The tell is always the same. You build a VIP programme, you invite forty senior people, and twelve show up to the lounge for eleven minutes each on their way somewhere else. The catering was good. The badges were a different colour. Nobody can explain what happened. What went wrong usually happened weeks before the event, in the part where somebody decided what VIP meant. Perks are the cheapest thing you can offer a senior buyer A person who runs a business unit has access to good coffee.