Q&A: Rising star VIP host Francesca Bella

Francesca Bella with members of the Black Eyed Peas

I found her responses to my 8 simple questions to be fascinating and I had to share this with you guys. It's a small glimpse into the life and mind of one of Chicago's hardest working VIP hosts. 

Tony Potempa: Tell us about your company, Host.

Francesca Bella: Host actually started on accident, and has an amusing history to it. I used to work as a bartender in the industry and became tired of writing on cocktail napkins names of clubs for people and who to ask for when they got there. I was tired of receiving panicked texts from friends who could not get in somewhere, had lost there contacts there, or what not. In addition, I figured why not create a service for these people that would get them into any club at any time. I leaned on my industry rolodex, shook a lot of hands and spent about six months meeting club owners, managers and hosts and created a plan of cooperation with all of them as an umbrella service to them. A place where a person could make one call or text and be able to go to any club in the city for bottle service, any day, and any time that venue is open. In essence, I work on behalf of every nightclub in this city to make sure that when someone wants to go to their venue, they can actually get there with little to or no difficulties. Host of Chicago is the only company in the city that can book almost any club at any time twenty four hours a day and seven days a week. The amazing thing is that we now book venues in Las Vegas as well as Miami on a regular basis. It's actually pretty exciting really.

Where did you get the idea to start your own business?
I think when they say that necessity is the mother of all invention they could not have been more right on. It really started based on the need that Chicago's nightlife and reservations system needed more organization, and that there were people in the city who were ready to go out but really had no idea as to where to go when, as well as any way of securing a reservation. Host of Chicago was a concept that had not been done very much out here. It was a concept primarily designed for the convenience of the consumer regardless of where they were going or if I was at the venue that night. With that, and with my connections, I was able to create something publicly that was very cool. In the process I have exploded blackberries, but all for a good cause. My secondary idea to start my own business...bills.

I do have a lot of friends and unfortunately lost organization of them a long time ago. I have two profiles one is at 5000 and the other at 1200 since I could not add anymore, and have about three hundred pending requests on a weekly basis. It really is funny when I actually head out and hear "Hey Bella, we're Facebook friends." I find that so amusing I pretty much always let them in free or buy them a drink. Sometimes I think I am more of a Facebook celebrity in this city than anything. I have a bunch of groups on there also, HOST is around 2000, but after being so overwhelmed with my personal pages I haven't focused much on pushing my groups.

Have you noticed less bottle sales due to our struggling economy?
Yes, absolutely. The funny thing is people think that bottles cost money and are the luxurious way to go out only. This is a huge misconception. Yes, bottle service can be very expensive. I have heard of bottle service bills in the thousands and tens of thousands. This may sound outrageous to the average consumer, but bottle service can be and is economical at times for people. Most clubs charge a cover charge. Many times when you buy a bottle the actual cover is waived. If the cover is twenty dollars a piece for you and your friends and there are five of you, you have just spent one hundred dollars walking in the door, then another twenty each at least for a couple drinks. That means you have spent two hundred dollars already, have waited in line, have no place to sit, and have to stand all night. In the same case if a bottle had been bought around two hundred by a group of people, since that is the median price of a bottle of premium vodka in the city at almost any club, you could have waived cover, gotten a table, and still have drank the same, but in a much more exclusive and plush environment. When you realize that it seems almost silly not to buy a bottle if the door is charging a cover.

Being a nightclub hostess can be considered a very glamorous job. what are the challenges you face?

That I think is the largest misconception of it all. People tend to think that I sit all night sipping champagne and they don't realize that I usually don't sit one time, never get to check my makeup, or even grab a Redbull. I have a radio in my ear that is deafening, and spend most of the night running in and out bringing tables in from the door, seating them, negotiating their pricing, sorting their tabs, getting names on the list, verifying credit cards, making sure the servers and barbacks are getting them what they need, carrying ice, bussing a table in an emergency if a client is coming in, freezing outside to in order to walk the line to pull bottle clients out of line and escort them to their tables, knowing when to sell a table, and when not to, and how to maximize the seating in a room based on demand and profitability. Glamorous not at all, exhausting and sweaty, absolutely. I can barely walk the next day when I get out of bed.

What is your opinion about Rachel Uchitel and her recent success? Uchitel is the hostess recently linked to Tiger Woods.

The whole Rachel Uchitel-Tiger woods thing really upset me. It is very hard as a female in the bar and nightclub industry to operate on the level that some of us ladies do. The hosts and managers of most nightclubs in this city are predominantly male, given a handful of females like myself that operate on administrative levels in this business. When I, as a female in this industry, sees light shone on someone like that for sleeping with her client. It upset me that it gives a bad name to all women in the industry operating on the levels we do, who have worked so hard to make a good name for themselves.

We know you were host to members of the Black Eyed Peas at Boom Boom Room, a Monday night circuit party that currently is held at Green Dolphin Street. Can you tell us about other celebrity guests you may have seen?
I have met different people at different times. We have had tons of athletes from all cities, unfortunately I am not a big sports fan so unless they tell me I usually do not recognize them. Many athletes come out often, but would rather not be mentioned because if they are in season they are not supposed to be out. So we make sure the photographers always steer clear of them. I've met a lot of other celebrities....actually many but never been a name thrower so I would rather not divulge as to who they are out of respect to them. One thing is certain, when they do head out, unless it is a venue they are to be at for an event, there are to be no pictures and no mentioning of it.

Lastly, what else would you like us to know about yourself and or your company?
I think that people lose track of me as an individual in the midst of my nightlife persona. They think that I am the go to girl for anything and everything in the city, always in for a good time. I can honestly say other than being out for work, which is often I only go out for fun about three times a year. My entire life is going out so I cherish the days I get to stay home and rent movies and am an extraordinarily private person. Another funny thing about me is that I don't drink. If I have to take a shot, I will either fake it usually, or if I have to toast I will take a sip, but I always leave my glass. I really do not like booze at all, just good at selling it. I would like to get drunk once though, it seems fun, definitely have plans of penciling that in.