Jaclyn Sienna India, founder of luxury lifestyle company Sienna Charles.
Credit: Anna Gunselman
(CNN) -
On a personal trip to Ethiopia in 2015, former US President George W. Bush was in for a pleasant surprise.
When he arrived in the ancient Christian town of Lalibela, dozens of children in navy blue hats from the Texas Ranger, one of Texans' favorite sports teams, gave him a warm welcome.
"We prepared a lot of exciting surprises on that trip," Jaclyn Sienna India, founder of luxury lifestyle company Sienna Charles, tells CNN Travel.
"I try to think of great ways to get (travelers) excited, so I bought about 100 Texas Rangers caps. And by the time Bush got to the village, all the kids had them on."
Personal touches, exclusivity, security, discretion - these are the things world leaders look forward to while traveling.
"It's a lot like theater: world leaders have this vision of what this place could be like, how exotic and amazing," adds India.
"And we want to fulfill that vision with special moments."
Bush was not the first world leader he worked with.
His agency has planned more than 100 trips for at least 15 presidents, prime ministers and leaders since 2012.
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"Whether it's a former president, a billionaire or a celebrity, everyone is an individual," he says.
"If you understand what motivates them and why they are going on this journey, it will be a successful relationship."
Offering tailor-made experiences
In 2015, luxury travel specialist Jaclyn Sienna India accompanied former President George W. Bush to Ethiopia's Omo Valley.
Courtesy of Sienna Charles
India learned all about the art of luxury hospitality at the now-closed Le Bec Fin, at the time a three-Michelin-star fine-dining restaurant, where she worked while earning a BA in art history at the Tyler School of Art in the city. Temple University of Philadelphia.
"I fell in love with keeping the net worth ultra high," he recalls.
"I really excelled and understood their needs. That has really been the success of my career - understanding each person's needs and then being able to provide that experience."
After college, New York native India moved to Palm Beach, Florida, with her then boyfriend and now husband, Freddy Charles Reinert, where she quickly realized that the level of service in "luxury" tourism it paled in comparison.
"It just didn't make sense to me; in the restaurant, you would sit for three hours and spend between $ 5,000 and $ 10,000," he recalls.
"Seven people with silver (dishes) were waiting for you; the sommelier knew all the grapes and winemakers; the chef would come to your table and know where the foie gras came from."
Everything was obsessive and service-oriented in the restaurant, he says, but that's not the case on luxury travel.
"The same type of clientele would spend $ 100,000 on a trip to Italy or France, but the (travel agent who designed) the trip hasn't even been there," says India.
Sienna Charles has even managed to give her clients private access to the Louvre.
Frédéric Soltan / Corbis / Getty Images
Striving to offer a better alternative for high-net-worth travelers, the couple launched Sienna Charles in 2008.
Each trip is tailored to the client's needs, be it a multi-generational retreat in Umbria or a private island in Indonesia.
"I personally review all of my recommendations and I am obsessed with quality and service," she says.
An adventure through Egypt
"We closed down monuments for (the leader), and they just wanted to dig deeper into their personal passion," recalls India of a trip to Luxor, Egypt she planned in 2012.
Khaled Desouki / AFP / Getty Images
In 2012, Sienna Charles had the opportunity to plan and execute a journey for a world leader for the first time.
When he spoke to India, the client (whose name cannot be shared due to a confidentiality agreement), had his sights set on Egypt.
The leader had previously visited the country for work and was "really interested in Egyptology," says India.
So the travel expert organized a 12-day multi-stop adventure that was filled with historical and cultural discussions with various professionals and academics.
The trip took the world leader from Cairo on a private yacht cruise down the Nile, with several stops at historic sites along the way.
They finished the trip in the ancient capital of Luxor, dubbed the "world's largest open-air museum", home to some of the oldest tombs and temples in the country.
"We closed monuments for (the leader), and he just wanted to deepen his personal passion," recalls India.
"He had this romantic sense of the world where they couldn't wait to discover this place."
Thanks to referrals and this first successful trip with a world leader, India went on to plan trips for George W. Bush, among several others.
The Bushes in Ethiopia
In 2015, India meticulously choreographed a trip to some of the most remote corners of Ethiopia for Bush, his wife Laura, four friends, his doctor and 30 Secret Service staff.
Due to the huge entourage, word spread about the trip.
"We care about discretion and privacy," says India.
"But with so many Secret Service personnel and agents, it just became a media frenzy. Some world leaders just go with a security agent and a baseball cap, and nobody knows what they are."
Lalibela, Ethiopia, is famous for its beautiful rock-cut churches.
Edwin Remsberg / VWPics / Universal Images Group / Getty Images
She says Bush chose Ethiopia because he had been there during his presidency, but didn't have enough time to get out there and explore further.
"He told me that he visited about 80 countries during his presidency, but that he went to a beautiful monument like the Taj (Mahal) and never saw anything (due to the demanding schedule)," adds India.
To immerse the former president in culture and history, he planned a multi-stage trip from the remote Omo River Valley, home to some of the world's most isolated tribes, in the south to Lalibela in the north.
The logistically challenging journey required various modes of transportation, from SUVs to helicopters, private jets, and riverboats.
"Lalibela has to do with Christianity, that was amazing," says India, alluding to Bush's religious affiliation.
"When we were in the Omo Valley, (the villagers) did a ceremonial dance to welcome him."
All about the personal touches
"When you're willing to pay, it's a really easy conversation," says India of how Sienna Charles managed to close the world's top landmarks for her clients, including the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, pictured.
Yunus Emre Gunaydin / Anadolu Agency / Getty Images
The India team catered for very specific requests for food and drink, as "the journey is about them."
For example, he says that Bush likes comfort foods like peanut butter sandwiches and pasta when he travels, so India made sure all of his favorite foods were available even in the most remote parts of Ethiopia.
"For world leaders, the service is at a crazy level in their homes and they have executive assistants wherever they go," he explains.
"So when they travel, they really have high expectations, and it's understandable."
Since hotels in Ethiopia fell short of India's expectations, she worked with local partners to build luxury camps for the former president and his entourage.
They bought new furniture, bedding, and sheets, building beautiful accommodations from scratch.
The good thing about working with world leaders, he says, is that they know how to delegate.
"I tell them what we are thinking and they let me move on with that. They are people who run countries, so they understand the power of hiring experts and they can hand over (control) to people who are good at what they do," says India.
Once, he helped a world leader celebrate his wife's birthday by covering the entire floor of a private villa with exotic "Cherry Snow" roses brought from Ecuador, she says.
On another occasion, he worked with film set producers and styling experts to create a Parisian movie scene in the heart of Miami, where celebrity chef Eric Ripert designed a special menu.
And in Italy, he arranged for a world leader to enjoy a private visit with a famous jewelry designer.
The leader helped design a unique gift for his wife: a gold Navette ring with an oval-cut faceted ruby and 24 round-cut diamonds for $ 714,000.
Discretion, security and exclusivity
In most cases, India says that her clients come to her with a vision of what they expect to experience on a trip.
Maybe that is diving deeper into Chinese culture, lazing poolside in St. Barts, or just renting a house and being a grandparent for a week in Italy.
After an initial consultation, India, which has traveled to more than 80 countries and insists on experiencing each recommendation first-hand, will generally suggest three to five options, outlining the pros and cons of each.
From there, the travel expert works closely with the chief of staff, personal assistant, and client security to work out the details.
"From room type to food allergies, what kind of restaurants do they like, what time do they like to wake up, what newspapers do they want in the room, what kind of tour guides do they like ... we take every detail into account," he says. .
Transportation tends to be relatively fluid as 100% of its clients own their own yachts, helicopters, and private jets.
As part of security protocol, Sienna Charles often needs to close major monuments and museums so that clients can experience them on their own.
"We have closed the Sydney Opera House, the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, the Louvre, Versailles, the Great Sphinx of Giza, Machu Picchu ... tons of monuments," says India.
"When you are willing to pay, it is a very easy conversation."
Sienna Charles usually tries to arrange an after-hours visit first.
If that's not possible, they try to make a donation of between $ 20,000 and $ 100,000.
"We don't need to spend money just for the sake of spending money," he says.
"You just have to know who to call. But if they can see it privately, it's a win."
Leaving room for spontaneity
Security is much more challenging, especially when working with world leaders who tend to travel with at least one security officer.
"They have a lot of security, and security needs an itinerary," he says.
"They want it to literally map how many steps we have to take from the car to every monument and every restaurant."
Initially, this was quite frustrating for India because she believes that "traveling is about being fortuitous".
"The journey unfolds while (our clients) are traveling. We learned quite quickly after that first trip (in Egypt) that yes, we will prepare a minute-by-minute account of what we are going to do for the security teams, but we also have to manage the client, "he says." And if the client feels that it is a great journey, for me it is a victory.
That means, at times, venturing off the beaten path minute by minute.
For example, when he brought Bush to Ethiopia, India had the unexpected opportunity to visit a remote tribe in the Omo River Valley.
But the group would have to go down a very steep road with poor visibility to get to the river and then take a boat to get there.
"I asked his staff if I could do it so (Bush) could see more. And they said no," recalls India.
"But this would be the only way we would have a moment with this tribe, so I asked Bush directly and he said, 'Absolutely.'
"I learned to respect safety and staff who want to keep the person safe, but that (strict schedule) can also prevent them from enjoying things," he says.
A new era for 'out of control' spending
Gardens of the 'Orangerie' of the Palace of Versailles.
Stephane De Sakutin / AFP / Getty Images
The pandemic has not affected the travel of the ultra-rich and elites, says India.
"There are a lot of places like Fiji and Thailand that started letting private jets in about six months ago," he says.
"This is an advantageous time to be an ultra-high net worth person. Because, like anything else, money talks. People are willing to spend money to do what they want."
You have noticed several ultra-luxury travel trends driven by the pandemic.
For example, customers in India tend to plan trips at the last minute, sometimes only a day or two in advance, due to the uncertainty of border restrictions and quarantine requirements.
They have also started bypassing middlemen altogether, buying their own yachts and private jets and buying vacation homes.
Furthermore, India says that discretion has become the norm.
"They don't travel for the sake of traveling. But when they do, the rich no longer share online," he says.
"When much of the world is struggling, they are not going to post photos aboard their megayacht."
Still, the money spent on travel right now is "insane," he adds.
"People just want what they want. If they are chartering, it will be the most expensive yacht. And they are not messing with staff who don't know how to deal with them."
Before the pandemic, India helped clients rent yachts for roughly $ 200,000 to $ 300,000 a week.
Now, they are booking boats that cost up to $ 1 million a week.
When it comes to vacation homes and properties, spending has skyrocketed from an average of $ 10,000 a night to $ 35,000 or more for Sienna Charles clients.
"Spending is certainly out of control," says India.
"It's widespread. People are just willing to pay for exclusivity and be in the right place at the right time. Always."
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