At any given moment, Emyr Thomas is probably chatting with a client on his personal number, attending an in-person meeting with a supplier overseas, or liaising directly with the general manager of a hotel. The travel curator and founder of Bon Vivant lives and breathes his business and clients are invited to enjoy what is perhaps London’s most personal travel concierge service – they can speak directly with him at any time of day (or night). ‘I would like to say 24/7, but I do sleep sometimes’, he jokes. Beau Monde Traveler catches up with Emyr to talk about his career, travel experiences and personal aspirations.

With a background in finance, Emyr has never shied away from long hours; ‘it’s not that I’ve ever had a nine to five job when it was only nine to five’, he says. The travel curator is available at any time of day – through to the very second before he goes to sleep – to offer a personalised service unrivalled by others in the industry. It is important to Emyr that his customers are able to communicate with him directly whenever they need. ‘As a client, you would have my personal email and my personal mobile’, he adds. Behind the scenes, some tasks are completed by different members of Bon Vivant’s capable team but Emyr is the face of most client-concierge interaction; the business very much centres around its founder even if he is too modest to say so. ‘We know this whole industry is based around relationships and that’s the relationship with the client, and I think sometimes, more importantly, with suppliers.’ While many companies, especially ones this successful and on-hand, may be led from afar by a CEO or director, Emyr is crucial to the day-to-day coordination of Bon Vivant.

This wasn’t always Emyr’s reality. He ‘hated’ his former job as an accountant and spent much of his spare time researching London’s restaurant scene after finding an out-of-date guidebook on his boss’ desk. Emyr began by ‘advising people on an informal basis… and I started creating a database for myself purely for my own benefit’. Without the convenience of online guides we now rely so heavily upon, he thought of those who ‘need to know this information and don’t have access to it,’ and began to provide his own restaurant recommendations to his network. Emyr took advantage of the financial crisis of 2008 to change direction: he volunteered for redundancy and set about establishing his concierge service. ‘Restaurants who perhaps would have a couple of years previously not even opened my e-mail or answered the phone were now looking for business… So whilst it was a terrible time for new clients, it was a great time to build relationships because they were looking for people like me to try and help them.’ After six months of knocking on doors and sitting on the phone, Emyr began to see the fruits of his labour.

Bon Vivant evolved into a successful London-based concierge company and by 2010, Emyr and his staff were offering clients from all over the world access to exclusive events and restaurants. Over the next years, however, Emyr began to deliver a more travel-oriented service, which he felt was a nicer environment to work in. His original concierge services could be challenging; ‘it’s I want it now or I want it yesterday, and the expectation is that it has to be done regardless. You almost set up for failure,’ he says. However, the travel side of Bon Vivant allowed Emyr to ‘curate these amazing memories’ and the process (and his clients) proved more inspiring. In 2014, he set up the separate Bon Vivant Travel – which has now replaced the original service – and allowed clients to book without membership or subscription; ‘we were one of the first to try to roll it out in the UK’, he explains. To this day, Emyr offers a free service to his clients and is instead paid on commission. Bon Vivant plays on its inclusivity and as a smaller travel service battling against larger competitors, has proved a welcome approach. A refreshing change from more exclusive agencies, Emyr explains that because of his free service, ‘anyone can book through us’.

‘When I first started, I always thought we would grow it bigger,’ he says. Since his early estimations, Emyr has realised that his USP is not, in fact, the size of his business but the incredibly personal nature of his services. He suggests that ‘you don’t need to be big to be successful’ and explains that clients are investing in his personal time and knowledge. Considering the hands-on service presented to clients and the reliable availability of staff, Emyr notes that ‘people are sometimes shocked that it is not bigger than it is’. It is the reassuring knowledge that ‘someone’s on top of this’ that draws in repeat clients (and a host of new ones from the recommendations of satisfied customers). What sets Bon Vivant apart from its competitors is the knowledge, experience, contacts, personalised service and extras offered at no additional cost. Emyr urges clients to ‘just call me even if it’s a 10-second conversation or a 20-minute one. If you’re not sure about something, ask, it doesn’t matter if you change your mind. Don’t worry about it… we can amend it.’ 

Emyr’s profession clearly comes with ample travel opportunities; he is regularly visiting ‘either the places that you think your clients want to go to… or you go to places that your clients do go to to keep on top of them’. This is a welcome perk of the job. However, ‘you can’t be expected to have visited every single destination in the world’, he says, and something Emyr appreciates about his industry is ‘that if I haven’t been somewhere, I know someone who has and we all help each other.’ He finds that ‘it’s quite a nice environment to work in where technically someone who was a competitor can share the knowledge with you to help your client… that’s standard across everyone I know in the industry.’ When it comes to Emyr’s personal travel preferences, ‘I am never happier than when I’m sat on a beach in St Barts’, an island he goes back to time and time again.

However, when asked about his favourite hotel, Emyr initially struggles to choose but then says ‘one I go to often and I send a lot of clients to is Finca Cortesin’ in Málaga. His fondness for the Spanish resort is evident as he admits ‘I’m going back in June, actually’. He says simply that ‘it has this feeling’. For a property with only 67 guest rooms and suites, its facilities go above and beyond with three pools, a golf course, a spa and plenty of restaurants. ‘You almost never see anybody else… it’s not over the top and it’s not ostentatious. It’s quite understated and yet it’s super luxurious.’ Every client that Emyr sends to Finca Cortesin relays back rave reviews and he even had a text ‘from one client going, Oh my God, even for you, this is special.’ Perhaps predictably considering his review of the Malaga hotel, Emyr has plans to explore the resort’s new property in Majorca and hopes it lives up to the stellar reputation of the original.

At the helm of Bon Vivant is Emyr Thomas, the company’s personable and generous founder. He has grown the company from small beginnings as simple restaurant recommendations to family and friends to perhaps one of London’s most sought-after travel concierge services, and definitely its most personal one. Clients have access to exclusive benefits and perks that are unrivalled by Bon Vivant’s competitors. Bon Vivant has proved itself to be the ultimate destination for those seeking to explore the world in luxury with the help of a free, personal and knowledgeable travel service. Emyr is just a phone call away.