What Request Will the Ritz-Carlton Refuse?
Five-star hotels are renowned for their service. How far will they actually go, and how much can I take away?
So, I told them…“I’m not going to South Africa unless we get private security. I’m going to be there for a month and I want to feel safe. Our house costs $3,000 a night. People will know we have money. So, I’m not going without them with me at all times.”
$1 Million Rent
After Jeff seated me at the pool, in the direct sunlight (as I requested), brought me my three towels (two clearly isn’t enough), and asked if I needed anything more (I politely declined), I overheard a group sitting across from me shouting about their international trips — Namibia, South Africa, Dubai…
“Apparently, this is normal at the Ritz.” I thought to myself. That wasn’t all of course. He followed this up with why he hasn’t been able to justify spending $60,000 on a watch even though his AMEX bill is around $100k a month.
“Okay.” I thought to myself. “That’s a lot of money. Maybe, I’ll learn something valuable about business if I ‘have’ to listen to this guy.” Unfortunately, no. He didn’t expose his business secrets to the entire pool, but it got me thinking. If these are the type of people here, what goes on that I don’t know about?
After this guy requested the pants off the pool attendant (who politely declined), I wondered what other crazy requests people are asking for. At a minimum of $1,000 a night for a room, the Ritz Carlton hotels are attracting only the wealthiest of individuals (and me…cue military discount).
A quick google search revealed the craziest of requests…A dark Ferrari GTO under $5.5 million? Easy. Ship a pet tiger across the Atlantic? I suppose. A private movie screening on the beach…without having to touch the sand? Why not?
Okay, okay, okay. Clearly, when money doesn’t matter, they’ll do anything. Obviously, if I ask them to fly to London on a private jet to retrieve my dog for me, they will question me at first but wave a billion dollar bank account and they’ll be off, no complaints. What if I don’t have a billion dollar bank account (which I may have…but I’ll never tell)? What will they do for free? This was my quest.
New Years in London
It all started when my friends and I needed new plans over Christmas. We tossed around the normal bunch: the standard Christmas dinner and handing out presents…of which, we all shot down. We needed something bigger. Being with the same friend who, just a year prior, flew 3,000 miles to spend the night with me in a nightclub in London counting down the new year, I knew they’d be up for something fun. So, the Ritz-Carlton it was.
My requests started small. “Can you bring a kettle, ice, extra tea, and an HDMI cord to my room please?” “Of course Mr. Stiffler. Is there anything else you’ll need?” “Hmmm… no that’ll be all, for now.” Well that was easy… However, the old sweaty maintenance guy who brought the HDMI cord clearly didn’t bring it from the concierge desk. Although I felt bad for, likely, ruining his nightly Sopranos down in the boiler room, the disconnect between that maintenance guy and the normal neatly dressed bellhop who brought the other items, told me I was on to something.
It’s a bit chilly out. What about a blanket by the fire? “Of course Mr. Stiffler. We don’t have any available, but I’ll have room service bring one right away.” Too easy…
I had to get more creative… A private photographer to follow me around the resort for an hour and just take pictures of me! That’s the one. They’ll never do that…
Wrong again.
At this point, I’m really getting concerned that I’m never going to get them. So, I step it up. “Do you happen to have any beachfront upgrades available?” “Of course, Mr. Stiffler. It isn’t available right now, but once room service is done, we’ll have a bellhop move your luggage for you.” Although, I was ecstatic about my upgrade. I was shocked at the extent they would go.
*Ring, Ring, Ring* “Hello, this is room service. How may I help you?” “Hi, I’d like 3 buckets of ice delivered to my room at 7am tomorrow.” “Of course, Mr. Stiffler. We’ll have those available to you in the morning.” I didn't expect them not to show up, but I expected them to show up outside the time… 6:59:58… 6:59:59…7:00:00…*knock, knock, knock*
“As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.” — Seneca
Expansion
It finally became clear that, even without money, you can still get a lot out of these places. Free upgrades, pampered service, and a phenomenal photo session wasn’t all I got out of this trip though.
In the Preface to the book The Magic of Thinking Big, author David Schwartz said something that really impacted my outlook on life. “All of us, more than we recognize, are products of the thinking around us, and much of this thinking is little, not big. All around you is an environment that is trying to tug you, trying to pull you down second class street.”
What does this mean? To me, it means that most of what we experience on a daily basis is what I like to consider the “minutiae of life.” It’s not a bad thing. We all must do our taxes, go to work, read countless books and research articles, study, make phone calls, answer emails, et cetera. However, this isn’t all that exists in the world.
We can find happiness in these things, and often times, I am very happy completing these tasks. However, a singular focus on these things are only beneficial at keeping us where we currently reside. Expanding outwards is important to me and my trajectory in life. Thus, thinking big is something that I seek out as often as possible. I wasn’t born with this idea though. I was introduced to it ages ago and have only, through years of work, cultivated it to become what it is today.
“Before the development of tourism, travel was conceived to be like study, and its fruits were considered to be the adornment of the mind and the formation of the judgment. “ — Paul Fussell, Abroad
Equilibrium
The first time I was taken to a Morton’s Steakhouse, I was dumbfounded at the idea that someone wanted to pull my chair out for me and replace my silverware after a single use. However, knowing this world existed completed altered my idea of what was possible. Since then, I have expanded my perception of reality from what’s directly in front of me to what I’m capable of imagining. If others can achieve it, why can’t I?
Simply put. It’s not every day that you overhear a conversation on the elevator about the dimensions of your vault. I didn’t realize that there was such thing as having a “vault guy,” but guess what, now that I do, I’ve expanded my understanding of possibility one notch further.
Luxury experiences are only one medium to accomplishing this. In the years following my Ribeye and Soufflé at Morton’s, I have found evolution through travel both domestic and international, hundreds of books, conversations, and podcasts — many of which I accomplish in the comfort of my living room.
Although all of these resources shift our perception daily, I find that the occasional grand adventure adds another layer onto what I’ve already experienced. I’ll never stop reading and conversing, but I’ve learned over the years that putting myself out there, spending a bit more money, and entering this ulterior universe can transform us more than we can initially understand.
And, I believe that’s the best part of life — taking that step into an area we don’t understand, expanding on our view of the world, and growing as a result. You can do this backwards just as you can forwards. Volunteering to help the homeless can alter your idea of life just as staying at a Ritz can. Reading a fiction book can manipulate your perspective on possibility just as taking a trip abroad can. Some are more impactful than others, but it is only through stepping out of our comfort zone and entering the void of uncertainty that true growth occurs.
For me, I try to strike a balance by going both up and down, left and right, contemporary and antiquated. It is only through consistent oscillation that I am capable of finding equilibrium. Moving forward, I urge you to seek out your own peaks and troughs by jumping into the unknown. Trust me, it’s not as bad as it seems.
“What makes life worth living? No child asks itself that question. To children, life is self-evident. Life goes without saying: whether it is good or bad makes no difference. This is because children don’t see the world, don’t observe the world, don’t contemplate the world, but are so deeply immersed in the world that they don’t distinguish between it and their own selves. Not until … a distance appears between what they are and what the world is, does the question arise: what makes life worth living?” — Karl Ove Knausgård
