Scott Wiseman is a 30-year veteran and leader across the travel, tour, and hospitality sectors. He joined Nocturne Luxury Villas as chief executive officer in April 2023. As CEO, he is responsible for the growth and development of Nocturne as well as oversight of its portfolio of legacy brands, each a leader in their destinations. Most recently, Wiseman served as senior vice president and general manager of Apple Leisure Group Vacations overseeing six leading travel brands, including Travel Impressions where he was president for three-and-a-half years. In this role he was responsible for brand strategy, profitability, and marketing as well as training and education for the six ALGV brands. Wiseman’s prior positions included president of luxury tour operators Cox & Kings, Abercrombie & Kent, and Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club, after several years as vice president of marketing for Accor.

What is your background and what led you to join Nocturne?

My love for the travel and hospitality industry was born through the only “real” vacation my parents took my brother and I on – Acapulco. I was 15 and was looking to do anything to escape our room and find other teenagers at the resort. I snuck out every night when my parents fell asleep and hung out all night with other kids doing the same. I was immediately fascinated with how the resort operated and wandered everywhere, including the back of house.

The moment I got home, I researched universities that had a Hotel/Hospitality Management program. I attended and loved every minute of my time at Penn State’s nationally ranked hospitality program, and could not wait to get started in the real world. My curiosity led me to almost everything there is to do in hotels and then to luxury travel companies and now my newest passion, luxury villa rentals.

What differentiates Nocturne from others in the hospitality space?

Nocturne was founded on the principle of staying disciplined on being a people-driven, not tech driven, hospitality company. We own the direct relationships with the homeowners of our magnificent homes and villas, and double down on our own boots-on-ground team to ensure the entire guest experience is under our control.

We believe that an extraordinary vacation experience starts with extraordinary accommodations, BUT it is really about the breadth of true concierge services that we offer. We focus on the needs and wants of discerning travelers both to experience our exclusive destinations, but also maximize the experience of the home. Bottom line – we can do everything and more at your private home that a resort can do…just without strangers!

What trends are you seeing in the travel space right now?

Luxury travel has a history of being much more resilient to market volatility. We continue to see strong bookings from both repeat and new guests. As we have increased our concierge offerings, we are seeing a significant increase of in-home experiences being chosen. There definitely has been a shift in less external activities and more personal experiences at the homes.

Growth in milestone celebrations that have increased the multi-generation and larger friend group trips has been seen over the last couple of years. Fully themed birthdays and anniversaries are highlighted with gourmet meals and entertainment. It is also more common to include in-home wellness experiences that include personalized meal preparation, yoga/fitness offerings, and spiritual meditation journeys.

What is fueling your growth and where have you recently expanded to?

Our growth is linked to our continued diversity in exclusive markets, offering the very best homes and villas in each location, and the increase in offering more concierge services. As Nocturne grows, our guests are recognizing that the luxury experience they have received in one destination is now available through other Nocturne destinations. Building a brand rooted in luxury experiences and being disciplined in how that is presented in each destination is resonating strongly with our guests and driving more repeat business.

With our newest acquisition in Grand Cayman, we have evolved our luxury experiences to include the demand for luxury condos. We are meeting the demand for smaller parties of guests who don’t want or need a 10,000 square foot home. Like we have on seven-mile beach on Grand Cayman, we now have unbelievable multi-million-dollar luxury condos to fit this need. And we have identified other luxury condo markets where we expect to expand in the near term.

Unlike traditional online aggregators, we are also caretaking most homes which has allowed us to grow the number of homes and villas within our local brands. We have earned the trust from the homeowners through the combination of taking care of their home and finding the appropriate guest to use their home for vacation.

The average growth in luxury home inventory, in each destination, over the past 4 years has been 33%.

What are your favorite properties?

The next one I visit! This is a tough question – each destination offers so much in terms of luxury accommodations, and it would be truly difficult to narrow it down to just one. Here is what I love about each destination:

• Grand Cayman Villas and Condos – offers large villas ocean-front at a beautiful, secluded part of the island AND wonderful condos in the heart of restaurants and shops on Seven Mile Beach.
• Cabo Villas – offers five different communities, neighborhoods, and locations that each, while rooted in exquisite homes, offers different locales with different experiences. I especially love that you can stay in a home with true hacienda mission style architecture and furnishings or a modern marvel carved into the mountain side overlooking both the Pacific Ocean and Sea of Cortez.

• Exclusive 30A (Florida’s Emerald Coast) boasts multiple beach communities each with a different set of amenities and offerings so you are sure to meet your needs of either family focused trips to Girls/Guys getaways.
• WIMCO St. Barth Properties – features the largest selection of gorgeous villas (over 350) so your choices are endless around the entire island. So, nothing is technically not possible from anywhere on the island. Villas range from modern luxury to French inspired tropical paradise.

• Paradise Retreats (Santa Barbara) – represents communities from Ventura to Montecito and brings the perfect choice of California chic luxury beach bungalows to epic sprawling compounds. Whether your motivation is beach driven, privacy, or even in the heart of Santa Barbara, we have it all.
• Exceptional Stays (Telluride) – a beautiful year-round destination where homes are mostly divided in the Town of Telluride, offering walking access to the restaurants and shops of “downtown”, and Mountain Village, where you can experience a true ski-in and ski-out home that offers the full private ski chalet home.

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