Who stays at 5 star hotels?
 

This is a sort of "none of my business" question but I'm gonna ask anyway. I love to look at 5 star resort and hotel websites (Hotel Splendido in Portofino is my favorite) and I always wonder, who are the people who can afford to spend $1000 per night for a room at these places? I know some of you stay at 5 star hotels and if you are willing, can you tell us what sort of work you do to afford such luxury (well deserved, I'm sure)? There are the obvious lucrative careers, but I am curious as to what they are for those people on this forum and/or their friends who stay at the finest and most expensive places when they travel.
PS If this question offends you, please ignore it and don't flame me!

My sister has. And I have a friend who paid $900 a night. Both of them were in Rome. My sister works on commission and is very good at her job and my friend is a high-end interior designer (but there's family money there as well). Me? Nah. I'm a three-star girl. That's all my wardrobe will bear.

That's what Priceline is for! I usually bid on 4 or 5 star hotels and have never paid more than $170 per night, usually much less. I wouldn't pay the regular rate, but if I can get a deal, 5 star is mighty nice :)

margy

Margi, Priceline in Europe? I have used them lots for hotels in the States but never considered them for Europe. How about Rome?

Priceline in Europe?? Sure. Look at biddingfortravel.com - and then look at what hotels are being "won" in Rome.

In Europe, PL is brilliant for London - not so good in some other cities.

We booked a night in the 5 star Steigenberger Hof Hotel in Frankfurt because I found a great special on their website called "Magic of the Opera." You can get a double room on Saturday night, breakfast buffet for 2, a 3 course meal in their more casual restaurant, and 2 tickets to the opera all for only 238 Euros! I couldn't believe it! Then, on the day of our departure, a huge blizzard hit, and we couldn't fly to Frankfurt until Monday. I sure regret missing that deal. The rates for Monday were crazy!

You sure can use Priceline in Europe! We had a fabulous room at the Park Lane in London.

Margy

Priceline has been pretty good for me in the UK. I have used them for Heathrow, Gatwick, London and Manchester Airport. I just got my first choice of hotel at Manchester airport in July and am very happy. It means that I can afford 2 rooms instead of squeezing us all into one.

Carolena

We haven't stayed at any in Europe.....but we have stayed in 5* hotels/lodges in Cape Town, Honolulu, Beijing, Bangkok, Singapore, Egypt, Cyprus, and Tanzania.
Of course, I would NEVER pay $1000 a night. I think the most I paid was $450 a night, usually under $300.

There are some hotels which NEVER come up on Priceline.

When the Georges V in Paris comes up on Priceline let us know!

I'm not saying what DOES come up isn't good but I somehow doubt you will see that many truly five-star hotels come up there.

I used to book 5 star hotels all the time -for my boss, and it was corporate money, not his money. If he'd had to fork out his own money for a 5 star hotel he would have had a heart attack. When the company is paying, people usually don't care how much things are costing.

My husband and I travel a lot on our holidays and always have to watch costs. It's anything from a zero star to maybe a 3 star but we always have a good time regardless!
Kay

I believe the OP didn't ask for advice on how to get around paying the rack rates at a 5* hotels. The OP was just simply asking who pays these rates?

Besides the obvious, the rich, the famous, the moneyed, etc..., it's people that have different priorities.

I like to be pampered and enjoy luxury so I don't mind spending top $ for a hotel room or fly in business/first class.

I have friends that don't enjoy traveling. One is a poster child for all the Americans that never left their country. She can certainly afford to travel in luxury but chooses not to. Instead she has a wonderful house that she enjoys. It was featured in one of the House magazines. She is a total homebody. I have a nice place but don't spend nearly on it what she does.

I have other friends that have a need to have the latest, top of the line sports, SUV or luxury sedan cars. For me a car is nothing more than a means of getting from point A to point B. A reliable, comfortable car is all I need.

Me? I have Gypsy blood flowing through my veins. If I'm not on a plane going somewhere, anywhere, every few weeks, I get physically sick...:-D

at the same time I do like better things in life so I choose to spend my hard earn money on the one thing I really enjoy - travel!!!

If I told you what I do for living I would have to kill you :-D, but I do make a very nice 6+ figure salary, although there are some serious risks involved in my line of work. I'm also single (that could change soon) and don't have any children.

That said, I never paid $1000 for a room. The most I ever paid was ~$600 at a very posh hotel room in the Middle East. ~$500 for very nice rooms in US and Europe and Asia (Japan) and ~$300 for wonderful rooms in Asia (Thailand, Singapore) and South America.

Having friends who work in the industry has afforded me many vacations beyond my budget as does expedia.com and others. I'll admit to planning to book a $1,600 location in the Greek Islands this year just because we can afford it now and it's an experience I wish to have. We own our own business now. It's not my normal trip plan though.

Rudy Maxa...I used to watch his travel shows and curse his good luck to be able to stay in such beautiful places. Unfortunately, I have a 3 star budget but I consider myself fortunate enough to travel at all.

If your question is who pays personally pays top dollar for 5 star hotels, and you want to ask them what they do (or, if they inherited money) I don't think you are going to get that kind of opportunity on fodors.com

I have found the fodors crowd to be savvy travelers who are also interested in value. But, to get back to your underlying question, there are probably 2 groups who pay top dollar for 5 * hotels. Kay is absolutely correct, the majority are business people who are not paying a dime out of their pockets. Regarding the smaller second group who actually pay out of their pockets, I can tell you about two people who I know willing pay the top dollar. One is a neurosurgeon who works ungodly hours and travels very infrequently. When he does travel he will only book a 5 star hotel since he doesn't want there to be any question that he will be comfortable and that the hotel staff will take care of anything he might need (dinner reservations, tickets to activities, etc). The second person is a general counsel for a corporate real estate group. He is the equivalent of a partner at a major law firm and his salary is in the 7 digits. He and his wife stay at the top hotels on his cash when they travel. You won't be finding either of them on fodors talk.

If anyone personally spends top dollar for a 5 star, please feel free to correct me and post your job description and salary range.

As a note, I have also used priceline and bidding for travel to book a 5 star in London. But, I'm just a HIV physician making around 200,000 a year.

Well, one would assume that anyone who could afford $800 - $1000 plus per night would not be on Fodor's. I would assume they would have 'people' who could look at Fodor's for them!! Hahaha But I do see posts where someone is taking the family and want to ask about getting two rooms, one for them, one for the kids at very top hotels. I am like some of you, feel very fortunate to be able to go to Europe at all. Most of the friends I grew up with have never been to Europe (or anywhere else) at all.

I always stay at five star deluxe (note the difference: five star itself is usually a more business orientated property whereas five star deluxe is the top end leisure and business property) properties where possible i.e. if the city itself has one. The prices aren't nearly as high as you make out... It is only those who spend months on end in presidential and royal suites that have people to do everything for them, and even then they are just holidaymakers like everyone else.

It's not some exclusive club like owning a D flawless 30ct diamond, I think you're getting a little awestruck over nothing.

In my youth I used to stay at places like Le Sirenuse, although even adjusting for inflation I don't think we spent anything like $1,000. Now I'm in my fifties, cultivating a seemly asceticism. (Food and drink need some work.) At any rate, I find I don't enjoy -- dislike actually -- the sensation of being pampered. Thus the 5* holds no allure.

RBN: Have you ever asked yourself who fills all those giant sized cruise ships out in the harbor? I would guess that many of them are also spending close to $1,000 a night for two on the nicer ships...

Hi

My husband and I had the good luck recently to spend part of our honeymoon at the Banyan Tree in Phuket for 7 nights. We had booked a USD 900 ( ++ taxes of 21% on top!) per night pool villa as a special once in a life time trip - part funded as a gift.

When we got their we got upgraded to a USD 2,500 a night villa. It was wonderful but worth the money ? _ I think not- what you pay for is the privacy and the service - something celebrites, royalty , sports stars are only too happy to pay for .. The other simialr villas were occupied by 'royalty' ( don't know where from!) a retied footballer , a London City banker and a Russian family ( lots of Russians in general there ) .... so I guess they are the types that pay 5 star rates!!!

We just had a glimpse of the life style !

Investment bankers, management consultants (blue chip firms.... not the garden variety), owners of large businesses, attorneys from top firms, etc.

And people who don't have their priorities straight, people who are incapable of saving any money, or people who lack something else in life :)

I disagree wholeheartly with the last comment

I work in a bank and my husband works for the government. We are certainly not incapable of saving or have something missing from our lives. We are both in our 30's - have worked hard, saved hard for the last number of years. We decided to treat ourselves to a very special experiece that we will treasure for the rest of our lives .

Its wrong to imply that people who choose to have a 5 star experience have something missing in their lives and are incaple of saving.

Such a ridiculous comment

It's not some exclusive club like owning a D flawless 30ct diamond, I think you're getting a little awestruck over nothing.

Aw, m kingdom2, don't refer to yourself as 'nothing.' I'm sure you have some redeeming qualities!

I had to giggle in Nice when the couple checking out in front of us paid 3 times what we did for the same room. Good ol' Expedia.

>I like to be pampered and enjoy luxury ...<

It makes me uncomfortable.

((I))

I'm with you, Ira, and SO is even moreso. I don't need or feel comfortable in all that 'luxury' and I'm sure I'd stick out like a sore thumb in my inexpensive clothes. I'm much happier in a 3-star and that goes a long way towards how much I'm enjoying my vacation.

Yikes, indecisive, I think the poster was saying that out there are people who fit the profile on crazy spenders. I'm sure it wasn't meant for you or any specific group!Your trip sounds like it was fabulous.

Indecisive, Sorry, I wasn't responding to your post but OP's first post. I thought the original poster was asking for people who routinely stay in $1000+ a night hotels, not the once-in-a-lifetime splurge folks. You are in my "etc" category so don't take it personally. If one were to stay in $1000+ a night hotels all the time when one can not afford it (my last comment that you referred to), I think I would be worried about that "one" fellow :) Won't you?:)

Have a good weekend, man (or woman).

I don't stay in any myself, and doubt if I ever will, but if the question is who has salaries that high, it's pretty easy to find out that kind of income by occupation information from public sources online (census data or DOL, places like that). However, the people I know who do that are generally lawyers, doctors, management consultants (high end firms), or business people, but very successful ones or who are owning their own companies.

I don't think most companies will pay for typical employees to stay in 5* properties when on business trips, so those kind of comments are rather misleading, to me. I've been on business trips and believe me, my firm would not pay for me to stay in a 5* hotel, nor would they pay for anyone I know to do that on business trips. Most companies have very definite limits on that. So business people who can just do that easily must have high-level jobs within the firm, be VPs, managers of depts or something.

<i>I'm also single (that could change soon)</i>


AHA! AAFF, it seems ((L)) is in the air for sure. Congratulations! ;)

I also feel uncomfortable with over attentive hotel staff, waiters, etc. I also don't particularly like large modern hotels, however smart they are. I prefer small, hotels with some character and genuinely friendly locals where I can dress casually, feel comfortable and soak up some genuine local culture. With some of the &quot;posh&quot; hotels, you could be anywhere in the world.

Many people stay in 5 star hotels when they travel and they are not &quot;rich&quot;. I know a few myself. They take one or 2 trips a year and save for it the rest of the year. They don't spend, or perhaps waste, money on lots of the things most of us do. These people usually spend a lot more time at the hotel than most of us do. It's just their joy and style.

I love to stay in 5* hotels. If I can get a price that makes sense I book it. I love the room service, the spas and all the various other goodies.

I am not really into the &quot;resorts&quot;.

I also really like the extra pampering that many of the 4 * hotels do for business travellers like me. It's well worth the extra $30 for an executive room when I am alone all week with lots of work all day. Very unstressing to sit in the lounge and relax at the end of the day. Most deliver breakfast to my room for free and/or I can help myself in the exec lounge.

As nice as some hotels can be I also have stayed at many small B&amp;B's &amp; private inns etc that are * &amp; **. Just depends.

What I do not like however is the typical &quot;low -mid&quot; level chain hotels in the US. They are often dirty and uncomfortable. And when I travel alone sometimes even feel unsafe.

In Europe I often stay in similiar class hotels with much better experience. I think there is more pride in keeping a small place up there.

My husband's uncle (by marriage) grew up a poor farm boy in Illinois and is a true, self made multi-millionaire. He is the retired CEO of a publicly traded corp and still sits on the board. When my husband was growing up with his cousins, the uncle's family was not wealthy; they were busy moving around the country with the company, living in normal ranch houses, etc. But at some point (probably when the company went public), the uncle became very very wealthy.

When Uncle and Aunt travel, they stay in ONLY the best hotels. A few years back, they wanted to visit the US National Parks. Uncle &quot;knew&quot; that none of the national park lodges would be nice enough for them, so he bought one of those huge custom motor homes for them to stay in.

Of course, Uncle complains big time when his accomdations or meals are not perfect. A few years back, both Aunt &amp; Uncle and DH &amp; I had gone to Paris within a few months' time of each other. DH and I did the trip on the cheap and had a great time; Uncle and Aunt paid a fortune and complained about everything. (Uncle:&quot;We couldn't find a cab driver who was willing to drive us to Versailles!&quot; Us: &quot;Taking the train worked out great!&quot;)

Uncle is so intersting to me because he did not grow up with wealth and came into it relatively recently. You'd think that he'd be more down to earth, but he isn't.

So, if any of you who stay in 5 star hotels witness a slightly overweight 65 year old American guy chewing out the staff, it might be DH's uncle!

Who are all the people out there driving $70,000 cars? Or filling restaurants like Per Se and French Laundry and Taillevent every night? Or putting up those huge houses along every shoreline in the US? Or paying $1200 USD for a pocketbook? Maybe even some of your neighbors!!!

ekscrunchy - Your post goes along with mine. It all depends on what people want to spend their money on. Guy with 70,000 car might not have ever even seen a 5 star hotel.

We do!

We usually like 5 star deluxe hotels as I raised in the business and feel very comfortable in plush surroundings. And I disagree wholeheartedly about 5 star people not being able to save.

We make very good incomes and work hard; we deserve it. I set aside a fund soley for travel; the budget is huge, but it's in CASH and all our other money is spent very wisely and we have plenty of investments and are comfortable. So that's the rule, we can spend to high heaven on travel, but it must fit all within the confines of cash and everything else must not suffer in the process.

We've paid up to $950 a night and are planning to spend for the ultimate next year: several nights lodging at Singita in Kruger National Park, South Africa.

BUT

This never rules out if we find a special place that does not happen to be 5 star but has a special quality that is too good to pass up.

All in all though, we &quot;collect' hotels like so many collect other things. It's just what we do.

I too have a friend right some the block who 'd rather put her money into her home; it's gorgeous. My home is lovely as well, but would not even compare to hers on the quality of the furnishings, etc. But she does not travel well. For everything she has in her house I could walk around and say: couch: dinner for two at Louis XV, painting: weekend at Georges V, vase: week in Santorini, etc, etc.

We all have our priorities.

Hi

In Europe I can't afford to stay at 5 star hotels...and if I go to a place like Rome or Paris it is not very likely that I will be spending time at the hotel anyway :d But when I'm going to Thailand in May I'm going to splurge a bit and go for better hotels...to an affordable rate ((H))

Regards
Gard
http://gardkarlsen.com - trip reports and pictures

LOL Missypie! My dad shares a similiar history with your Uncle- BUT he is the exact opposite when it comes to comfort!

He is retired from business now and lives in Tanzania where he owns a safari business. He provides his clients with the best of everything but for himself he keeps several homes all of which are very native - complete with outdoor showers and toilets!

The rougher the better for him. He'd rather not &quot;waste&quot; his $ on trivial things like a comfortable bed. Of course he is a true outdoorsman and thrives by living on an edge I cannot even see normally. He never really enjoyed the &quot;corporate&quot; lifestyle and I'm glad he has time in his life to enjoy himself. The other advantage is that he is very physically fit from all the exersize he gets in the bush on safari.

Tripgirl: i understand what you are saying, please don't feel you have to justify what you spend or not. My attitude is that it is an individual's choice how she spends her money. It's not anyones business how or why I spend or IF I save any of it - it's mine let them worry about their own.