High-End Services
While personal trainers, dance instructors or beauticians may be suffering, some providers of niche services for the rich have actually seen an increase in demand as their customers seek to distance themselves from others.
Salvatore Romano, 38, owner of The Delighted Dog, which charges $40 an hour of private dog walking in New York, said his business increased 25% recently as his clients put their usual jet-setting schedules on hold and retreat from their Manhattan homes to the Hamptons. His customers include executives from Jefferies Financial Group Inc. and the New York Rangers hockey team, and some are asking him to ferry their pets to and from the city.
Precision Concierge, an elite transport service based in New York, Miami and Los Angeles, has seen a surge in demand over the past 10 days, according to owner Wayne Schneider. Some customers asked to be transported in cars that have never been used before by anyone. So he bought several brand new sports-utility vehicles, with the clients footing the bill.
“This is really mind-blowing,” said Schneider. “Prepping and cleaning these cars three times every day is a lot to handle, but safety first.”
--With assistance from Lisa Du, Manuel Baigorri, Jihye Lee and Shiho Takezawa.
This article was provided by Bloomberg News.