Think it’s tough getting into the Ivy League? Try getting a top-paying job as a bottle-service girl.
“Thousands of girls apply, but there’s only 12 to maybe 25 girls max on a [nightclub’s] bottle service team,” said Michelle Kent of major clubs in cities like Miami and New York.
Pushing Champagne and top-shelf liquor to high rollers, these women can earn hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. But it’s a delicate art that requires savvy, class, sales skills and getting tipsy clients to keep their hands to themselves. All while wearing sky-high heels.
Kent — a nightlife veteran with decades of experience in the VIP sections of South Florida nightclubs such as Nikki Beach, Opium and Dream — teaches the tricks of the trade over two intensive days at Miami’s Bottle Service Boot Camp. She told The Post there was a real need for it.
“Nightclub managers began hiring girls just for their looks and, unfortunately, looks alone don’t translate to sales. The new girls didn’t understand service,” said the Cherry Hill, NJ, native, 40. “They didn’t even know how to open a Champagne bottle, so they were steering their customers away from the most expensive items on the menu.”
After starting off in a staid conference room, the second day of a recent $300 boot camp moved to Miami’s trendy La Otra nightclub — and the students dressed the part, with skimpy leotards, thongs and fishnets.
“Don’t ever, ever, ever cover the label of the Champagne bottle with your hand,” Kent told her students. “The table is paying a lot of money for that bottle, and they want the entire club to see what they’re ordering.”
One upsell trick she swears by is telling clients they can only drink Champagne, preferably Dom Perignon or Perrier-Jouet Rosé, on the floor.
She knows her stuff: From 2010 to 2020, Kent said, she made between $200,000 to $400,000 per year doing bottle service.
“It is one of the few industries where women can earn six figures without a college degree,” she told The Post. “A great night in Miami or Vegas might be $5,000 of tips, depending on where you work and your experience level. But I’ve also had $30,000, $40,000, even $50,000 nights — usually during events like the Super Bowl.”
She described the job as being a combo of “sales, entertainment, customer service, promotion, accounting and even therapy—all while maintaining an effortless, glamorous person.”
To that end, she doesn’t shy away from giving trainees blunt advice on their looks and style.
One student desperately wanted to break into the industry but was 15 to 20 pounds overweight. Kent’s tough-love encouragement: “It’s up to you to get up to par. I can’t suck the fat out of you myself.”
She has also recommended students get makeup lessons, injectables and even plastic surgery when she believes it’s needed for them to succeed in the industry — and she won’t recommend them for jobs until they level up.
“Bottle servers are models and the faces of the venue,” she said. “They are often used in the venue’s social media advertisements. Be honest with yourself about how your physique and facial features compare with current staff members at local venues, and, if you are not sure, find a friend or family member you can trust to be honest with you.”
The glamour is what attracted Boot Camp trainee Rebeca Fuentes, 36. “I’ve always admired and wanted to be that girl in the club,” she told The Post.
A big part of the role is discretion, high-end nightclub staff often must sign non-disclosure agreements.
“We’re going to see things that we’re not supposed to repeat,” Kent said.
She has slung Champagne to Kim Kardashian, Rick Ross, 50 Cent, Will Smith, Beyoncé, Machine Gun Kelly, LeBron James, Travis Kelce, Draymond Green, Justin Bieber and Sean Combs — and said she’s seen it all.
“Many of the rumors that come out about celebs like Diddy and others are not new to any VIP waitress in any major market,” Kent told The Post. “Many of us have worked alongside waitresses in the nightlife industry who claimed to regularly attend these types of parties and would share their wild stories.”
Lately, she noted, tech bros are the biggest spenders.
“We have a lot of scammers now, a lot of crypto guys,” Kent said. “There was this guy named Bitcoin Rodney who was spending $60,000 a night and over-tipping the waitresses. Then he got arrested for running a crypto scam.” (HyperFund promoter Rodney Burton was indicted in February 2024, on charges of conspiracy and operating an unlicensed money-transmitting business.)
“We also had these 19- and 20-year-olds spending $100,000 a night,” Kent said, “until they got locked up for the same thing.”
But, she’s also encountered plenty of legitimate businessmen, some of whom have proven invaluable to her and helped her with real estate and philanthropy ventures.
“I own investment properties in Detroit, West Palm Beach and New Jersey,” she said. “And I run a nonprofit called The Blessings Flo to help children living in poverty.”
She was also recently awarded a $250,000 grant from Goldman Sachs for black-owned businesses looking to develop and expand. Kent plans to use the money to take her vision to the next level, including going global into nightlife-heavy cities such as Dubai.
She said the two-day Miami program has been extremely popular, with classes selling out as soon as they’re posted on Instagram.
“I refuse to be one of those women who gatekeep knowledge and opportunities,” Ken said. “Instead, I want to create a space where ambitious women can learn, grow, and succeed.”
