360DigitalInfluence

Have the reports of the death of luxury travel been greatly exaggerated?  Perhaps not (for now), but there are a few social networks out there catering to the more discerning traveler.  Here are the ones I’ve heard about lately.  Any others?

Voyage.tv is part TV station, part social network, part online travel booking service.  The New York Times recently profiled the web site in an article, the full text of which can be found here.  The cornerstone of Voyage.tv are their videos – all of which (at least the few I watched) are very highly produced, but are currently focused on the Caribbean.  Curious to see how they expand their offering to LATAM, EMEA, APAC, etc.

Indagare describes itself as “a membership-based community for sophisticated travelers, providing access to curated online archives, printed black books and custom advisory and booking services.” And true to form, much of the content on the site is off limits to those who have not paid for a membership, which ranges from $250-$1,200 a year.

The informational tour gives you a good sense of the rewards of membership.  What I find most interesting is that they’ve grouped travel recommendations around 10 passion points (e.g. adventure, arts, family, etc.) in addition to geography.  For travelers like me and my wife who are open to vacationing anywhere, this is an interesting approach.

SQUA.RE describes itself as “the first and only community-generated TV site dedicated to your ideas of Luxury, Style and Inspiring Lifestyle.”  And while not devoted to travel, they do have an “Escape” section devoted to travel.  As with Indigare, membership to SQUA.RE is by invitation only, and it’s unclear how many members they actually have.

The question I have is, where do these sites fit in with popular blogs like Jaunted, or even Twitter?  Is their value in their niche area of expertise?  Access to bespoke travel itineraries via luxury travel experts?  What do you think?