Beyond the Suite Life. Total Hotel Buyouts Are Growing in Popularity.

Group travel has taken on new meaning for some wealthy consumers, who increasingly are taking over entire hotels.

In an experience-obsessed era, those who can are going beyond just a stay at a five-star hotel to having it all to themselves alongside family and friends. Luxury travel advisors report an uptick among their deep-pocketed clients who book accommodations in their entirety for both large and small groups.

Andrew Steinberg, an advisor with the Ovation Network in New York City, says that his buyout business is up 50% this year compared with 2023.

“From a dozen, I have more than double now. The prices for these weekend stays can start at US$500,000 and easily top US$1 million,” he says. “People love them because they can manage every aspect of the experience and extend their event.”

As an example, Steinberg planned a lavish 50th birthday last year in Versailles, France, for a client who took over Airelles Château de Versailles, Le Grande Controle, located on the grounds of Versailles, for a weekend. The extravaganza cost well into the seven figures, he says, and included elements such as a scavenger hunt on the palace grounds and a five-course dinner party prepared by the renowned chef Alain Ducasse, where guests donned 17th-century costumes provided by the host.

Entertainment included fire breathers and Cirque du Soleil-style dancers. Steinberg notes that guests also received a different gift each day such as silk scarves and pricey wines. “By having the property to ourselves, we were able to manage every touchpoint,” Steinberg says. “We had napkins for every meal with the host’s initial and amenities such as a personalised cookie station.”

Andrew Steinberg, an advisor with the Ovation Network in New York City, says that his buyout business is up 50% this year compared with 2023.
Andrew Steinberg

Stacy Fischer-Rosenthal, the president of the New York-based Fischer Travel, which charges a US$150,000 membership fee, is also planning more buyouts than ever before for occasions such as weddings, birthdays, and “just because” get-togethers.

“Takeovers offer complete privacy, safety, and flexibility. The client does not have to adhere to a set schedule and can make theirs up as they go along,” Fischer-Rosenthal says. “There is a dedicated team catering to all of their wants and needs.”

The membership-based travel company Andrew Harper is another brand that has seen a jump in buyouts. Colin Housley, vice president of member experience, says the increase in demand led the company to launch an initiative called Exclusive Experiences, which focus on immersive and private trips such as luxury hotel buyouts and private island stays.

“Our members who plan these trips receive access to unique activities and excursions that we have negotiated with our partners,” Housley says. “We also leverage our relationships to make buyouts happen for properties that normally wouldn’t offer it.”

Andrew Harper has seen a “flood of requests” for private stays since Exclusive Experiences launched, he says.

Steinberg planned a lavish 50th birthday last year in Versailles, France, for a client. The extravaganza cost well into the seven figures, he says,
Andrew Steinberg

Meanwhile, another New York-based travel company Black Tomato had a client who bought out Aman Venice to throw a US$1 million party for his wife’s 50th birthday.

“We arranged performances by opera singers, an orchestra, and a rock band, and the celebration ended with a treasure hunt on the rooftop of the Gritti Palace in the penthouse suite,” says Black Tomato travel expert Sunil Metcalfe , who also notes the uptick in such buyouts.

In addition to travel companies, representatives from several upscale hotels, including the Ranch at Rock Creek in Philipsburg, Mont., and Cal-a-Vie Health Spa in Vista, Calif., say that takeovers of their properties are on the rise. Many, particularly smaller hotels, offer buyout-specific packages.

Cali Mykonos, located on the namesake island’s Kalafati Beach, has created a package for a cost of between US$57,000 and US$75,000 that allows guests to book its 40 villas, each with a pool and large terrace, and enjoy amenities such as the large main pool, yoga classes, boat fleet, beach and restaurants exclusively with others in their group.

Sir Richard Branson ’s Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands has a buyout package starting at US$118,500 a night for 24 rooms that’s consistently booked throughout the year, according to a property representative. The rate includes meals and most activities, such as water skiing, snorkelling, and pickleball.

Weekapaug Inn, located in Westerly, R.I., introduced a buyout experience to commemorate its 125th anniversary this year. Called the Milestone Getaway, it encompasses the use of the hotel’s 33 rooms for two nights, meals and activities; the price is US$125,000.

Tom Parisi, an investment banker, and Adriana Destefanis, an asset manager, who live in Darien, Conn., bought out Weekapaug Inn for their wedding last October.

In addition to the wedding events, the couple’s more than 150 guests stayed busy by participating in diversions such as bike riding, birdwatching, stargazing, and s’mores by the fire pit.

“Having a private element is very unique in our view,” Parisi says. “We felt like we were in our own massive house and able to spend quality time with our family and friends. And we could be loud without worrying about other guests. We didn’t want to just have a wedding. We wanted an experience, and the buyout gave us that.”

Wildfires in California have grown more frequent and more catastrophic in recent years, and that’s beginning to reflect in home values, according to a report by the San Francisco Fed released Monday.

The effect on home values has grown over time, and does not appear to be offset by access to insurance. However, “being farther from past fires is associated with a boost in home value of about 2% for homes of average value,” the report said.

In the decade between 2010 and 2020, wildfires lashed 715,000 acres per year on average in California, 81% more than the 1990s. At the same time, the fires destroyed more than 10 times as many structures, with over 4,000 per year damaged by fire in the 2010s, compared with 355 in the 1990s, according to data from the United States Department of Agriculture cited by the report.

That was due in part to a number of particularly large and destructive fires in 2017 and 2018, such as the Camp and Tubbs fires, as well the number of homes built in areas vulnerable to wildfires, per the USDA account.

The Camp fire in 2018 was the most damaging in California by a wide margin, destroying over 18,000 structures, though it wasn’t even in the top 20 of the state’s largest fires by acreage. The Mendocino Complex fire earlier that same year was the largest ever at the time, in terms of area, but has since been eclipsed by even larger fires in 2020 and 2021.

As the threat of wildfires becomes more prevalent, the downward effect on home values has increased. The study compared how wildfires impacted home values before and after 2017, and found that in the latter period studied—from 2018 and 2021—homes farther from a recent wildfire earned a premium of roughly $15,000 to $20,000 over similar homes, about $10,000 more than prior to 2017.

The effect was especially pronounced in the mountainous areas around Los Angeles and the Sierra Nevada mountains, since they were closer to where wildfires burned, per the report.

The study also checked whether insurance was enough to offset the hit to values, but found its effect negligible. That was true for both public and private insurance options, even though private options provide broader coverage than the state’s FAIR Plan, which acts as an insurer of last resort and provides coverage for the structure only, not its contents or other types of damages covered by typical homeowners insurance.

“While having insurance can help mitigate some of the costs associated with fire episodes, our results suggest that insurance does little to improve the adverse effects on property values,” the report said.

While wildfires affect homes across the spectrum of values, many luxury homes in California tend to be located in areas particularly vulnerable to the threat of fire.

“From my experience, the high-end homes tend to be up in the hills,” said Ari Weintrub, a real estate agent with Sotheby’s in Los Angeles. “It’s up and removed from down below.”

That puts them in exposed, vegetated areas where brush or forest fires are a hazard, he said.

While the effect of wildfire risk on home values is minimal for now, it could grow over time, the report warns. “This pattern may become stronger in years to come if residential construction continues to expand into areas with higher fire risk and if trends in wildfire severity continue.”

Beyond the Suite Life. Total Hotel Buyouts Are Growing in Popularity.

Report by the San Francisco Fed shows small increase in premiums for properties further away from the sites of recent fires