Forget V.I.P. Are you P.L.U.? (That’s People Like Us, rather than just one of them.) Select—and selective—five-star hotels are increasingly screening would-be guests for desirability rather than ability to pay. Jason Squatriglia, founder of Your Favorite Travel Agent, spends significant time filling out so-called pitch bios to persuade persnickety property managers that his clients would be additive to the poolside scene. “They work hard to curate that environment, which they don’t want to lose just because someone can pay $2,500 a night,” he says.
These travel résumés detail everything from a client’s board positions to whether they’re accompanied by young, noisy children or less-disruptive older teens. If you’re arriving by private jet, he’ll add in that you require a transfer from the local fixed-base operator. “It already speaks volumes, whether you own or charter,” he says.
Such dossiers are a near-essential for one world-famous, always-booked hotel in the south of France. And even when a booking is accepted, it’s usually conditional: The exact rate per night will be determined at check-in, and guests must agree to accept whatever they’re offered.
One general manager, who asked not to be named, admits he approaches reservations this way. “We are working on building a members’-club mindset at our place,” he says. “They are not only booking a suite, but they want to be part of a community.”
Cari Gray of Gray & Co., which focuses on trips for active travelers, frames these inquiries more like matchmaking. It’s a natural evolution for lavish private villas. Owners of such houses are, unsurprisingly, keen to know what kind of people are sleeping under their roofs. Five Star Greece’s founder and director Ileana von Hirsch works with a villa on the tony island of Antiparos. The art-filled home was built by a collector to be what she calls “a beacon of civilization in the dark of this world.” The last time she booked it successfully? For a wealthy Swiss traveler who had a passion for collecting. He qualified with credibility, not credit score.
Still, there are always work-arounds. Take a name with the wrong kind of recognition, or digital footprint, for example. Squatriglia sometimes makes the booking request using a spouse’s bio instead. “She can get a reservation, with a guest, but if he’s coming? They have no availability,” he says. “You just have to get creative.”
The V.V.I.P. Guest Questionnaire
- Where is your primary residence?
- How many additional residences do you own?
- Where are those homes? Please specify zip code or similar.
- How many children do you have, and what are their ages?
- Will you travel with your own nanny?
- If you are on social media, what are your Instagram, Facebook, TikTok usernames?
- Please indicate your spouse’s name, if applicable.
- How many nights are you hoping to book?
- Which of the following have you visited in the past year? Check all that apply.
- Aspen
- St. Barts
- St. Moritz
- Saint-Tropez
- Capri
- Palm Beach
- Nantucket
- Please list all the nonprofit boards on which you serve.
- Please list any other organizations to which you have donated more than $50,000 in the past five years.
- If a booking is accepted, you may be assigned a room or suite at a nightly rate between $3,000 and $8,000; the exact fee will only be determined at check-in. Please confirm you agree to these conditions below.
Authors
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Mark Ellwood
