New VIP Hotel Experiences
Paris Hilton wanted to receive a spray tan in her room. Bruce Springsteen requested a private tour of Busch Gardens with his family. And Meg Ryan was delighted when she received the keys to the presidential suite at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown—an incident that might be unremarkable, were it not for the fact that Ryan is not the movie star whose name she shares, but a consultant based in Lambertville, N.J. Marriott knows precisely who the other Ms. Ryan is, but the hotel treats her like a celebrity anyway. In fact, an increasing number of the most elite globetrotters are finding themselves on the receiving end of unpublished VIP service.
Loyalty Programs Beyond Elite
Secret reward programs for hotels’ best customers are nothing new. Some have been around for years, having been started at individual properties and eventually taken systemwide by the megachains. But thanks to Internet chatter, these programs have gone public—and have become news. There’s plenty of forum talk about the Hyatt Courtesy Card, Starwood Ambassador and Marriott Platinum Premier programs, to name a few.
InterContinental’s longstanding Royal Ambassador status has a slightly different twist. It’s by invitation only, based on room nights from the previous year, and invitees must also be members of the Ambassador club, which costs $200 (or 32,000 Priority Club Reward points). The most valued perk? Complimentary use of the minibar.
Other programs have spun off top-tier levels of their published programs, such as the Hilton HHonors diamond elite level, which was formerly by invitation only.
Speaking of invitations, you’ll need to wait for yours. Don’t expect to earn your way in—these programs are typically offered only to influencers, captains of industry, celebrities and the highest-revenue guests. Most programs will not reveal their criteria for invitation; they stay very tight-lipped about the existence of the programs.
“I do not know the basis on which I was invited,” says Robert Borstein, who has been a Marriott Platinum Premier member. Borstein is certainly a good customer: He was a 200-plus-nights-per-year guest at full-service Marriott and Renaissance properties for years.
Randy Petersen, editor of Inside Flyer magazine and a columnist for Executive Travel, says that in addition to rewarding the best customers, hotels may employ other strategies. “Some programs are used merely for targeting the best customers of other hotel chains, hoping to lure them away with something not typically known—and several of them actually don’t give much, if anything, more than the best or highest level of a typical hotel elite-level loyalty program. But since they may be targeted at a different small group, no one is the wiser,” Petersen says. Other programs, such as Marriott Platinum Premier, seem to invite members based on nominations from the general managers of high-visibility properties.
Just how lavish are the VIP program perks? According to Petersen, they may include:
• Guaranteed room availability. The property is willing to pay to send another guest to another hotel, rather than say no to these important members.
• Upgrade to a suite. Not even the highest elite member gets upgraded to a suite all the time.
• Exclusive VIP welcome gift. This may be as simple as a fruit plate or a bottle of wine, or more personalized.
• Free Wi-Fi. While not an expensive perk, this is a meaningful one, since paying for Wi-Fi is one of business travelers’ biggest gripes.
• A personal reservations rep. Sometimes this is guaranteed to be a local-language rep. Often the rep will then personally call the hotel manager to let him know the guest is coming, so that the guest can be greeted on arrival and escorted to her room.
• Concierge-style service. Problem-solving by hotel staff can be a welcome asset.
• Exception assistance. This might include making an award available when it was listed as sold out to other members, or reinstating an expired certificate.
These secret programs are apparently here to stay. “There are actually positive signs that this tack may be part of the future of loyalty programs, [as hotels] try to use these types of programs to identify customers outside of the traditional miles and points classification,” Petersen explains. He notes that existing programs already have additions on tap: “Starwood is said to be working with yet another secret VIP program in addition to their current Ambassador program. Hilton is doing the same, and even Hyatt has expressed an interest in something new and unique for targeting high-value customers—all beyond their existing traditional points-based loyalty programs.”
For Those Not Keeping Score
Hotels also offer VIP service to their best guests outside of standard programs and points. “We don’t have a point system; everyone is a VIP. You wouldn’t believe how many notes we take on every guest,” says a PR spokesperson for the Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts. A stellar concierge can turn an executive with a need into a true fan. “We fill in the blanks, regardless of who you are. We make it happen,” says Maggie O’Rourke, an unflappable, cheerful 25-year veteran concierge who has lately found it challenging to keep up with the demand for iPads from her guests at Boston’s Four Seasons Hotel. Javier Loureiro, a concierge at the Four Seasons Hotel in Washington, D.C., says that he was once asked by a business traveler who was an important lobbyist to save a seat for the guest at a Capitol Hill hearing. (The guest had a meeting earlier in the morning, so she couldn’t attend the start of the hearing.) “I found the hearing room, planted myself in an excellent seat and waited for her to show up. About an hour in, she arrived, found me and I gave her my seat.”
Bjorn Hanson, Ph.D., a clinical professor at NYU’s Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management, notes that VIP status may also come with a corporate rate: “One provision written in many corporate-rate agreements is that named executives will receive automatic upgrades and be granted automatic VIP status.” These may include a personal note from the general manager, a designated host, a mention in the morning briefing, an arrival basket, late check-in and check-out, solo travel in the hotel limo and not being charged for some services.
Yet sometimes VIP service becomes much more individualized. “I challenge everyone on my team to be creative and to provide important clients with their own personalized VIP service,” says Matt Van Der Peet, general manager of the Seattle Sheraton Hotel. “Whether it’s for a couple celebrating a 50th anniversary or a high-profile executive, that may mean flowers, champagne, an upgraded suite, 500 red M&Ms or six Diet Cokes.”
Roberta Nedry, president of Hospitality Excellence, a lodging consultant, agrees. “Perks and special recognition are important,” she says, “and are at the GM’s discretion when service recovery issues are at hand. How they handle difficult guests on the spot is key for any employee in terms of long-term impact.”
Not All VIPs Are Created Equal
NYU’s Hanson acknowledges the mercenary aspects of catering to well-paying guests, and he says that all hotels have sophisticated ROI measurement systems in place to quantify the value of rolling out the red carpet. However, he firmly maintains that some guests remain more VIP than others—and in those instances, ROI metrics may be thrown out the window. “Setting aside the Russell Crowes, you can’t buy the kind of credibility you get when the person who can stay anywhere stays with you,” he says. Deciding who gets freebies and who pays for perks often boils down to a judgment call that is more art than science.
Elizabeth Wilson, a 20-year concierge and the current administrator at the U.S. office of the Les Clefs d’Or, the prestigious international industry fraternity, acknowledges the ultimate challenge and capriciousness of determining who is a VIP. Movie stars and public figures, yes, but someone celebrating a milestone can also be VIPed (in conversation, Wilson often uses VIP as a verb). Meeting planners with large groups who will need a lot of support, as well as other guests who have the potential to bring in a lot of new business, are likely to be VIPed. The same holds true for longstanding and frequent guests. And sometimes, Wilson adds conspiratorially, people are VIPed just because they ask. “Well, you know I am a VIP,” someone might say. In these instances, Wilson musters her most proper concierge demeanor, smiles and graciously replies, “Well, yes, of course you are.”
ALESSANDRA BIANCHI, based in Boston, writes about entrepreneurship, startups and small business.
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