I’ve always wondered this. Whenever I see a touring band, comedian, etc., I’ve always wondered how they are ushered from the venue when the streets are bustling with traffic because everyone else is leaving, and how they’re able to keep their stay location(s) a secret from the general public. Do they have food delivered? Do they stay holed up the entire time?
Thank you in advance for a breakdown of how this works!
Edit: I can’t respond to each reply but just wanted to thank you all for the responses!
In: Other
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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…
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
My dad stayed at the same hotel as Obama twice (same hotel, different visits). Dude did use the fitness center treadmill
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