And this from Wordwizard:

>What is the origin of Red carpet welcome
Submitted by: Sudhir DD (Bangalore - India)
The phrase comes from the practice of laying down a red carpet to greet royalty, dignitaries and sundry VIPS. The first use as cited in the OED is dated 1934.

Answered by the Word Wizard on January 13, 1999<

I'm also wondering, although I know their basically connected, if "roll out the red carpet" and [give them] "the red carpet treatment" are two different coinages?