How luxury hotels reward loyal customers with bags, T-shirts and other sought-after customised gifts

Regular guests at luxury hotels from The Savoy to Aman Resorts receive tokens of appreciation

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This black tote bag offered by The Upper House is one of The Upper Collective hotels’ gifts for its regular customers.

Published: 5:45pm, 15 Mar 2021Updated: 5:45pm, 15 Mar 2021

If you’re a regular guest at one of The House Collective hotels in Hong Kong and mainland China, chances are you’ve found a smart leather bag in your room at some point. The tote is not for sale, but is a gift for “returning guests”, a spokesman for The House Collective says.

The bag, which was introduced in around 2012, was the inspiration of a senior manager at The Upper House, Hong Kong who is “well travelled and loves fashion”, the spokesman says. “The idea was to create a bag that’s stylish and practical, a perfect fit for the lifestyle of our guests. It’s great to use for travelling, as you can fit lots of things in it, and it’s lightweight, but still fashionable.”

Each tote has a discreet logo, and its colour accords with the hotel it comes from: The Upper House bag is black, The Middle House, Shanghai is blue and cream, The Temple House, Chengdu is mint green. “The Opposite House in Beijing will be designing their version soon,” the spokesman says.

Aman Resorts was one of the first to recognise its devoted guests with a gift. The Amanjunkie T-shirt was introduced soon after the first Aman opened in Phuket, Thailand, in 1988. “The T-shirt was first created in the early days of the brand’s creation to give loyal guests a token of appreciation for their continued support throughout the years,” says an Aman spokeswoman.

A ‘milestone stay’ amenity package at the Ritz Carlton Millenia Singapore.

Speculation is rife on travel chat rooms about how to procure an Amanjunkie T-shirt, but the spokeswoman confirms it’s given when guests have stayed “five or seven times, depending on the hotel or resort”. A stay at the same or several Amans counts.