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The Pierre hotel is fielding some unusual requests lately. Before confirming a reservation, one guest asked if she could move her baby grand piano and expensive artwork into a two-bedroom suite. Another customer, unhappy with the small-screen TV in his suite, asked management to install a 90-inch model.
These guests aren't staying for just a night or two. They are among a new wave of extended-stay clients at the swanky Fifth Avenue property who are booking lavish accommodations for months at a time. Of the property's 189 rooms, 49 are suites.
The Pierre is the latest luxury hotel to aggressively woo the growing number of wealthy customers who need temporary pieds-a-terre in the Big Apple for a handful of reasons. They could be renovating their apartment, relocating here, getting medical treatments at one of the city's top hospitals or simply enjoying a long holiday.
Only an elite group of properties - including the Pierre, the Carlyle, the Waldorf Astoria, the Sherry Netherland, the St. Regis and the New York Palace - has suites large enough to appeal to such guests and provide the pampered services they expect. These grandes dames have been accommodating extended-stay visits for years. Some, like the Pierre and the Carlyle, even have permanent residents. But the number of people seeking these arrangements is...