Aeroplan event (Vancouver club) September 11
 

I haven't checked my email associated with my account in awhile... how did you know about this?

Who knows.

So your wife's friends attended? How was it?

Same here now that you've brought this up. :)

But even if I had been invited, I don't think I would've been cool enough for the Vancouver Club. :p

I received an invite via email a few weeks ago. The event was held at the Vancouver Club. They served us a three-course meal, it was good. They are planning a Toronto and Montreal dining events for diamond members in the near future.

I've walked by that place many times and have always remained confused about who goes there and for what sort of events. Completely eludes me.

Once again, excluded because it would be inconceivable that a frequent flyer would fly somewhere.

No invite for me either, despite SE, Diamond, charming temperament, etc.

No huge loss I am sure.

I didn't receive an invite to this event, but have visited the Vancouver Club on several occasions. I'm not a member; just associated with several who are. It used to be a bit of a 'stuffy red leather, mahogany panelled, whiff-of-cigar' type of place - boy's club if you will - but no longer. Like most venerable institutions, it is evolving. A faint air of exclusivity does permeate, but no more so than from a Signature Lounge.

As Bohemian deduced: no huge loss I am sure.

I received an invite. Don't recall if was for this event.
By the time I checked my e-mail several hours later, it was "sold" out.

If Aeroplan wants to show some appreciation they could start by answering the phone when I call. :rolleyes:

Same here, I think I tried within 1-2 hours of the email arriving, and it was 'sold out'...

The email looked like this:
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An exclusive dinner curated by Ned Bell, Rick Moonen and Barton Seaver

Diamond status members can experience a series of exclusive perks, courtesy of Aeroplan. As a valued member, you're invited** to a private dining event in the city. On the menu: a complimentary multi-course dinner with wine pairings, created by top chefs. Did we mention that you get a plus one? Only 100 spots are available, so hurry and reserve yours today!

Before you arrive
The event will take place on September 11 at the charming Vancouver Club. Cocktails will be served at 6:30 p.m., with dinner to follow at 7:30 p.m.

While at the event
Explore the night's theme of ocean sustainability, aquaculture and seafood cooking. This special evening will inspire a new appreciation for what our waters can provide.

Your culinary experience
The night's menu will be carefully curated by world-renowned seafood chefs and advocates Ned Bell, Rick Moonen and Barton Seaver. All three chefs will engage with you during dinner to discuss the oceans and what the future holds for seafood—one of our national treasures and something we're known for at an international scale.
============

Your use of quotes is likely well-placed. My suspicion is that many or most of the 100 spots were assigned prior to the general-release email being distributed.

Aimia's Aeroplan is a diversified marketing program. It is not exclusive to Air Canada. Members can gain their Diamond status many ways, particularly through purchases with partners such as rental car agencies, hospitality firms and retailers. Some people may assume that because they are FFs they should have priority on the invites. The assumption is wrong.

There are many members who have their status because they spent money on actual purchases and did not amass the points that made them SE. The OP quite rightly points out that many members are Diamond status. It is obvious, that some members are more valuable than others.

The customers who spend money are of more value than the customers who mostly gain the miles from travel miles. Here is an illustration;
I purchase $5,000 at a retailer and earn 5000 miles because I used my Amex card. If that is all I do, I need to spend $100,000 to reach diamond.
If I purchase $6,000 P class fares to Asia (YYZ-BKK) @ 25,000 miles RT I earn approx. 31,000 AP miles. I can achieve 93,000 miles at a cost of $18,000. A few more short hauls, or just a bit of spending and I am Diamond well below a spend of $25,000.

Who do you think is more valuable as a customer? The customer who spends $100,000+ or someone at $25,000 (or even less with some of the CC and partner deals/promotions)? Some people who spend their life chasing points and benefit from an employer's travel budget may assume that they are "valuable", and perhaps they are in the eyes of their mothers, but in respect to consumer economics they are not. It's the person who is spending money who is. I accept that I am low on the pecking order in that regard, and I accept it, because the big spenders drive the profits. That's why they get the invites.

It's not like Aeroplan gets the $100k or the $25k...

True, but they receive their cut, and their portion of $100k spend is still four times larger than their portion of a $25k spend. TPF's point above stands, especially the part about many people being special in the eyes of their mothers.

To answer the question as to why a private club was used; its probably because of the kitchen availability, rental & facility costs and the logistics. This was a specialty event, so the chefs needed their own space. Hotels are not the easiest of places to host this type of event because of the kitchen exclusivity requirements, and the labour obstacles.

Although they said 100 attendees , our gadfly on the ground Viranally Liemana posted this photo from the VC.
https://twitter.com/viranlly
It looks rather chi chi and that more than 100 hungry guests were in attendance. I expect that there was also an expectation of a certain wardrobe decorum, i.e. not for those who wear a hoodie over a Ms. Pac man T shirt with cheeto stains. After all, Viranally states in his twitter descripto; "I'm adorable. I look like Kiera Knightley running errands" , which is millenial code for fashionable and awesome.

Perhaps, Aeroplan is going hipster and upscale. :cool:

From the pix, that's pretty much the standard mass catering setup for the Vancouver Club.

But it's a nice venue and only three blocks from my office.

Is it?

Is Aeroplan not paid per mile? Wouldn't that mean that 100k is 100k is 100k, regardless of what the consumer paid for them?

Right, but my point is the cost to the customer is, at best, loosely correlated with Aeroplan's revenue.

Common sense suggests that Aeroplan had identified a target demographic for its Vancouver dinner and that it involved much more than inviting super elites.

Yes, AC's FFs have value. However, there is enough information collected to differentiate between FFs. Aeroplan can target the super elites who also spend big money on consumer purchases, or who demonstrate desired customer demographics., like being a resident of the Greater Vancouver region. There are various analytics that can be run to identify who they want. Just because someone is a Super Elite or 1MM may not necessarily have made the person of interest to the sponsor(s) of this event. I wasn't invited, but I draw on the inspirational words of Gloria Gaynor, and proclaim that I will survive.

Well my first question is whether there are Diamonds with "Vancouver" as the city in their Aeroplan profile who were not invited.

Next, I agree that 100k miles is not the same as 1M or 10M miles, and some Diamonds are more valuable to Aeroplan than others.

Any mention of SE is irrelevant, because SE just triggers extra space for you on AC flights when booking through Aeroplan. Aside from that, Aeroplan doesn't care.

That being said, when you're known as a "frequent flyer program", it seems odd to only consider local residents, when it's quite likely that a bunch of your high points earners are traveling at any given time, and may be free to attend a dinner.

It doesn't sound like any people based outside of Vancouver were invited.

The folks in the section of the ballroom caught on the gadfly's camera may look upscale, but hipsters they are not. Parents of hipsters, perhaps.

I hope Aeroplan isn't 'going hipster', as it would cement its reputation as having crested its curve of relevance, of being superficial, as appearing as something it's not, of overcharging for the basics and of being utterly incapable of fending for itself at the first hint of trouble.

I do not have the criteria that was used, and I believe that we can all agree that the only way to know for sure is if someone at Aeroplan shares such info. You say that SE doesn't matter, yet you gave the impression that you a very frequent flyer was irked because you had not been invited. By the definition of a super elite, one would expect that a SE would accumulate more mileage than a run of the mill Diamond who doesn't fly with AC. In any case, as you say, it doesn't matter.

There are to be other cities where the event will be held so I would expect that in order to more efficiently target the intended demographic they invited people who had an address in the host city. I would expect that the Toronto event will invite the members with a GTA residential address.

Yes, Aeroplan acts as a frequent flyer program, but it is more than that, and this is at the core of the Aimia transformation. Aimia defines itself as a data-driven marketing and loyalty analytics entity. It states that it partners with groups of companies and individual companies to help generate, collect and analyze customer data and build actionable insights. Aeroplan is one of its businesses, and even in that unit, it doesn't really emphasize its FF activity. Rather, it provides loyalty strategy, program development, implementation and management services for other clients . Aimia further states that all this greatness is underpinned by leading products and technology platforms and through its analytics and insights business. My takeaway, is that Aimia and its Aeroplan is anything but a FF program. Hence, the AC Altitude initiative.

@YZF_Elite said - - - I've been in there twice, mostly empty old boys club from years gone by...

Not to go off topic - but - the club has gone through a serious rejuvenation in the past 10 years. Likely average age is now somewhere close to 40. The events and social director is a crazy young Australian and over the past 10-years it is become perhaps - somewhat of a high-class party house. It certainly has an old boys tradition, but some of the stereotypes no longer apply. They have just nabbed the Executive Chef Ned Bell from the Four Seasons Yew to be the culinary director and large-scale donations (think 7 figures) have allowed them to renovate, rejuvenate, and invest in the latest equipment to be running a high-end operation.

Sounds like nothing different from the Terminal City Club, then. :D

Many private members' clubs are struggling in this day and age.. probably for good reason

I don't think being SE should guarantee anyone an invitation, but I think have an address outside the host city shouldn't automatically exclude people who AC/Aeroplan know fly 100+ segments or 100k+ miles per year, because it's much more likely that someone who flies a lot would either:
a) consider flying out for something
b) already be in that area on that day

Here is a report on this event: Dining on Aeroplan Diamond status #withaeroplan | Foodology. Looks pretty decent to me.

I guess you were never invited to the Dreamliner events or other stuff AC held at YVR/YYZ/YUL?

I think part of the challenge would be getting enough people to RSVP/attend without overselling (unless they rescind and IDB your RSVP :p )

As far as I understand VC does not allow outside catering; this looks to be the standard they offer for TSX shindigs, weddings, receptions, etc... Which tbh is pretty ok.

The terminal city club (TCC) I believe allows outside catering... But again it's been years since I've been anywhere near planning anything. I just show up and eat/drink. :)

Both officially require "smart attire" but never been stopped in an undershirt with jacket and jeans. We should throw a do at one of the clubs...

Great idea. Except then we would be accused of cheapening the dining room.