逐渐增加，而尹迪亚的公司只是其中的一家。他们的客户都在花费更多的资金追求体验，而非物质。而2017年的一项研究也表明，豪华旅行行业的年增速超过整个旅行市场。
An attention-grabbing study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences last year found that using money to outsource tasks and free up time for experiences lowered stress and improved happiness.
《美国国家科学院院刊》（Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences）上发表的一项引人关注的研究发现，花钱请人完成任务，腾出时间去好好体验，可以减轻压力，提升幸福感。
So it’s little wonder people who can afford it are spending money to buy back some time.
这就难怪有钱人开始花钱买时间了。
In the detail
无微不至
As the global head of visual merchandising for luxury handbag designer Mulberry, Bradley Taylor travels a lot for work.
作为奢侈手袋设计公司Mulberry的全球视觉营销负责人，布拉德利·泰勒（Bradley Taylor）经常出差。
He tried a high-end concierge service on a whim five years ago and was immediately hooked.
他5年前一时兴起加入了一家高端专人服务，立刻就被深深吸引。
Taylor says he spends most of his time away from home, shuttling from his office to airports, so being able to rely on someone else for logistics helps his life run smoothly.
泰勒表示，他多数时间都出门在外，往来于办公室和机场之间，所以如果能让人帮助其处理后勤事务，有助于他的生活一帆风顺。
He uses a concierge for things like booking pet-friendly hotels with beds and treats for his dog. Or, sourcing his favourite hard-to-find vodka in hotels across the world.
他使用这个专人服务来预订可以携带宠物入住的酒店，给他的狗配备专用的床铺和服务；或者把他喜欢的那些很难找到的伏特加送到他在世界各地下榻的酒店里。
“It feels like they’ve called ahead to make sure everything is right. There are always little surprise when you arrive somewhere and they anticipate things before I even think of it,” he says.
"我感觉他们已经提前打电话把一切安排妥当。当我到达某个地方时总会有一点惊喜，他们会在我之前想到许多事情。"他说。
Jenny Graham is the director of Quintessentially Travel, the high-end concierge service based in London used by Taylor.
珍妮·格雷厄姆（Jenny Graham）是伦敦高端专人服务Quintessentially Travel的负责人——泰勒就是这家伦敦公司的会员。
Clients don’t need to be members to use these services, but different levels of membership receive different levels of attention. Basic memberships get services similar to that of a travel agency: comparing flight costs and updating routes if travel plans need to change, for example, with the added benefit of a network of fixers all over the world.
客户不需要成为会员也可以使用这些服务，但不同等级的会员可以获得不同程度的关注。入门级会员获得的服务与旅行社类似：例如，对比机票价格，在需要改变旅行计划时更新行程，另外还能享受遍布世界的"专人服务网络"带来的额外利益。
The downside? Costs far outstrip those of a regular booking agent. Membership rates for concierge services start at around £5,000 ($6,737) a year for the entry-level ‘dedicated membership’, go up to £15,000 for ‘elite membership’. From there, prices vary for bespoke services, but companies were reluctant to disclose exactly how high the costs can go.
这种服务有什么缺点呢？它的花费远超过常规的订票代理。专人服务的入门级会员年费起价约5000英镑（6737美元），最高的"精英会员"年费可达1.5万英镑。此外，定制服务的价格各有不同，但企业通常不愿披露具体价格有多高。
Graham oversees the global offices in Los Angeles, New York City, London, Dubai and Hong Kong and she says there is no typical day in her job.
格雷厄姆负责管理洛杉矶、纽约、伦敦、迪拜和香港等地的办公室，她的工作没有一定之规。
For example, she recently had two days and an unlimited budget to put together an extravagant 60th birthday celebration in California’s Napa Valley, complete with a pop-up picnic dinner prepared by a Michelin-starred chef in the middle of a vineyard.
例如，最近有客户给她两天时间，不计成本地在加州纳帕谷（Napa Valley）组织一场奢华的60岁生日庆典，还要让一位米其林星级主厨在葡萄园里准备一场郊游会餐。
But, she says, the most challenging requests are emergency logistics.
但她表示，最有挑战的还是紧急任务。
She once had a client stuck in Hong Kong due to a delayed flight. He needed to be in London for an important meeting regarding the sale of his company, which would have been disastrous to miss.
有一次，她的一个客户因为飞机延误被困在香港。他需要到伦敦参加一场重要会议，这关系到他公司的销售业务，所以一旦错过，后果非常严重。
“Within 30 minutes, we had a private jet chartered for him from Hong Kong airport, which meant he was able to land ahead of schedule.”
"30分钟内，我们就在香港机场给他找了一架私人包机，让他可以提前到达目的地。"
‘It starts at the airport’
"从机场开始"
India tells clients that the experience really starts at the airport, and having been in some of the elite airport lounges that exist outside of public view, she’d rather not go back.
尹迪亚对客户表示，体验其实是从机场开始的。去过一些公众难得一见的高级机场休息室后，她就不愿再回到常规渠道了。
There are a handful of exclusive, private airport lounges popping up in places like Los Angeles, London, Paris and the Caribbean island of St Kitts. They are outside the realm of airline loyalty programmes, totally separate from the normal airport experience and can be accessed for a fee.
洛杉矶、伦敦、巴黎和加勒比海的圣基茨岛（St Kitts）有一些专享的私人机场休息室。无法使用常规的航班积分项目享受那里的服务，因此完全独立于正常的机场体验之外，需要付费才能使用。
The Private Suite, which opened earlier this year at Los Angeles International Airport is one such lounge.
洛杉矶国际机场今年早些时候开设的私人休息室（The Private Suite）就是这样一个休息室。
Starting at £500 ($678), a chauffeured luxury car will collect the client, their guests and luggage from a desired location, take them to a private suite where they are ushered through a private security procedure where they don’t have to rub shoulders with other travellers. They then relax in luxury while they wait for their departure, and are driven onto the tarmac where they go up special stairs to the plane.
最少支付500英镑（678美元），就会有专门的豪华汽车从指定地点接送客人和行李，把他们带到私人休息室。通过私人安检程序进入，从而与其他旅客隔离开来。他们之后可以在豪华房间里休息，然后乘车到达停机坪后，通过特殊的梯子登上飞机。
In the growing world of luxury travel companies, it would seem that anything really is possible – if you have the money, of course.
随着豪华旅行公司越来越多，似乎任何事情都有可能实现——当然，前提是你得有钱。