'One client blew £850,000 in a week and another demanded a giant croissant on a private jet': Meet the man planning holidays for the super-rich

'One client blew £850,000 in a week and another demanded a giant croissant on a private jet': Meet the man planning holidays for the super-rich

A luxury travel concierge has lifted the lid on what his super-rich clientele ask for from a holiday. Matthieu Schon's day job is anything but typical office work. The 29-year-old, originally from Luxembourg, spends his time planning jaw-dropping trips for wealthy travellers, sports stars and VIPs.From £100,000 private jets to £40,000 yacht days and adventures to some of the most exclusive destinations in the world, Mr Schon is responsible for making these trips one-of-a-kind – and there's often a very generous budget to play with. The founder of Matt Concierge revealed: 'For the VIP, we can easily reach spending of half a million. Then the wife does some shopping; they will buy some jewellery.'According to the experienced planner, £500,000 is the price tag for a 'standard VIP trip nowadays'.'That is what the luxury market has become recently,' he added.'It's mostly not the big VIPs or celebrities that everyone thinks will book the expensive villas or expensive experiences. It can be a guy you just pass by in the street.'You would never think that guy is going to spend £100,000 or £150,000 on a holiday, but normal looking people have the money and are happy to spend it on luxury.' Matthieu Schon, 29, works as a luxury travel concierge for the ultra-wealthyThe travel expert, originally from Luxembourg, arranges everything from £100,000 private jets to £40,000 yacht days What a 10-day VIP holiday to the South of France from Dubai could cost: Return private jet: more than £100,000Helicopter transfer: around £1,700Luxury hotel suite: approximately £4,300 per nightChauffeur: around £850 per daySecurity: thousands of pounds per dayYacht day: more than £40,000 Mr Schon lives in Dubai and has a team of five employees helping him plan the extravagant trips. One client working in pharmaceuticals recently spent close to £857,000 during a single week-long holiday around Europe. Mr Schon said: 'He spent around £214,000 on a yacht rental, then a single afternoon of partying on the boat cost more than £51,000.'And then it just kept going like this. In the end, nearly £850,000 was gone. That's the crazy reality of the luxury world nowadays.'He arranges everything from the accommodation, private transfers, restaurants and other requests for clients.Recently, the travel expert arranged a four-day Mykonos trip for a major NBA player who – despite travelling with just his partner – booked the biggest villa available at the Santa Marina hotel.The six-bedroom property cost around £45,000 for four days.Mr Schon said: 'Even though he came as a couple, he booked a six-bedroom villa.'NBA players have a lot of funds, so they like to spoil themselves. They might not go on holiday often because they have to train a lot. So when they do, they really do it properly.'But there is one luxury accommodation option Mr Schon says he is reluctant to recommend to his customers – standalone villas.Despite their popularity, he prefers villas located within hotel grounds because of the additional security. He has a team of five employees helping him plan the extravagant tripsMr Schon explained: 'I never recommend villas to my VIP clients, celebrities, to anyone.'When the NBA player came to me, I told him from the beginning, take a villa inside of a hotel.'Hotels are usually less of a target because there are so many people around, so many cameras.'Mr Schon has had to handle some unusual requests with his work too, such as when one client suddenly decided they wanted a giant croissant on their private jet.The concierge had to quickly find the huge pastry and get it through the airport in time. He said: 'I had one client who asked for a big croissant in a private jet. That was quite last minute, so I had to figure that out.'I had to get to the bakery, make sure they still had one, then get it to the airport. Obviously, I needed to get it through security and everything. So that was quite an experience.'For the luxury travel planner, the biggest difference he has found between ordinary holidaymakers and his richest clients is often their attitude towards time.He said: 'VIPs are not trying to negotiate prices that much. They are trying to get peace of mind.'For them, 20 minutes of negotiation with a driver would equal in their business world maybe $5,000.' According to Mr Schon, one client spent nearly £857,000 during a single week-long holiday around Europe Giant croissants one client suddenly decided they wanted on their private jetAnd that expectation does not disappear when the sun goes down.Matthieu says clients regularly contact him at midnight or 1am after suddenly deciding they want to continue partying.He said: 'People like to go to a nice restaurant, then at the last minute they say, 'OK, I want to go to the club now.''They don't have a table, of course, so I have to quickly get that arranged.'So I need to wake up, and it might be midnight or 1am, and get organised quickly.'I need to call the club manager and arrange the table and make sure everything is in place for the client.'

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