The crazy demands of celebrity houseguests

A French tech entrepreneur who demands a particular Gallic brand of hot chocolate be stocked in the kitchen to drink every morning, as well as authentically Parisian-style croissants.

An overseas celebrity who stipulates that a cabinet only be filled with wine whose vintage dates from the year of his birth. And a top sports star whose entourage insisted that a statewide electricity blackout be rectified immediately – so their idol wasn’t at all inconvenienced.

Great house guests for Australia’s top home owners? Er … maybe not so much.

The cream of the world’s celebrities are increasingly choosing to stay in people’s homes when they visit our shores for their holidays, for sporting events, for shows and for Christmas and New Year’s Eve, but they don’t always make the easiest of short-term tenants.

“But they like to stay in people’s homes for a number of reasons, like wanting to have their family or their staff stay with them, or because they’re more private than hotels, away from prying eyes,” says Will Mein, a concierge with Luxico, an agency that rents out exclusive homes.

“They might be a sports player and need their trainer and masseuse and manager with them or as with one person who came, he had not one but two private chefs attending the property every day, which was better for him than eating hotel food. Also, with a private home, they tend to be a lot more secure, so they’re less likely to be stalked by the paparazzi.”

Luxico rents out more than 150 homes to overseas visitors, in Sydney, the NSW’s Hawkesbury, Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, the Sunshine Coast and Byron Bay, from $200 a day up to $7500 a night.

Some guests stay for a few days; others, particularly if they’re making movies here, can stay for months.

Clients have included soccer star David Beckham and fashion designer Victoria Beckham, along with their children Romeo, Cruz and Harper, who rented out the $17 million beachfront Balmoral Beach View when they were here for the Invictus Games last October. Tennis champion Novak Djokovic also rented a luxury mansion from Luxico in Melbourne while here for the Australian Open. Although Mein won’t confirm the names of any guests, both were believed to be perfectly behaved.

The homes on offer are everything from the fabulous 57-hectare Sweven Estate on the Hawkesbury River which sold for $18 million in 2017, to a cliff-top mansion in Byron Bay; from the Portsea Retreat in the Mornington Peninsula with its championship grass court, pool, spa and in-ground trampoline, to the absolute beachfront Sunrise Retreat on the Sunshine Coast in a gated estate.

The identities of most of the guests are kept a closely-guarded secret, but sometimes their crazy demands shock even the most seasoned observers.

One female renter demanded that three rooms of the mansion she was renting be completely emptied of all furniture to make way for her massive wardrobes of clothes.

A pop star said she had to ship over her grand piano – at enormous cost – and have it installed in her temporary home, while the tech boss wanted his hot chocolate and croissants delivered by 7.30am each day.

Then there was the guest who wanted a portable jacuzzi brought in. When it couldn’t fit through the doorways, it had to be hoisted up over the balcony to the inside. And someone else wanted a gym set up for them, from scratch, with all the equipment and machinery rushed in so they could keep in shape.

“But I think the most way-out demand was that I solve a statewide blackout for a sports star who was here for a major sporting event,” says Mein, 39, whose background was in hospitality before becoming a 24/7 concierge with the real estate company. “That was simply impossible!

“All his staff were in a mild state of panic because they had to make sure he was well enough rested and the aircon cut out. I just went around opening windows to try to keep the place cool, while they fretted.

“But the bizarre thing was that he slept through it all, so was absolutely oblivious to the drama!”