As a guest at a White Lotus resort, you want for nothing. A relaxing massage? Check. A gourmet meal? Sure thing. A cocktail by the beach? You got it. A serene view of the ocean? From every room. Mixers for cocktails in your suite? Coming right up.

The only problem is the other guests. They can be egocentric, arrogant, manipulative, insecure, and sometimes a little violent—and those are just the guests in your own family!

The White Lotus is, alas, not real. It’s the name of a hit show on the streaming service HBO Max, and it’s the name of a fictional resort hotel. On the show, wealthy guests and eccentric staff collide in a weeklong drama that results in at least one dead body per season.

But while the White Lotus brand is fictional, the hotels—the properties—are real. All three seasons to date have taken place at a Four Seasons resort: one each in Hawaii, Italy, and Thailand. And it all dates back to a risky bet the hotel chain took in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The story starts in the year 2020, in the middle of the lockdown. Television production was paused for safety reasons. HBO was looking for a show that could be filmed—somehow—amid the disruption of COVID lockdowns. So they reached out to the producer Mike White to see if he had any ideas.

He did: he had an idea for a dark comedy, set entirely at luxury hotel or resort. There was no cast, no final script—only a vague idea for the first episode. But they set to work finding a place to film that first season.

That proved to be a challenge. They wanted to completely take over a resort for thirteen weeks. But many hotel owners were wary of the idea. Luxury resorts have to think about their reputations. Many didn’t want to risk being part of a show where bad things happened—even if the hotel name was changed.

But the Four Seasons was different. The property on Maui, one of the islands of Hawaii, was empty anyway. They wouldn’t lose any money by renting it out to a film crew. And the brand had been part of a high-profile show with seedy characters before. The Four Seasons in Mexico City was the site of Narcos: Mexico, a fictionalized story of the drug trade.

So they were comfortable with a little bit of risk, and they said yes. They turned over the Four Seasons resort in Maui to the producers of “The White Lotus,” without any real idea of the storyline.

In the first season, there is violence, there are drugs, there is sex, there is crime, there is misconduct—gross misconduct—by the staff, and there is death—all at the fictional White Lotus, the real Four Seasons Maui. And it could not have worked out better for the Four Seasons in real life.

The White Lotus, the show, became a global hit for HBO. The gorgeous, serene backdrop of the resort provided the perfect contrast to the disfunction and hijinks of the guests and staff. Viewers drooled over the magnificent views and fantasized about an exclusive vacation where all their needs are met, twenty-four-seven.

Far from thinking bad things about the Four Seasons, viewers wanted to know more about the real-life version of the hotel. They wanted the White Lotus experience for themselves—minus the dead bodies. Season 2 was set in the Four Seasons in Sicily, and Season 3 at a resort in Thailand.

Four Seasons has not said how much revenue or occupancy has increased at the properties featured on the show, but they have said that web traffic and phone inquiries have increased substantially. News reports show that social media mentions of Thailand travel are up 60 percent since the third season of “The White Lotus” came out.

But that may be just the beginning. For the first few years of the partnership, the Four Seasons was not allowed to use the show in its own marketing. The filming locations were well-known—it wasn’t a secret—but still, the real hotel chain was not allowed to use The White Lotus name to promote their properties.

Now, though, that restriction has been lifted. And the Four Seasons is taking full advantage of its association with the hit TV show. The beachside bar at the Thailand resort has been renamed the “White Lotus” bar, complete with cocktails inspired by the show and signage leftover from filming. A Four Seasons in California hosted a wellness event inspired by the meditation culture in Thailand.

And if you’re really willing to shell out, the Four Seasons has the ultimate vacation for you this coming May. It’s a twenty-day vacation package, with eight destinations, including all three resorts that were featured on The White Lotus show. You travel from place to place on a private plane and get curated experiences at each destination. The price is $188,000 per person.

Jeff’s take

Season 4 of The White Lotus will take place in France; the exact location is not known. Speculation is centering around a Four Seasons resort on the French Riviera. There’s a Four Seasons in Paris, if the producers wanted a city-based option. And there’s one in the Alps, if they want a cold-weather plotline.

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