Polle de Maagt 
Polle de Maagt
Story.
While staying at Kimpton Fitzroy in London and Kimpton De Witt in Amsterdam, I came across a remarkable benefit in Kimpton’s invitation-only Inner Circle programme.
Members received a private phone number and email address for the CEO and executive team.
Kimpton described it like this:
Direct access to Kimpton Hotels’ CEO via the Inner Circle VIP Line and exclusive email address.
The official explanation continued with details about welcome kits, monthly statements, feedback and travel requests.
It was accurate. It also removed almost all emotion from the idea.
“Here is the CEO’s number” feels personal and bold.
“Access is provided to give feedback about your Kimpton experiences” sounds like a customer-service procedure.
The benefit itself was strong. The language made it smaller.
What they did.
Kimpton reserved its Inner Circle for a small group of its most loyal guests.
Instead of sending those guests to a regular service desk, the programme offered a private route to the top of the company.
The number was unpublished. Members received it when their status was granted and could use it for feedback, Kimpton experiences and other travel requests.
The promise was not that the CEO would answer every call personally.
The promise was that a loyal guest could get closer to the people with the power to act.
The programme still exists in 2026, but the promise has changed. Kimpton now describes the benefit as a dedicated VIP line staffed by Inner Circle agents. The access remains. The CEO has disappeared from the wording.
Why it works.
Most loyalty programmes give their best customers more points, faster check-in or a better room.
Kimpton offered something harder to copy: proximity.
The phone number signalled trust. It told members that their feedback deserved attention at the highest level.
It also created accountability. A company behaves differently when customers believe they can reach someone at the top.
The operational reality mattered less than the gesture. The number made the organisation feel smaller, more personal and easier to reach.
Try it yourself.
Do not start by publishing your CEO’s mobile number.
First identify the customers who know your organisation best and whose feedback matters most.
Then create a short route to someone with real authority. Make sure that person can listen, decide and act without transferring the customer through five departments.
The value is not the private number. The value is access to responsibility.
Give ten trusted customers a direct route to one senior decision-maker for one month. Track what reaches them and what changes because of it.
Sources: my stays at Kimpton Fitzroy and Kimpton De Witt, my original post of December 2018 and the longer account on Omakase. Kimpton’s current Inner Circle page still lists a private VIP phone line, now staffed by Inner Circle agents. Telephone made with Midjourney.
