There are a lot of people online making a lot of broad generalizations, often based on limited firsthand experience. I think this is about as true in the luxury hotel space as anywhere.
People generally enjoy being around similar people, rather than nobody at all. The issue can be when various 'vibes' of people merge in a single space
"There are a lot of people online making a lot of broad generalizations..."
*Yowzers!* What a hook, Ben! Bah!
And "ordering Jeroboams of Cristal at 12PM and being carried by four shirtless servers in a chair with a crown and sparklers" Wuttt? There's a video, right?? (No, no... you see: 'we want privacy! we want privacy!')
Privacy Tour, just like on South Park!
Actually, I'd say the only time I socialize with guests at a property is when the property is tiny, like say 8 key lodges, and it feels odd not to say hi to the other three people staying there. I'm the most social at the most private properties.
Privacy in a hotel anywhere outside your room is a myth. If you want privacy, hire a villa.
Prefacing this with I 100% agree with you WRT Amanvari, but to build on your point about there being different interpretations of privacy, when people were making those statements I'd imagine it was less about being invisible and more about privacy from a certain class of people. YouTube is indiscriminate in access, exposing the guests to everyone online, whereas the bimbo photoshoot you described is at least ostensibly being perpetrated by the in-group. In other words, I don't think wanting to see and be seen within that bubble necessarily tells us much about how those same people feel about being exposed outside of it.
I completely agree with the categories set out in the article. My partner and I are personally a mix of the second and third categories. When we stay in luxury hotels, we generally look, first and foremost, for service and privacy. But privacy in the true sense of the word. It’s not that we’re looking to be left alone. We’re looking for peace and quiet, an absence of noise, crowds, and rude people shouting and talking loudly (and yes, we Spaniards know a thing or two about that...). Waiters you can call over simply by looking up, without having to go to the trouble of waving from a distance...
Privacy is certainly a frequent request/preference, there's no doubt about it. That's why there's been a huge push and investment in private villas (both on a hotel's property and independent villas). I agree with you though that this is the not the most common client. The vast majority are regular families and couples who are wealthy. Really no need to overthink it and blanket statements/generalizations are pretty much never accurate.
Come on, one of the few things that are 'regular' about being in the richest 0.1% or so globally is that it doesn't automatically afford you the sense of perspective to realise just how rare (i.e. irregular) it is!
There's nothing wrong with recognising one's privileges and good fortune instead of trying to downplay them.
It’s a social butterfly scene at the ultra-expensive resort area hotels during peak season. Sometimes it even comes with a free private jet ride back to the US or a free ride on some mega-expensive yacht because of connections made at the places.
My wife and I stay at such properties. We're there for us and don't particularly care why anyone else is there. We encounter well known individuals all of the time. Sometimes, they are sitting at the table immediately next to us at dinner or in an elevator or whatever. Sometimes someone at multiple properties. We might say "hi" but otherwise act as if we don't recognize them. And, everyone is happy.
Seen a few B-list celebs at Soho in JFK T8 (and on flights; and just in NYC, out on the street); actors, comedians, etc. Same unofficial ‘rules’ should apply there. Don’t bother them, unless they engage with you; let them enjoy their lounge/flight/stay/walk.
I don't have near the experience you do of hotels at this level, but I do wonder on the privacy one if you could be undercounting them. After all, if they want privacy, you may very well not see or notice them.
It's like with Toyota. You may drive one in the 5th percentile and in the 95th percentile of wealth. So basically, you'll see all kinds of people depending on what matters to them, from the person who takes it as a once-in-a-lifetime experience to the one who treats it just like any other hotel, to the one that has to stand out and sees it as a status symbol or accessory type of thing.
Ultimately, I also believe that the choice of the specific property / destination combination matters more in terms of who you'll see there. If someone wants privacy and not stand out, they may as well go with a decent Conrad or PH, regardless of their money. Quiet luxury is the new thing, so the more noise around chains like Aman, the more they may attract pretentiousness rather than taste, if you ask me...
I'd say &Beyond properties don't cater to the "scene and networking" crowd at all. I think their appeal is a combination of hospitality and privacy.
I'm not particularly interested in the clientele of hotels I visit rarely, if ever, but I'm intrigued by the repeated use of the descriptor 'ultra luxury' in this post. I think the inflation goes beyond the room rates themselves - if anything, the hotels charging $5k for a base room don't seem to be offering a lot of stuff included in the rate and I think they're effectively trying to position their services as Veblen goods and create demand through exclusivity (whether that's about peace and quiet or exclusive access to a 'scene').
I'm also guessing that not all of them are successful at it as the fixed costs can be pretty high- generating a lot of income during a few weeks in the peak season may not be sufficient to generate a meaningful return on investment.
People with money who *actually* want privacy and who choose to stay in a hotel with other people don't really want privacy.
I'd add a 4th category- "access to specific activities". Examples would be high end safari lodges, Airelles at Versailles, Isla Secas for water activities. These are what drive us to spend at this level, but quality hard product and privacy are also essential for us. We refuse to do any shared experiences. My ideal stay would be something so separated from other people that even if I knew there was someone else at the hotel I couldn't tell you who they were. Some safari lodges are good about this. I'd drive a fork into my eye before I stayed at someplace like Courchevel or Mayakoba.
On the safaris, often you're in a shared-vehicle (think 2-3 couples plus the guide), you can get lucky, make new friends, enjoy the 'collective' experience; or, it can be 'train-wreck.' If cost is not problem and privacy is the goal, exclusive game drives add about $500-1,000 each day. Then, there are companies (I recall Tswalu in SA) that only do exclusive drives. (Their meerkats are awesome; good luck finding a pangolin, though).
We do lot of safari and similar travel. I cannot imagine choosing a shared vehicle. The privacy is important but more important in this case is the control. I'm not sacrificing a great encounter because someone wants to go back to the lodge. They'd have to leave me I'd hop out. Yes, Loapi is great because you don't even have shared meal areas. It is great for privacy but there are also some spectacular villas out there.
@Jim
Any safari lodges you've particularly enjoyed in or near Kruger National Park in South Africa and in Namibia?
Does anyone other than me go to such places simply because they are nice, sometimes singular properties? Sure, the influencer companion(s) of the octogenarian sugar daddy will need some diversion during nap time, but I think many of these folks flatter themselves that anyone is paying the slightest bit of attention to them (absent creating a ruckus). I'm fine with seeing other guests and even bidding them good day as long as they are (1) respectful of the employees (2) don't make noise in the hallways and (3) don't slam the doors!
I wonder how old that video that talks about networking is. There are two Orient Express trains now (one run by Belmond, the other by a joint venture between Accor and SNCF) and only Belmond also does yachts. Belmond has been part of LVMH for several years and changed its name from "Orient Express" to "Belmond" a few years before it was acquired.