Tickets to Beyonce's upcoming Renaissance World Tour have been hard to snag for many fans. That’s why three proclaimed members of the BeyHive thought it was their lucky day when an offer landed in their inboxes.
"The Washington Commanders sent me an email basically saying that Beyonce’s coming and suites are available," Maquel Miller told the News4 I-Team.
Miller, Tico Clark and Liana Johnson Suarez have shared many memories at past Beyonce concerts. “Twice for me,” said Suarez.
“I think I’ve been three or four times,” said Miller, who says she’s a superfan.
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So, she jumped at the chance to see her idol from one of those VIP- or company-owned suites that can cost thousands of dollars. During some events, including concerts, at FedExField, the Commanders will work with their suite partners who might want to rent them to fans.
Miller said the email was pretty clear: "Placing a $500 deposit would lock in your original price."
It even included a price list.
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"Within three minutes, someone called me from the Washington Commanders asking, 'Are you interested in the suite?' And I'm like, yeah," Miller recalled.
She said the person who identified himself as the manager of premium hospitality for the Commanders told her the 10-person suites were already sold out.
"So, I'm like, 'OK, well, what's the price for the 20?’ And he's like, 'Well, they are about $450 a person. It ends up being $9,000 at the end.'"
Miller said — knowing she could easily get 20 friends to pay $450 for Beyonce tickets — that she agreed to the deal and paid her deposit to lock in the deal.
"I thought that we were going to see Beyonce," she said.
In Bowie, Maryland, at the Top Curl Beauty Academy, another BeyHive was buzzing over the same suite deal. Owner Shanay Dudley was planning to give away suite tickets as a way to drum up business and thank her students.
"We were just going to pull the students' names out and be able to make the announcement public that they would be able to enjoy the suite life with us as a, you know, just as a showing gratitude and thank you for them choosing us as their education and beauty," Dudley said.
She said she also received an email from the Commanders and paid $500 to lock in the $9,000 cost she was quoted for the suite. "We were just ecstatic about, 'Wow, we get to experience Beyoncé from the suite life. Phenomenal'."
This suite deal, as you might have guessed, ended up being too good to be true.
Two months after paying their deposits, both Dudley and Miller told the I-Team, the Commanders informed them that the $9,000 suite would now cost between $20,000 and $25,000. To sweeten the deal, they said they would throw in a Commanders game. But, according to these fans, even that had a catch.
"'You cannot go to the Eagles or the Cowboys game. Those are not part of the deal,'" Miller said she was told. "So I tell him, 'Well, how much is it just for the Beyonce tickets?' Because we just want to go to Beyonce. He says, 'We're not going to do that. We’re not doing Beyonce alone anymore,'" according to Miller.
The sting of the jacked-up price tag was too much for even these diehard members of the BeyHive. "We wanted to be together as a group and enjoy this experience. And I feel like we were robbed of that," Suarez said.
A Commanders spokesperson said they ended up having far greater interest in suites for Beyonce’s two shows than available suites, but admitted, "Our rep erred in communicating a price to her, as pricing is not set until inventory is determined, and for that we apologize. Should there still be suites available when we get to her place in line, we of course will honor the price quoted to her."
The Commanders also said when people put down a deposit for a suite, it holds a place in line, but it’s not a guarantee that a suite will be available.
As for Dudley, she gave up on the suite idea but said she didn’t want to give up her promise to her students. She ended up buying individual tickets for her students, but won’t be attending herself.
"I was just in complete disbelief that they could operate business like this," Dudley said.
But there was good news for Maquel Miller and her friends: They ended up getting off the waiting list. A spokesperson for the Commanders told the I-Team, "We were able to accommodate Ms. Miller at the previously quoted price, as we did get to her spot in line."
The Commanders also said they're taking the same approach with other clients who may have been quoted a price prematurely. Should they clear the waitlist, they will honor it or provide them an opportunity to purchase individual tickets.
A fair ending, Clark said. "We're not asking for anything extra. We just want what we agreed upon at the initial start of the whole thing."
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