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These days it seems every brand wants to hop on the celebrity bandwagon, and hotels are no exception. Having a star in-house can create great buzz, but pursuing the entertainment market is not always in a hotel’s best interest. Next time Beyoncé is coming to town, take a few minutes to evaluate your hotel before calling her travel agent.1. Play by their rules. Entertainment business can be volatile. Bookers require flexibility and are often unwilling to sign a contract, which means the hotel takes the hit when there are last-minute changes. Music groups reserve large room blocks but stay only one or two nights, making it difficult to fill rooms before and after. Don’t allow the excitement of a celebrity’s arrival distract staff from getting a credit card—collecting after departure can be challenging. I’m still mad at an uber-rich rock star who left without paying and has never paid up.
2. Is your service star-caliber? Entertainers work hard on the road and sleep irregular hours. Hotel staff must be on-the-ball around the clock. Hotel riders used to be full of bizarre demands until they started getting published online; now they’re less about which vodka to stock in the suite and more about the mineral water. To ensure there are no surprises, review details with the booker in advance. And don’t believe rumors. A colleague warned me that Janet Jackson doesn’t like to be looked in the eye, which made check-in a little awkward, but she looked at me squarely, smiled, and said, “Hi, I’m Janet!” No “Miss Jackson if you’re nasty” though.
