Star wars: Trump Hotel gets aggressive in its pursuit of celebs, changing the game in Chicago

Chicago Tribune (MCT) - The secret to pampering celebrities is simple, says Rob Prohaska, sales manager at the Trump International Tower & Hotel Chicago: "You overwhelm them with hospitality and kindness."

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But keep your distance.

And no asking for autographs.

"They need an oasis to get away from it all," says Prohaska, who made his name attracting the rich and famous to Sofitel Chicago Water Tower, and moved over to Trump a year ago. "Give them space, but make sure the things they like are taken care of."

Catering to a celebrity's idiosyncrasies means going the extra mile and more, he says. For instance, one star loves, just loves, carrot juice. So when he arrives for a stay, the suite's refrigerator is stocked with the very best of carrots, and a juicer is right there on the kitchen counter.

Although condo sales at Trump International have been slower than expected, the hotel occupying the middle floors of the 92-story structure at 401 N. Wabash Ave. is going full-out to entice the boldface names of celebritydom.

With the tower all but complete, Trump is poised to become a major force in our Stars War as Chicago's hostelries jockey for the patronage of the rich and famous. And the battle over the Jennifer Anistons and George Clooneys of the world will grow even more intense next year when yet another luxury inn, the Elysian Hotel and Private Residences, opens at 11 E. Walton St.

But Prohaska's boss, the ever-grandiloquent Donald Trump, says the battle is already over.

"Any major celebrity who goes to Chicago is going to stay at Trump," says the man who describes himself, twice, as "the biggest celebrity in the world" in a telephone interview. "We don't compete for celebrity business. We get them automatically."

Trump hubris aside, veterans of Chicago's hospitality wars aren't quaking in their Guccis.

"Sometimes you may have people who try something else," says Terri Hickey, Four Seasons public-relations director. "In the end, they'll come back for our service. Competition is healthy. It makes us all better."

At the Ritz-Carlton, public-relations director Susan Maier says, "We feel there's room for everyone."

All the hotels in the celebrity sweepstakes have specialists to drum up business _ as politely and deferentially as possible, of course. At Trump, it's Prohaska and entertainment sales manager Stephanie Parisoli-Nieszel.

"You make yourself available 24 hours a day, seven days a week," Prohaska says. "You give out your cell phone number. If you get a call at 3 in the morning from a celebrity who has a sudden change in plans, you deal with it."

On a recent sunny weekday afternoon, Prohaska opens the door to Suite 2600 in the hotel, and explains that, when he escorts some Big Name to the room, he speaks little if not spoken to.

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"A lot of times, they're on their cell phone, or they have an engagement to get to," he says.

The $1,600-a-night suite _ no surprise _ features the sort of high-end accouterments that the wealthy and coddled expect _ a Sub-Zero refrigerator, a Miele stove and dishwasher, Bernardaud china, Uba Tuba granite countertops, an espresso coffeemaker with 12 types of beans, and a bottle of Bling H2O.

And, given the Trump Tower's location on the north bank of the Chicago River, it has a view of the city that is both expansive and intimate.

"Look at the Wrigley Building clock tower," Prohaska says, pointing to the clock face, long emblematic of the city, directly across a few hundred feet of open air. "You can see that tall ship there out on the lake. Look at the river. It looks like the Chicago River flows right beneath the property. There's nowhere else in the city you can get this view."

Fine accommodations, beautiful views and carrot juicers, though, aren't enough.

"In the celebrity market," Prohaska says, "you need to be out in L.A. You need to be going to the movie studios. You need to be talking to the clients. It's networking with the right people. It's immersing yourself in the inner circle, because it's all word of mouth."

The right people aren't just the stars themselves, but their people. "The personal assistants are the real drivers," he says.

Those aides are the ones who have to come up with a private airplane or a special meal or whatever at a moment's notice, and Prohaska says, "The people they work for don't accept 'I couldn't make it happen.'"

So they turn to people such as Prohaska and his staff.

"They need to know someone they can trust," he says.

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TRUMP: 'I'M THE BIGGEST CELEBRITY'

Q. How will you attract celebrities to your new Chicago hotel?

A. I think we're getting most of them because the name Trump attracts celebrities. When you get right down to it, who's the biggest celebrity in the world? Donald Trump. At least, my wife says that.

Q. Do you talk up your hotels with your celebrity friends?

A. I don't really have to. I have a lot of celebrity friends, like Tom Cruise. They stay at my hotels.

Q. What celebrity would you love to have stay at your Chicago hotel?

A. Oprah is a great friend of mine. She loves Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, which I own. I love Oprah. I'd love to have Oprah. But Oprah lives in Chicago.

Q. How important are celebrities to hotels?

A. I don't think celebrities bring people necessarily into the hotel. What brings people is price, location, rooms, quality. The celebrity factor is overrated. It's glamorous, but it's not the thing that brings people to hotels. If you have a great city like Chicago, that brings people to hotels.

Q. Then why is there competition for celebrity business?

A. We don't compete for celebrity business. We get them automatically. The word is that I'm the biggest celebrity, and I promise I'll stay at my hotel.

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Patrick T. Reardon: preardon@tribune.com

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© 2008, Chicago Tribune.