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Hello and welcome to Traveling Solo. This is a ZM Max Travel Radio production, and it's presented by Collage, travel Media Network. And of course you know who I am. I'm Z Michelson. I'm a travel advisor, a media host, an advocate for women who refuse to wait to see the world. And for all those that just wanna travel and go traveling, and they don't wanna have to wait for anybody to go with them, you know? But today we're gonna be talking about something very, very bold. Yep, bold. No, I'm not talking about jumping out of an airplane, unless of course you really wanna do that. But I am talking about luxury. Yes. Luxury and specifically. Why women traveling solo deserve the upgrade. I know a lot of women have guilt around that. So no guilt trips, just traveling solo. So let's dismantle this guilt that surrounds that. many women downgrade themselves automatically when traveling alone. I don't know. Let's see. Why are you doing that? You go for a smaller room or an inside cabin or the back of the plane because it's just me. Well, let's challenge that. It's not just you, it's you. You are not half of a booking. You are the whole experience, and I know that you're thinking, okay, I'm gonna save a penny here or a penny there. But let's think about that. These are trips that you've always wanted to go on and you're doing it. So luxury is not always an indulgence. Luxury isn't about extravagance, it's about ease. It is about safety. It's about the location, it's about comfort, service, and of course reduced stress. How many times have you traveled and you just go into that most gorgeous hotel room and you think, oh, I should have gotten something different, something smaller. But no, this is for you. Start treating yourself for the solo traveler. These elements matter more, not less, so you don't have a companion to buffer inconvenience. The upgrade buys you a peace of mind. It buys you peace. It buys you something you've always wanted. Luxury also communicates something internal. You know what it communicates? It's actually saying, I value myself, I deserve this. And that matters deeply for women who spent decades prioritizing others. Managing family budgets. Boy, how many of you have done that? If I do this, I can get milk and potatoes today, but I can't do this. I can't do that. I can take a cab. I can't take a cab. And women put themselves last, well, you're not gonna do that anymore. Solo luxury travel becomes. Reclamation. You're reclaiming yourself. You're reclaiming who you are. You're doing what you wanna do, you're seeing what you wanna see. You're getting excited about the trip. You don't wanna have to cut corners. You wanna be able to be comfortable. You wanna feel safe. You don't wanna have all that stress when you're traveling by yourself, so you're going to reclaim yourself. Now strategic upgrades that really do matter. You don't always need everything five star, but here's where upgrades matter most to the solo traveler, okay? You want a central location. Being centrally located to what you wanna see is really good because then you don't have to run here, there and everywhere. You're right there in the heart of everything. Airport transfers very, very important. Upgrade to an air airport. Transfer balcony, cabins. You know, the first time I went on a cruise. I didn't have a balcony. I thought, what do I need a balcony for? I'm not gonna be in the room that long and true, you're really not in the room that long on a cruise. But I had an inside cabin and it was okay. It was comfortable. But then I got my first balcony cabin and I never looked back. Every time I go on a ship. I look for that balcony premier economy for long haul. Yeah. If you're on a plane and it's gonna be a long ride. Premier economy. Have you seen the airlines lately that are doing, you get three seats so you can lay down. That's pretty cool. That's brand new. It's just starting to pop up. Always, always, always. Upgrade and get travel insurance. I can't specify this enough. Travel insurance is very, very important because you just never know what if something happens. You have to cancel your trip. Heaven forbid you fall down a flight of stairs and your ankle is broken. You don't want to cancel your trip and lose all that money that you just paid. Travel insurance, even when you're traveling. What if you fall overseas or if you fall down somewhere, you don't want that, but the travel insurance helps take care of you. Particularly when we had that COVID epidemic that was going around. Travel insurance did help. Now also upgrade to smaller group tours. Smaller group tours can actually make you feel more comfortable. Because they're not so big, they're not 42 people on a bus. It's only like 10 to 20 people on a bus. You feel like you're part of the community. So a smaller group tour might be a little bit more money, but you'll experience a very nice trip. These things can reduce your vulnerability. So central location, airport transfers, balcony cabins, premier economy. Travel insurance and smaller group tours. These are some of the upgrades that really do matter and it will increase your confidence. Okay, so we're talking luxury, and again, we talked about you don't have to have everything five star. It's kind of nice, but you don't have to have everything five star. But of course you want safety. That's a big concern with a lot of ladies out there and a lot of people, they want to feel safe. Higher end properties often provide some of the things that will help you feel a little safer. What do I mean by that? Well, they have better lighting. They have concierge access, secure entries, and they have 24 hours staffing. These things give you peace of mind. It's not luxury, it's just peace of mind. It's foundational. I know when I go into certain hotels and somebody says, oh, this concierge on premise, or it's secure, or there's somebody always at the front desk, I feel much safer. And like I said, I travel quite frequently by myself'cause I am a travel advisor, so I check out hotels and I check out ships and I check out all different places. So yeah, I guess you can call me a solo traveler. Not always, but sometimes. And as a solo traveler, you too can be a solo traveler. Not always, but sometimes. Now. I am over 50, so women over 50, you're kind of deserving more, and this is very important. A lot of women in midlife struggle to spend money on themselves. Hmm. I know We are guilty of that, particularly if they're newly divorced or newly widowed. Their money is going on in their head. Can I afford this? Can I do this? You know, will I be able to pay the bills? But here's how to do the reframing on this. You're not rewarding yourself. You are respecting yourself. Yeah, there's a difference. You know, you do deserve this. You've been dying for this trip for so long. You've always thought about it. You never had the opportunity. It's on your bucket list. You know you're over 50. It's time to go. It's time to travel, and it is important that you respect yourself and you say, I deserve this trip. I'm not saying go on a trip every week. Unless, of course you want to, but if you had that bucket list planned out and you haven't done it, now's the time. Now luxury can change your posture. You know, when you walk into a beautiful space alone, you don't shrink. You actually stand taller. It's like, wow, look at this. And you deserve it. The environment influences your identity and sometimes the upgrade isn't about comfort, it's about embodiment. I, you know, I remember a movie, I think it was the last holiday or something like that with Queen Latifah. And she was diagnosed with a terminal disease, which. Here we go. I'm gonna have to give away the ending. You know, it was a broken machine, but she was saving and saving and saving all her life and she didn't get to go anywhere and she had a bucket list, so she took all of her money and she was gonna blow it. She went into, uh, specialized cocoon in the airplane. She went to the highest and best resort overseas. She bought herself a whole new wardrobe. And she was enjoying herself because she thought she was gonna die. But again, you know, I'm kinda giving away the ending, but it was a cute movie and she realized that at the end of the movie, she realized it wasn't time to keep saving and putting herself in a box all the time. It was time to experience things and have fun. So luxury does change your posture. Now, solo travel is about ownership. Luxury solo travel is about worth. So if you spent your life showing up for everyone else, it may be time to show up for yourself without apologizing, without apologizing. I know first time I took a solo trip by myself. I left everybody home and I thought, oh my gosh, what am I gonna do? I left so and so home. I left my husband home. My daughter was already older, so she was, she was pretty much on her own anyway, but then again, my daughter solo travels as well, and she does stay at some of the nicest resorts. She likes to, she likes to travel. Gee, I guess the fruit doesn't fall far from the tree there. But in the coming weeks, I'm gonna be talking to, again, I'm gonna be talking to vendors that provide solo travel experiences for yourselves. And I'm also gonna be talking to travelers that are solo travelers and the experiences they had, how they started, what was it like, was, were they scared the first time or did they just run head on into it? Some say they were a little scared. Some say nope, they just loved it and they did it. So those will be coming in the next few weeks, but I wanna let you know that you've been listening to Traveling Solo. It is a ZM Max Travel radio production presented by Collage, travel Media Network, and of course I am Z Michelson. And I always tell everybody if you want to travel. And you have questions, you can contact me because I am a travel advisor, but you can also contact your own travel advisor, tell them what you want, tell them what your budget is, tell them the experiences you wanna have, and they will work closely with you to make sure you have the best travel experience going. But remember this. You don't need a companion to justify your upgrade. Sometimes the most important traveler, partner in your life is you, and it's the woman you are becoming. So until next time, travel strong, travel smart, and travel solo, but not alone. And like I always say. Reach for those stars, and if you only get to the moon, at least you made the trip. Thanks for listening today and feel free to share this podcast with your friends and I'll talk to you next week. Have a great trip.