What does the international association golden keys. "Golden keys" that open all doors: What the world's concierge organization can do. HM: What in Russia can attract young people to come to this position
The International Association of Professional Concierges "Golden Keys" (Les Clefs d'Or) was founded in 1929 in Paris and today has more than four thousand employees of five-star hotels around the world who have passed exams and have been interviewed by members of the executive committee. But many learned about its power only after the Wes Anderson film “The Grand Budapest Hotel”. You can turn to a person with golden keys on his lapel with a request for help in any business, city or country - his comrades in the association 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 party for their daughter - she was turning 30 years old. She is fond of ballet and loves the Bolshoi Theater very much. I gave her a private tour of the historical stage, and after that she changed into tights 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 at Baltschug Kempinski Hotel:
“In 2004, an Arab sheikh lived with us, and his assistant approached 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 book dealers had heard of this edition, but we found it in St. Petersburg, agreed on a price, and the sheikh’s assistant with security guards went there by night train - a diplomat with dollars was handcuffed to the hand of one of the guards. Having bought the Koran, they placed it in a safe box in the Grand Hotel Europe, and took it away before the train back. The sheikh's joy knew no bounds, and I received one of the biggest tips in my life.
Shirt, vest,
DIOR HOMME
pants, 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, the concierge of the Metropol Hotel
IGOR LANTSEV, Chief Concierge at The St. Regis Moscow Nikolskaya
Shirt, jacket, VAN LAACK
pants, BRUNELLO CUCINELLI
butterfly, BROOKS BROTHERS
boots, ROCCO P
ANNA ENDRIKHOVSKAYA:
“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. I had to either send cosmetics from here, or collect similar means there. It took about three hours of telephone conversations, but in the end, with the help of the night concierge of the Le Bristol hotel, where the designer was staying, I agreed with the consultants of all the stores that sell the right brands that they would open an hour earlier, and the cosmetic bag was recreated by the right 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 KORYSTOV, vice-president of the Russian section of Golden Keys,
Head of the concierge service at the Metropol Hotel:
“Once I saw a very sad guest in the hotel bar and asked what happened. He said: “Tomorrow I’m returning home, and my wife thinks that I’m on a business trip in the capital of another state, I just called and asked to bring local sweets, a bottle of liquor and some kind of box.” The next morning, I knocked on his door 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 for completeness.
Historically, the concierge is "the keeper of the keys in the castle." In the Middle Ages, he was engaged in the guests of the feudal lord. At the end of the 19th century, when the hospitality industry began to develop, enterprising young people appeared in many Parisian hotels, who rented a small area and dealt with the requests of guests. Over time, international hotel chains have their own position of "concierge", which made it possible to monitor the quality of service and bring additional income to the hotel.
In 1929, the concierges of the five grand hotels in Paris created a professional association with the aim of sharing experience, gaining new knowledge and simply helping each other. It was called Les clefs d "or, or Golden Keys.
HM: Pavel, when did concierges appear in Russia?
P.N.: The first Western chains came to Russia around 1991. In 1998 Evgeniy Bagdasarov, the head of the porter service (concierge) at the Baltschug Kempinski Hotel, started creating the Russian Association of Concierges. Legally, the organization was registered in January 2000, and a year later, at the World Concierge Congress in Athens, we received our international status. In general, this is a very large organization with a complex hierarchy, covering 40 countries and more than 5 thousand members.
HM: Is there a difference between concierges in Russia and abroad?
P.N.: If in Europe the average age of a concierge is 30–35 years, then in Russia it is 23–25. And, as you understand, a person at 30, not to mention 50, has a completely different life experience. There is a lot of routine in our work, but even in ordinary situations there are nuances. And here you need someone with experience. So, you call the theater box office: “Are there any tickets?”, They answer “Yes”. You agree that the courier will come for them in 40 minutes - he arrives, but there are no tickets. "Who were you talking to?" - “With Marivanna” - “We don’t have one!”. A good concierge will end up with tickets one way or another.
HM: Are you partnering with the same theatres?
P.N.: Naturally. Although it is more difficult with theaters in our specifically Russian situation, because there are a lot of people with a Soviet mentality there. If you call and introduce yourself as a person from the Central Internal Affairs Directorate, a major general or adjutant of So-and-so, then they immediately react differently. When you call from a hotel, they often perceive you as “some kind of boy”, they are not interested. This is psychology. In the West, a completely clear business model has been built: a person sold - he received his bonus.
HM: How did you become a concierge?
P.N.: I am a land registry engineer by training. But it so happened that at the age of 15 I got into a hotel - I cleaned the rooms, worked as a waiter and in the reception and accommodation service. In 2000, I was hired as a concierge at the Baltschug Kempinski Hotel - quite by accident, I had no idea what it was. The first six months were terribly stressful - an unthinkable amount of information, difficult situations ... Fortunately, the hair is not dark, otherwise gray hair would appear!
HM: What was the scariest thing?
P.N.: When you have 6 telephone lines, 4 of them ring almost simultaneously, there is also a huge stack of faxes that need to be answered before the end of the shift, and a queue, like at McDonald's - you need to explain to the guest in one and a half to two minutes how to get to the Kremlin, where to have dinner, how to get back, and even do it in such a way that he does not have the feeling that they want to get rid of him.
HM: How did your career develop further, what important experience did you gain?
P.N.: When I worked at the American Express concierge service, it was very interesting to create everything from scratch, make bases, prescribe procedures, collect contacts, understand how to manage orders from clients you don’t see. In a hotel, you can visually “scan” a guest to understand what to offer him. After all, there are a lot of the same Italian restaurants in Moscow, but each guest has his own expectations - and it is important to guess them. And how to understand by phone what kind of person he is and what he needs? It was interesting. I also gained important experience being a business manager for a wealthy person - whatever I did! Then I returned to the profession - I joined the concierge team " Swissotel Reds Hills.
In my understanding, a concierge is a component of the person himself, that is, some mental or human characteristics. It is not enough to know by heart all Moscow restaurants, descriptions of all museums, paintings, or to remember all lanes and streets of Moscow. If you start testing me seriously, I probably won’t pass the exam on these topics - but I don’t need to remember all the paintings of the Tretyakov Gallery or the menu of the Pushkin restaurant. My task is to find any information as soon as possible. And everything that is legal, moral and ethical, I will find.
HM: What tools do you use for this? How long does it take to process one request?
P.N.: We use the Internet and phone. I have about 2.5 thousand people in my contact list - these are acquaintances from completely different areas. Some requests take 30 seconds to process, others take several weeks. At one time we were looking for an antique book for an Iranian shah. It was a rather laborious and complicated process - we stubbornly called second-hand bookshops.
HM: What other unusual requests happen?
P.N.: In the summer I delayed the departure of the plane. My guest entered the airport 5 minutes before departure ... and flew away. I don't know how I did it myself. We say that a concierge without luck is not a concierge. In that particular situation, chance helped, the stars formed like that. Not the last role in resolving the situation was played by the help of a colleague from another hotel. The airline employee does not care for what reason a person is late, he has 10 thousand such calls a day - he answers with memorized phrases. And here information heard somewhere, intuition, knowledge of psychology comes to the rescue: somewhere you need to sympathize, somewhere a little pressure, somewhere to ask, somewhere to cry ...
Or another situation. A man comes up and says he needs a car in 10 minutes. But during rush hour you won't get a car after such a short period of time! Here I act differently: I call the transport companies, I persuade the dispatcher to announce on the radio - suddenly someone is nearby, or I go out to the drivers I know. Any issue is resolved if there is time and money. The concierge is not God, of course. But then again, flying to the moon is theoretically possible. The only question is when and how much it will cost.
Recently, our regular guests approached me, they said that they were going to Barcelona and they needed tickets for the Barcelona-Real match - and the best ones! But there are no tickets anywhere, I searched all over Barcelona. As a result, I called a colleague, he promised to get tickets to the box located next to the presidents. The guests were stunned by the price, although before that they said that it was not important for them! Is this a resolved situation or an unresolved one?
HM: Were there any funny cases?
P.N.: Once a guest came up to me, put a suitcase near the counter and left, saying that he would come soon. Immediately, another one comes up and places two more suitcases next to it - apparently, they are together. While I was busy, the latter orders a taxi, takes all the suitcases, confirms to my colleague that they belong to him, and leaves. After 10 minutes, the first gentleman returns and asks for his luggage. I had to say that we put it in the storage room. We had a little time left - we very delicately, without making a fuss, demanded the suitcases back and got them, having agreed with the taxi. Everything ended well, the guest never found out that his luggage had been traveling somewhere for half an hour.
HM: What are the requirements for a concierge job applicant?
P.N.: Each hotel has its own. So I prefer it to be guys, not girls - after all, you have to stand on your feet for 8-10 hours, carry suitcases. Although, on the other hand, the girl will quickly "talk" the angry guest, pass him by with a smile, ladies in general are often more tactful and attentive. So, only girls work at Marriott Royal Aurora, but they sit, not stand, as we do at Swissotel. There are no age restrictions, but I would not take a concierge under 22-23 years old in principle, because life experience is very important here. Basic knowledge of psychology is also required. This is a person with a well-developed intuition, inquisitive, and all knowledge should be sorted out. Knowledge of languages is a must. If you call, for example, to Paris and start a conversation in English, the result will be one, and if you speak at least a couple of phrases in French, it will be different. I can somehow explain myself in Spanish, Italian, French.
HM: How many people should work in the service?
P.N.: It all depends on the hotel, on the financial situation and how the management sees this position. At first we had 3, now 4. I know hotels in which there are 18 of them, but this is not in Russia. HM: How do we perceive this profession? P.N.: Many do not even know what it is. Well, theater tickets, taxis, guides ... And here everything is so multifaceted! You need to follow the discoveries, know the trending places - keep your finger on the pulse all the time!
Focus on almost every area of life. There was such a famous concierge Jean-Claude Ilger, about a year or two ago he retired. So Jean-Claude worked at the Plaza Athenee in Paris for about 50 years. He started as a messenger at the age of 14. He was literally known throughout Paris. When he left the hotel in his chic red and gold tailcoat to do something for the guest personally, all the directors of the boutiques on Avenue Montaigne came up and shook his hand. He is a legend!
HM: What in Russia can attract young people to come to this position?
P.N.: Now there is an interest. Higher education institutions that train personnel for the hospitality industry, little by little began to train concierges. There are already guys who are asking for this particular service. It attracts a constant drive and, in a sense, the opportunity to create every day. A good concierge, as a rule, does not leave the profession. I worked in an office, had the position of "executive director", but I quickly got bored.
HM: So the staff turnover is low?
P.N.: Yes and no. It all depends on the hotel, on the individual. In Russia, after the revolution, caste and continuity disappeared altogether, now everyone wants to be bosses and drive a car with a driver, hence the constant search for some new horizons. But if the concierges change every three months, what good are they? During this time, a person can master only the very basics. I often think of Hans Siebesta, CEO of the Baltschug Kempinski Hotel. He was very emotional, sometimes eccentric, demanded a lot. And for him, the concierge has always been the main person in the hotel. He said: “I don’t care how much you earn in tips, but if I hear a complaint from guests that it’s too expensive, that they are poorly served, they don’t smile at them, I’ll ask you!”. The general manager of Swissotel, Jan Khovanets, is rather a teacher, a mentor. I have never heard him raise his voice to anyone, but he explains and talks a lot. We have a very friendly team.
HM: For a good tip, can you take on a request that offends your ethical principles?
P.N.: There were several such situations, but for me the name is more important than money. Of course, I don’t know what I would do, offer me 10 million dollars - maybe I would take it and disappear! (Laughs). But in general, the reputation is much more expensive. HM: Do restaurants pay any commission for cooperation? P.N.: Almost everything is offered. Personally, I do not think this is right: the guest should be advised what he wants.
HM: How can you improve in your profession to be successful?
P.N.: Self-education is a non-stop process. The concierge must periodically go to exhibitions, theaters, restaurants, entertainment centers. It is necessary to study a variety of areas and aspects of life - contemporary art, impressionism, iconography, fashion trends; know why sometimes a business class ticket can cost less than an economy class ticket, etc. In general, constantly invest in yourself and your education.
HM: Are there special trainings?
P.N.: We gather with Moscow concierges about once or twice a month and visit some new place. Jean-Michel Hardouin-Atlan, Chef of the Swissotel Krasnye Holmy, recently told us about gastronomic restaurants - many things were a revelation. Periodically, we meet with service providers. For example, there was a training on servicing VIP lounges at airports, conducted by the Senator company. All this helps in the work.
HM: Has anything changed since you became president of the association?
P.N.: More work, more worries. The more I delve into everything, the more I learn about the association itself - already as a leader who directly communicates with colleagues of the same level.
HM: How can you get into the professional community?
HM: Can you say that the golden keys are some kind of quality mark?
P.N.: The keys are, of course, a sign of quality. A guest who approaches the concierge, who has the keys on the lapel of his jacket, can be sure that he is facing a person with experience and a certain amount of knowledge, which means that he will make every effort to resolve the issue.
HM: How often do large-scale meetings of professionals take place?
P.N.: All-Russian - twice a year. International congress - once a year. You can gain invaluable experience at the congress, which is especially important for young people. Professional trainings are held there on service, psychology, sales, the concierge gets to know another country, expands his horizons. I have written letters of support to the directors of many hotels, asking them to bear the cost of travel for young colleagues. Some people think that we just relax there, go to restaurants and excursions - where is the profit here? But it's all part of our job. We sell emotions! Any five-star hotel has almost the same beds, walls, showers...
But people come to your hotel because they feel comfortable. So, is it still worth investing in your employees?! How to calculate the profit that a maid will bring, knowing that the client does not like fluffy pillows? And if the concierge, remembering all the preferences of the guest, organizes everything even before he was asked about it? Yes, concierges go to restaurants and parties - communicate, learn new things! Boring trainings only discourage learning.
HM: What positive changes in the profession would you like to see?
P.N.: The profession in our market is still very young. Professionals in Moscow can be counted on the fingers. Not all of them are members of the Association, believing that everything is fine with them anyway. But we offer not only access to certain resources represented by concierges from other countries, but also development, new knowledge, ready-made solutions. All this is very important. Our Association has a future, young guys come who want to study and work. We need support from the management of hotels, the Ministry of Tourism and Sports. All over the world, officials understand that tourists are money. But in Moscow, for some reason, no one needs tourists. A lot of things need to be changed, for example, the situation with taxis and inscriptions in Latin letters in the subway. I hope that in 10 years the picture will be very different.
Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel has been released worldwide. The Golden Keys play a central role in the events presented there.
(Les Clefs d'Or) is a closed international organization of concierges. According to the film, humble concierges are able to arrange what is considered impossible, regardless of borders, wars and powerful enemies. How much truth in this, Miloslav Chemodanov found out from the concierge of the Moscow Metropol and a member of the Golden Keys, Anna Yendrikhovskaya.
By the way, The organization recognized Anna as the best young concierge of a five-star hotel in the world in 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 company of friends - a few years earlier they all came to Paris from different cities and got jobs in hotels: then there was 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 of the best hotels around the world. It is believed that a five-star hotel must have a concierge from the Golden Keys, it's like stars Michelin at restaurants, as a sign of quality. 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, there is no member of society only in The Ritz-Carlton but they are getting there, I hope.
Concierges are like freemasons, and in order to get into their closed society, you must meet high standards. The fact that the hotel concierge is part of the Golden Keys means that you can turn to him with any request. This request can be really anything, with some exceptions. As stated in our code, we do everything that is moral and subject to the laws of ethics.
How to become a member
"Golden Keys"
Different countries have different requirements for concierges who apply for getting into the Golden Keys. We need 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 in the executive committee. Further, everything is also difficult: you have to make a presentation explaining what you can bring to the Golden Keys. In addition, two active 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 because of my father's work, I spent my childhood outside of Russia. My best friends were receptionists, waiters, maids, hotel chefs and so on. And when I saw hotels in the movies, they were always wrapped in magic: in beautiful light, with luxury cars pulling up from which heroes emerge. And hotel employees were also often the key characters in the plot. I myself, from my experience in hotels, have enough stories for a book.
Whatever the relationship between the governments of countries, concierges
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 work itself in the hotel. In general, if we talk about concierges, then you need to understand that this is a profession for life.
This job is a huge responsibility. Because God forbid you write the time incorrectly, the guest will not be met, he will be late for the deal and lose millions. But there is another side: when I travel, I can go to any five-star hotel, and even if I don’t know their concierge, but he has a Golden Keys sign on him, then he is already my friend. I have four thousand such friends all over the world. Whatever the relationship between the governments of the countries, the concierges from the Golden Keys always support each other.
When we get together in a large group, 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 challenge yourself all the time. The fact is, you never stop working. My mother has already come to terms with the fact that I do not part with the phone, it is glued to my arm. Or I came to a meeting with friends in a new bar and ate delicious risotto there. I ate it not like Anya, but like Anna the concierge - and I remembered it so that on occasion I could advise the guest if he was interested in something like that. And so - in everything: you go somewhere and see that Tverskaya is blocked, - you immediately call your colleagues so that they do not send anyone by this route.
We have a mobile chat - "Moscow Concierges" - and we all write there. “Guys, it’s terrible there, don’t send anyone there!” Or vice versa. Or: "If someone needs contact there, then here, keep it." We have all known each other for many years.
What are they capable of
"Golden Keys"
Today I cannot imagine my life without the Golden Keys. Imagine, now a guest will come or call - a rich Russian who loves to eat and dress and go to trendy places, and tomorrow he has to fly to Paris, where I don't know anything. What will I do? I will call my friend Sefa at The Ritz in Paris and say, “Mr. X is coming to see you, please arrange for him an invitation to such and such a show, find his daughter brand of sneakers and recommend him a place for dinner, which he needs more no one will tell and from which he will be delighted. And Sefa will do all this - just as I will help him with the guests that he will send to me. "Golden Keys" open doors.
In Russia, I still encounter the fact that people do not know who a concierge is. When they ask me what my job is, I proudly answer, and people ask again: “What is it, do you open the doors at the hotel?” No, and I'm not a grandmother in the stairwell. Remember when we ran into each other at the premiere of The Grand Budapest Hotel? My colleagues and I were wearing Golden Key badges. Other viewers, celebrities, before the film began, they looked at me and other concierges as idiots: no one understood who we were. After the show, it was a completely different story. Surely to those who, without knowing the question, watches the Grand Budapest Hotel, the story of the all-powerful society of the Golden Keys seems far-fetched, but it is completely plausible.
We help adopt children- let's go together
with the guests throughout this procedure. And when
they leave, you practically sob, worrying about how they will cope there without you
Before filming, Wes Anderson went to Prague and met with our Czech colleague Petr, and he explained to him how our organization works. So that you understand the scale: we had a congress in London. I arrive there, sit in a taxi. On the first page of Time - a greeting to the concierges who have gathered for the congress. The hotel announces that the ceremony will take place in the night Tower. There, members of the royal family give a speech of thanks in front of us, because we help solve the problems of about a million guests a year. After all, we don't do anything! Here, at the request of a foreign guest, a colleague of mine was looking for a mass grave of a relative who died during World War II in Russia, and found it.
We help to adopt children - we go through this 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 would understand what her daughter would say when her stomach hurts or she wants ice cream - in a variety of situations. I taught this girl the words to English language so that they can somehow communicate. And when they leave, you practically sob, worrying about 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 change 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 having a hard time reacting to emotional guests. Every second guest shouted at me. After all, as a rule, people living in a hotel pay money for this - as a result, they believe that everyone owes them. And they shouted at me, they accused me of everything, they threatened to fire me, and everything from scratch: they could do it just by passing by. Now this does not happen, but before it was at every turn.
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-banal, secret places, are drawn to art.
Or one more thing, we have one Russian guest with whom we have been working for a very long time. What have we not done for him! At the same time, he often does not even live in a hotel - he simply turns to old memory, knowing that we will always help out. It's okay, on the one hand, but here's an amazing case: he asks to somehow help him in Paris. We call our friend from Intercontinental there, he organizes everything, and I warn you just in case, they say, Philip, this is a strange situation here: forgive me if he offends you. And he surprised me: “Yes, everything is in order, he left me a good tip.” And here you are sitting in perplexity: why does a person behave differently with us and with them? Russian guests do not consider it necessary to leave a tip here.
Once my colleague was asked to urgently buy sporty hyundai red, it was at night. The only thing she asked: "With or without a bow?"
I had a strange case. A very rich Russian guest made a bet with other rich Russians as to which of them would find the best moonshine in the world. Each of them, of course, harnessed his concierge or assistant. I called out to my contacts. In response, different people lead me to the same grandfather, who lives one hundred and seventy kilometers from Kyiv and makes some kind of legendary moonshine. I call the guest: it looks like I found it. And he told me: "Just don't forget the best bottle." And this means that she must have such and such bubbles, such and such a chip, and she must 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 Kyiv, another colleague goes and fills this bottle with that grandfather and returns to Kyiv, after which the moonshine is sent to me in Moscow by a ten-hour train, and I already send it to the guest, sit and wait. And yes - it is not known how they measured the quality of moonshine there, but we won!
How much I work with rich people, I keep thinking: if tomorrow a suitcase with money falls on me, will I become like that too? Guests come up to you with the words: “Look for New Year’s gifts for my wife and son, who love this and that, and they have everything, and I’m also going to the wedding tomorrow - I also need a present, here’s money for you ”, and the time is eleven in the evening, 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 red sports Hyundai, it was also at night. The only thing she asked when she received the documents and a credit card: “With or without a bow?”
Photo: Mikhail Goldenkov
She announced Wes Anderson as a director with his own - and very colorful - handwriting. This time, the creator of "The Tenenbaum Family" and "Kingdom of the Full Moon" told the viewer the story of the noble and honest hotel concierge Monsieur Gustav.
If you look closely, Gustav, who lives in the 1930s, can see crossed golden keys on his suit - a sign that he belongs to the international association of concierges. Which, by the way, actually exists: its representatives even advised Anderson on the details of the "Grand Budapest".
To find out if there is a place in the modern world for Gustavian nobility and devotion to the profession, as well as to find out how the capital's owners of honorary golden keys work, the site's correspondent went to the oldest Moscow hotel, the Metropol. We met with the chief concierge of the hotel and talked about the omnipotence of the representatives of his profession, the authenticity of Anderson's film and why the computer will never be able to replace the hotel "manager".
"Metropol". Photo: site
The one who remembers everything
"Concierge": reads a sign above the corner counter in the lobby of the Metropole. Almost omnipotent people stand behind it - they are the ones who are able to knock you out for the closing of the Cannes Film Festival or a ticket to a sold-out premiere at the Bolshoi, which is inaccessible to mere mortals. Of course, if you are their guest.
On the lapels of one of the men scurrying behind the counter, miniature golden keys flaunt. "Is it possible to make a discount? You need a ticket urgently," he turns to someone on the phone, simultaneously smiling at the client leaning on the counter.
This man's name is Andrei Korystov, and he is the head of the Metropol's concierge service. And part-time - also the vice-president of the Russian section of the "Golden Keys of the Concierges" (Les Clefs d'Or).
"Golden Keys of Concierges" is not just an international organization that brings together hotel professionals, but a whole community with its own traditions and etiquette. Each of its several thousand members wears crossed golden keys on their lapels. This sign is not only a matter of special pride, but also a great responsibility: the concierges of the Golden Keys must fulfill any requests of the guests and help their colleagues in everything.
"Golden keys" are omnipotent in their own way: their owners are able to solve any problems with a couple of calls and can boast of a million useful connections.
Andrey Korystov. Photo: site
Outside, it's time for conferences and exhibitions, and it's noon on the clock: in general, there are no free rooms "for show" in the hotel, as Andrey says. Therefore, we go to talk to the "golden" living room, located on the third floor.
Instead of the pomposity that is often inherent in five-star hotels, here, as in the entire hotel, a mighty spirit of old color reigns. And the "Metropol" is so huge and confusing that you can easily get lost in it.
The hotel is really small. You haven't seen office premises yet - to be honest, when I started working here, I remembered what was located and where, for seven days, - Andrey smiles.
Even if it took Andrey a whole week to memorize the "Metropol", an ordinary person, most likely, would not have coped with this matter in two: experienced concierges have a professionally excellent memory. They have to keep in mind hundreds of faces, names, numbers, addresses, preferences, wishes, habits.
Probably, I have a special "disk" in my head, on which all this is "recorded", Andrey smiles when I ask how he manages to remember all this. - However, modern technologies significantly "soften" the process of memorization. Today, for example, we are introducing part of the guests' preferences into the hotel system. True, I do not always use this: recently one of my Italian guests came to us, and out of habit I told my colleagues that every morning he needs to be delivered to the Corriere della Sera room. Only then did I remember that even during the last visit of the guest, he had filled in information about the newspaper in his profile.
"Metropol". Photo: site
One who is faithful to the profession
Remembering the "Grand Budapest Hotel", Andrey smiles. He says that the film really reflects the intricacies of the concierge profession very well. Anderson was especially successful in subtle "hotel" humor.
Remember, there was such a moment: the girl of the lobby fight is in danger, he runs to save her and flies into one of the hotel rooms.
The guy runs to the door, and there is a sign "Do not disturb" hanging on it. He has a stupor: a hotel employee has no right to enter a room if this sign is hanging on its door! This idea is on the subconscious level. And here it seems that the girl needs to be saved ... As a result, he overcame this fear in himself and nevertheless burst into the room.
Andrey Korystov
Andrei says that his own professional qualities are also already in character. With good concierges, it doesn’t happen otherwise: if a person comes to this position, he either immediately understands that this is “not his”, or stays in the hotel forever.
I started in the 90s at Baltschuga Kempinski. In those days it was probably the only good hotel in Moscow. I was not a lobby boy, but a porter, then a luggage carrier. Then I was transferred to the position of night concierge. About this profession, I must say, then they knew even less than now ...
After working for a year, I went to China and moved away from hotel business. But I constantly thought about him, so when I returned, I went back to work as a concierge. I worked at Sheraton, Barvikha, created a concierge service for Radisson Royal (Ukraine), opened InterContinental, and now I am proud that I work at Metropol.
Not everyone is still aware of our profession: when I proudly say that I work as a concierge, many are surprised, simply not understanding what I am doing at all. Do I open doors? Do I keep the keys to the hotel rooms? Am I sitting on watch in the stairwell? Hopefully, thanks to the film, more will be known about concierges.
Andrey Korystov
Head of the concierge service at the Metropol Hotel
There are few good concierges in Moscow, and they all know each other. Andrei says that the hotel world is so small that every time a new hotel opens, he knows everyone who will be called to invite them to the position of chief concierge or concierge. For comparison, in the entire Russian section of the "Golden Keys" (and it includes Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kyiv, Yalta, and other cities) there are only 40 participants, and in France alone - about 900.
The one who is irreplaceable
Recently, some hotels have begun to install various electronic devices that "know" the addresses of interesting restaurants, city maps, posters of interesting events. Above people who are sure that such devices will be able to replace concierges in the future, Andrei only chuckles: his profession is not only the ability to book a table or order a taxi. For their guests, concierges do everything from simple intimate conversations to delivering unusual products from other countries and buying gifts for relatives.
In Malaysia, we once held the annual international congress of the "Golden Keys". The CEO of a watch manufacturer said at the time that for him the hallmark of a good hotel was a concierge with golden keys.
Hotels, in fact, are not much different from each other: each has a bed to sleep in and a plate to eat. But all of them are different in terms of service, in terms of the human factor - and this is the main thing. A good concierge, professional, experienced, versed in details, is the soul of the hotel. And if a good five-star hotel doesn't have a concierge, it's not a good five-star hotel.
Andrey Korystov
Head of the concierge service at the Metropol Hotel
In the Metropol concierge service, two more people, besides Andrey, have golden keys. And here, just like Anderson's "Grand Budapest", many guests come solely for the sake of his concierges. And this is perhaps the best assessment of their work.
The way to Cannes lies through the hotel
At the Grand Budapest Hotel, the Golden Keys Association has an entire movie chapter dedicated to it. It's called "Crossed Keys" and its members can fix just about any problem with just a few phone calls.
Now, Andrei says, it is possible to keep in touch and resolve issues even faster. Technology is moving forward: it has become easier to call, and you can use the Internet.
A film is, of course, a film. But everything works exactly as it is shown in it. For example, they call me from another Moscow hotel and say: I have two people bending their fingers here, they want to get to the closing of the Cannes Film Festival. Ready to pay any money. I explain that tickets for the closing of the Cannes Film Festival do not exist in nature: there are only special invitations that are issued for certain people. The concierge says, Andrey, help, we know, but you can do anything...
I call my colleague in Cannes. I explain the situation, he asks to call back in two hours. I dial his number in two and a half, and Roger tells me that on Friday at 18.00 two invitations in my name will be on his counter (closing, I remind you, on Saturday, and our conversation takes place on Tuesday or Wednesday).
I ask, Roger, how much do I owe you? And he replies that since he got them for free, it means that I don’t need to pay for them either.
Andrey Korystov
Head of the concierge service at the Metropol Hotel
Letters from the front for a chess player
When you listen to the stories of the concierge, you may get the feeling that he does nothing but fulfill the crazy whims of wealthy guests. But this is not true at all. Andrey, for example, has a kind, sincere and very sentimental story, which, probably, even the creators of the "Wait for me" program would envy. It has everything: the war, the father who died at the front, random coincidences and, of course, the all-powerful concierge.
Once, a foreigner who spoke Russian poorly came up to my counter. He gave me the name and surname of a certain woman, claiming that he really needed to find her. However, he did not know anything at all about her: the only "hook" that, as the guest hoped, could help me, was that this woman was somehow connected with ... chess.
I asked him why he is looking for a stranger? It turned out that the front-line letters of her father fell into the hands of this person, which at one time did not reach the addressees.
I managed to find a school where this woman - now quite old - once worked as a chess teacher. The director, of course, was not going to share with me the personal contacts of the former employee, but I explained all the sentimentality of the situation and left my own number. The woman called me back literally twenty minutes later.
It turned out that she had never seen her father and knew about him only from stories: he went to the front, from which he never returned. The young man died at the very beginning of the war, and the family never received a single message from him. Excited by the words that a man is sitting in the hotel who has front-line letters from her father, the woman promised to come to the hotel in a couple of hours.
The foreigner was in real shock: he kept asking how I managed to fulfill his request? And I smiled - at such moments I usually say that this is all "the magic of the Golden Keys".
When the woman arrived at the hotel, she and my guest sat in the lobby for a long time and hugged. Tears rolled down her cheeks. The man said that he himself is a doctor from Germany, who learns Russian and loves chess, and therefore somehow caught fire with the idea of buying a book by a Russian grandmaster. This grandmaster was the father of this very woman, whom he now found in Moscow.
The German began looking for a book on eBay and accidentally stumbled upon an Italian who sold letters from front-line soldiers for a symbolic price (the Italian’s father found a backpack with mail that could not be delivered to the addressees and brought it with him from the front). My guest knew that in a few months he would go to Moscow for a meeting of doctors, and therefore he decided that he would try somehow to find here the daughter of the chess player, whom he mentioned in his letters.
Andrey Korystov
Head of the concierge service at the Metropol Hotel
Andrey, it seems, has a million more stories - both kind and more mercantile. To know them all, it would take more than one hour of detailed conversations.
Maybe someday I'll just pick up and write a book! Andrey laughs.
The one who has friends everywhere
So, the "Golden Keys" is not a nominal organization and not a trade union. This is something more: the concierges of the association at any time, in any place and with any request can turn to one of their "hotel" brothers. Each of which, of course, has its own connections everywhere.
Connections do not appear in advance, while you are still a lobby boy or doorman, but already in the process - when a person becomes a concierge.
For example, a new restaurant opens in the city. We can, having become interested, go there, or they can call us themselves. They call, they say, they say, come to eat. It is beneficial for them that the concierges like the kitchen and interiors. After all, then we will advise a good place to their guests.
Andrey Korystov
Head of the concierge service at the Metropol Hotel
"Metropol". Photo: site
It may seem to the viewer of the Grand Budapest Hotel that the main character, Monsieur Gustav, is a little uncomfortable asking for help from the association when he gets into trouble. in fact, this is not so: concierges use connections both for selfless purposes - fulfilling requests and anticipating the desires of guests - and for their own interests.
It is inconvenient for the hero of the film to ask for help from the "Golden Keys", rather, simply because of the situation that has developed for him - prison, escape ... In fact, anything can happen.
Once, a bag with money and documents was stolen from the daughter of one of my good guests in St. Petersburg. He calls me, says, the girl is there, I can’t do anything ... I answer, okay, let him go to the hotel, say, Talion. I call there, I tell the chief concierge: now such and such a girl will come to you, give her 30 thousand rubles under my responsibility. The money will be transferred to you as soon as possible. The girl came in, they gave her everything, she got out of the situation.
Andrey Korystov
Head of the concierge service at the Metropol Hotel
but on the other hand
Working as a concierge is, of course, not only honey, but also a little bit of tar. Many guests can line up at the counter, each of whom wants his own, a lot of problems and unresolved cases can accumulate. It happens, Andrei says, that several guests simultaneously demand their own, literally tearing the concierge to pieces: some ask to be shown how to get to the Kremlin, others shout that they urgently need a guide. And so on. At the same time, the concierge must resolve all issues with an unchanging smile. Coping with pressure is not for everyone and finding those who are capable is a whole art.
Andrey Korystov. Photo: site
Usually the concierge service is recruited like this: you watch those who work in the hotel, see how they react to what. You can sometimes throw some task to those who show themselves well, see how they cope with it.
I remember I worked at a hotel where a concierge team was recruited before I arrived. I noticed that one girl, a telephone operator, grasps everything very quickly, reacts to everything vividly and promptly. I look at her, and I feel that she herself is interested in working as a concierge: she asks what and how. He invited her to eat. We sat for about forty minutes, and I said: you probably didn’t understand, but it was an interview. I'm taking you with me.
Andrey Korystov
Head of the concierge service at the Metropol Hotel
The "Golden Keys" were officially formed in the 1950s, and their "foundation" was laid back in the 1920s. Then eight concierges from Paris decided to communicate closely, share useful information and help each other. Now there are concierges with golden keys on their lapels in more than 40 countries around the world.
To become a member of the Russian section of the "Golden Keys" (and the requirements are different in different countries), you need to:
At least four years of experience in a five-star hotel, at least three of them as a concierge;
Be "in the public eye" of a professional association;
Write an essay and answer the questions of various exams;
Make a presentation at the annual meeting at the Russian section. In it, the concierge must tell why he needs the keys and what he can do for them;
Talk to the executive committee of the Russian "Golden Keys";
For the applicant for the title of concierge with golden keys, two of their current owners must vouch.
One who takes pride in his calling
Andrey gives the impression of not just a high-class professional, but a person who is deeply in love with his work. This is felt in everything: in the manner of conversation, movements, smile and brilliance that shines in Andrey's eyes when he talks about himself as the owner of the treasured golden keys.
I like that I am not an office worker, that I do not have to sit at the table from 9.00 to 18.00. Yes, when I come to work, I know that 60-70% of my affairs today will be routine. But I also know that something unusual is bound to happen today. I may be asked to do something that I don't know how to do yet. I'm wondering how I will solve this issue.
I decided to become a concierge because the representatives of this profession seemed to me almost omnipotent. Guests come to them with various questions, and they decide everything.
And also, as in the movie "The Grand Budapest Hotel", a man with golden keys, a professional who has been working as a concierge for a very long time - this is really the soul of the hotel.
Andrey Korystov
Head of the concierge service at the Metropol Hotel
Prepared by Anna Teplitskaya
The International Association of Professional Concierges "Golden Keys" (Les Clefs d'Or) was founded in 1929 in Paris and today has more than four thousand employees of five-star hotels around the world who have passed exams and have been interviewed by members of the executive committee. But many learned about its power only after the Wes Anderson film “The Grand Budapest Hotel”. You can turn to a person with golden keys on his lapel with a request for help in any business, city or country - his comrades in the association will always come to his aid.
suit, vest, BRUNELLO CUCINELLI
shirt, VAN LAACK
tie, WINDSOR
boots, BOSS
ILYA WRITTEN,
Four Seasons Moscow concierge:
“About a year ago, a couple from America approached me with a request to organize an unforgettable birthday party for their daughter - she was turning 30 years old. She is fond of ballet and loves the Bolshoi Theater very much. I gave her a private tour of the historical stage, and after that she changed into tights 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 at Baltschug Kempinski Hotel:
“In 2004, an Arab sheikh lived with us, and his assistant approached 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 book dealers had heard of this edition, but we found it in St. Petersburg, agreed on a price, and the sheikh’s assistant with security guards went there by night train - a diplomat with dollars was handcuffed to the hand of one of the guards. Having bought the Koran, they placed it in a safe box in the Grand Hotel Europe, and took it away before the train back. The sheikh's joy knew no bounds, and I received one of the biggest tips in my life.
Shirt, vest,
DIOR HOMME
pants, 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, the concierge of the Metropol Hotel
IGOR LANTSEV, Chief Concierge at The St. Regis Moscow Nikolskaya
Shirt, jacket, VAN LAACK
pants, BRUNELLO CUCINELLI
butterfly, BROOKS BROTHERS
boots, ROCCO P
ANNA ENDRIKHOVSKAYA:
“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 funds there. It took about three hours of telephone conversations, but in the end, with the help of the night concierge of the Le Bristol hotel, where the designer was staying, I agreed with the consultants of all the stores that sell the right brands that they would open an hour earlier, and the cosmetic bag was recreated by the right 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 KORYSTOV, vice-president of the Russian section of Golden Keys,
Head of the concierge service at the Metropol Hotel:
“Once I saw a very sad guest in the hotel bar and asked what happened. He said: “Tomorrow I’m returning home, and my wife thinks that I’m on a business trip in the capital of another state, I just called and asked to bring local sweets, a bottle of liquor and some kind of box.” The next morning, I knocked on his door 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 for completeness.
