Podcast
Episode 19: Redefining Adventure Travel Through Connection & Innovation with Awasi
Featuring privately guided excursions in the most stunning and distinctly different destinations in South America, Awasi offers incredible experiences shaped by environment, culture and human connection.
I was thrilled to sit down with Nicolas Peluffo, newly appointed CEO of Awasi, for a deep dive into the ongoing technological investment transforming the brand, freeing up human interaction with travelers. We also got a peek into the extensive preparation each destination and on-property guides go through to ensure guests have a fully customized adventure in some of the most remote places in the world.
Awasi started in 2007 in the Atacama Desert with Awasi Atacama, introducing the private guide concept a few years later—the first of its kind in the region. Guests are assigned one 4WD vehicle and a private guide per room to adapt activities in the destination to their personal preferences. In San Pedro de Atacama, guests can explore salt flats, wetlands, petroglyphs, archeological sites and more for a truly authentic adventurous experience. At Awasi Patagonia, the second Awasi Lodge, private excursions take guests inside and outside the Torres del Paine National Park to explore isolated corners of the region. Awasi Iguazu in Argentina followed in 2018, and then, following an acquisition by Grupo Faro Verde in 2023, properties such as Awasi Santa Catarina in Brazil and Awasi Mendoza in Argentina were brought into the fold.
The acquisition of Ponta dos Ganchos (now Awasi Santa Catarina) was the catalyst for Nicolas joining the company, as it was his family’s property. Realizing he shared values and vision with Awasi during that process, he stepped in as CEO to usher the brand into their next chapter. Despite beginning his career in development, finance and technology, Nicolas always felt a pull towards the hospitality industry. The dream, moving forward, is to continue amplifying this South American brand that is becoming known for allowing guests to have an incredibly immersive experience in different biomes, regions and cultures.
Investing in technology is a core pillar in the growth of Awasi. Recently, they’ve made a $20 million investment towards efforts to redo the entire technology ecosystem, including cloud-based PMS, POS, CRM and ERP, removing legacy systems in favor of state-of-the-art platforms. The goal is to free up the manual implementation so that the robust teams on property have as much free time to interact with the guests as possible. As a daily user of AI himself, Nicolas thinks of it as a tool to enhance what we as humans can do, a way to reinvent the wheel. By digging deeper with thoughtful LLM prompts, it opens up the opportunity for a significant jump in creativity, especially as it relates to the hospitality industry.
Moving forward, platforms that connect travel advisors will become more and more important, offering face-to-face interaction and opportunities to cultivate a professional community. With capital being more prevalent and more abundant in the world and with technology bringing technical skills to a new level, it gives everyone the chance to grow. About 50% of Awasi’s business is B2B, making their connections with travel advisors essential. Their knowledge of the brand ensures that the correct clientele is booking an Awasi excursion, setting expectations well before booking. That level of trust and mutual understanding provides real-time feedback for the brand, enabling them to grow and tailor their offerings to accommodate emerging travel trends.
Taking a deeper look into the private guide program at Awasi Patagonia really called to my sense of adventure. The lodge is only open seven months of the year and consists of 14 villas on top of a mountain with no cell phone signal. The roughly 24 guides are trained for a full month and a half before opening each year, becoming true experts in geography, geology, history, 4WD security, first response, language and more. Pre-arrival is an in-depth exchange of information about the guest, including fitness levels, idiosyncrasies, allergies and more, and upon arrival they are greeted with a completely customized itinerary.
“You’ll look 360° and you’re not going to see anyone else, and then as you wander through sand dunes, you’ll turn back to see a table with your lunch that your guide just prepared for you. And again, you’re going to be by yourself and having a meal in the desert.”
Awasi just announced a partnership with INEOS Grenadier, with plans to replace their entire fleet in Chile (both Atacama and Patagonia Lodges) with new trucks, featuring BMW engines in a classic Land Rover Defender style. Another recently announced partnership is with Patagonia (the clothing brand) for top of the line guide uniforms, co-investing in certain environmental efforts and NGOs with them for what they hope is a long-term collaboration.
To wrap up our conversation, we ended with LTI’s signature rapid fire questions. For personal travel, Nicolas is headed to the Mentawai Island in Indonesia for a much needed surf break. Looking back to travel in the past, he firmly believes that we are only moving forward in the travel industry, with not much value placed in looking backwards. Today, you’re able to explore the world and optimize your time and your experience because of the technology and infrastructure built, making it the best time to be traveling the world. Looking forward, Nicolas revealed that his obsession with building a reliable platform to pay hotel commissions is the next technological innovation needed for the industry.
Thank you, Nicolas, for joining me on this episode of Luxury Travel Innovators, available to listen to and watch on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and Youtube.
