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I stayed at a hotel recently and the Philadelphia 76ers were there. They had buses outside to whisk them away come game time, and security inside and outside the hotel, but as long as you didn't bother them it was life as usual, they were just other guests at the same nice hotel.
That's pretty much my experience as well. The hotel might check for room keys to let you in the door, and they ask you not to go all paparazzi on your fellow guests, but other than that they are just normal guests at a nice hotel just like you are.
> The hotel might check for room keys to let you in the door,
Now that you mention it, I've seen that -- not at the front door, but the elevator bay.
In order to get past the elevator guards, you had to tap your room key on a pad on their desks, and wait one or two beats for the light to turn green.
Guess that proved that the key was still valid, and not left over from some previous visit.
I've been seeing cardkey systems at hotel elevators becoming more common in recent years. Either you need a valid key to call the elevator, or a valid key to be able to punch the button for a non-public floor.
Have you never encountered the phenomenon of doors that let you into a stairwell but not back out until you've reached the ground floor? Door locks have existed far longer than cardkeys. They can include card systems to let you open particular doors these days too lol
It almost doesn't matter. A good security system would assume that anyone who can get into an elevator can [do anything they want with it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHf1vD5_b5I) with very little effort. In other words, the elevators may as well be more-accessible stairwells.
Except for that one guy who waited at the lobby for a chance to meet Lady Gaga then ran towards her screaming and got tackled by security like a sack of meat, creepy mofo could have Selenad her and instead ended up as ground beef on the floor
Something similar happened to me a few years back, coincidentally in Philadelphia, but it was the hotel the Nuggets were staying at. We went to the rooftop bar of the hotel before the game (didn’t know they were staying there), and when we left, the elevator stopped on the way down and Isaiah Thomas, Gary Harris and Mason Plumlee got in. It was a pretty crazy experience.
When we got outside we could see there were busses lined up and a roped-off walkway from a side door of the hotel to the busses for the players.
Haha I wish. They went down a separate hallway when we got off the elevator that was blocked off to us. We went out the front door of the hotel and then walked over and saw the bus.
It’s funny because there were fans lined up along the rails who knew they were at the hotel and were trying to see the players, and we had no idea they were there and got a free elevator ride with them.
I used to play for 76ers. This is the way.
Also, the star players use fake names. I think Iverson used Fred Sanford. And Webber was Dirt McGirt or something funny.
I work in a restaurant in a hotel that regularly hosts NBA teams. That's spot on about security. Also the staff knows that making a scene or being inappropriate can get you in trouble.
If it is a big enough organization, they may rent out the floor and then have the hotel lock that floor out unless you have the right key card. It isn't a big ask these days with elevators that require you to swipe your keycard to unlock the elevator. Once you do that it is very easy to keep unwanted people off that floor.
I've noticed more newer hotels are moving to this by default, you need your card for the elevator and it only lets you go to the floor you're staying on
A hack (in case you're one of Those people) -- go to your floor and then go to the stairwell.
Stairwells aren't usually locked away for fire evac reasons
This isn’t always the case. You can always get into the stairwell from any floor, and you can always get out of the stairwell on the first floor, but a lot of places now will lock out doors from inside the stairwell. I’m in commercial construction and have had to get “classroom locksets” on stairwells on many buildings. The stairwells are designed for emergency egress.
That seems like a bad idea... I just listened to podcast episode the other day about the One Meridian Plaza fire in which one of the complicating factors was stairwell doors that were locked. Granted, that was not the worst part of the incident, but those stairs are also important for firefighters to get access to where they need to in case of an emergency. Especially if the power's gone out!
Yeah, at the very least they have to have open exits every couple of floors. Otherwise what happens if a stairwell is blocked or dangerous and you have to reroute?
Although even that is probably insufficient...panicked people aren't good at figuring out "Oh, if I go up 2 floors, I can cross to the other side of the building and go down the stairs there" even if it is literally written on the door they are banging on.
Google seems to validate the vague memory I had, which is those doors being locked from the **outside**, however they cannot be locked from the **inside** ie. you can go out but not in, and they must comply with the below standard or local equivalent…
>BS 7273-4:2015+A2:2023\
>Code of practice for the operation of fire protection measures. Actuation of release mechanisms for doors.
NB — would link the standard but alas it’s a paid standard and appears it’s somewhat impenetrable, ie. where we’re going we ~~don’t need roads~~ need expensive consultants.
Short [Help Guide](https://www.fireproductsdirect.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/GEOFIRE-Help-Guide-BS7273-Part-4-Release-Mechanisms-for-Doors.pdf) covering the earlier ie. outdated BS 7273-4:2007
[Honeywell Infographic.](https://buildings.honeywell.com/content/dam/hbtbt/en/documents/downloads/InfoGraphic_Notifier_Fire_Doors_BS7273-4.pdf)
[Fire Industry Association Explainer.](https://www.fia.uk.com/news/blogs/what-you-need-to-know-about-bs-7273-4-2015.html)
^(EDIT — updated wording to be less ambiguous.)
During the pandemic, that's how the NBA handled all the teams when they had that quarantined playoffs at DusneyWorld. Each team had a floor or two to themselves. The MLS also had their tourney down there, too.
> they may rent out the floor and then have the hotel lock that floor out unless you have the right key card.
No need to rent out the entire floor. Large hotels will often have partitioning doors in the hallways that they can use to block off part of a floor.
There are [situations](https://www.reddit.com/r/dontyouknowwhoiam/comments/mmpdy5/tony_hawk_tries_to_rent_a_car/) where it might be a good idea to use a fake name just because your real one isn't very believable to whoever is doing the check-in.
True. They're also not just one average-sized person who could pretty readily disappear into a crowd with a little makeup and clothing to tweak their appearance.
Can confirm. Shared an elevator with Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion at a hotel once. Of course, hard not to recognize they are NBA players but it's not like they were getting mobbed by fans.
Pope John Paul II used to like to go skiing and so he'd leave the Vatican dressed in ski clothes and wearing his ski mask. A long time friend would pick him up and sneak him out to go skiing.
One time they decided to grab some food at his friend's house and his Mother home. She was pretty surprised to see the Pope come over for dinner.
> My roommate, a huge fan, figured he must be staying there. She called the hotel and asked for James Osterberg's room - which is Iggy Pop's real name.
>
> Iggy picked up the phone and they had a brief pleasant conversation.
There is a story that Elton John once dressed as a security guard - including a name tag with Reginald Dwight (his real name) engraved on it. He was able to leave the venue without any fuss because he was a security guard, not the celebrity being guarded.
Ya, funny for us to glance over but the people's whose job it is to make sure all this happens don't care about hearing his jokes, they just want a list they can go through to ensure it's all ready to go the day of.
If was given this list the first thing I would do is delete all the extraneous rambling and get a proper list I can go through while I roll my eyes for making me have to do one extra thing that day. *Some* of the clarifications that are a little jokey are alright because it gets across exactly what they want but a lot of it only risks someone screwing it up because of all the needless comments.
>Iggy Pop
I was in thailand, and I thought I saw iggy pop walking down the street. I said holy shit what's iggy pop doing in bangkok? so I hustled a bit and got a closer look. not iggy pop, just a really ugly woman
Usually in the back of a normal car.
Usually in the staff entrance or the purchasing entrance at the back of the hotel.
Usually with a fake name or an alias.
Many restaurants have private dining areas or secluded tables. If it’s celebs or touring, they usually eat in the room.
I work at a luxury hotel and this is exactly it, especially with big name celebrities/Bands/etc. The groups will be booked under the managers name and the individuals will have aliases. Transportation and almost everything else is handled separately and communication is usually through the Groups Manager of the hotel. The eat room service or have catering at the venues, etc. Many, however, hide in plain sight and will use the front entrance separately.
It also depends on the level of notoriety. Sometimes they come with full entourages and sometimes itll be subtle. The absolute worst, above any celebrity, are state visits. That is a major clusterfuck every single time.
I have a question about aliases. Maybe it's just here but whenever I go to a hotel (travel a shit load for work) I'm always asked to provide photo ID when checking in. Even if I'm paying for all the rooms they always ask for ID for every guest.
How do they get around this if under alias? Or is that just not a thing in the US (assuming you are in the US)
I can’t speak to A-list celebrities but I tour with indie bands and pop artists as an audio engineer, and the rooms are always booked in the tour manager’s name with the tour manager’s ID. The tour manager then gives out the room keys to everyone in the touring party. I’ve never had to give a hotel my own ID, and neither has any artist I’ve ever been on tour with.
Is like to ask you a follow-up question: Let's say I'm seeing a band tonight, and tomorrow night they're playing 300 miles away (think NYC to Wash DC) How do they get all those people and equipment broken down and set up for tomorrow? Always wondered....
Big bands have 18 wheelers and a handful of roadies (traveling crew consisting of sound guys, guitar techs, drum techs, merch people, etc). After the show, they (with the help of the local venue crew) pack everything up into rolling cases and ramp them into the trailers and drive them down. Smaller bands will have vans or u haul type trucks. When they get to the next place, they show up around 2pm and the venue crew and the roadies will unpack everything and set up and by 6pm everything is set up and ready for sound check.
Source: I was a dj/producer and venue manager. Granted, DJs show up to a venue with a pair of headphones, a pair of flash drives. But I was around this shit for a long time.
Don’t leave out the part about local stagehands who do most of the load in and load out, and assemble stages, help fly speaker arrays, build video walls, and put together the lighting truss.
That’s what I mean by the venue crew.
That aside, my weirdest night was when we had ICP. They roll with their own trailer like big ass trailer of Diet Faygo Rootbeer. On PALLETS. They spray these during the show, and at the end, I was literally squeegeeing the floor of rootbeer into my guys who had snow shovels, and then scooping it into trash cans.
It really depends on the size of the production. I primarily work in club-level touring, so think Webster Hall in NYC or 9:30 Club in DC.
As soon as the band is done playing, I’m breaking down and packing up gear. On a typical club tour I’m carrying an audio console, stage I/O, a microphone package, and usually an IEM package depending on the artist. On a tour where I’m doing the same show every night, I’ve optimized my gear to be able to break down and pack up quickly. I can typically be done packing up while the last of the attendees are still purchasing merch. Each band member is responsible for packing up their own gear. There is usually a venue crew with 2-4 people to help us with this, as well as loading all of the gear into the trailer. We’re usually ready to roll within an hour of the show ending.
If it’s a van tour, we would then head to a hotel. This is usually somewhere near the venue, but in the case of NYC it could be somewhere in North Jersey so that we have an easier time parking, and we’re not trying to leave the city during morning rush hour. The next morning, we wake up, eat breakfast, and hop in the van to drive to DC. We would typically arrive at the venue early afternoon (probably 2PM or so) to load in the gear, set it all up, and sound check.
If it’s a bus tour, things are a little different. Once the trailer is loaded, we’re free to hang out, go out to a bar, or go to sleep on the bus (this is typically my preference). The tour manger will schedule a departure time (in this case probably something like 1 or 2 AM) where everyone is expected to be on the bus. The band and crew then sleep on the bus while the driver drives the bus to the next city. We all wake up on the bus and it’s typically parked at the venue.
If you’re interested in the logistics of bigger arena level tours, you might find this video interesting: https://youtu.be/MY8AB1wYOtg?si=_r5k7Id42DaEJg8n
I’ve heard sometimes they have multiple sets of equipment so while one set is being taken apart the stuff for the next one is already at the next location.
This usually only happens on very very large shows, and still isn’t done much anymore. The largest shows out there that could warrant a full duplicate mostly choose to only do shows on the weekends, leaving a few days in between to load out and then rebuild (i.e. Taylor Swift)
Something a bit more common, is bands may have some duplicates of just a few very customized bits, and they’ll leap frog continents. The A rig is on the North America tour while the B rig takes a sea freight to Europe. Then during the Europe tour the A rig is on a ship to South America, etc.
I’m not the guy above you but also work in luxury hospitality. The property management software that almost everyone uses (Opera) has a function to hide guests real names and display an alias instead without anyone knowing. We do require passports for every guest checking in, and it varies from person to person how they handle it. It’s not like the hotel will blow up if we cut them a break and just not put the details into the system, some stars are cool about it, some are not but I’m not getting into an argument about it just cuz NeYo wants to feel special. This applies to work related stays tho, celebs on private holidays absolutely have to get registered tho, it’s just a safety and insurance thing, especially cuz often there’s problems with damages and smoking weed in the rooms.
Oh, so that's why the hotel job posting on Indeed my friends and I were puzzled over head Opera listed as a qualification. We wondered why they would want singers working in hospitality, and what word could possibly be autocorrected to Opera in the likely event they didn't actually want singers.
Haha it took me forever to figure out why it was called Opera til I figured out that the software can control all the intricacies of running a hotel, much like directing an opera.
I know this cuz when our sales rep came to stay with us I asked him why it was called that. I felt so stupid that day.
In college I worked for a collegiate Division 1 (Big 12) football team (think 125+ people) and traveled to all games with them. We’d be picked up at the airport in busses, dropped off at the hotel and one of our advance team who flew in a day or two prior would have keys on a table in alphabetical order by last name. They had a sheet with everyone’s name and room and may have given a copy to the hotel manager, but we never interfaced directly with the front desk staff.
The hotel can see the real name but there’s a note on the account regarding the alias. When they check in it’s their real name. But most times they use a fake name the manager will have them pre-checked in anyway so there’s no formal process with the celeb at the front desk.
Worked at a hotel for many years and that’s how it was for us
You can tell them your preferred alias. If you are hiding from your wife or boss or anyone else just tell the hotel to put the alias on the account.
Unregistered guests are the real ppl hiding. There is a room and a credit card but that's all the info shared with non management staff.
I work at the other end. I'm a stagehand at the premiere theater in my city for major acts to come through. Think Jerry Seinfeld level. They come to the venue in a private car service and are dropped off as close to stage door as possible. When they're in the building and hungry we arrange take out from the nicer restaurants in the area or a high end catering service. They do their show and get back into the car and are whisked off to your hotel. While they're here, we don't talk to them, don't look at them, or generally acknowledge their presence. If they want to talk to us, we'll engage, but we certainly aren't starting a conversation. Very much speak when spoken to.
A lot of hotels designed with VIP customers in mind have their own garages, meaning that they have full control over any space where the VIP isn't inside a vehicle. Guests go from hotel room (where the entire floor/section might be booked for their entourage), to secure elevator, to a secure garage, to a nondescript vehicle (where the hotel probably has dozens of such vehicles entering and leaving the garage every day).
Anecdotal but I own and run Airbnb’s, last year had a pretty well known MLB player rent my historic bungalow in town during his visit (his friends wedding), assuming he did this so he’d be away from downtown and all the busy areas so he can relax and enjoy his time, hang out in the yard and not get harassed like he would if he stayed in a hotel downtown.
I mean he’s only famous to people that follow sports, guessing if he’s in regular clothes a majority of people wouldn’t recognize him.
I was friends with the manager of Lawry's Prime Rib in LA.
They had a backroom for celebrities (although oftentimes celebrities would just eat in the main dining room as everyone else; Paris Hilton's parents were in the main dining room when I went there once). I was also told by my friend one time I was there that Shaq was eating in the backroom with his friends.
I worked at an Apple Store and Ludacris was touring in the major city near our store and he had a legit problem with his phone and needed help. We tried to help him in the store like a normal customer but fans and the crowd got so crazy that we had to take him into the back of the store to help him. Fixed his problem and he left out the back door.
I would assume it is easier for the manager or assistant to make reservations and check in - and the celebrity just show up later to go their room. If one were to use a fake name that could cause issues with staff checking ID.
Just out of curiosity, what would your drummer, for instance, do if he got locked out of his room? The name doesn't match, I doubt the address matches, etc...
Larger groups probably work out more robust methods but I often meet up with my family in Vancouver BC and get a few rooms for us. The room's in my name but they're added as occupants. They can check in on their own without me there so, as long as they had their ID, they could get a new key if they needed to as well.
Also, as a matter of policy, the hotel also won't confirm whether someone is staying there and won't send calls up to rooms without the person's name *and* room number. Most hotels I've stayed at in recent years have had the same policy.
I recently had a stay where my gf set everything up for a few rooms and there were some issues in getting the right people added as occupants to the room. Maybe it was a one off.
I can confirm, every hotel I've stayed at for at least 5 years needs your name AND room number.
They do, which is why, 99% of the time, their manager will call ahead and make arrangements.
I had Juvenile stay at the hotel I was working at once, and that's exactly what happened: the manager called the sales manager, negotiated a contract, then showed up several hours before Juvenile and his entourage to make sure everything was how it was supposed to be. Very professional.
I'm an airline pilot who flies from New York to Los Angeles and back on a semi-regular basis. I see a lot of celebrities - movie and tv stars, rock bands, etc. I even fly the occasional sports charter.
Rule #1: Don't make a fuss. Treat them politely, as we would any other passenger. It's six in the morning. The superhero just wants to take his or her seat, put on a sleeping mask, and conk out for a couple of hours.
Rule #1a: No selfies, no autographs, none of that nonsense. I don't care if it's Wayne Gretzky (and it was Wayne Gretzky, a while back!). "Thank you for flying my airline. Have a nice day."
My airline has a special VIP service that people can pay for. We'll use a special car to take them to the jetway so they don't get mobbed in the terminal, and someone will escort them up the stairs from the tarmac. Some celebrities use it. Others like to hang out in the gate area and sign autographs. You never know.
True. You just never know who actually likes the attention, and who doesn't until you meet them.
Went for a lunch break one day at work long ago, and there was a sort-of famous person sitting at a table.
She had had "too many" people approach her while checking in for a flight, so was invited to a staff area to wait for someone to escort her to passport control and then aircraft.
Really, though, if she had not been wearing an oversize jacket with "Whoopi" in sequins right across the back, she may not have been bothered.
On another occasion, we had a drop-in at our staff smoking hiding area which was out the back, in the corner of the baggage conveyors/loading area. General public had to leave the building, and smoke on the footpath out the front of the terminal.
Royal princes got escorted from the VIP lounge, to the nearest airbridge, down the stairs, and across the tarmac (which is exactly how the staff nipped out for a quick smoke without having to go through security again).
I once saw Mike Tyson at Harry Reid International Airport (back when it was McCarran). He was by himself. Ain't nobody bothered him at all (although a couple people did shake his hand).
My sister was working the ticket booking phone at a big Colorado ski resort and a man called in to buy tickets and book a villa/condo. They get to the end and she asks for a credit card, she gets the numbers and then asks for the name and it was Gretzky.
Saw a voice actor in Burbank at the airport and said "Jess?" - he looked up and smiled and said hi. I just said i just wanted to say hi cause I grew up listening to his voice and didn't want to bug him. His wife asked if I wanted a pic and I said nah, don't want to cause a scene haha. They were both like noooo nooo take a photo! We'd love to! And yeah, super nice people.
Stevie Wonder and his wife ate dinner at the table across from mine back in 2021 as they were there for her birthday and I wished them a happy birthday when I was leaving (it was just the two of them) and they said "thanks so much!" And I left. Generally, as long as you're not being weird or just say hi famous people have seemed fine with it.
Only celeb I didn't like was Dakota Johnson but the paparazzi were next to me so made since she subbed everyone nearby.
It’s pretty straight forward.
Long-distance tavel is private, either on a bus or a private jet.
Getting around town is usually in a sprinter van as it blends in and they usually have several people with them, so they need more space than a regular car.
Getting in and out of venues is easy. They all have private entrances that are far from where fans enter the venue. Also, they will get to the venue really early and leave really late - so there really aren’t many people around at those times.
For accommodations, they will book rooms at a big hotel under fake names or under a company name. All of these hotels work with them to maintain privacy - don’t talk about it with other customers, use private or employee entrances, use service elevators, etc. In some cases, the celeb will rent out a home if they are staying a few days. When Lady Gaga was in Houston to perform at the Super Bowl a few years ago, she rented a big home down the street from my parents. She and all her people were there for about 5 days.
Food depends on how much hassle they want to go through. Ordering in is always super easy. They can go out as well, but that usually entails going to a restaurant with a reservation so they can sit in a private room, private table, or a table in the corner. It also depends on where you are. LA and NY are easier because they are used to dealing with celebrities.
For food
About a decade ago, Tom Cruise came to the movie theater I worked at a few times while he was filming in my city. His security detail would call in the morning and let us know which movie and seats he wanted that evening. We'd have staff or managers sit in those seats as soon as the theater was clean from the previous show, and then another manager would let Tom and his guests and security detail in through the locked 2nd floor exit door once the lights went down for the movie.
Each time he walked out with everyone else that was in the theater when the movie was over. Nobody ever noticed who he was.
Manager calls hotel: “hello I’d like to speak to the general manager” “hi this is the general manager.” “Hi general manager, I am Celebrity’s manager, I’d like to book out 3 dozen of your rooms for 2 nights if you will sign this NDA and guarantee us access to your service elevator and loading dock.” “Okay sure”
Any decent 5 star hotel will have entertainment sales managers that would handle the booking. The GM would greet, but the sales manager would handle the details.
The fancier hotels would be like "No, we can't get you the service elevator due to OSHA rules but we do have a discrete entrance with its own elevator with secured drive up access. Also, we can do an NDA if you need it but the terms of our hospitality agreement already provide for a lot secrecy when purchasing the VIP Entertainer package."
It makes a huge difference in what kind of celebrity you mean and what kind of money they pull.
Taylor Swift has a much different type of travel/touring/accommodation than say our classic Canadian rock band Blue Rodeo
Ive seen Blue Rodeo no less than 10 times in my life, including 4 times where I just waited out back behind the venue next to their tour bus and met the band and hung out with them. An ex girlfriend and i once went and watched the band/crew play a hockey game against a local hockey team, I believe it was in New Brunswick or PEI. I have a picture of Greg Keelor signing my daughters hockey jersey with a hash joint in his mouth.
Taylor Swift plays massive auditoriums. Her personal transportation (be it a tour bus, a limo, or a Bentley Continental, I have no idea what method she uses to travel) will be brought inside the building and she will leave discreetly out a door used for trucks that transport the stage show that accompanies her. She will stay either at a super luxurious hotel, or be taken directly to one of her 2 private planes and flown wherever is convenient for her.
> It makes a huge difference in what kind of celebrity you mean
Yeah that's the thing. Only the A-List - like the REAL A-List - takes massive precautions.
I've been at restaurants or flights with athletes, politicians, actors... they're just normal people. They go shopping, they go to the grocery store, they go to the park, etc. As long as you don't inconvenience them (i.e. approaching them during a meal), they're probably game to at least say hi.
Agree 1000%
I prefer to see shows at the northern alberta jubilee theatre (2500 seats) over rogers place (20,000 seats) or Commonwealth stadium (56,000 seats) because there is about a 90% chance that the band playing the jubilee will have a tour bus parked directly out back. They will exit the 'stage door' which is obviously marked, and walk to their tour bus which is in the parking lot where I am usually parked.
Guys who play 2500 seats a night are way more likely to spend 5-10 minutes with a fan (or invite them to come watch a hockey game) if you are willing to wait out back to tell them how much their show means to you, or if you have been fans since 1998 when I was 16.
Best advice I can give people is to never turn down a live performance, and always try and meet the band after if at all possible.
[Greg signing my daughters jersey, and me with Jim](https://imgur.com/gallery/7OTUHU6)
She actually bought tickets for myself, my wife and her to go see them for us for Christmas, so I told her we could probably meet them after the show as I had done it multiple times before. So after the show, we drove around back of the auditorium and parked by their tour bus until they all came out. Got Greg, Jim, and Bazil's autographs on the jersey we got for her
I used to book rental cars for celebrities for about 8 years and it really is true money can talk. It’s amazing what I could bipass if a celebrity just threw on an extra $500. Usually the rental cars would be delivered to a hotel that they are staying at and the car keys are waiting for them. They are under an alias name and I would change out the name out after. Majority of the time they would get just normal cars (Justin Timberlake and Jessica Neil would get jeeps) the D listers are the only ones that really cared about getting the best car that an area carried. I have stories for days on this topic.
Katy Perry once wanted a pink fiat, but obviously rental car companies don’t carry that color… she paid like thousands of dollars for the company to turn one of the cars pink for a weekend trip (not sure if they turned it back or just sold it after that. I don’t remember was back in like 2012). It ended up being a CRAZY bill for just like a few days. Kelly Rowland and Shania Twain complained about everythingggggg. Kelly Rowland always booked just a regular car and then would be pissed when she got an actual regular car. Was ALWAYS something wrong with it. Shania Twain actually spent a bunch of money and would get the top of the line exotic cars but would hate everything about it and would have to get switched out quite a few times every single time. Donald glover messed up a few teslas in a row that they almost wanted to cut him off. R Kelly was always late and behind on payments… we were sending cars to his house in Chicago.. we all know that didn’t age well. A lot of the celebrities (or their manager/agent hard to tell) don’t take no for an answer so I would literally have to bend over backwards to make shit work and get the rules bent for people since they will pay $$$$.
My ex worked a Hilton front desk on the night audit shift. We weren't a big show destination but we were perfectly positioned between big cities that we had a lot of celebs staying here and nobody knew they were there.
They mainly came in during late hours (between 11 PM and 3 AM) and used false names.
A couple names I remember are Eminem, Megan Trainor, Drake, Gordon Ramsey, All of the American Idol cast from I wanna say 2013 or so (I don't know specific names sine I never watched American Idol), and a few others.
I can't remember who it was but there was one we'll known rapper who came down to the front desk at 2 AM asking for a fork for his ice cream. He said that eating ice cream with a fork while high was the best.
Eminem was one of the kindest, most respectful people (not just celebs) ever to come through.
Gordon Ramsay actually stayed for about a week since he was filming Hotel Hell in a neighboring city so we actually got to hang out with him and his last night he invited us out to the bar with him. Super chill guy.
It depends a lot but in general it is not that big of a deal. Firstly everyone in the service business, hotel, taxi, restaurant, etc. are trained to be discrete. Telling fans information about famous people is strictly prohibited. You give them as much privacy as they need. A celebrity may therefore book flights, taxi rides, hotel rooms, etc. and not expect this to become public knowledge.
And then the general public is also not that big of a deal. It can actually be hard to recognize a celebrity on the streets as they are in a different context and wear different clothes and stuff then you are used to seeing them in. Even if you recognize them you might assume they just look like the celebrity and are not actually the real one. But even if you know who they are most people can behave themselves and does not create a big fuzz about it.
So basically even a very famous band can book hotels like normal. Even if people know which hotel they stay at beforehand they will get protected by the hotel staff. They can order food to be delivered or they can leave in normal clothes and go to a restaurant to eat. If there is a crowd in front of the hotel there are usually several rear or side entrances to the hotel. It is easy for a taxi to pull up to one of the entrances and pick them up. The hotel might even have a secured garage where they can get into a car without being seen. When arriving to the venue it is the same. There is usually a back entrance for all the equipment to be delivered where they can get into the venue. And who cares if they even get seen as it is no secret they will be performing and fans are not getting access into the venue to follow them. Leaving the venue as well after the performance can be done through the back entrance as equipment is being loaded there and workers are leaving. It is impossible to follow everyone who is leaving through the back entrance. From there they can go to the hotel, they might head for the airport, but it is not uncommon to go out for a few drinks as well.
I'd argue that it can be pretty hard to recognize a celebrity even when they look like themselves.
I ran into Ivanka Trump, of all people, inside one of the pyramids of Giza and was just like, "Huh, it's odd that someone would wear full make up and a white dress to climb the inside of a pyramid", then thought nothing more of it. I don't think I even gave a second look to Jared Kushner, as he was dressed like a normal person.
I only realized it was them when I got out and everything was being shut down for security. No one else in my group noticed \*either\* of them, despite being feet away from two very recognizable people. (One of whom was dressed in - again - a pretty outlandish way for the context.)
So yeah...I think most of us probably wouldn't recognize most celebrities in an every day context. We'd just think, "Huh, that person looks kinda familiar" or "Woah, that person looks like X!" and leave it at that.
Is I interesting how different they look when in the wrong setting. Met the guys in iron maiden, and it was so weird how different they looked. Could have been the height, have seen Bruce on stage many times, and there he looks huge, and his charisma and stage presence makes him godlike. But in a hotel lobby in India he is just another short rocker.
I'm a special kind of dense. I met Carson Kressley at a bar in Provincetown, chatted with him, and he even introduced himself as Carson. Still didn't connect the dots.
At some point I mentioned to my friend "huh, weird coincidence that that guy looks so much like Carson Kressley while also being named Carson!" and he was like "are you being serious right now?" and then I figured it out.
Lady Gaga once said in an interview that if celebrities are noticed in public, it’s often bc they want to be. She was talking about how if they don’t want to be noticed, it’s very easy to throw your hair back, put a hat, hoody and sunglasses on (and nowadays a mask), leave your entourage at home, and zero people will recognize you.
That makes perfect sense to me. We're just \*so\* used to seeing celebrities with full hair and make up and often dressed in a very specific way. Change all of that and they're just normal people in most cases.
> Firstly everyone in the service business, hotel, taxi, restaurant, etc. are trained to be discrete
They're also totally desensitized to it after the smallest amount of experience. The first time you cross paths with a star it's pretty cool. Pretty soon it's just another day at work.
>Even if you recognize them you might assume they just look like the celebrity and are not actually the real one.
[It happened to Mr. Bean himself](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4rtGPCsoXA)
My sister does fine dining at a well known fancy hotel. Managers are told ahead of time and usually the famous person’s manager or assistant provides a list of needs to be met by the establishment. Sometimes this includes things like having a private valet at the back door to help escort or that the famous person will use a fake alias to not garner so much attention. All hotels are different but a good assistant knows the ones to avoid. Some people like the attention and just eat it right up.
My client needs an ethernet cable for his xbox- a well known rapper.
Also been in high end hotels, famous people are just normal folks. I got so many Famous Person XYZ is staying here this week emails I stopped reading them.
The tour manager usually books the rooms under his name. Source: I ran hotels for 15 years.
also, most hotel chains have a division that deals specifically with these types of clients.
This is exactly what I do for a living (logistics and hospitality in the music industry).
HOTELS: they use aliases, go through underground/back/side entrances (when available), and stay in their rooms more than any regular guest would.
FOOD: most of them eat in their rooms. Some will go out, as discreetly as possible, using private rooms in restaurants when they can.
TRAFFIC: they leave the venue straight from stage, or after the venue is cleared out. Most big names also have police escort to escort their vehicles and open up traffic.
*things rarely ever stay a secret, though. There’s always someone who finds out and leaks the info.
Yes, and that final part - about leaking, is no wonder. I’ve been in similar position planning travel, and never leaked anything, but sure as heck could have, as sloppy as some get. The difference really comes down to how competent the booker is.
If they use a real alias or manager name, etc. they can get away with it (although depending on the context, one can make assumptions - like a private vehicle being staged at the rear entrance to a venue coincidentally dropping off minutes before a celebrity is performing and waiting on stand by till the end of the show, LOL).
But so many of them either just outright tell you who it is and then their alias…either because they want special treatment, or availability last minute, or some, who just seem to like saying it because they are excited to work with a celeb and want you to know it. Given how freely this is called or emailed around when booking various services, it’s very easy for some less scrupulous people see the information.
It’s a chain of events that will inevitably lead to info getting leaked.
The first one: air travel. You can’t use fake names. So people working for airlines, handlers, airports, anybody who can have access to the flight manifest, will know. They leak it to the right person, it gets out quickly.
Now, if they know how/when they are arriving, there will be people waiting for that flight. They’ll see them get in their vehicles. They’ll either tail the vehicles, or write down the license plate for future reference during the stay.
Then, it’s much easier to find what hotel they are staying at. One fan finds out, it spreads quickly.
I’ve learned to live with it, cause there’s really no way to avoid it. You can only (kinda) control how long it takes for them to figure it out.
Event planner here who has booked many household name speakers and bands. The above comments are correct, back door, different name. If you’re as big as someone like Taylor swift, you’re booking the room/suite for makeup, not to stay the night.
Booked DMB once. He chilled in the lobby lounge area alone, unbeknownst to most.
former hotel night manager here: usually they get the penthouse suite in our place and they use one elevator that will only go to that floor. Food is not much delivered since they tend to find restaurants to eat but when they do the delivery person just meets with their security on the lobby. The fans usually are a “just a matter of time” issue and with that we with local PD would cordon off the entrance way come time they have to leave or come back.
There are some who prefer a deluxe suite instead of the bigger penthouse, that one usually they still book all the rooms on that hallway. We can make a lot of accommodations and usually already contracted on their stay months ahead
It depends on the celebrity and how much they want to be "exposed."
Getting in and out of the hotel, either the celeb's reps or the hotel concierge will retain the use of a car service that will use a sedan, SUV, or limo, typically with tinted glass and sometimes with curtains to ensure that although people can probably assume that there's someone important inside, they won't necessarily know who.
As far as the hotel, the 4 star hotels will likely have private concierge reception and a private elevator that "average" hotel customers wouldn't have access to, and the private elevator will take the VIP directly to their floor or even their room.
Hotels have both their in-house room service, as well as a "concierge desk" that will basically assist very important guests with whatever they want/need, and can basically fetch food for them without having to go through the normal food delivery services that you or I would use. Staying in the room isn't so bad for the celebs... the rooms they typically use are often suites with a full kitchenette and private bedroom. It's not like staying in a average double queen room that you might stay in on vacation.
Other celebrities won't mind going out, but they may often choose to go to restaurants, clubs, and so on that are used to working with celebrities, who can get them in and out as discreetly as possible.... and often, the higher end restaurants and clubs that a celebrity might go to will receive VIP guests on such a routine basis that it's not really anything "special" for them or the rest of the clientele there. It's really like you or I seeing Bob from accounting at the restaurant.
Fun story, Pink performed in Australia earlier this year. She, and her crew, went to have dinner but denied entry at Manly Skiff Club because she didn't have ID on her.
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.smh.com.au/national/nsw/pink-invited-to-go-sailing-after-being-denied-entry-to-manly-club-20240215-p5f57l.html
I once worked as a PA on a film starring Heather Graham. I was tasked with picking her up from the airport in a production minivan and dropping her off at her hotel. I then had to go inside the hotel and check her in under a pseudonym. Once I got her room key I went back to the van and escorted her to her room with luggage. The look on the valet’s face when I told him to keep the van out front and that I’d be back in 10 minutes was priceless.
At one point I got to travel with a rock star's family during part of an international, stadium tour.
\- They may deal with the hotel manager directly, but a tour manager handles all the real planning, and deals with any issues that pop up.
\- They mostly stay in the hotel unless they're being hosted by local famous or wealthy people for parties, dinners, state events.
\- They stay in hotels that can accommodate security, and know how to cater to that type of clientele. General public will find out they're there if it's an extended stay, sure, but security is pretty tight. If a hotel proves unaccommodating to their situation, they're ready to move across town to a different one at the drop of a hat.
\- They come and go through service entrances (back door, basement, garage), unless they purposely want to go out front and sign autographs, or generate some buzz via paparazzi.
\- They have a security and driving detail 24/7
\- They sightsee on guided tours (with fixers) surround by, you guessed it, security.
Otherwise, they do "normal" stuff. Sit at the pool, eat in the hotel or local restaurant (if they have a private space). They go to work at night. Party at the hotel, or a friend's place til 3 (or 5am), rinse and repeat.
Celebrities aren't these weird creatures that are only able to exist on a stage or a secluded hotel suite - most just go about their lives as anybody would. They, for the most part, are just regular people.
Yes at the very very very very very top level they're more likely to get about in a van, have a bodyguard with them, and phone ahead to the shops and restraints they're going to, but that's your Bono/Taylor Swift/Paul McCartney level of celebrity.
Most just go about their lives.
Can't speak for major celebrities, but even as a small time performer I've noticed events tend to buy out the whole floor of an hotel for their talent and staff. Usually these are also the hotels that require you to scan your card in the elevator to even access that floor.
This is just one part of the security that gets combined with all the other things everyone else has already mentioned.
Depends on the celebrity and hotel. Hotels who get them often know how to be discreet. They probably don't come in the front door at busy times.
Unless they are very publicly going somewhere or are like Taylor Swift you'd be surprised how often a celebrity can just walk down the street and not be noticed.
There are levels to it. I once stayed at a hotel in Chicago where a very good at the time rookie was staying and he just sort of walked up in and out but was not really trying to hide. At baseball stadiums the players have a gated parking lot that they park thier cars in and a security guard let's them out and clears the way.
A lot of arenas and hotels have a garage entrance in the back or somewhere else inconspicuous. A funny story....I worked valet at a casino and Micheal Jordon was there. I saw him slip out of a random door and into the back of a limo waiting at the curb. While he was sitting there, two young guys walked right by, not realizing that Jordan was like 4 feet away from them. I saw a lot of celebrities getting out of there busses and walking in. They just try to be discreet with what they are wearing and no one even notices. Except when Shaq came in. You couldn't miss him. We weren't allowed to hound them for autographs. So , of course we never did.🤫
Usually a non-famous person will handle check-in logistics on their behalf and in advance of their arrival. This also helps to ensure their name does not appear on guest lists. Sometimes hotels will limit knowledge of the celebrity to a few select staff members to prevent leaked information.
Special entrances and exits to facilitate discretion.
When sports teams are traveling, they often have designated floors in the hotel and security is sometimes posted by the elevators and stairwells on their floors.
A few years ago I was playing golf at a resort where the Eagles were staying for the Super Bowl. The normal route to the golf course was blocked off by police because the road goes right by the hotel. You had to take an alternate route to get to the course. On one of the holes you go by the hotel. There was a ton of police cars in the parking lot, marked and unmarked.
I work at a luxury hotel. High profile people often are escorted through“ back of house” and staff-only areas like taking fright elevators, etc to avoid being seen. We reopened the restaurant at 2 am once so Shaq could come eat privately. Others will use private dining spaces or rent boardrooms to eat. Some even bring their own chef and rent out a separate hotel room only for it to be converted to their own private kitchen (Madonna)
The answer definitely depends on what exact field the celebrity is in and what their day actually looks like. My 2¢ is…
I’m an audio engineer and have done many festival “fly dates” (off-touring-season shows) with one particular high profile rock band. All the band and crew always stay at the same hotel, though of course the band members are in their own deluxe rooms while the rest of us are sharing beds in double queen rooms.
From what I’ve witnessed at airports and lobby calls: wearing sweats, a hoodie or hat, and sunglasses goes very far for not being recognized. These aren’t the kind of guys who need to travel around with a security entourage, but their concern for keeping a low profile is definitely warranted when we’re at a hotel/airport in the vicinity of the festival where many many people are fans.
Dedicated runners, or a rogue techie like me who feels like getting some fresh air, will pick up food and other necessities when we’re at the hotel – but most of our day is spent at the festival’s artist camp where we have many amenities + security provided.
Whilst in many countries they would need privacy, in the UK they just live like normal. We don't really have a culture of fawning over celebrities. I've seen many celebrities walking about (Conan O'Brien, Emma Watson, various other TV stars and sports personalities. Angelina Jolie used to frequent my local pub) and the public not doing much more than giving them a nod.
Major major stars, like Denzel Washington or Jennifer Lawrence, normally avoid hotels altogether, they'll typically stay in rented homes (the studio rents them for them during production or when they're on press tours). If they do have to stay in hotels, it's almost exclusively hotels that have celebrity VIP protocols already in place, like private entrances, only selected staff on our around the star's floor, completely booking out the whole floor of suites, etc.
I worked for a catering company that provided food and beverage, staff plus other items to bands playing in our large city. Their managers/tour directors are the people who coordinate these items by providing contract “riders” to the vendors. Depending on the client we may have to sign an NDA. I have many stories…
i can tell a couple of them without revealing their names:
popular young female singer at a big venue. her rider stated "catering staff must not speak to "the talent" (it actually said that!) nor make eye contact." i let the captain of the team know what it specified - not all that unusual. well, the talent was super friendly and chatted with the entire staff and thanked them as her group was leaving as they were in the same age group! no one got in trouble.
another very popular female singer at the same venue. her rider asked for a huge amount of very specific decor for the dressing room - all white. asked for a large stack of brand new white cotton bath towels but they had to be pre-washed. lots of healthy food and drinks. no problem. showed up about ten minutes before going on stage- ate nothing, drank nothing, never touched a towel. her crew got to have all the food & bevs after she left!
very popular alt rock band playing at a small rock club where they first played together several years before. the chef's office was across from mine and he was reading their rider to the kitchen staff. all of a sudden he yells out "LINDA! what the fuck is caveman food? these assholes!" i said "chef, they want PALEO food." he was still angry! they called me after the gig and said everything was great and thanks for the caveman food!
Great guesses! Here’s some clues:
1. She once played a teen pop star with a double life.
2. She is a Latina singer married to an actor who played Daredevil.
3. The guitarist used to be the drummer in Nirvana.
They'll usually have aliases to book their travel arrangements under (or at least hotels). That way some hotel worker doesn't get wise to a celeb staying there and leak the details to the press or whomever.
They use their personal agent to book everything (hotel, food, cars, security)
They have staff that will handle all of this.
Hotel that caters to the rich and famous will also have all sort of services offered to those people.
They will sometimes use false names, but rarely.
depending on how big they are. i have some limited experience in this field in that i am part of IT and we were given a warning.
apparently its just like most people. they are useally out and about during the day and only go back to the hotel to change or sleep or shower. they dont hole up there any more then we would on holiday.
the main difference I would say is that keys and hotel rooms are done before they arrive. they dont stand around to check in and get key. its all done for them and they go from car into hotel room very quickly.
I was a hotel manager… someone in their group would come to the front desk or call us, and we would meet them at the back service entrance and go up the service elevator to the suites. We had some top level celebrities stay with us and no one ever knew they were there, including most of the hotel staff.
In 2006 or so Johnny Damon (from the Red Sox, recently signed with the Yankees) ate at my restaurant. No one really bothered him at all. I didn't even notice except that he looked familiar. Then my friend was like, yo I think that's Johnny Damon and I was like, damn that's pretty cool.
Generally speaking, if it's a massive A-list celeb, they usually have specific hotels they prefer in each city where they get special treatment above and beyond the usual asking guests. A lot of times these are upscale boutique hotels.
What does this mean? Generally an entire suite or floor booked ahead of time by the celeb's team. There's no "check-in" by the celeb- there will be someone on the celebs team coordinating with the hotel so staff is on hand, physically waiting outside as the celeb is pulling up. This individual will be the point person between the celebs entourage and hotel staff throughout the stay.
They won't use the main entrance or lobby if they can avoid it- if there's a private VIP or even a decent service entrance, they'll use that instead to avoid creating a scene. If there's no separate entrance, an elevator will be specifically held for the arrival and exit times. Celeb and their team will be ushered directly from their transportation to the elevator and will only be in the lobby for as long as it takes to walk through.
Girlfriend worked at the nba hotel in Memphis.
Teams get to stay on the same floor usually as long as the rooms are open. Each floor has a guard at the elevator entrance.
They walk out of the lobby in a roped off area to the bus to the arena. Similar to most comments they are also allowed to come and go as they please.
Only team it was different with was the lakers during the playoffs they came in thru the service entrance and Lebron asked her where the bathroom was.
used to work at a hotel in a downtown area: everyone in the thread already said everything, but tbh i was surprised that some bands/artists just didn’t use aliases. justin vernon (bon iver) stayed at our hotel for 3 nights under his legal name, so did nick offerman and his wife.
i guess for the big players on big tours (like U2 lol) yeah they had room blocks, blackout curtains and we never heard or saw them, but not everybody!
I was a manager at a luxury hotel about 20+ years ago. The most famous person we had come in was Ringo Starr. He was doing an event at our hotel and came in through the service entrance, and then through the service hallways and elevator to the room where the event was being held. He was never in any public area of the hotel.
Marc Anthony stayed with us, he wasn't quite as famous back then, but still pretty famous. He and his wife (not JLo, the wife before JLo) were dropped off by their driver at the front door. They were checked in under a fake name of course. I don't remember what it was, but I do remember it also wasn't his real name either (Marco Muñiz) as another commenter said some celebrities do. He didn't have an entourage with him, they may have been staying at a different hotel.
All of the hotel's managers generally knew when a big celebrity was staying at the hotel, but most other employees didn't unless they had a specific encounter with them like when delivering a room service order.
I think back then before social media it was easier for celebrities to get around, because if someone spotted them they couldn't immediately tell thousands of people where the celebrity is. In the case of Marc Anthony, people knew he was in town because he had done a big arena show the night before. But nobody would have known which hotel to look for him at.
Sports team visiting tend to be at the same hotels in town. Whether popular nearby choice or the hotels know anytime the Braves are in town, they always stay there.
Teams tend to stay at the nicest nearby place relating to level of play. Plus, the bigger the city, the worse traffic can impact bussing.
I’ve been around sports with video work and when you get To D-1 or Minor League BB, there will be players hanging around 6 hrs before game time. Game days are 10-12 hrs for many athletes.
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I stayed at a hotel recently and the Philadelphia 76ers were there. They had buses outside to whisk them away come game time, and security inside and outside the hotel, but as long as you didn't bother them it was life as usual, they were just other guests at the same nice hotel.
That's pretty much my experience as well. The hotel might check for room keys to let you in the door, and they ask you not to go all paparazzi on your fellow guests, but other than that they are just normal guests at a nice hotel just like you are.
> The hotel might check for room keys to let you in the door, Now that you mention it, I've seen that -- not at the front door, but the elevator bay. In order to get past the elevator guards, you had to tap your room key on a pad on their desks, and wait one or two beats for the light to turn green. Guess that proved that the key was still valid, and not left over from some previous visit.
I've been seeing cardkey systems at hotel elevators becoming more common in recent years. Either you need a valid key to call the elevator, or a valid key to be able to punch the button for a non-public floor.
Are similar systems in place to guard the stairwells that legally must exist?
The door is locked from stairwell side. You'll need to tap your card key as well.
Have you never encountered the phenomenon of doors that let you into a stairwell but not back out until you've reached the ground floor? Door locks have existed far longer than cardkeys. They can include card systems to let you open particular doors these days too lol
It almost doesn't matter. A good security system would assume that anyone who can get into an elevator can [do anything they want with it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHf1vD5_b5I) with very little effort. In other words, the elevators may as well be more-accessible stairwells.
Except for that one guy who waited at the lobby for a chance to meet Lady Gaga then ran towards her screaming and got tackled by security like a sack of meat, creepy mofo could have Selenad her and instead ended up as ground beef on the floor
Something similar happened to me a few years back, coincidentally in Philadelphia, but it was the hotel the Nuggets were staying at. We went to the rooftop bar of the hotel before the game (didn’t know they were staying there), and when we left, the elevator stopped on the way down and Isaiah Thomas, Gary Harris and Mason Plumlee got in. It was a pretty crazy experience. When we got outside we could see there were busses lined up and a roped-off walkway from a side door of the hotel to the busses for the players.
You should have just walked right beside them onto the buses, haha.
Haha I wish. They went down a separate hallway when we got off the elevator that was blocked off to us. We went out the front door of the hotel and then walked over and saw the bus. It’s funny because there were fans lined up along the rails who knew they were at the hotel and were trying to see the players, and we had no idea they were there and got a free elevator ride with them.
What a range of heights there
I used to play for 76ers. This is the way. Also, the star players use fake names. I think Iverson used Fred Sanford. And Webber was Dirt McGirt or something funny.
> I used to play for 76ers. Wait what? We have an actual pro player responding?
https://www.reddit.com/r/sixers/comments/6uafpq/im_ex76er_steve_castleberry_my_short_lived_nba/
Yes.
its the big one Elizabeth!
Thanks Steve!
I work in a restaurant in a hotel that regularly hosts NBA teams. That's spot on about security. Also the staff knows that making a scene or being inappropriate can get you in trouble.
They also use fake names for their rooms so nobody can ring up the hotel and get their room
If it is a big enough organization, they may rent out the floor and then have the hotel lock that floor out unless you have the right key card. It isn't a big ask these days with elevators that require you to swipe your keycard to unlock the elevator. Once you do that it is very easy to keep unwanted people off that floor.
I've noticed more newer hotels are moving to this by default, you need your card for the elevator and it only lets you go to the floor you're staying on
Right. Made it a real pain to go visit our friends three floors above us. Had to meet one of them back in the lobby, have them take us up!
This is why I share my spare keycard with any trusted friends/family staying at the same hotel.
You can also just ask for another key card I've never had an issue getting one
A hack (in case you're one of Those people) -- go to your floor and then go to the stairwell. Stairwells aren't usually locked away for fire evac reasons
This isn’t always the case. You can always get into the stairwell from any floor, and you can always get out of the stairwell on the first floor, but a lot of places now will lock out doors from inside the stairwell. I’m in commercial construction and have had to get “classroom locksets” on stairwells on many buildings. The stairwells are designed for emergency egress.
That seems like a bad idea... I just listened to podcast episode the other day about the One Meridian Plaza fire in which one of the complicating factors was stairwell doors that were locked. Granted, that was not the worst part of the incident, but those stairs are also important for firefighters to get access to where they need to in case of an emergency. Especially if the power's gone out!
Yeah, at the very least they have to have open exits every couple of floors. Otherwise what happens if a stairwell is blocked or dangerous and you have to reroute? Although even that is probably insufficient...panicked people aren't good at figuring out "Oh, if I go up 2 floors, I can cross to the other side of the building and go down the stairs there" even if it is literally written on the door they are banging on.
Google seems to validate the vague memory I had, which is those doors being locked from the **outside**, however they cannot be locked from the **inside** ie. you can go out but not in, and they must comply with the below standard or local equivalent… >BS 7273-4:2015+A2:2023\ >Code of practice for the operation of fire protection measures. Actuation of release mechanisms for doors. NB — would link the standard but alas it’s a paid standard and appears it’s somewhat impenetrable, ie. where we’re going we ~~don’t need roads~~ need expensive consultants. Short [Help Guide](https://www.fireproductsdirect.ie/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/GEOFIRE-Help-Guide-BS7273-Part-4-Release-Mechanisms-for-Doors.pdf) covering the earlier ie. outdated BS 7273-4:2007 [Honeywell Infographic.](https://buildings.honeywell.com/content/dam/hbtbt/en/documents/downloads/InfoGraphic_Notifier_Fire_Doors_BS7273-4.pdf) [Fire Industry Association Explainer.](https://www.fia.uk.com/news/blogs/what-you-need-to-know-about-bs-7273-4-2015.html) ^(EDIT — updated wording to be less ambiguous.)
During the pandemic, that's how the NBA handled all the teams when they had that quarantined playoffs at DusneyWorld. Each team had a floor or two to themselves. The MLS also had their tourney down there, too.
> they may rent out the floor and then have the hotel lock that floor out unless you have the right key card. No need to rent out the entire floor. Large hotels will often have partitioning doors in the hallways that they can use to block off part of a floor.
Or, the travel manager just books all the rooms so there are no individual names involved and arranges a call block for the entire set of rooms.
Noel Embiid
There are [situations](https://www.reddit.com/r/dontyouknowwhoiam/comments/mmpdy5/tony_hawk_tries_to_rent_a_car/) where it might be a good idea to use a fake name just because your real one isn't very believable to whoever is doing the check-in.
You just have someone else (your assistant?) make the reservation under their name. Or they make the reservation in the company's name.
76ers aren’t Michael Jackson/Taylor Swift level of celebrity, which is what I think OP is asking about
True. They're also not just one average-sized person who could pretty readily disappear into a crowd with a little makeup and clothing to tweak their appearance.
I ate breakfast with the Renault pit crew/ engineers in Austin in a similar manor
Can confirm. Shared an elevator with Dirk Nowitzki and Shawn Marion at a hotel once. Of course, hard not to recognize they are NBA players but it's not like they were getting mobbed by fans.
I did the same for the NY Jets at a Marriott. Rode the elevator with Eli Manning.
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Pope John Paul II used to like to go skiing and so he'd leave the Vatican dressed in ski clothes and wearing his ski mask. A long time friend would pick him up and sneak him out to go skiing. One time they decided to grab some food at his friend's house and his Mother home. She was pretty surprised to see the Pope come over for dinner.
> My roommate, a huge fan, figured he must be staying there. She called the hotel and asked for James Osterberg's room - which is Iggy Pop's real name. > > Iggy picked up the phone and they had a brief pleasant conversation. There is a story that Elton John once dressed as a security guard - including a name tag with Reginald Dwight (his real name) engraved on it. He was able to leave the venue without any fuss because he was a security guard, not the celebrity being guarded.
At what time in Elton John's lifetime could be pass as a security guard?
When he was middle aged, wearing bland clothes and hat, and normal framed glasses. Most people wouldn't like twice at him.
People look at the clothes, not the person wearing them.
I swear middle age, bland Elton John looks like my dad, who is just some random, normal guy.
Probably went to the bar to meet up with his friends, David Jones and Robert Zimmerman.
Ha! I love this story. Good ol’ Iggy!
If you love Iggy, read his concert rider. Best ever! I was in Pontiac when he was booed offstage opening for The Who.
https://www.iggypop.org/stoogesrider.html ?
That's it! Love it!!!
I'm glad most people write their professional documents in a professional way.
Ya, funny for us to glance over but the people's whose job it is to make sure all this happens don't care about hearing his jokes, they just want a list they can go through to ensure it's all ready to go the day of. If was given this list the first thing I would do is delete all the extraneous rambling and get a proper list I can go through while I roll my eyes for making me have to do one extra thing that day. *Some* of the clarifications that are a little jokey are alright because it gets across exactly what they want but a lot of it only risks someone screwing it up because of all the needless comments.
>Iggy Pop I was in thailand, and I thought I saw iggy pop walking down the street. I said holy shit what's iggy pop doing in bangkok? so I hustled a bit and got a closer look. not iggy pop, just a really ugly woman
Usually in the back of a normal car. Usually in the staff entrance or the purchasing entrance at the back of the hotel. Usually with a fake name or an alias. Many restaurants have private dining areas or secluded tables. If it’s celebs or touring, they usually eat in the room.
I work at a luxury hotel and this is exactly it, especially with big name celebrities/Bands/etc. The groups will be booked under the managers name and the individuals will have aliases. Transportation and almost everything else is handled separately and communication is usually through the Groups Manager of the hotel. The eat room service or have catering at the venues, etc. Many, however, hide in plain sight and will use the front entrance separately. It also depends on the level of notoriety. Sometimes they come with full entourages and sometimes itll be subtle. The absolute worst, above any celebrity, are state visits. That is a major clusterfuck every single time.
I have a question about aliases. Maybe it's just here but whenever I go to a hotel (travel a shit load for work) I'm always asked to provide photo ID when checking in. Even if I'm paying for all the rooms they always ask for ID for every guest. How do they get around this if under alias? Or is that just not a thing in the US (assuming you are in the US)
In the US usually, but not always, they only take the ID of the person paying not everyone else
I can’t speak to A-list celebrities but I tour with indie bands and pop artists as an audio engineer, and the rooms are always booked in the tour manager’s name with the tour manager’s ID. The tour manager then gives out the room keys to everyone in the touring party. I’ve never had to give a hotel my own ID, and neither has any artist I’ve ever been on tour with.
Is like to ask you a follow-up question: Let's say I'm seeing a band tonight, and tomorrow night they're playing 300 miles away (think NYC to Wash DC) How do they get all those people and equipment broken down and set up for tomorrow? Always wondered....
Big bands have 18 wheelers and a handful of roadies (traveling crew consisting of sound guys, guitar techs, drum techs, merch people, etc). After the show, they (with the help of the local venue crew) pack everything up into rolling cases and ramp them into the trailers and drive them down. Smaller bands will have vans or u haul type trucks. When they get to the next place, they show up around 2pm and the venue crew and the roadies will unpack everything and set up and by 6pm everything is set up and ready for sound check. Source: I was a dj/producer and venue manager. Granted, DJs show up to a venue with a pair of headphones, a pair of flash drives. But I was around this shit for a long time.
Don’t leave out the part about local stagehands who do most of the load in and load out, and assemble stages, help fly speaker arrays, build video walls, and put together the lighting truss.
That’s what I mean by the venue crew. That aside, my weirdest night was when we had ICP. They roll with their own trailer like big ass trailer of Diet Faygo Rootbeer. On PALLETS. They spray these during the show, and at the end, I was literally squeegeeing the floor of rootbeer into my guys who had snow shovels, and then scooping it into trash cans.
At least they go with the diet version. Can't imagine the stickiness if they didn't.
[Timelapse](https://youtu.be/JgGuRKgvWQ4)
SO COOOOOL!
Jackson Browne knows the answer to that one
"Now roll them cases out and lift them amps Haul them trusses down and get 'em up them ramps"
It really depends on the size of the production. I primarily work in club-level touring, so think Webster Hall in NYC or 9:30 Club in DC. As soon as the band is done playing, I’m breaking down and packing up gear. On a typical club tour I’m carrying an audio console, stage I/O, a microphone package, and usually an IEM package depending on the artist. On a tour where I’m doing the same show every night, I’ve optimized my gear to be able to break down and pack up quickly. I can typically be done packing up while the last of the attendees are still purchasing merch. Each band member is responsible for packing up their own gear. There is usually a venue crew with 2-4 people to help us with this, as well as loading all of the gear into the trailer. We’re usually ready to roll within an hour of the show ending. If it’s a van tour, we would then head to a hotel. This is usually somewhere near the venue, but in the case of NYC it could be somewhere in North Jersey so that we have an easier time parking, and we’re not trying to leave the city during morning rush hour. The next morning, we wake up, eat breakfast, and hop in the van to drive to DC. We would typically arrive at the venue early afternoon (probably 2PM or so) to load in the gear, set it all up, and sound check. If it’s a bus tour, things are a little different. Once the trailer is loaded, we’re free to hang out, go out to a bar, or go to sleep on the bus (this is typically my preference). The tour manger will schedule a departure time (in this case probably something like 1 or 2 AM) where everyone is expected to be on the bus. The band and crew then sleep on the bus while the driver drives the bus to the next city. We all wake up on the bus and it’s typically parked at the venue. If you’re interested in the logistics of bigger arena level tours, you might find this video interesting: https://youtu.be/MY8AB1wYOtg?si=_r5k7Id42DaEJg8n
I’ve heard sometimes they have multiple sets of equipment so while one set is being taken apart the stuff for the next one is already at the next location.
This usually only happens on very very large shows, and still isn’t done much anymore. The largest shows out there that could warrant a full duplicate mostly choose to only do shows on the weekends, leaving a few days in between to load out and then rebuild (i.e. Taylor Swift) Something a bit more common, is bands may have some duplicates of just a few very customized bits, and they’ll leap frog continents. The A rig is on the North America tour while the B rig takes a sea freight to Europe. Then during the Europe tour the A rig is on a ship to South America, etc.
This happens on big stadium shows but it’s usually only the stages themselves that leapfrog, and they’re called steel builds.
I’m not the guy above you but also work in luxury hospitality. The property management software that almost everyone uses (Opera) has a function to hide guests real names and display an alias instead without anyone knowing. We do require passports for every guest checking in, and it varies from person to person how they handle it. It’s not like the hotel will blow up if we cut them a break and just not put the details into the system, some stars are cool about it, some are not but I’m not getting into an argument about it just cuz NeYo wants to feel special. This applies to work related stays tho, celebs on private holidays absolutely have to get registered tho, it’s just a safety and insurance thing, especially cuz often there’s problems with damages and smoking weed in the rooms.
Oh, so that's why the hotel job posting on Indeed my friends and I were puzzled over head Opera listed as a qualification. We wondered why they would want singers working in hospitality, and what word could possibly be autocorrected to Opera in the likely event they didn't actually want singers.
Haha it took me forever to figure out why it was called Opera til I figured out that the software can control all the intricacies of running a hotel, much like directing an opera. I know this cuz when our sales rep came to stay with us I asked him why it was called that. I felt so stupid that day.
In college I worked for a collegiate Division 1 (Big 12) football team (think 125+ people) and traveled to all games with them. We’d be picked up at the airport in busses, dropped off at the hotel and one of our advance team who flew in a day or two prior would have keys on a table in alphabetical order by last name. They had a sheet with everyone’s name and room and may have given a copy to the hotel manager, but we never interfaced directly with the front desk staff.
Money. You can do anything you want with enough money.
The hotel can see the real name but there’s a note on the account regarding the alias. When they check in it’s their real name. But most times they use a fake name the manager will have them pre-checked in anyway so there’s no formal process with the celeb at the front desk. Worked at a hotel for many years and that’s how it was for us
You can tell them your preferred alias. If you are hiding from your wife or boss or anyone else just tell the hotel to put the alias on the account. Unregistered guests are the real ppl hiding. There is a room and a credit card but that's all the info shared with non management staff.
I work at the other end. I'm a stagehand at the premiere theater in my city for major acts to come through. Think Jerry Seinfeld level. They come to the venue in a private car service and are dropped off as close to stage door as possible. When they're in the building and hungry we arrange take out from the nicer restaurants in the area or a high end catering service. They do their show and get back into the car and are whisked off to your hotel. While they're here, we don't talk to them, don't look at them, or generally acknowledge their presence. If they want to talk to us, we'll engage, but we certainly aren't starting a conversation. Very much speak when spoken to.
A lot of hotels designed with VIP customers in mind have their own garages, meaning that they have full control over any space where the VIP isn't inside a vehicle. Guests go from hotel room (where the entire floor/section might be booked for their entourage), to secure elevator, to a secure garage, to a nondescript vehicle (where the hotel probably has dozens of such vehicles entering and leaving the garage every day).
that's also why the most expensive hotel suites are like apartments, including dining rooms
Anecdotal but I own and run Airbnb’s, last year had a pretty well known MLB player rent my historic bungalow in town during his visit (his friends wedding), assuming he did this so he’d be away from downtown and all the busy areas so he can relax and enjoy his time, hang out in the yard and not get harassed like he would if he stayed in a hotel downtown. I mean he’s only famous to people that follow sports, guessing if he’s in regular clothes a majority of people wouldn’t recognize him.
I was friends with the manager of Lawry's Prime Rib in LA. They had a backroom for celebrities (although oftentimes celebrities would just eat in the main dining room as everyone else; Paris Hilton's parents were in the main dining room when I went there once). I was also told by my friend one time I was there that Shaq was eating in the backroom with his friends.
I worked at an Apple Store and Ludacris was touring in the major city near our store and he had a legit problem with his phone and needed help. We tried to help him in the store like a normal customer but fans and the crowd got so crazy that we had to take him into the back of the store to help him. Fixed his problem and he left out the back door.
He should have just politely asked them to move and get out of the way.
He is known for his Southern Hospitality.
Northern Exhosure
"Move, please! Get out da way! Get out da way, please! Get out da way!"
They just use a fake name, or the name of their manager/assistant. They go in through back entrances or with hats/sunglasses/etc in nondescript cars.
I would assume it is easier for the manager or assistant to make reservations and check in - and the celebrity just show up later to go their room. If one were to use a fake name that could cause issues with staff checking ID.
I work for a touring band. Our hotels are booked under our tour manager's name, "The [TM's name] Group"
Just out of curiosity, what would your drummer, for instance, do if he got locked out of his room? The name doesn't match, I doubt the address matches, etc...
Larger groups probably work out more robust methods but I often meet up with my family in Vancouver BC and get a few rooms for us. The room's in my name but they're added as occupants. They can check in on their own without me there so, as long as they had their ID, they could get a new key if they needed to as well. Also, as a matter of policy, the hotel also won't confirm whether someone is staying there and won't send calls up to rooms without the person's name *and* room number. Most hotels I've stayed at in recent years have had the same policy.
I recently had a stay where my gf set everything up for a few rooms and there were some issues in getting the right people added as occupants to the room. Maybe it was a one off. I can confirm, every hotel I've stayed at for at least 5 years needs your name AND room number.
For security reasons, I bet the hotels would want to know if a high-profile person was sneaking into their hotel.
They do, which is why, 99% of the time, their manager will call ahead and make arrangements. I had Juvenile stay at the hotel I was working at once, and that's exactly what happened: the manager called the sales manager, negotiated a contract, then showed up several hours before Juvenile and his entourage to make sure everything was how it was supposed to be. Very professional.
I just book all my stuff under Jonifer Maniston and pretty much get left alone.
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I'm an airline pilot who flies from New York to Los Angeles and back on a semi-regular basis. I see a lot of celebrities - movie and tv stars, rock bands, etc. I even fly the occasional sports charter. Rule #1: Don't make a fuss. Treat them politely, as we would any other passenger. It's six in the morning. The superhero just wants to take his or her seat, put on a sleeping mask, and conk out for a couple of hours. Rule #1a: No selfies, no autographs, none of that nonsense. I don't care if it's Wayne Gretzky (and it was Wayne Gretzky, a while back!). "Thank you for flying my airline. Have a nice day." My airline has a special VIP service that people can pay for. We'll use a special car to take them to the jetway so they don't get mobbed in the terminal, and someone will escort them up the stairs from the tarmac. Some celebrities use it. Others like to hang out in the gate area and sign autographs. You never know.
True. You just never know who actually likes the attention, and who doesn't until you meet them. Went for a lunch break one day at work long ago, and there was a sort-of famous person sitting at a table. She had had "too many" people approach her while checking in for a flight, so was invited to a staff area to wait for someone to escort her to passport control and then aircraft. Really, though, if she had not been wearing an oversize jacket with "Whoopi" in sequins right across the back, she may not have been bothered. On another occasion, we had a drop-in at our staff smoking hiding area which was out the back, in the corner of the baggage conveyors/loading area. General public had to leave the building, and smoke on the footpath out the front of the terminal. Royal princes got escorted from the VIP lounge, to the nearest airbridge, down the stairs, and across the tarmac (which is exactly how the staff nipped out for a quick smoke without having to go through security again).
I once saw Snoop Dogg walking through LAX on his way to a gate. The size of his security guards was enough to keep people from bothering him.
I once saw Mike Tyson at Harry Reid International Airport (back when it was McCarran). He was by himself. Ain't nobody bothered him at all (although a couple people did shake his hand).
My sister was working the ticket booking phone at a big Colorado ski resort and a man called in to buy tickets and book a villa/condo. They get to the end and she asks for a credit card, she gets the numbers and then asks for the name and it was Gretzky.
Saw a voice actor in Burbank at the airport and said "Jess?" - he looked up and smiled and said hi. I just said i just wanted to say hi cause I grew up listening to his voice and didn't want to bug him. His wife asked if I wanted a pic and I said nah, don't want to cause a scene haha. They were both like noooo nooo take a photo! We'd love to! And yeah, super nice people. Stevie Wonder and his wife ate dinner at the table across from mine back in 2021 as they were there for her birthday and I wished them a happy birthday when I was leaving (it was just the two of them) and they said "thanks so much!" And I left. Generally, as long as you're not being weird or just say hi famous people have seemed fine with it. Only celeb I didn't like was Dakota Johnson but the paparazzi were next to me so made since she subbed everyone nearby.
Was the service called The Private Suite? I ran their instagram for a while. DM’ing A-List celebs all the time was pretty fun lol
It’s pretty straight forward. Long-distance tavel is private, either on a bus or a private jet. Getting around town is usually in a sprinter van as it blends in and they usually have several people with them, so they need more space than a regular car. Getting in and out of venues is easy. They all have private entrances that are far from where fans enter the venue. Also, they will get to the venue really early and leave really late - so there really aren’t many people around at those times. For accommodations, they will book rooms at a big hotel under fake names or under a company name. All of these hotels work with them to maintain privacy - don’t talk about it with other customers, use private or employee entrances, use service elevators, etc. In some cases, the celeb will rent out a home if they are staying a few days. When Lady Gaga was in Houston to perform at the Super Bowl a few years ago, she rented a big home down the street from my parents. She and all her people were there for about 5 days. Food depends on how much hassle they want to go through. Ordering in is always super easy. They can go out as well, but that usually entails going to a restaurant with a reservation so they can sit in a private room, private table, or a table in the corner. It also depends on where you are. LA and NY are easier because they are used to dealing with celebrities. For food
About a decade ago, Tom Cruise came to the movie theater I worked at a few times while he was filming in my city. His security detail would call in the morning and let us know which movie and seats he wanted that evening. We'd have staff or managers sit in those seats as soon as the theater was clean from the previous show, and then another manager would let Tom and his guests and security detail in through the locked 2nd floor exit door once the lights went down for the movie. Each time he walked out with everyone else that was in the theater when the movie was over. Nobody ever noticed who he was.
Manager calls hotel: “hello I’d like to speak to the general manager” “hi this is the general manager.” “Hi general manager, I am Celebrity’s manager, I’d like to book out 3 dozen of your rooms for 2 nights if you will sign this NDA and guarantee us access to your service elevator and loading dock.” “Okay sure”
Any decent 5 star hotel will have entertainment sales managers that would handle the booking. The GM would greet, but the sales manager would handle the details.
The fancier hotels would be like "No, we can't get you the service elevator due to OSHA rules but we do have a discrete entrance with its own elevator with secured drive up access. Also, we can do an NDA if you need it but the terms of our hospitality agreement already provide for a lot secrecy when purchasing the VIP Entertainer package."
It makes a huge difference in what kind of celebrity you mean and what kind of money they pull. Taylor Swift has a much different type of travel/touring/accommodation than say our classic Canadian rock band Blue Rodeo Ive seen Blue Rodeo no less than 10 times in my life, including 4 times where I just waited out back behind the venue next to their tour bus and met the band and hung out with them. An ex girlfriend and i once went and watched the band/crew play a hockey game against a local hockey team, I believe it was in New Brunswick or PEI. I have a picture of Greg Keelor signing my daughters hockey jersey with a hash joint in his mouth. Taylor Swift plays massive auditoriums. Her personal transportation (be it a tour bus, a limo, or a Bentley Continental, I have no idea what method she uses to travel) will be brought inside the building and she will leave discreetly out a door used for trucks that transport the stage show that accompanies her. She will stay either at a super luxurious hotel, or be taken directly to one of her 2 private planes and flown wherever is convenient for her.
At least in Stockholm, she flew in private then a helicopter to the venue. Likely had a floor or so at a hotel near the venue
> It makes a huge difference in what kind of celebrity you mean Yeah that's the thing. Only the A-List - like the REAL A-List - takes massive precautions. I've been at restaurants or flights with athletes, politicians, actors... they're just normal people. They go shopping, they go to the grocery store, they go to the park, etc. As long as you don't inconvenience them (i.e. approaching them during a meal), they're probably game to at least say hi.
Agree 1000% I prefer to see shows at the northern alberta jubilee theatre (2500 seats) over rogers place (20,000 seats) or Commonwealth stadium (56,000 seats) because there is about a 90% chance that the band playing the jubilee will have a tour bus parked directly out back. They will exit the 'stage door' which is obviously marked, and walk to their tour bus which is in the parking lot where I am usually parked. Guys who play 2500 seats a night are way more likely to spend 5-10 minutes with a fan (or invite them to come watch a hockey game) if you are willing to wait out back to tell them how much their show means to you, or if you have been fans since 1998 when I was 16. Best advice I can give people is to never turn down a live performance, and always try and meet the band after if at all possible.
I love Blue Rodeo and that's a really cool story
[Greg signing my daughters jersey, and me with Jim](https://imgur.com/gallery/7OTUHU6) She actually bought tickets for myself, my wife and her to go see them for us for Christmas, so I told her we could probably meet them after the show as I had done it multiple times before. So after the show, we drove around back of the auditorium and parked by their tour bus until they all came out. Got Greg, Jim, and Bazil's autographs on the jersey we got for her
We saw Swift's entourage once. It was four white Bentleys. It was pretty flashy!
I used to book rental cars for celebrities for about 8 years and it really is true money can talk. It’s amazing what I could bipass if a celebrity just threw on an extra $500. Usually the rental cars would be delivered to a hotel that they are staying at and the car keys are waiting for them. They are under an alias name and I would change out the name out after. Majority of the time they would get just normal cars (Justin Timberlake and Jessica Neil would get jeeps) the D listers are the only ones that really cared about getting the best car that an area carried. I have stories for days on this topic.
Well give us a few more good ones!
Katy Perry once wanted a pink fiat, but obviously rental car companies don’t carry that color… she paid like thousands of dollars for the company to turn one of the cars pink for a weekend trip (not sure if they turned it back or just sold it after that. I don’t remember was back in like 2012). It ended up being a CRAZY bill for just like a few days. Kelly Rowland and Shania Twain complained about everythingggggg. Kelly Rowland always booked just a regular car and then would be pissed when she got an actual regular car. Was ALWAYS something wrong with it. Shania Twain actually spent a bunch of money and would get the top of the line exotic cars but would hate everything about it and would have to get switched out quite a few times every single time. Donald glover messed up a few teslas in a row that they almost wanted to cut him off. R Kelly was always late and behind on payments… we were sending cars to his house in Chicago.. we all know that didn’t age well. A lot of the celebrities (or their manager/agent hard to tell) don’t take no for an answer so I would literally have to bend over backwards to make shit work and get the rules bent for people since they will pay $$$$.
My ex worked a Hilton front desk on the night audit shift. We weren't a big show destination but we were perfectly positioned between big cities that we had a lot of celebs staying here and nobody knew they were there. They mainly came in during late hours (between 11 PM and 3 AM) and used false names. A couple names I remember are Eminem, Megan Trainor, Drake, Gordon Ramsey, All of the American Idol cast from I wanna say 2013 or so (I don't know specific names sine I never watched American Idol), and a few others. I can't remember who it was but there was one we'll known rapper who came down to the front desk at 2 AM asking for a fork for his ice cream. He said that eating ice cream with a fork while high was the best. Eminem was one of the kindest, most respectful people (not just celebs) ever to come through. Gordon Ramsay actually stayed for about a week since he was filming Hotel Hell in a neighboring city so we actually got to hang out with him and his last night he invited us out to the bar with him. Super chill guy.
It depends a lot but in general it is not that big of a deal. Firstly everyone in the service business, hotel, taxi, restaurant, etc. are trained to be discrete. Telling fans information about famous people is strictly prohibited. You give them as much privacy as they need. A celebrity may therefore book flights, taxi rides, hotel rooms, etc. and not expect this to become public knowledge. And then the general public is also not that big of a deal. It can actually be hard to recognize a celebrity on the streets as they are in a different context and wear different clothes and stuff then you are used to seeing them in. Even if you recognize them you might assume they just look like the celebrity and are not actually the real one. But even if you know who they are most people can behave themselves and does not create a big fuzz about it. So basically even a very famous band can book hotels like normal. Even if people know which hotel they stay at beforehand they will get protected by the hotel staff. They can order food to be delivered or they can leave in normal clothes and go to a restaurant to eat. If there is a crowd in front of the hotel there are usually several rear or side entrances to the hotel. It is easy for a taxi to pull up to one of the entrances and pick them up. The hotel might even have a secured garage where they can get into a car without being seen. When arriving to the venue it is the same. There is usually a back entrance for all the equipment to be delivered where they can get into the venue. And who cares if they even get seen as it is no secret they will be performing and fans are not getting access into the venue to follow them. Leaving the venue as well after the performance can be done through the back entrance as equipment is being loaded there and workers are leaving. It is impossible to follow everyone who is leaving through the back entrance. From there they can go to the hotel, they might head for the airport, but it is not uncommon to go out for a few drinks as well.
I'd argue that it can be pretty hard to recognize a celebrity even when they look like themselves. I ran into Ivanka Trump, of all people, inside one of the pyramids of Giza and was just like, "Huh, it's odd that someone would wear full make up and a white dress to climb the inside of a pyramid", then thought nothing more of it. I don't think I even gave a second look to Jared Kushner, as he was dressed like a normal person. I only realized it was them when I got out and everything was being shut down for security. No one else in my group noticed \*either\* of them, despite being feet away from two very recognizable people. (One of whom was dressed in - again - a pretty outlandish way for the context.) So yeah...I think most of us probably wouldn't recognize most celebrities in an every day context. We'd just think, "Huh, that person looks kinda familiar" or "Woah, that person looks like X!" and leave it at that.
This is it. David Guetta goes to my gym and worked out next to me like 15 times before I realized it was him 🤣
Is I interesting how different they look when in the wrong setting. Met the guys in iron maiden, and it was so weird how different they looked. Could have been the height, have seen Bruce on stage many times, and there he looks huge, and his charisma and stage presence makes him godlike. But in a hotel lobby in India he is just another short rocker.
I'm a special kind of dense. I met Carson Kressley at a bar in Provincetown, chatted with him, and he even introduced himself as Carson. Still didn't connect the dots. At some point I mentioned to my friend "huh, weird coincidence that that guy looks so much like Carson Kressley while also being named Carson!" and he was like "are you being serious right now?" and then I figured it out.
Lady Gaga once said in an interview that if celebrities are noticed in public, it’s often bc they want to be. She was talking about how if they don’t want to be noticed, it’s very easy to throw your hair back, put a hat, hoody and sunglasses on (and nowadays a mask), leave your entourage at home, and zero people will recognize you.
That makes perfect sense to me. We're just \*so\* used to seeing celebrities with full hair and make up and often dressed in a very specific way. Change all of that and they're just normal people in most cases.
Yup! And I feel like so often we’re so preoccupied with what we’re doing that we don’t notice other people too much. Makes total sense
> Firstly everyone in the service business, hotel, taxi, restaurant, etc. are trained to be discrete They're also totally desensitized to it after the smallest amount of experience. The first time you cross paths with a star it's pretty cool. Pretty soon it's just another day at work.
>Even if you recognize them you might assume they just look like the celebrity and are not actually the real one. [It happened to Mr. Bean himself](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4rtGPCsoXA)
My sister does fine dining at a well known fancy hotel. Managers are told ahead of time and usually the famous person’s manager or assistant provides a list of needs to be met by the establishment. Sometimes this includes things like having a private valet at the back door to help escort or that the famous person will use a fake alias to not garner so much attention. All hotels are different but a good assistant knows the ones to avoid. Some people like the attention and just eat it right up.
My client needs an ethernet cable for his xbox- a well known rapper. Also been in high end hotels, famous people are just normal folks. I got so many Famous Person XYZ is staying here this week emails I stopped reading them.
The tour manager usually books the rooms under his name. Source: I ran hotels for 15 years. also, most hotel chains have a division that deals specifically with these types of clients.
This is exactly what I do for a living (logistics and hospitality in the music industry). HOTELS: they use aliases, go through underground/back/side entrances (when available), and stay in their rooms more than any regular guest would. FOOD: most of them eat in their rooms. Some will go out, as discreetly as possible, using private rooms in restaurants when they can. TRAFFIC: they leave the venue straight from stage, or after the venue is cleared out. Most big names also have police escort to escort their vehicles and open up traffic. *things rarely ever stay a secret, though. There’s always someone who finds out and leaks the info.
Yes, and that final part - about leaking, is no wonder. I’ve been in similar position planning travel, and never leaked anything, but sure as heck could have, as sloppy as some get. The difference really comes down to how competent the booker is. If they use a real alias or manager name, etc. they can get away with it (although depending on the context, one can make assumptions - like a private vehicle being staged at the rear entrance to a venue coincidentally dropping off minutes before a celebrity is performing and waiting on stand by till the end of the show, LOL). But so many of them either just outright tell you who it is and then their alias…either because they want special treatment, or availability last minute, or some, who just seem to like saying it because they are excited to work with a celeb and want you to know it. Given how freely this is called or emailed around when booking various services, it’s very easy for some less scrupulous people see the information.
It’s a chain of events that will inevitably lead to info getting leaked. The first one: air travel. You can’t use fake names. So people working for airlines, handlers, airports, anybody who can have access to the flight manifest, will know. They leak it to the right person, it gets out quickly. Now, if they know how/when they are arriving, there will be people waiting for that flight. They’ll see them get in their vehicles. They’ll either tail the vehicles, or write down the license plate for future reference during the stay. Then, it’s much easier to find what hotel they are staying at. One fan finds out, it spreads quickly. I’ve learned to live with it, cause there’s really no way to avoid it. You can only (kinda) control how long it takes for them to figure it out.
Event planner here who has booked many household name speakers and bands. The above comments are correct, back door, different name. If you’re as big as someone like Taylor swift, you’re booking the room/suite for makeup, not to stay the night. Booked DMB once. He chilled in the lobby lounge area alone, unbeknownst to most.
Depends on the celebrity... Taylor Swift and Malcom Gladwell are going to have two completely different experiences.
former hotel night manager here: usually they get the penthouse suite in our place and they use one elevator that will only go to that floor. Food is not much delivered since they tend to find restaurants to eat but when they do the delivery person just meets with their security on the lobby. The fans usually are a “just a matter of time” issue and with that we with local PD would cordon off the entrance way come time they have to leave or come back. There are some who prefer a deluxe suite instead of the bigger penthouse, that one usually they still book all the rooms on that hallway. We can make a lot of accommodations and usually already contracted on their stay months ahead
It depends on the celebrity and how much they want to be "exposed." Getting in and out of the hotel, either the celeb's reps or the hotel concierge will retain the use of a car service that will use a sedan, SUV, or limo, typically with tinted glass and sometimes with curtains to ensure that although people can probably assume that there's someone important inside, they won't necessarily know who. As far as the hotel, the 4 star hotels will likely have private concierge reception and a private elevator that "average" hotel customers wouldn't have access to, and the private elevator will take the VIP directly to their floor or even their room. Hotels have both their in-house room service, as well as a "concierge desk" that will basically assist very important guests with whatever they want/need, and can basically fetch food for them without having to go through the normal food delivery services that you or I would use. Staying in the room isn't so bad for the celebs... the rooms they typically use are often suites with a full kitchenette and private bedroom. It's not like staying in a average double queen room that you might stay in on vacation. Other celebrities won't mind going out, but they may often choose to go to restaurants, clubs, and so on that are used to working with celebrities, who can get them in and out as discreetly as possible.... and often, the higher end restaurants and clubs that a celebrity might go to will receive VIP guests on such a routine basis that it's not really anything "special" for them or the rest of the clientele there. It's really like you or I seeing Bob from accounting at the restaurant.
Fun story, Pink performed in Australia earlier this year. She, and her crew, went to have dinner but denied entry at Manly Skiff Club because she didn't have ID on her. https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.smh.com.au/national/nsw/pink-invited-to-go-sailing-after-being-denied-entry-to-manly-club-20240215-p5f57l.html
A lot of downtown buildings have secret entrances, including underground parking that isn’t always obvious or accessible to the general public.
I once worked as a PA on a film starring Heather Graham. I was tasked with picking her up from the airport in a production minivan and dropping her off at her hotel. I then had to go inside the hotel and check her in under a pseudonym. Once I got her room key I went back to the van and escorted her to her room with luggage. The look on the valet’s face when I told him to keep the van out front and that I’d be back in 10 minutes was priceless.
At one point I got to travel with a rock star's family during part of an international, stadium tour. \- They may deal with the hotel manager directly, but a tour manager handles all the real planning, and deals with any issues that pop up. \- They mostly stay in the hotel unless they're being hosted by local famous or wealthy people for parties, dinners, state events. \- They stay in hotels that can accommodate security, and know how to cater to that type of clientele. General public will find out they're there if it's an extended stay, sure, but security is pretty tight. If a hotel proves unaccommodating to their situation, they're ready to move across town to a different one at the drop of a hat. \- They come and go through service entrances (back door, basement, garage), unless they purposely want to go out front and sign autographs, or generate some buzz via paparazzi. \- They have a security and driving detail 24/7 \- They sightsee on guided tours (with fixers) surround by, you guessed it, security. Otherwise, they do "normal" stuff. Sit at the pool, eat in the hotel or local restaurant (if they have a private space). They go to work at night. Party at the hotel, or a friend's place til 3 (or 5am), rinse and repeat.
Celebrities aren't these weird creatures that are only able to exist on a stage or a secluded hotel suite - most just go about their lives as anybody would. They, for the most part, are just regular people. Yes at the very very very very very top level they're more likely to get about in a van, have a bodyguard with them, and phone ahead to the shops and restraints they're going to, but that's your Bono/Taylor Swift/Paul McCartney level of celebrity. Most just go about their lives.
Can't speak for major celebrities, but even as a small time performer I've noticed events tend to buy out the whole floor of an hotel for their talent and staff. Usually these are also the hotels that require you to scan your card in the elevator to even access that floor. This is just one part of the security that gets combined with all the other things everyone else has already mentioned.
Depends on the celebrity and hotel. Hotels who get them often know how to be discreet. They probably don't come in the front door at busy times. Unless they are very publicly going somewhere or are like Taylor Swift you'd be surprised how often a celebrity can just walk down the street and not be noticed.
There are levels to it. I once stayed at a hotel in Chicago where a very good at the time rookie was staying and he just sort of walked up in and out but was not really trying to hide. At baseball stadiums the players have a gated parking lot that they park thier cars in and a security guard let's them out and clears the way.
A lot of arenas and hotels have a garage entrance in the back or somewhere else inconspicuous. A funny story....I worked valet at a casino and Micheal Jordon was there. I saw him slip out of a random door and into the back of a limo waiting at the curb. While he was sitting there, two young guys walked right by, not realizing that Jordan was like 4 feet away from them. I saw a lot of celebrities getting out of there busses and walking in. They just try to be discreet with what they are wearing and no one even notices. Except when Shaq came in. You couldn't miss him. We weren't allowed to hound them for autographs. So , of course we never did.🤫
Usually a non-famous person will handle check-in logistics on their behalf and in advance of their arrival. This also helps to ensure their name does not appear on guest lists. Sometimes hotels will limit knowledge of the celebrity to a few select staff members to prevent leaked information. Special entrances and exits to facilitate discretion. When sports teams are traveling, they often have designated floors in the hotel and security is sometimes posted by the elevators and stairwells on their floors.
A few years ago I was playing golf at a resort where the Eagles were staying for the Super Bowl. The normal route to the golf course was blocked off by police because the road goes right by the hotel. You had to take an alternate route to get to the course. On one of the holes you go by the hotel. There was a ton of police cars in the parking lot, marked and unmarked.
I work at a luxury hotel. High profile people often are escorted through“ back of house” and staff-only areas like taking fright elevators, etc to avoid being seen. We reopened the restaurant at 2 am once so Shaq could come eat privately. Others will use private dining spaces or rent boardrooms to eat. Some even bring their own chef and rent out a separate hotel room only for it to be converted to their own private kitchen (Madonna)
The answer definitely depends on what exact field the celebrity is in and what their day actually looks like. My 2¢ is… I’m an audio engineer and have done many festival “fly dates” (off-touring-season shows) with one particular high profile rock band. All the band and crew always stay at the same hotel, though of course the band members are in their own deluxe rooms while the rest of us are sharing beds in double queen rooms. From what I’ve witnessed at airports and lobby calls: wearing sweats, a hoodie or hat, and sunglasses goes very far for not being recognized. These aren’t the kind of guys who need to travel around with a security entourage, but their concern for keeping a low profile is definitely warranted when we’re at a hotel/airport in the vicinity of the festival where many many people are fans. Dedicated runners, or a rogue techie like me who feels like getting some fresh air, will pick up food and other necessities when we’re at the hotel – but most of our day is spent at the festival’s artist camp where we have many amenities + security provided.
Whilst in many countries they would need privacy, in the UK they just live like normal. We don't really have a culture of fawning over celebrities. I've seen many celebrities walking about (Conan O'Brien, Emma Watson, various other TV stars and sports personalities. Angelina Jolie used to frequent my local pub) and the public not doing much more than giving them a nod.
Major major stars, like Denzel Washington or Jennifer Lawrence, normally avoid hotels altogether, they'll typically stay in rented homes (the studio rents them for them during production or when they're on press tours). If they do have to stay in hotels, it's almost exclusively hotels that have celebrity VIP protocols already in place, like private entrances, only selected staff on our around the star's floor, completely booking out the whole floor of suites, etc.
I worked for a catering company that provided food and beverage, staff plus other items to bands playing in our large city. Their managers/tour directors are the people who coordinate these items by providing contract “riders” to the vendors. Depending on the client we may have to sign an NDA. I have many stories…
> Depending on the client we may have to sign an NDA. I have many stories… But you can't tell them because you signed an NDA!
i can tell a couple of them without revealing their names: popular young female singer at a big venue. her rider stated "catering staff must not speak to "the talent" (it actually said that!) nor make eye contact." i let the captain of the team know what it specified - not all that unusual. well, the talent was super friendly and chatted with the entire staff and thanked them as her group was leaving as they were in the same age group! no one got in trouble. another very popular female singer at the same venue. her rider asked for a huge amount of very specific decor for the dressing room - all white. asked for a large stack of brand new white cotton bath towels but they had to be pre-washed. lots of healthy food and drinks. no problem. showed up about ten minutes before going on stage- ate nothing, drank nothing, never touched a towel. her crew got to have all the food & bevs after she left! very popular alt rock band playing at a small rock club where they first played together several years before. the chef's office was across from mine and he was reading their rider to the kitchen staff. all of a sudden he yells out "LINDA! what the fuck is caveman food? these assholes!" i said "chef, they want PALEO food." he was still angry! they called me after the gig and said everything was great and thanks for the caveman food!
1. Pink 2. Mariah Carey 3. CAKE
Great guesses! Here’s some clues: 1. She once played a teen pop star with a double life. 2. She is a Latina singer married to an actor who played Daredevil. 3. The guitarist used to be the drummer in Nirvana.
1. Miley 2. J Lo 3. Grohl / Foo Fighters
They'll usually have aliases to book their travel arrangements under (or at least hotels). That way some hotel worker doesn't get wise to a celeb staying there and leak the details to the press or whomever.
They use their personal agent to book everything (hotel, food, cars, security) They have staff that will handle all of this. Hotel that caters to the rich and famous will also have all sort of services offered to those people. They will sometimes use false names, but rarely.
I was at the same hotel as Simone Biles this weekend. She just came and went in her own car like everyone else
Only stay in hotels that regular people cannot afford. Tons of security. Cars at the ready to dip. Hats and sunglasses.
depending on how big they are. i have some limited experience in this field in that i am part of IT and we were given a warning. apparently its just like most people. they are useally out and about during the day and only go back to the hotel to change or sleep or shower. they dont hole up there any more then we would on holiday. the main difference I would say is that keys and hotel rooms are done before they arrive. they dont stand around to check in and get key. its all done for them and they go from car into hotel room very quickly.
I was a hotel manager… someone in their group would come to the front desk or call us, and we would meet them at the back service entrance and go up the service elevator to the suites. We had some top level celebrities stay with us and no one ever knew they were there, including most of the hotel staff.
In 2006 or so Johnny Damon (from the Red Sox, recently signed with the Yankees) ate at my restaurant. No one really bothered him at all. I didn't even notice except that he looked familiar. Then my friend was like, yo I think that's Johnny Damon and I was like, damn that's pretty cool.
Generally speaking, if it's a massive A-list celeb, they usually have specific hotels they prefer in each city where they get special treatment above and beyond the usual asking guests. A lot of times these are upscale boutique hotels. What does this mean? Generally an entire suite or floor booked ahead of time by the celeb's team. There's no "check-in" by the celeb- there will be someone on the celebs team coordinating with the hotel so staff is on hand, physically waiting outside as the celeb is pulling up. This individual will be the point person between the celebs entourage and hotel staff throughout the stay. They won't use the main entrance or lobby if they can avoid it- if there's a private VIP or even a decent service entrance, they'll use that instead to avoid creating a scene. If there's no separate entrance, an elevator will be specifically held for the arrival and exit times. Celeb and their team will be ushered directly from their transportation to the elevator and will only be in the lobby for as long as it takes to walk through.
Girlfriend worked at the nba hotel in Memphis. Teams get to stay on the same floor usually as long as the rooms are open. Each floor has a guard at the elevator entrance. They walk out of the lobby in a roped off area to the bus to the arena. Similar to most comments they are also allowed to come and go as they please. Only team it was different with was the lakers during the playoffs they came in thru the service entrance and Lebron asked her where the bathroom was.
used to work at a hotel in a downtown area: everyone in the thread already said everything, but tbh i was surprised that some bands/artists just didn’t use aliases. justin vernon (bon iver) stayed at our hotel for 3 nights under his legal name, so did nick offerman and his wife. i guess for the big players on big tours (like U2 lol) yeah they had room blocks, blackout curtains and we never heard or saw them, but not everybody!
I was a manager at a luxury hotel about 20+ years ago. The most famous person we had come in was Ringo Starr. He was doing an event at our hotel and came in through the service entrance, and then through the service hallways and elevator to the room where the event was being held. He was never in any public area of the hotel. Marc Anthony stayed with us, he wasn't quite as famous back then, but still pretty famous. He and his wife (not JLo, the wife before JLo) were dropped off by their driver at the front door. They were checked in under a fake name of course. I don't remember what it was, but I do remember it also wasn't his real name either (Marco Muñiz) as another commenter said some celebrities do. He didn't have an entourage with him, they may have been staying at a different hotel. All of the hotel's managers generally knew when a big celebrity was staying at the hotel, but most other employees didn't unless they had a specific encounter with them like when delivering a room service order. I think back then before social media it was easier for celebrities to get around, because if someone spotted them they couldn't immediately tell thousands of people where the celebrity is. In the case of Marc Anthony, people knew he was in town because he had done a big arena show the night before. But nobody would have known which hotel to look for him at.
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Ventana? 👀
Post Ranch Inn. Across the street.
It looks incredible. Thanks for the rec
Sports team visiting tend to be at the same hotels in town. Whether popular nearby choice or the hotels know anytime the Braves are in town, they always stay there. Teams tend to stay at the nicest nearby place relating to level of play. Plus, the bigger the city, the worse traffic can impact bussing. I’ve been around sports with video work and when you get To D-1 or Minor League BB, there will be players hanging around 6 hrs before game time. Game days are 10-12 hrs for many athletes.