In these times of austerity and corporate cost-cutting – and when BBC director-general Tony Hall books no entertainment expenses and hails no taxis on his employer’s dime, at least according to the corporation’s latest salaries and expenses statement for April to June 2014 – Monkey is happy to note other execs are still flying the flag for the glamorous expenses account.
The latest BBC exes reveal that director of television Danny Cohen and BBC1 controller Charlotte Moore both checked into the Sunset Marquis, the West Hollywood hotel of choice for rock royalty, during May for the LA Screenings (the annual jolly to the west coast for UK TV execs keen to see the latest offerings from the US studios and networks).
Cohen’s seven-night stay cost £1,385.87. While Moore, who stayed one night less, rang up a £1,187.88 bill at the hotel, which declares itself the “home away from home for actors, comedians, writers, artists, filmmakers, fashion designers, supermodels, restaurateurs, billionaire entrepreneurs, and the newest breed of entertainer when the hotel opened its doors in 1963: rock stars”.
It actually sounds like the BBC got a good deal, as the Sunset Marquis’s advertised rates range from $350 (£224) to $2,500 a night.
Monkey also notes that BBC creative director Alan “yum yum” Yentob prefers to stay at boutique gaff L’Ermitage in Beverly Hills when he jets into sunny California, a more salubrious residence on the business trip highway. Yentob’s stay on April Fools’ Day cost £252.81 – again, a steal relatively speaking, when prices can soar to $2,000 a night.
