According to The Washington Post, more and more films are depicting the lives of the world's super-rich, especially emphasizing their eccentric hobbies and habits. The TV series The White Lotus resonated when it mocked the ego and excesses of the wealthy tourist class. The Swedish director's Triangle of Sadness scored absolute points at the Cannes Film Festival for its satirical message about the rich.
The Menu, a movie about to hit theaters in the US, has a trailer that hints at a bloody end for diners at a posh, exclusive restaurant on a remote island. Many viewers are wondering whether the elite really make the outrageous demands shown in the film. According to people who work in the hospitality industry and have served the world’s 1%, the answer is “yes”.
The Washington Post interviewed waiters, tour guides, and hotel staff who specialize in serving this type of luxury traveler to hear more about their experiences when interacting with 1% of the world's population.
Strange requests
Nightfall Group (California, USA), specializing in luxury villa rentals and luxury travel planning, always has a list of suitable specialists available to serve any ideas that customers desire.
One time, a tenant of a 1,300-square-foot Los Angeles mansion requested a mermaid in the pool for a cocktail party that was due to start in an hour. The staff also had to heat the pool to 27 degrees Celsius for the mermaid show.
“The clients didn’t want just any girl, they wanted a mermaid with a realistic tail. They wanted to see gills on a human body,” said Angelica Bridges, a spokeswoman for the company.
The super rich have a penchant for mermaids in their swimming pools.
"Luckily, we always have the emergency number of a mermaid actress on hand. We only need to prepare within an hour," said Angelica.
Nightfall Group often has more lead time for larger requests. For example, one woman who rented a villa for seven days wanted a 5-foot by 5-foot, temperature-controlled safe installed to hold her mother’s ashes. Another wanted Santa Claus and reindeer to show up at his rental property on Christmas Eve.
“We have a reindeer company. We even have elves there,” Bridges said.
Imported mineral water for shampooing
Sanpellegrino mineral water products.
Sandra Webaget, co-owner of Inside Europe Travel Experiences, regularly hears stories of the demanding behavior of wealthy guests from friends and business contacts working in five-star European hotels. According to a hotelier in France, one Russian guest requested a large shipment of Sanpellegrino sparkling mineral water from Italy to France that same day.
“The woman needed them not for drinking, but for washing her hair. She absolutely did not use any other carbonated water,” Webaget said.
$4 million shopping bill
The shopping bills of the super rich are always over 6 figures.
Christina Stanton, a New York City tour guide with decades of experience, was hired to take the wife of a Russian oligarch on a family trip. During the trip, Stanton helped the mother shop for her three children’s back-to-school. Bergdorf Goodman even opened early so the couple could shop privately. They picked out 58 pairs of shoes at Little Eric Shoes.
During the four days she traveled with her client, Stanton estimated that the woman spent about $4 million on shopping. In addition, the tour guide had to hand over her personal cell phone to the family's bodyguards during those days. Additionally, Stanton learned that the family did not talk to the waiters. The bodyguards did that.
Free upgrade to luxury room
Always want to use luxury service for free.
Stacy H. Small, founder of Elite Travel Club, which designs $100,000 vacations, once hosted a Bravo reality TV personality who yelled at her driver for not getting her luggage fast enough. She later declined an upgrade at a luxury hotel, but was still furious with Small for the high price.
“They have the money, but they don’t want to pay. They complain a lot because they want more, better, but for free,” Small said.
Pets are number one
For the super rich, pets are number one.
In February 2021, when the Covid-19 pandemic made travel difficult, private jet charter company Monarch Air Group received a request to fly from Santa Barbara, California, to Vancouver, Canada. However, the passenger on the $60,000 flight that day was a pomsky named Bella.
In another case a few years ago, the staff at the 5-star Dolder Grand Resort (Zurich, Switzerland) received a strange request from a Russian guest. She wanted them to bring a lawn in the room so that her pet dog could pee without leaving the hotel. The staff offered to take the pet for a walk around the resort’s forest. However, the guest refused and insisted on a lawn of about 1 square meter in 2 hours.
It costs $50,000 for a frog.
Spend 50,000 USD just for a tree frog.
According to Curtis Crimmins, a former five-star hotel concierge and founder of a hotel booking startup called Roomza, a high-profile guest requested a special imported tree frog for his daughter. He had to enlist the help of a congressman to expedite the USDA approval process to get the frog into the country.
“The whole process cost $50,000, and the frog only stayed in the hotel until they checked out,” Crimmins recalled.
