Over-The-Top Luxury Hotel Packages- For Real or Positioning Ploys?

The word “package” is not often associated with luxury stays---but at a time when every upscale hotel boasts fancy sheets and an array of butlers, a new  one-upmanship tactic in packaging for the affluent appears on the marketing scene.  A recent MSNBC piece on what they call “quirky” packages unearthed a few eye-catching examples. Whether guests actually take advantage of these packages or they are used as “positioning statements” has been a longtime question in the business. But creative ones definitely attract attention; consider these: When a guest books a $60,000 “engagement dinner” at the James Hotel in Chicago, chef David Burke of davidburke and donatella restaurant fame prepares the meal for the couple while a quartet from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra plays for the duration of the meal, and a 1.5 carat Van Cleef & Arpels diamond comes “at no extra charge.” The Hotel Palomar in Washington D.C. offers aspiring ballerinas a private in-room lesson with a member of the Washington Ballet; the package also includes accommodations decorated with autographed ballet shoes and vintage posters; attendance at a rehearsal,; souvenir t-shirt and CD; and, if available, performance tickets. The Art Deco Hotel Montana in Lucerne Switzerland offers guests a chance to create a custom watch. Starting at $15,000, guests work directly with a watchmaker to create a one-of-a-kind timepiece that might include diamonds and gems                         For more go to: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22202378/   Harvey Chipkin