THERE
IS NOTHING "VIP" ABOUT GETTING SCREWED:
A GUIDE TO USING INDEPENDENT NIGHTLIFE HOSTS.
Updated: 9:45p.m. PT February 23rd, 2010
Welcome
to the murky world of independent hosts. An industry filled
with a categorical mix of qualified professionals, fly-by-night
promoters, and those who promotionally fall somewhere in between.
Anyone who has ever spent any amount of time searching for information
on Las Vegas nightlife has undoubtedly come across a number of
websites that will say almost anything to try and convince a tourist
to book their “VIP” nightlife experience through them.
Some have blinking limousines, many have ‘Party Like
a Rockstar’ Vegas clichés, all of them are your
"hook up," and most have a not-so-subtle undertone that
claims your time in Las Vegas won’t be worthwhile without
their help. Visions of sitting on a lonely curb
surrounded by trash in an unfamiliar city while everyone else
is partying must certainly come to mind.
This level
of playing off of the fear of having a bad vacation is simply
a side effect of a being in a tourist-based market – it
is a common advertising tactic in most all of them, and you wouldn’t
even be far off to compare these types of nightlife promotions
to the hoard of aggressive car accident attorneys who vilify the
insurance industry in scary ads with catchy rhymes so that they
can take up to 30% of your settlement for ‘helping you.’
Make one call, that’s all.
But, just
as all attorneys are not unscrupulous, the world of Las Vegas
independent hosts too has its bright spots and there are times
when it can be beneficial for you to invoke their concierge services.
The key word there being: concierge. Those who use their services
should only do so because they knowingly want the convenience
of having someone else handle things for them, not because they
felt forced into it. Contrary to the claims made on many of these
“VIP” websites, there isn’t a single service
any of these companies offer that someone couldn’t do on
their own with even a minimal amount of research and fortitude;
hence the point of informational websites like JackColton.com.
Below you will find the most common services offered by independent
nightlife hosts and a guideline of when to use them and when to
handle things on your own.
Nightclub
Table Reservations.
Verdict:
Not in most cases.
You should
always speak directly to an actual
nightclub host before considering the use of an independent host.
No exceptions. The independent host has to go through a nightclub
host - regardless, and the process of booking a table at a nightclub
yourself is little more complicated than booking one at a popular
restaurant. You just need to have the reservation in on time and
follow instructions on when to check in.
You wouldn’t
know it by reading an independent host’s website -- most
claim that you won't stand a chance of having a reservation honored,
but every major nightclub in Las Vegas has entire teams of professional
hosts who work directly for the club, promoters who assist in
getting reservations to the right person, VIP service managers
overseeing the entire process, and often even have promotional
requirements for other staff members to help sell tables on slower
nights. It is far from rocket science. If you are unsure about
which club to visit on a particular night, we
have a frequently resourced guide for that.
Throwing a
middleman into this mix almost always will just end up with you
paying more, but there are actually occasions when it might help
make a reservation stick and / or get your group a better table
location with a lower minimum:
- For
large groups entirely made up of males (12+ people).
- Groups booking on abnormally busy, sold-out, or holiday weekends.
- When an independent host can help lower your bottle minimum
without asking for just as much as a service fee / gratuity.
Still, the
same Golden Rule applies: Always, Always,
Always contact someone who works directly for
the club first and see what they can offer you before agreeing
to anything with an independent host. One step further, if you
aren’t familiar with the club(s) that the independent host
is suggesting you go to, ask around or find an independent resource
online to back up their suggestions.
SEE
ALSO: JackColton.com Direct
Nightclub Host Contact List.
Walking Past The Nightclub Line
Verdict:
Only if you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself.
When you remove
the emotional factor and look at the situation from a distance:
You have a club that you want to get into, a line of people waiting
to get in, and a doorman opening and closing the ropes for those
who he or she chooses. When it comes to ‘skipping the line,’
the only difference in you approaching the doorman yourself -
gratuity in hand, and hiring someone else to do it for you is
that the doorman probably knows the independent host and the host
has (hopefully) done this more times than you.
Assuming that
you will pay a cover charge regardless, the per-person pricing
structure for most independent hosts is basically cover charge
+ $___ gratuity for doorman + $____ gratuity / service fee for
the independent host. Add it up and see if it makes sense to you
in the end.
No one will
lose respect for you if you take this route to save yourself some
headache, but keep in mind that handling this on your own is easier
than one might think and, in some situations, it might be just
as cost-effective to reserve table service depending on the size
of your group.
Party
Tour / Club Hopping Packages
Verdict: Shop around on this one.
I am a firm
believer that you can have a great time in any nightclub situation
if you are with the right people and are of a good mindset for
the night; making even the weakest of ‘party packages’
fun for people who make the best of them. To those of us who know
better, you can’t help but to laugh a little when you see
a website that is covered top to bottom with sales pitches for
“VIP this, and luxury that,” that is primarily selling
package deals to clubs that aren’t high on most people’s
to do list, that often don’t even have lines of people waiting
to get in, and might not actually have anyone inside of them once
you get there.
That being
said, there are a number of ‘package deals’ that actually
could be fun for people who go into the night with realistic expectations.
Look for those that have a reasonable per person price in the
$49 to $79 range, include multiple nightclubs, cover charges,
transportation, a group of other people that will be along the
ride with you, and any other savings on drinks. You might not
find yourselves at the hottest spots Vegas has to offer, but that
doesn’t mean you can’t have a fun time without spending
a ton of money.
When these
packages get into the higher price range, you really have to weigh
out what you are really getting for your dollar.
Show
Reservations
Verdict: Under no circumstance!
An independent
host doesn’t care if you actually go to a show you will
enjoy as they always get a per ticket kickback on the backend,
and there are plenty of reasons that make it more worth your while
to just have everyone book their own tickets on a major online
ticketing outlet like Vegas.com:
- You won’t
pay booking fees on each ticket.
- You won’t get stuck with extra tickets because someone
cancelled.
- You can e-mail everyone a link to pay for their own tickets,
and, even if they forget, Vegas.com has kiosks all over the Strip
that can handle the bookings the day of.
While there
are hundreds of show options available in nearly all price ranges,
keep in mind that most of them appeal more to families and older
crowds. Generally safe bets for those of us in the 20 to 40 age
range are O, Love, Blue Man Group, Terry Fator, Zumanity, Penn
& Teller, and Mamma Mia. As always, consult a friend or an
independent resource before making any reservations.
RELATED
LINKS:
www.Vegas.com
www.Yelp.com
Restaurant
Reservations.
Verdict: Only if you are using one anyway.
Most independent
hosting companies will list dining reservations as a service that
they provide clients, but few will charge for it as they simply
offer you advice on where they would suggest and, at most, will
call the restaurants main phone number to book your reservation.
Still, you should do your own research in advance to choose from
the hundreds of available dining options that may better suit
what you are looking for.
Suggestions:
Timing
will work well to your favor if you make your dinner reservations
for about 8:00 p.m. so that you will have plenty of time to eat
and make your way to the nightclub of the evening.
Keep in mind that many restaurants will refuse to seat incomplete
parties, so don’t be afraid to lie to some of your less-than-reliable
friends about what time to actually meet up.
If you want to make the most of your night, avoid restaurants
with particularly heavy menus as you may end up finding a nap
more appealing than the world class nightlife you had planned.
Dining at a restaurant within the same resort as the nightclub
you going to will alleviate the extra stress of travel if dinner
runs late.
Those
looking to stick with restaurants that hold more of a nightlife
ambiance should check out those managed by nightlife companies:
N9NE Steakhouse, Tao, LAVO, Stack, Fix, Yellowtail, Rare120, Ago,
Social House, Company, Union, and Brand.
Bachelor
/ Bachelorette Party Planning
Verdict: Depends.
While there
is a certain level of anxiety that most people feel when they
realize they are responsible for planning a group event in an
unfamiliar city, Las Vegas has so many entertainment options to
choose from that it is fairly difficult to do a “bad job”
planning one of these parties, and, regardless of whether or not
you use an independent host’s assistance, you are still
responsible for getting everyone where they need to be on time
and collecting everyone’s share of the cost – both
typically the most stressful aspects of the night.
Some people
really enjoy the convenience of having someone handle all other
aspects of these parties for them, but your decision to hire outside
help for event planning should be based on what all you are looking
to actually do the night of. Most people will eat dinner, go to
a show / stripclub, and then end their night at a nightclub; all
things that, from a planning aspect, you can easily do yourself
without much risk of failure.
Keep
in mind:
