Celebs – don't you love 'em?
What happens when a celebrated personality comes to stay in your hotel or eat in your restaurant? How should you react? Should you react at all? It's a tricky question and one that could easily tie an operation in knots.
It's not a new problem - there have always been celebrities. What is new, or what has changed over the years, is that the opportunities for media exposure are much greater, the appetite of the public for stars is more rapacious and, as a result, "stars" are more common than they used to be.
Sixty years ago celebrity status would have been accorded to a few film actors, sportsmen of enduring ability, society personalities, traditional action heroes, war veterans, the Royal Family and a smattering of politicians. Oh, and the rich, because the rich were still a relatively select breed.
In the modern age, where communication works more efficiently and news travels faster, the worlds - and personalities - of pop, sport, fashion and politics whirl past us as part of everyday life. The public feels that it has direct access to the stars, mixing with them on television and in the pages of the tabloid press. Fame is fickle, and stars come and go much faster than they used to. They are created, fˆted and dumped - placed on a pedestal one minute, knocked down the next.
Andy Warhol said: "In the future everybody will be world famous for 15 minutes." He was right - everybody will have to be famous at some point, otherwise the predatory, media-fuelled public will run out of celebrities. In a way, this is already happening. Huge media coverage is given to stars of little lasting talent, and great store is placed on superficial achievement. Image and the suggestion of "special" has replaced real, lasting greatness.
Not only that, but wealth in the Western world is more attainable than it used to be. Where richness was once limited to the landed aristocracy, now - for a whole variety of reasons - it is within easy reach of the common man. Many more people can afford access to the places that were once the domain of the rich and, therefore, they rub shoulders with the famous and become, in turn, tabloid famous themselves.
The upshot of all this easy fame is that more and more hotels and restaurants will have customers who regard themselves as "special", who can afford to be "special" and who expect to be treated as "special".
So, back to the original question - how should such hotels and restaurants cope with these new-found famous celebrities?
The answer is simple. Treat them as any other guest would be treated. That is, give them what they want. Never before has the phrase "the customer is king" been more appropriate. The new celebs may cause a few problems; they may be being pursued by the media, they may be trying to avoid the media, they may be trying to attract the attention of the media, or they may be trying to attract the attention of the media while pretending not to. Serving them will not always be easy; but they are still customers.
Just give 'em what they want - privacy, publicity, new paint, televisions to throw out of the window if they want - and they'll be back, again and again.
Forbes Mutch
Editor
Caterer & Hotelkeeper
