There’s no doubt about it; the price difference between different classes of items, services, etc. is usually tied to a difference in the quality you get. I say usually because it’s not always explicitly the case, especially when it comes to travelling. Yes, you get economy class versus first-class or business class when flying and you also get five star hotels which suggest better comfort and luxury than say a two- or three-star hotel/motel. For your trip to go down as a luxurious experience however, luxury travel is indeed the sum of its parts. This means that not every single aspect of the trip has to be expensive in order for the overall trip to be considered as a luxurious travelling experience.
Real vs. Perceived Value
It’s very easy to get caught up in the allure of the perceived value of what luxury is. If we think of luxury as ultimately just having the liberty to choose between different options, regardless of the price, then the value you get is what should matter. For example, if you’re headed over to the Italian island of Sicily and you plan on lodging in style at one of the many villas you can find on Scent of Sicily, would flying economy class take anything away from your overall perception of the trip qualifying as a luxury trip? I certainly don’t think so. If you were to share some pictures of yourself relaxing on the Sicilian Oceanside villa of your choice, whomever it is you shared those pictures with certainly won’t regard the fact that you flew economy class as something which takes even the slightest bit of luxury out of the overall trip.
Quantifying the Cost of Luxury
Naturally, the comfort and luxury that comes with extra costs is sometimes only given its valuation by just how much people are willing to pay. There are some travellers who’ll pay anything for the extra leg-room afforded by a business-class ticket, yet the distance covered in kilometres is exactly the same as someone flying economy. It then comes down to how much you’re personally willing to pay for what is sold as luxury. Is the airline’s idea of luxury the same as your idea of what luxury is and, more importantly, are you willing to pay the asking price?
The Main Experience is What Matters Most
Although you’d naturally have a few items on your itinerary, the meat of the trip is what matters most and if you are indeed out to experience a luxury trip, the main experience like where you stay is what matters most. That’s where the luxury needs to be catered to and that is where to spend the kind of money which buys you the luxury and comfort you long for. So next time you plan a trip to Italy for instance, if you scrimp on the peripheral costs of your trip, like perhaps on the class of your plane ticket, luxury villas in Sicily will be within the reach of your budget, but more importantly, you’ll have legitimate claim to having gone on a luxury trip without much objection.