CAMBRIDGE, MA—From a very young age, Jewish boys and girls start preparing for their bar/bat mitzvahs—when, according to the religion, they become men and women upon reaching the age of 13. After reading a section of the sacred Torah at the bima (altar) within his or her family’s temple, the responsibilities of being Jewish men and women are handed down from the rabbi. A loud “mazel tov” is bellowed from the congregation, and there’s hugs and kisses all around from family and friends who have come from near and far to celebrate the special day with the honored teenager.
And, then, comes the party. It can be as simple as a few family and friends gathering at a restaurant or as extravagant as the one featured in the movie Keeping Up With the Steins, in which the parents of the bar mitzvah boy try to rent out Dodgers Stadium to hold the party and hire Neil Diamond as entertainment. And, that’s not stretching the truth, since some parents spend in upwards of $1 million to throw the most memorable bash they can.
The Charles Hotel—which bills itself as “The Smart Place to Stay” due to its proximity to Harvard University, which is across the street, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology—has created the Smart Mitzvah package to lure parents who want to provide a special day for their new “adults.” The name came easy according to Alex Attia, the general manager of property, which is a member of Preferred Hotels and Resorts. “The hotel wanted to pull through one of its core values, the Smart Hotel, a nod to its location adjacent to Harvard University and other Cambridge-area schools,” he said.
He noted that the hotel—which has hosted such notables as Barbra Streisand, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Ben Affleck, the Dalai Lama and a number of Supreme Court Justices—“typically books 20-25 bar/bat mitzvahs each year.” The Smart Mitzvah package launched in September at a price range of $90 to $150 per person, and has received “overwhelmingly positive” feedback, according to Attia.
Technology and social media—which goes hand-in-hand with the Smart Hotel ethos—are at the forefront of the package. Each Smart Mitzvah features a dedicated digital director, who takes care of all of the social media perks, including a live video feed of guests as they arrive on either the Periscope or Meerkat smartphone apps; and a live-streaming Instagram feed with all photos taken at the event that includes a dedicated hashtag. GoPro video cameras will also be available for the attendees to film highlights of the celebration, which will be uploaded by the digital director and showcased on the bar/bat mitzvah celebrant’s personal YouTube channel in real time.
Other SmartMitzvah highlights include a frozen yogurt bar with “smart toppings”; a beverage genius who concocts distinct beverages for guests, such as Smarty Pants Punch; an iPhone shaped candy bar; and a green screen with a backdrop of Harvard University for photo souvenirs.
And, what’s a bar/bat mitzvah celebration without a parting gift? Departure gift options include personalized bar/bat mitzvah boy/girl phone cases, headphones and Rubik’s Cubes.
Many of the elements of the SmartMitzvah pacakage are also made available to other meetings and events. “Some of the hotel’s corporate clients have chosen some of the package’s ‘smart’ food & beverage elements, like the frozen yogurt bar,” noted Attia.
—Adam Perkowsky