Free check · 12 questions · about 3 minutes
Is your house ready for a VIP guest?
Twelve practical questions taken from The Protocol Book: the arrival, the rooms, the staff briefing, forms of address, security, cars, gifts and the report afterwards. Answer honestly. Nothing is stored or sent: your result appears on this page.
Your result
Your score: 0out of 100
Ready, with details to watch
Your house is ready for most visits. Before the day, go through the VIP arrival checklist once with the person in charge, and keep the notes from each visit for the next one.
Nearly ready
The essentials are in place, but a guest would notice the gaps below. Close them in the order listed: most take a phone call or a single page of writing.
Not ready yet
Start with the arrival plan and the staff briefing: they prevent most problems on the day. If the visit is close, we can prepare it with you.
Yes 0 Partly 0 No 0
What to do first
- Arrival
Put the arrival on one page: times, who stands where, the route from the car to the room, and who carries the luggage.
- Arrival
Name one person to greet and one to accompany the guest, and tell them the day before, not on the day.
- Rooms
Check the room twice: the day before and two hours before the arrival. Lights, water, linen, chargers, the safe, the temperature.
- Rooms
Ask the guest's office or family for preferences at least a week ahead, and write them in the House Book for next time.
- Staff briefing
Hold one briefing for everyone, with a single printed sheet. Short, specific, and the same for all.
- Forms of address
Give the team a card with the correct forms of address, and practise the first greeting aloud.
- Forms of address
Settle the seating plan two days ahead, and check precedence before the place cards are written.
- Security
Send the security team the plan of the house in advance, and agree entrances, positions and parking with them.
- Confidentiality
Have everyone in the house sign a short confidentiality note before the visit, and agree where phones are kept.
- Cars
Book cars with named drivers, give them the flight or train details, and keep a second car on call.
- Gifts
Choose a gift that suits the guest and the occasion, and check the limits on gifts for office-holders before buying.
- After the visit
Within a day of the departure, write a short report: what went well, what to change, and the guest's preferences for next time.
Nothing to close. Before each visit, go through the VIP arrival checklist once with the person in charge.
Next steps
-
The Protocol Book
The full method, with forms of address, precedence and seven editable templates.
€129
See The Protocol Book -
The VIP arrival checklist
PDF, 2 pages: from four weeks out to the car leaving
Download the free checklist -
Prepare the visit with us
If the visit is close or matters a great deal, we can prepare it with you and your team.
Private enquiry
General guidance for private houses. It does not replace the advice of the guest's own protocol or security team.
When should the house be ready?
Tell us about the house, the season and the people in it. We will come back to you personally.
We reply within one working day.