Concierges: They Hold the Gold Keys

Les Clefs d’Or USA

They are the golden ones, members of the Clefs d’Or, the famous international association of professional hotel concierges. You can recognize them by the crossed gold keys on their uniform lapels, but you probably already know them by how they uphold the association’s motto: “In service through friendship.”

Just a handful of San Diego’s concierges have been awarded with membership in this prestigious organization. These distinguished concierges are:

Rosalie Capener, Omni Hotel
Sarah Gagliardi, 4-Seasons Resort Aviara
Chuck Huller, the W Hotel
Dean Laurens, Hilton La Jolla Torrey Pines
Robert Marks, Omni Hotel, Ballpark
Ewa Skoog, Sheraton Harbor Island Hotel
Lisa Marie Wyman, The Lodge at Torrey Pines

Like their peers, Robert Marks and Lisa Marie Wyman, a new member, were chosen after a lengthy application process. At least five years experience within the hotel industry, three of them as a full-time lobby-level concierge in a hotel, is a prerequisite. Letters of support from two current members, as well as recommendation and verification letters from hotel managers are additional requirements.

A 19-year veteran of the profession and a 10-year member of the organization, Robert says membership signifies that the dedicated professional wearing it has made a commitment to utmost service. “Aside from prestige, this is a great networking organization as well. There are members throughout the world whom you can call upon to assist you with your guests.”

“Membership is the validation for work at a high level,” Lisa says. “Guests know they are dealing with a dedicated, seasoned professional, who has a network of fellow pros all over world.” A San Diego native, Lisa has answered one question innumerable times during her 20 years in the hotel business, but it is still her favorite.

“What should I do in San Diego?” asked by a first-time visitor gives her a chance to plan their whole itinerary, she says. Some of her favorite answers include: Coronado, Cabrillo National Monument, La Jolla, Del Mar, the Coast Highway, Balboa Park, Torrey Pines glider port, hot air ballooning at sunset and kayaking. 

The questions that Robert likes the most, he says, come from guests who have been here many times before and want to do something unique. “Then, I have to go outside the box to see what kind of experience we can create for them,” he says.

“The most important part of my job is to listen, ask questions, narrow down what the guest really wants.” Going sailing on a private charter or venturing to Julian to have a picnic and see the historic old town are two of his suggestions.

Does he ever get stumped? “Lots of things may not be answered immediately,” he says, “But almost anything can be answered.” Thanks to the world-wide Clefs d’Or network, he and Lisa and their member colleagues have the encyclopedic knowledge of thousands of professionals on call. According to its website, members of Les Clefs d’Or USA represent over 275,000 hotel rooms nightly at more than 250 primarily four-and five-star properties.

The organization’s purpose is: “To foster the professional development of concierges in the hotel industry by promoting tourism and the highest standards of service for hotel guests.”

Clefs d’Or members become guests themselves, as they travel to attend their annual meetings, which rotate to world-class cities. The international organization will meet in Copenhagen in January, 2009; the organization of the Americas will visit Vancouver in April. San Diego hosted in 1989.

The organization motto, "In Service through Friendship," makes a promise, and each Clefs d’Or member will add her or his special deeds to fulfill it.

“We want our guests to know they are dealing with someone who has made this a profession and will be able to help with almost anything,” Robert says.

Concierge Historical Facts - From the Clefs d’Or website

One school of thought holds that the word, concierge, comes from the Latin root, conservus or fellow slave. Clefs D’Or members prefer the derivation from feudal times—comte des cierges, or “keeper of the candles” in the palace. Because these people had to know where every event and happening was taking place, they became the ones who catered to the royalty and their noble guests.

“Keepers of the keys” for government and castles in the Middle Ages, concierges even have a Paris prison, The Conciergerie, named after a warden who assigned cells to inmates.

In the early 1900s, Switzerland’s grand hotels boasted a “hall porter” position that was the first modern concierge. These pioneers of the profession did everything from greet guests at the train station to assisting them throughout their hotel stay. As they spread through other countries, they decided to form national societies to help each other—the ancestors of today’s worldwide Clefs D’Or.