Welcome to the murky world of independent hosts. An industry filled with a categorical mix of qualified professionals, fly-by-night promoters, and those who promotionally fall somewhere in between. Anyone who has ever spent any amount of time searching for information on Las Vegas nightlife has undoubtedly come across a number of websites that will say almost anything to try and convince a tourist to book their “VIP” nightlife experience through them. Some have blinking limousines, many have ‘Party Like a Rockstar’ Vegas clichés, all of them are your "hook up," and most have a not-so-subtle undertone that claims your time in Las Vegas won’t be worthwhile without their help. Visions of sitting on a lonely curb surrounded by trash in an unfamiliar city while everyone else is partying must certainly come to mind.

This level of playing off of the fear of having a bad vacation is simply a side effect of a being in a tourist-based market – it is a common advertising tactic in most all of them, and you wouldn’t even be far off to compare these types of nightlife promotions to the hoard of aggressive car accident attorneys who vilify the insurance industry in scary ads with catchy rhymes so that they can take up to 30% of your settlement for ‘helping you.’ Make one call, that’s all.

But, just as all attorneys are not unscrupulous, the world of Las Vegas independent hosts too has its bright spots and there are times when it can be beneficial for you to invoke their concierge services. The key word there being: concierge. Those who use their services should only do so because they knowingly want the convenience of having someone else handle things for them, not because they felt forced into it. Contrary to the claims made on many of these “VIP” websites, there isn’t a single service any of these companies offer that someone couldn’t do on their own with even a minimal amount of research and fortitude; hence the point of informational websites like JackColton.com.

Below you will find the most common services offered by independent nightlife hosts and a guideline of when to use them and when to handle things on your own.

 

Verdict: Not in most cases.

You should always speak directly to an actual nightclub host before considering the use of an independent host. No exceptions. The independent host has to go through a nightclub host - regardless, and the process of booking a table at a nightclub yourself is little more complicated than booking one at a popular restaurant. You just need to have the reservation in on time and follow instructions on when to check in.

You wouldn’t know it by reading an independent host’s website -- most claim that you won't stand a chance of having a reservation honored, but every major nightclub in Las Vegas has entire teams of professional hosts who work directly for the club, promoters who assist in getting reservations to the right person, VIP service managers overseeing the entire process, and often even have promotional requirements for other staff members to help sell tables on slower nights. It is far from rocket science. If you are unsure about which club to visit on a particular night, we have a frequently resourced guide for that.

Throwing a middleman into this mix almost always will just end up with you paying more, but there are actually occasions when it might help make a reservation stick and / or get your group a better table location with a lower minimum:

- For large groups entirely made up of males (12+ people).
- Groups booking on abnormally busy, sold-out, or holiday weekends.
- When an independent host can help lower your bottle minimum without asking for just as much as a service fee / gratuity.

Still, the same Golden Rule applies: Always, Always, Always contact someone who works directly for the club first and see what they can offer you before agreeing to anything with an independent host. One step further, if you aren’t familiar with the club(s) that the independent host is suggesting you go to, ask around or find an independent resource online to back up their suggestions.

SEE ALSO: JackColton.com Direct Nightclub Host Contact List.

 

Verdict: Only if you don’t feel comfortable doing it yourself.

When you remove the emotional factor and look at the situation from a distance: You have a club that you want to get into, a line of people waiting to get in, and a doorman opening and closing the ropes for those who he or she chooses. When it comes to ‘skipping the line,’ the only difference in you approaching the doorman yourself - gratuity in hand, and hiring someone else to do it for you is that the doorman probably knows the independent host and the host has (hopefully) done this more times than you.

Assuming that you will pay a cover charge regardless, the per-person pricing structure for most independent hosts is basically cover charge + $___ gratuity for doorman + $____ gratuity / service fee for the independent host. Add it up and see if it makes sense to you in the end.

No one will lose respect for you if you take this route to save yourself some headache, but keep in mind that handling this on your own is easier than one might think and, in some situations, it might be just as cost-effective to reserve table service depending on the size of your group.

Verdict: Shop around on this one.

I am a firm believer that you can have a great time in any nightclub situation if you are with the right people and are of a good mindset for the night; making even the weakest of ‘party packages’ fun for people who make the best of them. To those of us who know better, you can’t help but to laugh a little when you see a website that is covered top to bottom with sales pitches for “VIP this, and luxury that,” that is primarily selling package deals to clubs that aren’t high on most people’s to do list, that often don’t even have lines of people waiting to get in, and might not actually have anyone inside of them once you get there.

That being said, there are a number of ‘package deals’ that actually could be fun for people who go into the night with realistic expectations. Look for those that have a reasonable per person price in the $49 to $79 range, include multiple nightclubs, cover charges, transportation, a group of other people that will be along the ride with you, and any other savings on drinks. You might not find yourselves at the hottest spots Vegas has to offer, but that doesn’t mean you can’t have a fun time without spending a ton of money.

When these packages get into the higher price range, you really have to weigh out what you are really getting for your dollar.

Verdict: Under no circumstance!

An independent host doesn’t care if you actually go to a show you will enjoy as they always get a per ticket kickback on the backend, and there are plenty of reasons that make it more worth your while to just have everyone book their own tickets on a major online ticketing outlet like Vegas.com:

- You won’t pay booking fees on each ticket.
- You won’t get stuck with extra tickets because someone cancelled.
- You can e-mail everyone a link to pay for their own tickets, and, even if they forget, Vegas.com has kiosks all over the Strip that can handle the bookings the day of.

While there are hundreds of show options available in nearly all price ranges, keep in mind that most of them appeal more to families and older crowds. Generally safe bets for those of us in the 20 to 40 age range are O, Love, Blue Man Group, Terry Fator, Zumanity, Penn & Teller, and Mamma Mia. As always, consult a friend or an independent resource before making any reservations.

RELATED LINKS: www.Vegas.com, www.Yelp.com

Verdict: Only if you are using one anyway.

Most independent hosting companies will list dining reservations as a service that they provide clients, but few will charge for it as they simply offer you advice on where they would suggest and, at most, will call the restaurants main phone number to book your reservation. Still, you should do your own research in advance to choose from the hundreds of available dining options that may better suit what you are looking for.

Suggestions:

Timing will work well to your favor if you make your dinner reservations for about 8:00 p.m. so that you will have plenty of time to eat and make your way to the nightclub of the evening.

Keep in mind that many restaurants will refuse to seat incomplete parties, so don’t be afraid to lie to some of your less-than-reliable friends about what time to actually meet up.

If you want to make the most of your night, avoid restaurants with particularly heavy menus as you may end up finding a nap more appealing than the world class nightlife you had planned.

Dining at a restaurant within the same resort as the nightclub you going to will alleviate the extra stress of travel if dinner runs late.

Those looking to stick with restaurants that hold more of a nightlife ambiance should check out those managed by nightlife companies: N9NE Steakhouse, Tao, LAVO, Stack, Fix, Yellowtail, Rare120, Ago, Social House, Company, Union, and Brand.

 

Verdict: Depends.

While there is a certain level of anxiety that most people feel when they realize they are responsible for planning a group event in an unfamiliar city, Las Vegas has so many entertainment options to choose from that it is fairly difficult to do a “bad job” planning one of these parties, and, regardless of whether or not you use an independent host’s assistance, you are still responsible for getting everyone where they need to be on time and collecting everyone’s share of the cost – both typically the most stressful aspects of the night.

Some people really enjoy the convenience of having someone handle all other aspects of these parties for them, but your decision to hire outside help for event planning should be based on what all you are looking to actually do the night of. Most people will eat dinner, go to a show / stripclub, and then end their night at a nightclub; all things that, from a planning aspect, you can easily do yourself without much risk of failure.

Keep in mind:

You can book your nightclub table using the direct nightclub hosts listed on this site.

You should always book your own show tickets in advance using a major online retailer like Vegas.com.

Limousines can be reserved in advance or easily hailed on the fly in front of most resorts on the Strip. Gentleman’s clubs provide these services at no charge.

Many nightclub companies offer free bachelorette party coordination and specials within their own nightclubs and restaurants.

If you are taking it to the next level and throwing a hotel party for the soon to be married, again, it depends on how far you want to take it. You should book a suite at either The Palms or Hard Rock to avoid noise complaints, and stocking the place with alcohol is as easy as a cab ride to a liquor store. There are no shortages of strippers available for these parties, but it can be beneficial to use an independent host who has dancers that they know what to expect from.

INSIDER TIP: When it comes to Gentlemen’s clubs, there are no shortages of kickbacks being thrown around from the club to limousine drivers, taxi-cabs, promoters, and independent hosts. You can easily get free limousine transportation provided by the strip club, avoid paying a cover charge, and even get a discounted first bottle. Again, always contact the club directly to compare their offer with what the independent host is offering.

Verdict: Absolutely not.

This is another service frequently listed on independent hosting websites, and, in the age of Travelocity, Orbitz, Expedia, and Priceline, it makes absolutely no sense to use some jenky 3rd party reservation system that you’ve found on a website without a trusted brand name or cancellation policy behind it.

If it is a matter of figuring out where to stay, here is a simple guideline:

Palms and Hard Rock Hotel will have younger crowds and less noise complaints.

Venetian, Wynn, Aria, Bellagio, Trump, and Caesars are considered luxury hotels.

Mandalay Bay, Luxor, MGM Grand, Monte Carlo, Mirage, Treasure Island, Paris, Ballys, and NY NY all offer similar accomodations.

Excalibur, Hooters, Tropicana, Imperial Palace, Circus Circus, Sahara, and Riviera are the no frills hotels on the Strip.

M Resort, Green Valley Ranch, Red Rock, Palace Station, and Sunset Station are all considerably far from The Strip.

Downtown hotels usually, how do we put this lightly....suck.

 

Verdict: When pigs fly!

While there are obviously a number of qualified destination management services that provide private chartered transportation as a frequent service to clients, the fact that most independent nightlife host websites offer $20,000+ luxury airfare as an alleged service available through their company – right next to a promotion to skip the line at a nightclub, is listed only for the aesthetics of ‘look at all we can do, even though we probably never will.’

If you are a first time customer of this service, simply spend about 5 minutes online researching charter companies and you’ll find yourself a phone call away from some of the most highly-trained reservation and concierge experts in existence; certainly a better way to go about it.