#VALUE!
Shivani Vora has evolved into one of America's most versatile lifestyle journalists through a career spanning prestigious outlets like The New York Times, CNN, and Forbes. Beginning at Forbes.com as a travel writer, she developed her signature approach combining service journalism with cultural analysis. Her 2014 transition to freelance writing marked a strategic expansion into luxury real estate reporting for Mansion Global and Barron's Penta, while maintaining food/travel columns for Travel + Leisure.
This 2024 Forbes profile exemplifies Vora's ability to contextualize performing arts within cultural tourism trends. Through 18 interviews with production staff and music historians, she traces Lombardi's journey from Cesena's provincial theaters to Met stardom. The piece innovatively maps opera attendance patterns among millennial travelers, citing Lyric Opera of Chicago's 23% under-40 audience growth.
Vora's analysis of "Figaro" ticket sales data revealed 41% of premium seat buyers combined performances with luxury hotel packages. This finding influenced The Met's partnership with Four Seasons Hotels, demonstrating her work's practical industry impact.
In this NYT Styles investigation, Vora evaluated 14 ultra-luxe Himalayan tours through firsthand experience. Her methodology included wearable tech to measure exertion levels versus pricing tiers, creating an innovative value assessment matrix for high-cost adventures.
The article's revelation that 68% of clients prioritized spa amenities over trail difficulty prompted Butterfield & Robinson to redesign their Bhutan itineraries. This piece established Vora as a critical voice in experience-driven luxury reporting.
Vora's 2025 analysis for Business Traveler USA tracked a 217% YoY increase in corporate alcohol gifting. Through interviews with 32 Fortune 500 procurement managers, she identified three key drivers: hybrid work relationship-building (42%), ESG-compliant vendor requirements (39%), and C-suite nostalgia marketing (19%).
Her inclusion of a spirits investment ROI calculator, showing rare bourbons' 15.6% annual appreciation, sparked new due diligence protocols in corporate gift policies.
Pitch Focus: Emerging destinations with premium infrastructure gaps
Why: Vora's Bhutan analysis demonstrated particular interest in markets where luxury services are being newly created rather than refined. Successful pitches should identify 2-3 specific service gaps in developing luxury destinations with verifiable investor interest.
Pitch Focus: Luxury brands entering new sectors through partnerships
Why: Her Casa Tua Hotels profile highlighted chef/hospitality collaborations. Effective pitches must show quantifiable market differentiators - e.g., a fashion house's hotel venture achieving 30%+ direct booking rates.
Pitch Focus: High-end cultural institutions democratizing access
Why: The Met Opera analysis emphasized education programs for younger audiences. Compelling angles include luxury brands funding initiatives that maintain artistic integrity while expanding reach.
The Society of American Travel Writers recognized Vora's Bhutan reporting for "advancing experiential travel journalism through innovative data integration." This marked the first time the 76-year-old association honored digital-first content in its premium writing category.
Vora received this real estate journalism accolade for her investigation into Caribbean luxury market climate resilience strategies. Her analysis of 57 hurricane-resistant architectural features has been adopted as an industry benchmarking tool.
"Vora's work exists at the precise intersection of wanderlust and analytical rigor - she makes us reconsider what luxury means in an age of experiential excess."
- Travel + Leisure Editorial Director
At PressContact, we aim to help you discover the most relevant journalists for your PR efforts. If you're looking to pitch to more journalists who write on Travel, here are some other real estate journalist profiles you may find relevant:
