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lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Palaces, superyachts and chauffeurs: How the super rich will watch the
2024 Paris Olympics
By Chrissie McClatchie, CNN
Updated:
5:09 AM EDT, Fri April 19, 2024
Source: CNN
This summer, crowds are expected to flock to Paris for the summer
Olympic games. Prices for hotel rooms are likely to skyrocket. Tickets
for even the lesser events will be eagerly sought. And almost every
aspect of visiting the French capital is likely to become trop cher for
ordinary travelers.
For some elite spenders, however, nothing is too expensive.
Olympic luxury packages are already on sale, offering exclusive access
to the sporting spectacle, alongside very upscale travel and
accommodation experiences. The lucky few for whom expense is no object
can expect to pay north of several hundred thousand dollars for a
ringside glimpse of the games.
For instance, a North American family of five traveling to Paris for
the Olympics with experiential travel company can expect to spend
between $250,000 and $380,000, depending on the five-star hotel or
luxury rental they chose.
These six-figure sums include 11 nights accommodation, premium seats
for the opening ceremony and tickets to sports such as swimming, water
polo, diving, beach volleyball, track and field and soccer. They will
also enjoy VIP transport services around Paris and dedicated hosts for
their time in the city.
As the prices above show, the sports tourism industry is big bucks: in
2022 it was worth nearly, and it is expected to grow 17% by 2030. And
this year, there’s no bigger sporting event than the Paris 2024
Olympic Games.
“Our clients want direct access to the most popular sporting events;
gymnastics, tennis and basketball to name three,” The GR8 Experience
CEO and Co-Founder Barnabas Carrega tells CNN Travel. The company is
seeing a record number of enquiries from its predominantly North
American clientele for the two-week event.
With Paris’ emblematic Seine river set to take center stage during
the opening ceremony as organizers swap the traditional stadium setting
for a floating parade of nations, the first night is, as usual, is
highest in demand — so long as it’s “experienced in the most
exclusive way possible,” Carrega says.
“We also have some clients actually going the day prior to see the
set-up [of the Opening Ceremony] for a really cool behind-the-scenes
experience,’ Carrega says.
GR8 says some of its clients have privately hired, the riverboat of
Alain Ducasse, the first chef to have three restaurants with three
Michelin stars, for one evening. Others will rub shoulders with Olympic
executives, heads of state, A-list celebrities and past Olympic
champions at the Trocadéro, where the parade will come to an end.
Tailor-made itineraries
In itineraries seen by CNN Travel, experience companies are tapping
into the most exclusive packages provided by official hospitality
provider for tickets to Olympic events. These
Tour operator says it has two clients coming into Paris for the first
seven nights of the Games. They’ll kick off their stay watching the
opening ceremony from the vantage point of Alma Bridge, with the Eiffel
Tour rising in front of them. $10,300, and includes flowing Champagne,
live music and meet-and-greets with Olympians in a brasserie-style
setting.
Kensington says the best tickets – “gold 1st category A” – have
already been secured for their clients at a cost of between $500 to
$1,000 a ticket for tennis and basketball events. On the one day they
are not attending any events, they’ll be whisked away on a private
whiskey tasting led by a distillery owner.
Tepper says her company has designed a whole Paris program for a family
of financiers from Oahu, Hawaii, who are coming specifically to watch
basketball and wrestling.
“Paris presents a wealth of opportunities for luxury travelers to
indulge in during the Olympics,” Adto Tepper says. “I have tailored
an itinerary that includes Michelin-starred restaurants, guided curated
shopping excursions in Parisian fashion districts and private tours to
iconic sights like the Louvre.”
Similarly, has organized a busy, 15-day itinerary for a family of four,
including two teenagers, from New York. Among the exclusive experiences
is a private concert at the Palais Garnier, Paris’ gilded opera
house.
“The performers will include a National Opera Ballet dancer, a
classic quartet and an opera singer. A gourmet dinner will accompany
the performance. Afterwards, they’ll enjoy a behind-the-scenes tour
of the opera house, including a visit to the costume workshop where all
the magic happens,” Craft Travel’s director, Andrea Galvez, says.
Home in Paris for the family will be the, just across from the
Trocadéro. “They wished for a prime location and a luxurious
environment that feels homey yet offers the services of a five-star
hotel, and this is exactly what they’ll get,” says Galvez. The
apartment will include a full-time attendant and a private chauffeur so
they can avoid the city’s already-stretched public transport network.
Palaces and superyachts
To ensure their clients have access to Paris’ most prestigious
hotels, many luxury travel advisers have made blanket bookings at
properties across the city.
“We’ve contracted room blocks at eight different hotels for the
full period of the games. We’ve then made shorter stays available
inside those blocks to our guests,” says Dave Guenther, president of
sports travel experts , an Internova Travel Group company. Among those
are Rosewood Hôtel de Crillon, Le Bristol Paris and the Shangri-La
Paris.
Those that have snared a room at Paris’ top hotels are paying top
dollar for the privilege. At, one of France’s ultra-prestigious
“palace” hotels (a status awarded to exceptional luxury
properties), has been booked for the duration of the Olympic Games at a
rate of $27,000 per night.
And, just like the athletes they have come to cheer on, wealthy
travelers are bringing their entire entourage with them to Paris.
“Some of the top suites have been personalized according to guest’s
décor preferences and will feature a hair and make-up area,” Le
Royal Monceau’s General Manager Nicolas De Gols says.
“A regular guest is traveling with their personal chef and working
with the hotel’s culinary team to adapt the kitchen inside the suite
to fit their needs, too.” In front of the hotel, an area will also be
designated for the guest’s own fleets. “Some are traveling with
almost 20 vehicles,” De Gols adds.
With other French cities such as Marseille and Nice — and even the
far-flung French territory Tahiti — hosting Olympic events as well,
it’s hardly a surprise that superyacht charters are also trending for
the games.
Yachts says Askari, a 33-meter (107-foot) classic yacht based in French
Polynesia, has received multiple inquiries for surfing events in
Teahupo’o, Tahiti.
In the Mediterranean, the Monaco-based yacht brokerage has a confirmed
charter on a 27-meter (89-foot) motor yacht in Marseille to follow the
Olympic windsurfing competition in early August and is also looking to
deploy yachts from its US fleet to the Mediterranean to accommodate
increased charter demand in the south of France this summer.
The wine Olympics
Considering the choice of host nation, it seems many luxury travelers
are also keen to secure allocations of gold medal-worthy wines to enjoy
while in Paris. Clément Bru and Charles de Brosses, the duo behind, a
luxury gastronomic service that connects clients with Michelin-starred
chefs in exclusive, private locations, say they are already seeing a
high demand for fine and rare wines from incoming Olympic visitors.
“We’ve been contacted by an American professional sportsperson who
has told us that they really like older Burgundys,” Bru says. Thanks
to their service’s network, the pair have already been able to source
a nearly 40-year-old bottle of Henri Jayer Vosne-Romanée “Cros
Parantoux” — — as well as wines from another revered Burgundy
estate, Domaine de la Romanée-Conti.
The wines will be served in an ultra-exclusive private property secured
by the duo. “We are organizing a special evening with a leading chef
and sommelier in an amazing venue with a view overlooking the Champ de
Mars,” Bru says.
Yet, despite their intricate network of connections, it seems like
there are some requests even the most well-connected of UHNW concierges
can’t guarantee.
“A client of ours is interested in doing a whole behind-the-scenes
experience with [US gymnast] Simone Biles,” GR8’s Carnega explains.
“It’s very complicated because she’s very focused on trying to
get her to win.
“But we’re working on it.”
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