Concierge golden keys. Concierges from the society "Golden Keys" stay in touch
The international association of professional concierges "Golden Keys" (Les Clefs d'Or) was founded in 1929 in Paris and today employs more than four thousand employees of five-star hotels around the world, who have passed exams and interviewed members of the executive committee. But many learned about its power only after Wes Anderson's film "The Grand Budapest Hotel". A person with golden keys on the lapel can be asked for help in any business, city or country - his associates will always come to his aid.
Suit, vest, BRUNELLO CUCINELLI
shirt, VAN LAACK
tie, WINDSOR
boots, BOSS
ILYA WRITTEN,
hotel concierge Four seasons Moscow:
“About a year ago, a couple from America approached me with a request to organize an unforgettable birthday for their daughter - she was turning 30. She is interested in ballet and is very fond of the Bolshoi Theater. I gave her a private tour of the historical stage, and after that she changed into leotards and pointe shoes and took part in a rehearsal with the Bolshoi troupe. "
Three-piece suit, BROOKS BROTHERS
turtleneck, CORNELIANI
boots, FABI
PAVEL NIKOLAEV, President of the Russian section of the Golden Keys,
Chief Concierge of the Baltschug Kempinski Hotel:
“In 2004, an Arab sheikh lived with us, and his assistant turned to me: the sheikh certainly wanted to buy an antique edition of the Koran, which, according to his information, was in Russia. None of the Moscow second-hand booksellers had heard of this edition, but we found it in St. Petersburg, agreed on the price, and the sheikh's assistant with security went there by night train - a diplomat with dollars was handcuffed to the hand of one of the guards. Having bought the Koran, they put it in a safe in the "Grand Hotel Europe", and took it before the return train. Sheikh's joy knew no bounds, and I received one of the biggest tips in my entire life. "
Shirt, vest,
DIOR HOMME
trousers, VAN LAACK
shoes,
CHRISTIAN DIOR
Costume, JOOP
shirt, BOSS
tie, BRIONI
vest, BRUNELLO CUCINELLI
vest, FABI
ANNA ENDRIKHOVSKAYA, the best young concierge of the Golden Keys Association in 2013, concierge of the Metropol Hotel
IGOR LANTSEV, The Concierge Chef at The St. Regis Moscow Nikolskaya
Shirt, jacket, VAN LAACK
trousers, BRUNELLO CUCINELLI
butterfly, BROOKS BROTHERS
boots, ROCCO P
ANNA YENDRIKHOVSKAYA:
“Recently I got a call at 2 am from Paris: a woman - a very famous Russian designer - forgot her cosmetic bag in Moscow, and tomorrow she has a show at fashion week. It was necessary either to send cosmetics from here, or to collect similar products there. It took three hours for phone calls, but in the end, with the help of the night concierge of the Le Bristol hotel, where the designer was staying, I made an agreement with the consultants of all stores that sell the right brands that they would open an hour earlier, and the cosmetic bag was recreated by the required time. " ...
Costume, LOUIS VUITTON
shirt, VAN LAACK
vest, CORNELIANI
tie, WINDSOR
boots, BALDININI
Three-piece suit, BRIONI
shirt, VAN LAACK
tie, CORNELIANI
loafers, SANTONI
suitcases, LOUIS VUITTON
ANDREY KORISTOV, vice-president of the Russian section "Golden Keys",
Head of the Concierge Service at the Metropol Hotel:
“Once I saw a very sad guest in a hotel bar and asked what had happened. He said: "Tomorrow I am returning home, and my wife thinks that I am on a business trip in the capital of another state, just called and asked me to bring local sweets, a bottle of liquor and some kind of box." The next morning I knocked on his room with a box, a bottle and sweets from this country and - an important detail - handed him some local currency bills to put in his wallet to complete the picture.
Photos: Lyuba Kozorezova
FOR THE HEADING "WARDROBE" we photograph beautifully, distinctively or oddly dressed people wearing their favorite things and ask them to tell stories related to them. This week our heroine is the deputy chief concierge of the Metropol Hotel, press attaché for Les Clefs d'Or Russia and co-owner of the Bureau Magoo agency Anna Endrikhovskaya.
I don't seem to have a specific style. And this is probably good. I like that with the help of clothes we have the opportunity not only to broadcast our character and mood, but also to change our everyday life. It's cool that Moscow has now grown to the point where you can wear whatever you want and not face judgmental glances. People have begun to be more tolerant and more benevolent to the individual style, and this cannot but rejoice.
Jumpsuit Isabel Marant Etoile,
Alexander Wang pumps
Since adolescence, I really love overalls. I think it's very convenient: put it on and that's it, you don't have to worry, what to combine with - stylish and unusual at once. I have been looking for a new denim overalls for a long time and have tried many, the main thing was to avoid danger and not come out as an overgrown schoolgirl. When I saw this one, I was immediately transported into the world of Jane Birkin from her beloved 60s and 70s.
I really love massive heels. A close friend of mine was in Amsterdam and sent me a photo of them from the Shoebaloo sale. I saw the message already in Moscow and was upset that I had missed the chance to become the owner of the "Vangs" with such a good discount. But another friend of ours, who lives in Amster, as a surprise bought them for me as a gift, having transferred them to Moscow with her third friend. These are my wonderful friends - and shoes "after three handshakes."
Zarina dress, Alexander Wang shoes
On weekends, especially when the weather is bad, my mother and I can wander into the cinema in the big shopping center like "European", "Metropolis" or "Afimolla", where before that we still aimlessly go shopping, like picking mushrooms in the forest. This is how I accidentally found this dress from the collection of Renata Litvinova for a Russian brand. Most likely, I was fascinated by the red lips: I have been wearing red lipstick for the last five years without removing it. Even some friends and colleagues affectionately call me Miss Red Lips. And I also really love monochrome - both in clothes and with accessories, when the bag and shoes match in color.
Bora Aksu robe, Red Valentino shoes
A find from Istanbul Atelier 55. First, this robe, made by a renowned Istanbul designer, is a staple souvenir from one of my very best trips. Secondly, this is the thing that you want to pass on from generation to generation. By the way, often when buying a thing, I evaluate it from this position - whether I can pass it on to my daughters or daughters-in-law, so that it is interesting and important for them to wear it. The robe seems to be so simple, but I feel very feminine in it: I unconsciously want to straighten my shoulders and stretch my neck. This is a timeless thing that will always be relevant.
The shoes are a very good purchase of mine at the Tsvetnoy sale. Firstly, this is my favorite expensive brand, which I still cannot afford to dress in, and secondly, this is my favorite color. I wear burgundy with everything, the main thing is to make up my lips with the same shade. I took these shoes with me to the convention in Dubai and danced in them so frenziedly that my colleague from Paris had to sew my strap in the middle of the night right in the lobby. Now they are rightfully the most comfortable shoes for dancing. Upon arrival in Moscow, I put them in a bag to take them for repairs, and hurt somewhere: I ransacked the whole house, and then wrote a tearful status on Facebook. Ten minutes later, a friendly restaurant answered me: it turned out that they had the bag with the sandals and they just didn’t know who owned this strange set. Glory to the power of Facebook, I hope I'll wear these shoes my whole life
Lena Hoschek dress, & Other Stories shoes
I had a wonderful acquaintance with Lena Hoshek: I came across a store on one of the streets of Zurich and at first thought it was a costume museum. The collection with fluffy princess skirts embroidered in gold, all in floral prints, was called Russian Rose: I began to measure and fell in love. In the end, I didn't buy this dress, but left with the royal skirt, which was my first independent expensive purchase. But the dress did not leave my head for a long time afterwards. As a result, my friend found the last copy in Berlin, and so it turned out to be with me. For me, this is also a thing out of time, it feels like this dress has lived a lot interesting stories before me and will live long after.
Shoes are one of my favorites, I consider them a godsend. I think that only massive heels that make my leg more graceful are fine for me, but finding such is not easy. I somehow found the ideal ones at Céline, but for the price of one pair you could buy a whole wardrobe, so I continued looking. So, these wonderful shoes strongly remind me of those Céline, only they cost ten times less.
Suit & Other Stories, COS shirt,
"Engineer Garin" cap, Sandro boots
I have been wearing a uniform at work for ten years now. All this time I dreamed that she was beautiful. I wanted a good women's suit, but finding a beautiful one was very difficult, almost impossible. And only recently, luck has turned to face me: most often I am lucky in Sandro, but this particular suit is my pride from & Other Stories. It is perfectly tailored, has an unusual cut, stripes and an affordable price. Moreover, it can also be worn in different ways: as an English punks from the 20s (in this photo) or wearing without a shirt with shoes with heels, plus put your hair in a wave, paint your lips with red lipstick - and that's it, you have an image the same times only in the spirit of Chanel.
Seryozha Malykhin, designer and author of the Engineer Garin brand, is my friend. Thanks to my acquaintance with him, I discovered a love for hats, and especially for caps. It is very nice and comfortable, it has some incredible aesthetics. I like to add a cinematic look to everyday looks, and the cap helps me with that. I like to learn the history of things: Serge puts so much soul into the production of each cap or hat that I wear them with special pride.
Favorite Sandro boots, I am ready to wear them with everything and under everything, I do it all year round. Friends hint that I wore them, but it seems to me that this only adds charm to the boots. When I look at them, I remember the Depeche Mode song "Walking in My Shoes", and I often fantasize that if I were shooting a movie in which these shoes were the main character, they could tell a lot of interesting things, because they visited different countries, at crazy parties, unusual theatrical performances, restaurants, bars and witnessed unusual acquaintances.
COS shirt, Tim Van Steenbergen pants, coat and boots - Sandro
Trousers from the men's collection of a Belgian who is known in Europe as a theater designer and works with large local theaters. Approximately like here we have Chapurin with the Bolshoi. I bought them at a closed sale of the designer clothes store Cara & Co, which was arranged on the occasion of its closure. Men's trousers, they fit me like a thing with a high waist. I think they could hang in the closet of some man in his forties. The coat is one of the favorite options for outerwear for the warm season, I wear it with everything.
Dress and coat - Sandro,
Red Valentino sandals
I love it when modern things look vintage. This dress is one of them, such a model can be easily found among the things of the 30s. My choice for business conferences. The love of black and white things is probably a consequence of working in the hotel business.
Paul & Joe Sister Jacket, adidas T-shirt, Mom Jeans, Sandro Boots
The 80s game is my favorite. These jeans are especially dear to me: I have a video where I turn one year old, and my mother stands in them and cuts a salad. I actively tug on her legs there. I myself now periodically go to parties in them. I like it when a thing has a long life. One of my hobbies is looking at things in old suitcases in the country. Every year I manage to find something new there. I have several “generational” items in my wardrobe that were worn by more than one person in my family. For example, I have a dress that belonged to my great-great-grandmother.
I bought a T-shirt not so long ago - I could not resist. Thanks to the print, the T-shirt also looks like it was found at my dacha.
Black biker jacket is a must have. I wear leather jackets since school.
Paul & Joe Sister top, mom's pants,
Vagabond slip-on sneakers
It seems to me that a girl about forty years ago could have dressed in the same way - simply and harmoniously. The cartoon print aside, the top looks vintage. Trousers give me strength because my mother used to wear them when she was young. Simple and feminine. In this image, I automatically want to move my shoulders and start dancing lambada.
Whistles jumpsuit, robe from Uzbekistan, vintage jewelry, Vagabond slip-on sneakers
I try to bring from all my trips what was made by local designers. I was in Uzbekistan for the second time - I am absolutely in love with this country, it's incredible a nice place... From the second trip, I brought a lot of everything that I wear now. I feel like an oriental princess in this and the best friend of taxi drivers - all Uzbeks immediately recognize me. Jumpsuit is my best friend in summer. It can be worn with sneakers and a sweatshirt, or with high-heeled shoes, a jacket and a long necklace. A unique item that looks different depending on the combinations.
I am partial to jewelry in the form of coins, crosses and keys. This jewelry was found by my friend in Tashkent - it is interesting to look at the coins, there is even a 1910 coin there. A friend took a big risk, flying out of Uzbekistan with him, because documents could be requested for such antiques.
Mes Demoiselles Shirt,
Whistles jumpsuit, Swear shoes
I take this shirt with me all the time when I travel. For a long time I did not know how and with what to wear it, but then I realized - with everything or, conversely, without anything. Several factors influenced the decision to buy it, but the main one is what is hidden. Inside, under the label, you can see the kiss - red lips print. The shape of these lips resembles mine. It seemed to me that this is a sign.
I like the ideology of the Mes Demoiselles brand. They always shoot incredible lookbooks, and the girls look beautiful and relaxed in them.
Anna Endrikhovskaya, the MOSS hotel concierge chief and trendsetter, is known far beyond her professional circle. Indeed, in order to provide a high-class service, you need connections with influential people in various fields. However, as Anna herself says, the main thing in her work is the ability to empathy and empathy. Especially for Buro 24/7, she spoke about the most incredible challenges from her practice, which she managed to cope with solely thanks to love.
The most important qualities of a concierge
In an essay for the international competition for the title of the best concierge, which I won in 2013, I wrote that people who constantly sacrifice themselves, their interests, and time for the sake of others were formerly called saints, but today concierges have taken on this role. And it is true. It is impossible to take place in this profession if there is no sincere love for people and the world, if there is no desire to come to the rescue at any time of the day.
I know every good doctor in Moscow, I know to whom, when and which guest to send, what to recommend. I myself can’t go to the doctor, simply don’t find time and don’t consider it important, unfortunately. Or, for example, I know the best stylists in the city, but I myself can run into an economy-class hairdressing salon, the closest to my native MOSS hotel. But on the other hand, when you see that you have done something special for the guest, hear the words of gratitude, then the realization comes that my works and sometimes complete self-denial are not in vain.
I selected the concierge service team at MOSS according to the same principle: is there fire and warmth in a person. All my guys treat work with trepidation, for them it is a great pleasure and drive. This is a constant feeling of butterflies in the stomach. I see that their love for the profession is natural and conscious, and not dictated by any regulations.
On the features of the service in Russia
By the way, Russian concierges are more sacrificial than Western ones. For example, in Europe there is a clear schedule and division: now they are working, but tomorrow they are on vacation with their family. We don't have this, and we don't know how to do it in another way, and this crazy regime without rest is taken for granted by many.
Recently I was in Rostov, where I was resting with my friends in a bath. It’s eleven in the evening, I’m sitting in a coffee scrub after the font, suddenly a call from an assistant rings from an unknown number famous person: "Anya, hello, I urgently need to send a bouquet of flowers to Frankfurt." I tell her that she found me while relaxing, to which she replied in surprise: "But I thought you were always working." What to do? Of course, I could not refuse: I hastily wrote to my colleagues from Frankfurt. Flowers were delivered on time and to the address.
And here is the story of my colleague from a Moscow hotel. Once they had a foreign guest who was very impressed by the wrought-iron floor in St. Basil's Cathedral. He asked the concierges to find craftsmen who could do exactly the same. The task was not easy, because the technology was lost centuries later. A friend of mine picked up all the connections, and someone advised me to contact the AQ Chiken restaurant on Patrick with a similar gender, but it also turned out to be historical!
The world of concierges, like many years ago, is based on friendly ties
Desperate searches were still crowned with success, but the decision came in the most magical way, as if in a fairy tale with a quest "go there, I don't know where, and do that, I don't know what": a random taxi driver told about his brother in New York, who for a long time traveled across America, warming himself by barrels of fires, as in the films. And then he began to make works of art from these very barrels and founded his own workshop. As a result, the floor was ordered from him, and when the guest returned from Russia, a wrought-iron floor was already installed in his Mexican villa - exactly the same as in the temple on Red Square.
There was a similar incident at the MOSS Hotel. The guest fell in love with our corridors and wanted the same walls at his home in Israel. MOSS interior designer Natasha Belonogova put us in touch with the sculptor, and he urgently made these plates, and they are cast, by the way, by hand.
About the mutual assistance of concierges around the world
A global concierge community can often help resolve any issue quickly. The principle of mutual assistance is due not only to the peculiarities of the profession: we cannot do without natural benevolence and cordiality in our craft.
Every time I call the legendary concierge Benoit from the grand hotel in Paris with some request, I feel very embarrassed, I imagine with horror how everyone is tearing him to pieces, and he always calmly says to me: “Anya, what are you are you worried? You are my sister. If I don’t help you, then I’ll disgrace our family! I do not want this, of course, I will help you! Of course, it's not difficult for me! " We are proud to have such international unity and brotherhood.
Here is one of the craziest stories to prove. She is associated with a famous Russian designer who flew to Paris, having forgotten her cosmetic bag in Moscow. The design assistant called me at three o'clock in the morning with pleas to urgently deliver the loss by morning. I tried to send the cosmetic bag on the first flight. This method often helps me out: for example, solely thanks to connections in private airlines, I regularly delivered special diapers to one family from the United States to Chelyabinsk. So, there were no suitable flights, so I called the concierge at the Le Bristol hotel. She says to me: "No problem, my friend works in a cosmetic store, I will ask her to come to work early, she will collect everything, and when the store opens, we will push through the purchase."
The world of concierges, like many years ago, is based on friendly ties. Thanks to contacts, we really own the keys to all doors. I remember one of the guests urgently needed certain sneakers from a famous brand, but the boutique said that they were out of stock. Then my friend agreed on everything, and the sneakers miraculously appeared out of nowhere and were already waiting for me in the boutique.
About the Grand Budapest Hotel Association and education
I have dozens of collective chats in my messenger, which are divided into countries, regions and cities. Among my colleagues there are many who are members of the prestigious Les Clefs d "Or" association, which became widely known for the film "The Grand Budapest Hotel." It is not without reason that her motto is “In Service Through Friendship”.
I am very proud to be a member of the executive committee of the association recently. Among my tasks is the preparation of an educational program. Last year we held a congress in Berlin, and very soon we will go to Korea, where the best concierges in the world will speak and share their experience.
All the speakers at our conferences are incredibly colorful personalities such as Jean-Claude Biver, the owner of Hublot. From the moment of his performance, the thought settled in my head: “When I grow up, I will have a Hublot watch”. For me, this is a kind of talisman, because all the successes of Beaver and his empire were inspired by love for his wife, and as I said earlier, in any work, especially in ours, everything should be based on love.
How not to be left without a tip
Oddly enough, concierges rarely hear an elementary "thank you". In Russia, I would like to develop a culture of tips. For MOSS we made some cool envelopes with cute captions like “Tipping makes you cool and sexy”. It makes you smile and helps guests express their gratitude for the excellent service.
Wes Anderson's film The Grand Budapest Hotel has been released worldwide. Golden Keys play a central role in the events presented there.
(Les Clefs d "Or)- closed international organization concierge. If you believe the film, humble concierges are able to arrange the impossible, regardless of borders, wars and powerful enemies. Whether there is much truth in this, Miloslav Chemodanov learned from the concierge of the Moscow Metropol and a member of the Golden Keys, Anna Endrikhovskaya.
By the way, The organization recognized Anna as the best young concierge of a five-star hotel in the world for 2013. This title has never before gone to a representative of Russia or Eastern Europe.
Where did they come from
"Golden Keys"
"Golden Keys" were founded in 1929. They were organized by a group of friends - a few years earlier, they all came to Paris from different cities and got a job in hotels: then there was just a boom in travel. Because of their friendship, the motto of the "Golden Keys" went - "In Service Through Friendship"("Service through Friendship"). Now the organization includes about four thousand concierges best hotels Worldwide. It is believed that a five-star hotel must have a concierge from the Golden Keys, this is like the stars Michelin at restaurants as a quality mark. In our zone - in Russia and Ukraine - there are forty such concierges. For comparison, in France - about nine hundred, in America - one and a half thousand. In Moscow, in five-star hotels, a member of society is not only in The ritz-carlton, but they are moving towards this, I hope.
Concierges are akin to some Masons, and in order to get into their closed society, you must meet high standards. The fact that the hotel concierge is included in the Golden Keys means that you can contact him with any request. This request can be really any, with some exceptions. As stated in our code, we do everything that is morally and subject to the laws of ethics.
How to become a member
"Golden Keys"
Different countries have different requirements for concierges who claim to be included in the Golden Keys. We have to work four years in a four- or five-star hotel, three of them as a concierge. Only after that your candidacy can be considered by the executive committee. The rest is also not easy: you have to make a presentation explaining what you can bring to the Golden Keys. In addition, two current members of the organization must vouch for the candidate. In the end, after difficult exams, the executive committee decides whether to accept you or not.
I was born in Moscow, but in connection with my father's work I did not spend my childhood in Russia. My best friends were receptionists, waiters, maids, hotel chefs, and so on. And when I saw hotels in the movies, they were always enveloped in magic: in beautiful light, with luxury cars approaching, from which heroes emerge. And hotel staff were often key characters in the story. I myself, from my experience of working in hotels, already have enough stories for a book.
Whatever the relationship between the governments of the countries, concierge
from "Golden Keys" always support each other
After the eleventh grade, I studied at the College of Hospitality in Tsaritsyn, then went to the Plekhanov Academy. But, of course, the best school is the hotel work itself. In general, if we talk about concierges, then you need to understand that this is a profession for life.
This work is a huge responsibility. Because God forbid you will write the wrong time, the guest will not be met, he will be late for the deal and will lose millions. But there is another side: when I travel, I can go to any five-star hotel, and even if I do not know their concierge, but he has the Golden Keys sign on it, then he is already my friend. I have four thousand such friends all over the world. Whatever the relationship between governments, the Golden Keys concierges always support each other.
When we gather in a large group, about five hundred people, I notice how similar we are: in terms of energy, in relation to work. You have to love the hotel, love to constantly challenge yourself. The fact is, you never stop working. My mom has already come to terms with the fact that I am not parting with the phone, it is glued to my hand. Or I came to a meeting with friends in a new bar and ate a delicious risotto there. I ate it not like Anya, but like concierge Anna - and I remembered to advise the guest on occasion if he asks for something like that. And so - in everything: you go somewhere and see that Tverskaya Street has been blocked, - you immediately call your colleagues so that they do not send anyone along this route.
We have a mobile chat - "Moscow Concierges" - and we all write there. "Guys, it's awful there, don't send anyone there!" Or vice versa. Or: "If someone needs a contact there, here you go." We've all known each other for many years.
What are you capable of
"Golden Keys"
Today I cannot imagine my life without the Golden Keys. Imagine, now a guest comes up or calls - a rich Russian who loves to eat and dress and visit fashionable places, and tomorrow he needs to fly to Paris, where I know nothing. What will I do? I'll call my friend Sefa in Paris hotel The Ritz and I will say: “Mr. X is coming to you, please arrange an invitation for him to such and such a show, find his daughter sneakers of such and such a brand and recommend him a place for dinner that no one else will tell him about and from which he will be in delighted. " And Sefa will do all this - just like I will help him with the guests he will send to me. "Golden Keys" open doors.
In Russia, I still face the fact that people do not know who a concierge is. When they ask me who I work, I proudly answer, and people ask again: "Is this what you open the doors of the hotel?" No, and I'm not a grandmother at the entrance. Do you remember when you and I ran into at the premiere of the Grand Budapest Hotel? My colleagues and I were wearing Golden Keys badges. Other spectators, celebrities, before the start of the film looked at me and other concierges like idiots: no one understood who we were. After the show, it was a completely different story. Surely those who, without knowing the question, are watching the Grand Budapest Hotel, the story of the all-powerful society of Golden Keys seems far-fetched, but it is completely believable.
We help to adopt children- we go through together
with the guests this whole procedure. And when
they leave, you practically sob, worrying how they will cope there without you
Before filming, Wes Anderson traveled to Prague and met with our Czech colleague Peter, who explained to him how our organization works. So that you understand the scale: we had a congress in London. I arrive there, get into a taxi. On the first page of Time - a greeting to the concierges gathered for the congress. The hotel announces that the ceremony will take place in the Tower of the Night. There, we are grateful to the royals because we help solve the problems of about a million guests a year. After all, we are not doing anything! Here, my colleague, at the request of a foreign guest, was looking for a mass grave of a relative who died during World War II on the territory of Russia, and found it.
We help to adopt children - we go through the whole procedure together with the guests. And you not only help them deal with the documents. I taught the guest the basics of the Russian language so that she understood what her daughter would say when she had a stomach ache or she wanted ice cream - in a variety of situations. I also taught this girl words in English language so that they can somehow establish communication. And when they leave, you practically sob, worrying how they will cope there without you. And stories like this happen all the time. You never know who you will meet today and what you have to do for him.
About changes for the better
Two main qualities to work as a concierge: you need to love your city and love people.
When I was younger, before Golden Keys, I remember it was hard for me to react to emotional guests. Every second guest yelled at me. After all, as a rule, people living in a hotel pay money for it - as a result, they believe that everyone owes them. And they yelled at me, they accused me of everything, they threatened to fire me, and everything is from scratch: they could do it just by passing by. Now this does not happen, but before it was at every step.
About Russian guests
Most of my foreign colleagues are now learning Russian. The fact is that many wealthy travelers from Russia grew up at a time when it was not customary to seriously learn foreign languages, and now it is not easy for concierges to understand them. Sometimes they call us: "I have a Russian guest in front of me now, please explain what he wants." In general, Russians are one of the most beloved guests abroad. They are described to me as people who are often interested in non-trivial, secret places, drawn to art.
Or here's another, we have one Russian guest with whom we have been working for a very long time. What we didn’t do just for him! At the same time, he often does not even live in a hotel - he simply addresses from old memory, knowing that we will always help out. It's okay, on the one hand, but here's an amazing case: he asks for some help in Paris. We call our friend from the Intercontinental there, he will organize everything, and I just warn you, just in case, Philip, the situation is strange here: forgive me if he offends you. And he was surprised to me: "Yes, everything is in order, he left me a good tip." And here you are sitting in bewilderment: why does a person behave completely differently with us and with them? Russian guests do not consider it necessary to leave a tip here.
Somehow my colleague was asked to urgently buy sporty Hyundai red, it was at night. The only thing she asked was: "With or without a bow?"
I had a strange case. A very rich Russian guest argued with other rich Russians who would find the best moonshine in the world. Each of them, of course, harnessed their own concierge or assistant. I threw a cry over my contacts. In response, different people bring me to the same grandfather, who lives one hundred and seventy kilometers from Kiev and makes some kind of simply legendary moonshine. I called the guest: it looks like I found it. And he told me: "Just don't forget the best bottle." And this means that she should have such and such bubbles, such and such a chip, and she should be about sixty years old. As a result, I find such a bottle at a flea market that works on Saturdays in Odessa. And one of my colleagues buys a bottle and delivers it to Kiev, another colleague goes and fills this bottle with that grandfather and returns to Kiev, after which the moonshine goes to me in Moscow by a ten-hour train, and I already send it to my guest, I sit and wait. And yes - it is not known how they measured the quality of the moonshine there, but we won!
How long have I worked with rich people, I keep thinking: if tomorrow a suitcase with money falls on me, will I become like this too? Guests come up to you with the words: “Find gifts for New Year my wife and son, who love this and that, and they have everything, and I’m going to the wedding tomorrow - I also need a present, here’s the money ”, and the time is 11 pm, Friday. And everything turns out, again, thanks to friendship: boutiques open in the middle of the night on purpose so that we can fulfill these requests.
Once my colleague was asked to urgently buy a sporty Hyundai red, it was also at night. The only thing she asked after receiving the documents and credit card: "With or without a bow?"
Photos: Mikhail Goldenkov
The biographies of the concierges are confusingly similar: at sixteen they start working as boys on parcels in hotels next to their house, at eighteen, having moved with their family to the regional center, with a letter of recommendation from a village hotel they go to get a job as a luggage carrier, at twenty they work as doormen, at twenty four, already in the capital, command the porters in one of the Grand Hotels. By thirty they find themselves at the concierge's counter, at forty they are all at the same counter, but already in the boss's business card and with a staff of boys, a porter and other concierges.
From the position of the chief concierge, against the will of their own and of their clients, they are honorably retired in deep retirement age back to the province, closer to a lucrative restaurant or small hotel, most likely the very one where their careers began. Their children and grandchildren have long been working in hotels by that time. Of course, by the concierge.
You read about great concierges and are amazed: thirty years in one place, forty, half a century; from a messenger to a chief concierge, they grow up in ten to fifteen seasons, then - improvement without formal growth.
Concierges never become hotel directors, very rarely move from one desk to another, and they are not attracted by high salaries. Concierges are people in their places, and even changes in owners, management companies and managers rarely affect concierges. In order to get rid of the ingrown concierge who has stuck to his office, it is necessary to close the hotel altogether, destroy it, raze it to the ground. If even a part of the hotel, even a stone, remains in place, under this stone - lift it - a concierge will be found.
Concierges never become hotel directors, very rarely move from one desk to another, and they are not attracted by high salaries.
Why is that? Because the concierge is the hotel, its soul, its essence. Keys, after all. Actually, the keepers of the keys to the royal palaces were originally called concierges. And from the prison cells. The principle of dividing space into cells from prisons spread to palaces, and hotels turned out. Who inherited the concierges. Someone had to give the keys. That is why behind any concierge's back, even if the hotel doors are opened with plastic cards, there are boxes or key hooks. It just so happened.
However, over time, concierges began to play a much larger number of instruments: others were added to the keys to the rooms - from restaurants, theaters, shops. Concierges began to open any doors, and the number of stars on the concierge's shoulder straps became directly dependent on the number of keys that he owns. Not real, of course, but conditional.
The concierge can get a table in the best restaurant at any time - one key; has access to the boxes in the opera - one more; knows how to delay the departure of the plane and deliver to the gangway in a limousine - as many as two. Fresh flowers, rare vintage wine, the ability to open boutiques at night, lift doctors from their beds, take bags from a new collection and deliver luggage - these are all points, plus signs, credit points - keys, in general. And when the number of such keys reaches a certain level, the concierge is promoted up to the ceiling post of the chief concierge and, having reached the limit, begins to develop only within the cocoon of his own competence. Well, and get rich, of course.
As a rule, the concierge cannot go to another hotel - if it is not a hotel “in the area”. And he doesn't want to. All connections, all contacts, all phone numbers from a puffy notepad - all this is tied to a specific area, inscribed in a circle with a radius of twenty kilometers.
After all, the concierge is not a telephone, or rather not just a telephone, directory, but a communication tool, a master of problem solving, a magician. The qualification of a hotel concierge is a specific thing. He should be able to do many things without looking at the laws and regulations.
Here are tickets and invitations, for example. The client wants to get to the premiere. Officially, tickets have not been on sale for a long time, invitations have not been sold at all. Hence, it is necessary to use connections. And break the written rules. Buy tickets from speculators, exchange them from fellow concierges for something of equal value, extort, corrupt. In general, overpay. And the client must understand that he gets the ticket at the wrong price, which is indicated on it. And if he doesn't understand? If he pretends that he is ready to pay only at face value? What should be done in this case? Pretend that everything is in order, and spread your own? It happens that this is so.
Equanimity is a valuable, if not the main quality of a concierge, he is supposed to keep the brand. And the face. Its and the hotel. Because if something is wrong in the hotel, the concierge is again responsible to the client. Even if formally he is not responsible for what is not in order.
What should a concierge be able to do? In fact, everything. Well, that is, he is not obliged to walk on a free wire, fly on skis, take the top before and drink without getting drunk. But he must know those who can walk, fly, take and drink. Better - in pairs, so that you always have a replacement. About the free wire and the top up - this is serious. Requests are still not like that.
For example, one of the guests of Badrutt's Palace in St. Moritz asked the concierge to urgently find ... an elephant. According to the idea of the guest, the elephant was supposed to stand in the hotel lobby and meet his birthday wife. Well, I did.
Another guest was suddenly tempted to fill the girl's room with red roses on the eve of the weekend. I had to send a helicopter to Milan for flowers, there was no closer.
Another (this time in Moscow, at the Baltschug Kempinski Hotel) for purple roses, from a Parisian boutique whose name the guest did not remember. With the help of his French colleagues, the concierge found little that exactly the shop that was required, but he flew to Paris, convinced two customs offices that one hundred and fifty flowers were not going to Moscow for sale, and was on time.
And the concierge of Albergo della Regina Isabella on the island of Ischia at five in the morning received a call from the yacht of Gianni Agnelli, the owner of the FIAT concern and a good half of Italy, and asked to bring fresh bread. I had to look for a working bakery, a boat and send a messenger with a loaf on board. They also say "not by bread alone."
And a client of The Dorchester in London asked for a popcorn machine in his room. They did, of course. Another, a rock musician, asked the concierge to prepare a stage costume for the performance - to sew underpants to the shirt so that it would not come out of the trousers during the concert. Sewn it on.
So the concierge can not only fly, walk and take, but also sew, train, bake, plant roses. Everything in general. The list is endless.
The concierges have a kind of union - the Golden Keys, Les Clefs d'Or, or the Union Internationale des Concierges d'Hôtels. In its embryonic state, it arose in 1929, when eleven concierges of the Parisian grand hotels united into a "society" (it would be more correct to call it a gang), deciding that by joint efforts it would be more convenient to deal with capricious clients. So on October 6, 1929, the concierges decided not only to exchange information and specific knowledge, but also drew up the first black list of eternally disgruntled curmudgeons who give impossible tasks and leave no tips.
Twenty-three years later, in Cannes, concierge delegates from nine European countries met for a founding congress and founded the European Union of Hotel Clerks. The first president of the concierge union was Ferdinand Gillet of Scribe in Paris. Over the next sixty years, four dozen more countries joined the organization, it turned into an international one, the "porter" in the name changed to "concierge", and the number of members exceeded four thousand.
After all, the concierge is not a telephone, or rather not just a telephone, directory, but a communication tool, a master of problem solving, a magician.
Why do concierges need an international union? To fight for rights? To drink milk and presents for Christmas? Of course, not for this. The union is needed to jointly fight to fulfill the idiotic requests of the clients.
Here is the same story with purple roses - a classic example of the “go where I don’t know where” quest. The boutique, the name of which the client did not remember, had to be strictly defined, the wrapper of flowers - from this particular Parisian store. Twenty-four hours were allotted for execution. And without colleagues - members of the association, Pavel Nikolaev from the Moscow "Balchug" would not have been able to do: "letters of happiness" were sent to a dozen Parisian concierges, they sent an SOS signal on command, and a couple of hours later a shop selling a damn variety of purple roses was found, and an hour later Pavel rushed to Sheremetyevo for the Paris flight. In Roissy, he was greeted with flowers - one and a half hundred purple roses in paper with the desired logo. It is not difficult to calculate the value of each rose. As well as the cost of the crocodile "Birkin", for which the concierge of another Moscow hotel had to fly to Santiago, the Chilean capital.
That is, in fact, an international union of concierges, it is like the Soviet State Planning Committee - to solve a cumbersome system of linear equations, each of which formulates a problem such as “how much effort must be made by the Parisian, New York and Madrid receptionists so that the Budapest colleague was able to fulfill the request of Alma- The Athenian guest, who, while passing through Prague, demanded that the Australian teddy bear koala, bought in Abu Dhabi and left in Buenos Aires, be delivered to Vienna. Like that. Well, how can it be without association and a strong nervous system?
But, by the way, since there have been some changes in the technical field since 1929, and in addition to the telephone and couriers, the Internet and 3D printers have appeared, the concierges have also armed themselves with some progress products. For example, Roderic Levezhak, the current chef concierge of the Parisian George V (and the current vice president of the union), once came up with a computer program that allows you to combine the knowledge and contacts of hotel receptionists into a single dossier. Well, to make sure that none of the customer's requests is left unattended. The program is being successfully sold; I think that mobile app has long been ready and installed on several thousand concierge iPhones.
But why do the concierges break into a cake, delivering an elephant to the hotel lobby on time or covering the floor of the apartment with the petals of some special rose?
First, as in the joke, it is beautiful. Indeed, to do something unimaginable is such a special chic: “Nobody could, I could”.
The same Levezhak once organized a trip for two American veterans to the places of their military glory: he made a map, found the Normandy beach, on which the soldiers landed, people who remembered the landing of the allies - in general, he worked as a historian, producer, travel agent, and all for the sake of two pensioners, not at all like those who give out generous tips.
Secondly, although there is no Nobel Prize for concierges, the Golden Keys are constantly being handed over to someone. Twenty-five-year-old Anna Endrikhovskaya from the Moscow Metropol was recognized as the best young concierge in the world this year. With the presentation of the award to them. Andy Pongo (there was such a legendary concierge). Not a Nobel Prize, but also nice.
Equanimity is a valuable, if not the main quality of a concierge, he is supposed to keep the brand.
Thirdly, a concierge entertainer who knows how to solve customer problems (like one known case, when the concierge had to propose to the bride instead of the suddenly timid groom), is a definite plus for the hotel. In general, today a hotel is not a hotel without a skilled concierge. These three stars can do without a nanny for clients, but four - no way. About five - there is no question even. And the handier and smarter the concierge, the better the hotel.
It comes to the point that clients come to some (not the greatest) hotels over and over again precisely because of the abilities of the concierge (as because of the hero of the new film by Wes Anderson, Grand Budapest Hotel). Because even stale breakfast rolls are forgiven if someone can get a ticket to the premiere, hold the plane by the tail, or deliver purple roses from nowhere! Well, or just to console, get rid of loneliness, pretend to be a son (or even a husband).
And fourthly, the concierges are waiting for a tip. Guys' salaries are not always (that is, never) high, but good concierges can earn tax-free tips in a season not hundreds, not thousands, but tens of thousands of dollars, pounds, euros or francs. Concierge Cala di Volpe was said to have a dozen Ferraris in his garage; the Badrutt's Palace porter is said to own three hotels; the rumors about the man from The Ritz are so unimaginable that we won't even reproduce them. Someone tried to calculate the income of the concierges of the Alpine Grand hotels, and it turned out that one hundred and fifty thousand Swiss francs per season is the minimum, below which the work as a concierge becomes unprofitable.
In addition to tips, do not forget about the commissions received by the concierge on almost every restaurant reservation, air ticket, helicopter, boat or limousine order.
However, some restaurants and shops pride themselves on never paying a concierge commission. This is understandable - you can't get into Noma anyway, you sign up three months in advance, and you need to manage to get through to the restaurant in the first half hour after the opening of the reservation for the next quarter. So, rather, the concierge is willing to pay to put a client in such an establishment, but Noma and similar restaurants are an exception.
In general, the owner of a boutique or catering establishment, of course, is not greedy. Note, however, that for a good concierge, commission is not a defining moment: if a client wants a good Greek tavern, the concierge is unlikely to send a guest to a French restaurant with an average bill of five hundred on the nose. Professional pride is higher than greed.
How to tip the concierge? It depends on you and your future plans. A good concierge will never hint that his work would be well paid (especially when the commissions more than cover his energy costs), so you yourself have to judge the amount of your own gratitude.
A reservation for a regular restaurant costs ten to fifteen euros; a table in an establishment where your own assistant couldn't find anything — hundreds; organization of a children's party or bachelor party - ten percent of the bill. A smile every morning or an elephant delivery is priceless. Tipping too much corrupts; tipping too small leaves a residue instead of gratitude. Do not be chic, but do not be greedy, nothing is better than a trifle, save your coins for the doormen.
Do you check your mail often? Let there be something interesting from us.