In the most prestigious hotels, nothing is left to chance. A former palace concierge reveals behind the scenes of this profession of excellence, between extravagant requests, millimeter and cult organization of impeccable service. Rare testimony of a luxury hotel professional.
In a palace, the customer is king, sometimes even emperor. And to meet his least desires, luxury concierges are on the front line. Their role? Make the impossible possible, often in the shadows, always with discretion. Guillaume Pley, in his program Legendstretched the microphone to one of them, a former concierge for several five -star establishments. The story is striking.
Trained in the art of service and secrecy, this professional has seen heads of state, stars and colossal fortunes. His daily life: anticipate expectations, meet requests, coordinate in a few hours which would take days to organize in real life. “Sometimes you say to yourself: If I had money, I would make myself this pleasure“, he admits. Except that some customers have no limits. These anecdotes, as extravagant as they are, reveal behind the scenes of a demanding profession, where excellence, responsiveness and discretion are the rule. In the prestigious hotel industry, each request, as crazy as it may be, is a challenge to be met. And that is what in fact, despite everything, the beauty of the profession.
In palaces, you never say no to a customer, even when what he asks does not have the common sense. The example that comes back to our concierge who tells behind the scenes: “Once, we have a client who asked us for a lot of different animals, including a peacock.” Intrigued, the presenter then asked him: “What is the Albinos peacock?” To which the guest replied, hilarious: “To be there.” A Caprice of Rich who speaks volumes about the absurdity of certain requests from wealthy customers who have lost reason and common sense.
The concierge also told the organization of a millimeter marriage request. Rental of a barge, profusion flowers, champagne, music, giant message facing the Eiffel Tower … The scene was settled as a film production. “He had asked us to rent a barge, to decorate it, all that. You put flowers everywhere, you do something beautiful,” he remembered. But it was only the beginning: once the barge arrived in front of the Eiffel Tower, the long-awaited message appeared in large: “Do you want to marry me?” Or rather, in its international version: “Will You Marry Me?” A spectacular staging … for an unexpected response. The companion of this client unfortunately said no … a slap at several million euros.
