At the Peninsula in Beverly Hills, Calif., this summer, you can drive a Lexus if you book a suite (they start at $775 a night). At the Four Seasons in Los Angeles, it’s a Mercedes if you’re in a “superior” room, generally one costing $425 or more. Twelve Ritz-Carltons are also offering a Mercedes package to guests for the first time this year.
Piling on perks like these is a way to add value without discounting rates or cheapening a brand, says Tom Callahan, an executive with PKF Consulting in San Francisco.
Of course, there’s always a catch: You often have to book the car way ahead, and there isn’t one for everybody. At the Peninsula, only 10 cars are available for the 30 suites.
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Edited by Cara DiPasquale (cdipasquale@tribune.com) and Kris Karnopp (kkarnopp@tribune.com)
