Other words for 'Special Bookings'?

March 1, 2009 8:01 PM

Does anyone know any obscure synonyms or industry-related terms for 'Special Bookings' or 'By Appointment Only'?

I am trying to name a new business that does special bookings for artists, and am wondering if there are any general synonyms or obscure industry related terms that essentially convey the same message, that of 'Special Bookings' or 'By Appointment Only', etc. When i say industry-related terms, it could be any industry. For example, if Restaurants or Tailors have certain terms to describe their policies in that way. Anyone know of anything?

posted by LongDrive to Society & Culture (5 answers total)

Best answer: Well, I've worked as an improviser, and we referred to those specially-booked nights by names like:
Corporate Gig (improv for investment bankers! a whole company of them! all drunk!)
Private Party (like if an organization bought out our theatre for the night)
Buyout (the group bought out the house)
Comped House (short for Complimentary Tickets)
Friends and Family (the night the cast invited their friends for a preview show)
Papered House (ie, if giving away tickets for free, you wouldn't use the expensive pre-printed numbered card-stock tickets. Instead you'd make cheap paper flyers and distribute those as free passes, thus "papering" the house)

Some of these terms sound kind of adult-themed, which may not be your intent: Private Party, Special Occasion, By Appointment Only, For Your Eyes Only, Exclusive Event, etc

How about something more fun/playful, like "Party Ninjas"?
posted by pseudostrabismus at 8:22 PM on March 1, 2009

Best answer: "Bespoke" might almost fit - it's a term usually associated with high-end tailors, shoemakers and similar. It implies a service that is extended on a customer-by-customer basis and could generally be considered a rare and somewhat archaic term. My husband was working as a freelance coder for a time and called his business "Linux Bespoke" - most people had no idea what it meant but the ones who did were generally the exact people he wanted for customers (intelligent, educated and generally with money). :)

YMMV.
posted by ninazer0 at 8:45 PM on March 1, 2009 [1 favorite]

Response by poster: Awesome suggestions! Particularly Party Ninjas :) Bespoke is definitely a good word, but I think I'm looking for something even more abstract and specific. Sort of a name that you have to explain, or has a story behind it. Always found those to be good conversation starters. Anyone else have anything?
posted by LongDrive at 10:49 PM on March 1, 2009

Command Performance
posted by nenequesadilla at 11:00 PM on March 1, 2009

[By/On] her/his majesty's request
posted by SuperSquirrel at 7:37 AM on March 2, 2009