In 2012 Nena Chaletzos started planning a dream holiday to Bali and Singapore with her future husband, Richard. Her enthusiasm soon wilted as she struggled to put together a set of flights, hotels and experiences that suited them both.
It took her weeks of dead-end research before she had a workable plan, by which point the dates no longer worked for her partner. But where others would experience pure frustration, Chaletzos sensed a commercial opportunity.
“The more I spoke to other people, the more I realised this frustration was commonplace. I was really surprised no one had solved the problem of quickly producing personalised itineraries that satisfy everything you want as a traveller. I decided I wanted to solve that problem,” says Chaletzos, who was then the HR director for Calvin Klein.
Having raised capital from angel investors and crowdfunding, she launched Luxtripper in 2015. The luxury tour operator uses sophisticated technology to create bespoke, immersive packages with an average of nine recommended or included experiences that match customer preferences.
When Covid hit, Luxtripper founder Nena Chaletzos used social media to keep globetrotters’ dreams alive – repeat bookings rose 500 per cent in two years
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Nena Chaletzos’s unique selling point has kept customers coming back
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Revenues hit £29.4 million in the company’s latest accounts, taking it to 19th place in this year’s Sunday Times 100 list, sponsored by Barclays Private Bank.
Chaletzos wanted her avowedly digital company to retain a human touch, inspired by her having helped her dad run a high street travel agency. “Our developers worked with the team who were directly interacting with customers, understanding the psychology behind how people like to build a trip,” she says, adding that half of her customers still speak to a team member when booking.
Social media marketing drove early growth, boosted by an upgrade to the tech platform in 2018 that allowed visual itineraries to tell an interactive, in-depth story to would-be globetrotters.
Then the pandemic struck. “Covid allowed us to stop and think and reset. Customers took to social media, which was already our niche. We switched to a content-based sales strategy because, even after two weeks, everyone was dreaming of when the world would open up again. They needed something to look forward to,” Chaletzos says.
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I am fascinated by the way that technology can solve complex problems
Luxtripper became one of the most influential travel companies on social media, with an overall reach of 10 million. This helped sales increase fivefold on pre-Covid levels once travel restrictions were lifted.
Another angel funding round in 2021 took total investment to £3.1 million, with Chaletzos using the capital on an account management system to boost customer loyalty (repeat bookings rose 500 per cent between 2020 and 2022) and on expanding the portfolio of destinations and experiences (up 36 per cent last year). There are now nearly 100,000 unique itineraries in Luxtripper’s recommendation system.
With so much to keep her busy, it’s perhaps unsurprising that an exit is not yet on Chaletzos’s mind. She knows the direction she wants to go in when the time comes, though, and it doesn’t involve sitting on a beach.
“I’m fascinated by the way that technology can solve complex problems, and with so much on the horizon with data and AI, there will be a whole new era of problems to solve which I think will always keep me linked to the tech sector,” she says.
After seeing so many beautiful yet fragile places around the world, philanthropy also has its appeal. “Sustainability is a lifelong commitment. We vet any experience involving animals, for example, to make sure it’s respectful to the animal and the environment,” Chaletzos says. “I care deeply about animal welfare and environmental conservation, and would love to be able to give back and support those who have new ways of protecting the planet.”
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All information within this article is produced by The Times. Please note that the views and information have not been endorsed, issued or approved by Barclays. Any views expressed in this article are not those of Barclays.