Les Clefs d'Or® International Revue | Spring / Summer 2016 No. 212

http://www.americanexpress.co.uk/potential

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3T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

LES CLEFS D’OR REVUESpring / Summer 2016

No 212

Union Internationale des Concierges d’Hotels LES CLEFS D’OR

OBJET : Regrouper les Membres ou les Sections Nationales ayant pour appellation

LES CLEFS D’OR

Siege Social : 12, rue Cambon - 75001 PARIS

Tél.: 33-1-42-60-77-57 Fax: 33-1-42-60-17-44

Association Loi 1901 declaree a la Prefecture. Paris

Website: www.uichlesclefsdor.org

Blog: www.lesclefsdor.wordpress.com

Les Clefs d’Or Golden Moments 4 63rd World Congress Dubai, UAE 6 Young Concierge of the Year Award for Andy Poncgo 10 Message from the International President 12 Message from the International General Secretary 13France 14Great Britain 18Germany 20Switzerland 22Belgium 24Spain 26Australia 28Brazil 30Canada 32Chinese Taipei 34China 36Czech Republic 38Denmark 40Finland 42Hungary 44Ireland 45Hellas 46Holland 48Hong Kong 50Japan 52Israel 55Luxembourg 56Qatar 57India 58Sri Lanka 60Kenya 62Korea 63Mexico 63Macau 64Malaysia 66Morocco 67Romania 68Russia 70Singapore 72Thailand 73New Zealand 47Philippines 48Turkey 74UAE 77Bahrain 78USA 80

LES CLEFS D'OR REVUERevue de l'Union Internationale des Concierges d'Hotels

HOnORaRy PRESIDEntSR. BaStOnI Sage FRanCEJ.M. BaUtISta Sage SPaIna. DaMOntE (deceased) GREat BRItaInW. FREytaG Sage GERManya. GIaCOMELLO Sage SWItZERLanDa. GUnSt (deceased) HUnGaRya. POnGCO (deceased) PHILIPPInESD. O’BRIEn Sage IRELanDa. OStERtaG Sage SWItZERLanDa. SCHnEIDER Sage aUStRIaM. SILVERMan (deceased) UnItED StatESR. WatSOn Sage UnItED StatESMEMBRES D'HOnnEURJ. DESJEUnES FRanCE

EXECUtIVE COMMIttEEInternational President COLIn tOOMEy

Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney, australia1st Vice President SIMOn tHOMaS

Lanesborough Hotel, London, England2nd Vice President RODERICk LEVÉJaC

Four Seasons George V, Paris, France3rd Vice President anDERS RUGGIERO

Hotel D’angleterre, Copenhagen, DenmarkPast President EMManUEL VREttOS

Hotel Mistral, athens, Greecetreasurer JEan-ROLanD BOUtILLÉ

La Reserve, Geneve, SwitzerlandGeneral Secretary JaMES RIDEnOUR

InterContinental Melbourne the Rialtoaustralia

assistant General JaCOB DEtERInGSecretary InterContinental Melbourne the Rialto

australiaRepresentativefor International tHIERRy REVELPresident in Paris Hôtel de Paris, Monaco, France

Director of Publication COLIn tOOMEyEditor UICH LES CLEFS D’ORChief Editor JaMES RIDEnOURCoordinator of Information JaMES RIDEnOUR

ZOnE DIRECtORSaMERICaS S. kHanaSIa E. SaLDanHaOCEanIa S. RyanCEntRaL EUROPE t. UnGaRMEDItERRanEan D. LIaPISSCanDInaVIa S. JOUtSEnVUOWEStERn EUROPE P. StILL

BOaRD OF DIRECtORS(44 MEMBER SECtIOnS)aRGEntIna P. CaStROaUStRaLIa P. MCBREaRtyaUStRIa C. PaRaLBELGIUM M. Van CLEVEBRaZIL G. BORGESCanaDa C. aVaRIaCHIna G. LICHInESE taIPEI a. LaICZECH REPUBLIC P. ZEZULaDEnMaRk C. RUnGEFInLanD V. VIDaL-StOCkLEyFRanCE t. REVELGERMany t. MUnkOGREat BRItaIn a. LynCHHELLaS (GREECE) D. LIaPISHOLLanD B. MaCkEnZIEHOnG kOnG F. LUIHUnGaRy t. UnGaRInDIa a. JOHnIRELanD P. FItZSIMOnSISRaEL R. aLkELaIItaLy M. PaOnESSaJaPan M. taJIMakOREa J. LEELUXEMBOURG S. DELCOMMInEttEMaCaU S. IOnGMaLaySIa R. kUMaRaSaMyMEXICO a ORtIZMOROCCO t. aIt ELHaDDaDnEW ZEaLanD n. StEELEnORWay a k GROnGStaDPHILIPPInES M. HayakaWaPOLanD P. PRaSULaPORtUGaL J. aLVESQataR R. SantOSROManIa C. MaLUREanURUSSIa a. kORyStOVSInGaPORE S. MUSaDDIQSPaIn M. PIZaRROSWItZERLanD M. PIERRaIntHaILanD C. kHaMPHatURkEy a. OnERU.a.E a. SaMUnItED StatES R. MaRkS

Cover design & photograph by PaUL RUMPFFGraphic design and printing

Montreal, QC., [email protected]’opinion exprimée dans la revue n’engage que ses auteurs et ne saurait enaucun cas engager l’UICH “Les Clefs d’Or”

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4G O L D E N M O M E N T S

15-4-1950. Eastbourne England,J.Meyer, F.Gillet, J.Hansen,J.Stewart, (Pt), W.Cullen, W.Conroy.

Ferdinand Gillet France, Founder UEPGH.

14-12-1953. Second Congressin San Remo Italy. E. Perrimond, L. Sigaut, F. Gillet, R. Harrault, V. Ducarton.

2-5-1953. 1st Anniversary Clefsd'Or Suisses, (revue nº2 page 6,April May June 1954).

14-12-1953. 2nd Congress inSan Remo Italy. F. Gillet, Morandi, G. Franzetti.

19-9-1954. Dir. Com. Munich F. Gillet, O. Wirth, T Gödde, etc.

4-1954. Theodor Gödde (Germany) and Walter Gödde(son).

Oct 1958. Inaugural flight Le Bourget Toulouse 52'. SE210 Caravelle Air France.M.Cacciolato, R.Harrault,Chaveroche, J.Gillet.

7-4-1957. Le Bourget, CongressDublin F. Gillet, Seigner, V. Ducarton, Alfredo Molero.

7-4-1957. Dublin, Dir. committee,J. Gillet, S. Barbarini, M.Cacciolato, Thuyins, F. Gillet etc.

26-4-1952. Carlton CannesUEPGH creation. E. Perrimond,F. Gillet, L. Sigaut, J. Stewart, T. Gödde, Thuyns, S. Barbarini, P. Quentin, R. Harrault.

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5G O L D E N M O M E N T S

Sept 1957.Bauer Gruênwald Hotel Venice, F. Gillet, Tortorella (Italy).

27-4-1958. ONU Palace Geneva,Switzerland. Clefs d'Or Suisse.

11-11-1961. Gresham HotelDublin, Ireland. L. Wogan, L. Donnelly, L. Gleeson, D. Collins, J. Dixon.

24-2-1961. Vienne Congress,Austria. Dir. Committee, con-gress opening day, Chamber ofCommerce and Industry.

Automne 1961. 9th diner GB.Painters Hall London. W. Cullen,W.F. Conroy, E.W. Thorne, E. Thorne, G. Stanfield.

7-1-1962. Hotel Villa Medici Florence,F. Gillet, S. Toccafondi, A. Gubert.

7-1-1962. Hotel Villa Medici Florence. A.Palombi, F. Gillet, S. Toccafondi, A. Gubert.

2- 1-1965.Ferdinand Gillet, Regalia (CC Savoia Rapallo Italy).

9 to 14-12-1980.28th Congress Mte Carlo.Paul Boin wins a Ford (Hertz)Park Hotel Nice. P. Berthet, J. Gillet, C. Felgate, S. Giarola, J. Chodzco.

24-2 to 1-3 1975.London, 23rd Congress. Standing: A. Bouliah

11-1957.AG Nurenberg (Germany). Grand Hotel.

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6W O R L D C O N G R E S S

63rD WorlD CongrEss

Photos by Osamu Hamasaki, Les Clefs d'Or Japan

DUBAI, U.A.E.DAY 1Emirati Cultural Opening Cermony at Burj Khalifa

DAY 2Discovery Day

HE Ibrahim Yaqoot

Executive Director Corporate Support Division

at Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing

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63rD WorlD CongrEss

DUBAI, U.A.E.DAY 3Educational Seminar

DAY 3Desert Safari

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63rD WorlD CongrEss


DAY 4General Assembly

DUBAI, U.A.E.

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DAY 5Gala Dinner

63rD WorlD CongrEss

DUBAI, U.A.E.


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YoUng ConCIErgE of thE YEArAWArD for AnDY PonCgo

Award Nominees were:

Paul Rumpff AustraliaJustin Sondgeroth USARainer Gruber AustriaAbdul Shahadab Pandihar UAELucas Medeiros BrazilAlida Reggio TurkeyAndrew Van Der Hoeven CanadaPanisa Ariyasakul ThailandDenis Silhberg Finland

Alexander Piderit SwitzerlandHarold Exbrayat FranceHelena Debain SpainMike Kaemper GermanyRiyas Kallan Great BritainErkin Aliyev RussiaMaurits den Dulk HollandSung Jin Park KoreaDebayan Ghosh India

The winner:

Harold ExbrayatPeninsula Paris, France

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YoUng ConCIErgE of thE YEArAWArD for AnDY PonCgo

Dear Members and Friends,

On behalf of the Executive Committeeof Les Clefs d’Or I welcome you to thelatest edition of our International Revue,“Golden Moments”. This revue high-lights the recent activities of our manynational sections as well as the historicevents and fascinating characters whohave helped shape our destiny.

Following on from the success of ourprevious theme “Diversity”, it was sug-gested that we revisit some of the greatmoments in our association’s history.Building on the traditions and customsof our time honoured profession, LesClefs d’Or has continually embracedthe rich tapestry of our unique heritage.In this edition we pay homage to thefounders of our association as well assome of those visionary leaders whohave followed in their footsteps. I amsure that you will agree that the coverpage tribute to our dear friend MarjorieSilverman was an inspired choice forthis publication. We also highlight the unique relationship our members have with their guests, manyof them are indeed “Golden Moments”.

My thanks to James Ridenour and his editorial team for producing this special edition of the Interna-tional Revue. We are excited to be sharing our story with you and I trust that you will find it interestingand enlightening read.

Yours in friendship,

Colin ToomeyInternational President Les Clefs d’Or UICH.

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12M E S S A G E S

MEssAgE froM oUrIntErnAtIonAl PrEsIDEnt

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13M E S S A G E S

Dear Friends,

I am pleased to be able to present to you

the Spring/Summer 2016 edition of the

International Revue.

The topic for this Revue is "Golden Mo-

ments." As concierges we are involved

and, in fact, are the architects of many

Golden Moments. This edition is a cele-

bration of our dedication to the art of lux-

ury service. Our goal was to capture the

way we work as concierges. It is proof

that no one knows the world better than

Les Clefs d’Or.

Thank you to everyone for their thought-

ful submissions. My hope is that, by

reading each of these pages, we can

gain a greater understanding of our

global network of friends.

I’d like to thank the team that helped me

to put this wonderful edition together,

Paul Rumpff for creating such an amaz-

ing cover page and to Michael Romei, Muffin Spielman and Burak Ipekci for their help in editing the

Revue, and as always, thanks to our publisher Giuseppe Casale for helping put the edition together.

I hope you enjoy reading these pages as much as I did. Vive Les Clefs d’Or!

All my very best, in friendship,

James Ridenour

General Secretary

Les Clefs d’Or International

MESSAGE FROM OUR INTERNATIONAL GENERAL SECRETARYLES CLEFS D'OR REVUE EDITOR

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14A R O U N D T H E W O R L D

ORIGInaL SIX-MEMBER SECtIOn COUntRyfrAnCE

Opening cocktail with Evian’s mayor.

NAtiONAl CONgrESS EviAN6th - 8th november 2015

General assembly Hôtel Royal Evian. Cruise on the Vevey , Lake Geneva.

Gala Dinner.

Our Host , Mr Roussin, General Director of Royal Evian Hôtel.

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OpENiNg DiNNEr Of tHE YEAr 2016 AlCAzAr pAriS

Finalists of the Pierre Quentin Trophy 2015.

Our Winner, Harold Exbrayat with

Mrs Vergnolle Paris Addict,our sponsor.

The President and our hostsfrom the Alcazar.

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gENErAl ASSEmblY AND gAlA DiNNEr18th march 2016

General assembly meeting.

Our amazing venue at Pavillon Cambon by Potel & Chabot.

Enjoying a great evening among friends.

Past president, Mr Dominique Guidetti and ournew president, Mr Thierry Revel.

TURN YOUR GREATEST EXPERIENCE INTO A LEGENDEnjoy the Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes experience encompassing luxury, elegance, charm and style. This palace was recently fully renovated and refurbished in true Cannes style.

Ideally located on La Croisette Boulevard facing the Mediterranean and the Palais des Festivals, the Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes has 258 rooms & 91 suites and two penthouses.

Gourmet cuisine is one of the delights that the Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes cultivates with passion: from the private beach restaurant to typically Provencal cuisine at “La Petite Maison de Nicole”, the only ambassador of the Nice Restaurant famous for its homelike atmosphere, which specializes in the best traditional Mediterranean dishes in the region, through The Fouquet’s Cannes, which upholds the grand French brasserie traditions to perfection.

Indulge in the luxury of an outdoor pool heated all year round, a private beach and water sports (in season) or treat yourself to a moment at the Spa My Blend by Clarins.

Glamour forever: the Majestic offers 2,000 sq. meters of luxury boutiques. de

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Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic Cannes - 10, La Croisette - 06400 Cannes - FRANCETel + 33 / 4 92 98 77 00 - email: [email protected] - www.majestic-barriere.com

LE MAJESTIC CANNESHÔTEL BARRIÈRE

“This Majestic Palace in which I have been working for the last 40 years”

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ORIGINAL SIX-MEMBER SECTION COUNTRYGREAT BRITAIN

May 1st, 2015

Madeleine Calon, the vice president was invited asa guest speaker at London Restaurant Network

On Friday May 1st, Madeleine Calon gave a presenta-tion to the London Restaurant Network, which is anassociation quite similar to ours, where restaurateursmeet to share ideas, innovations and trends. Theywere very interested to hear about Les Clefs d’Or, theSociety of Golden Keys, and how we network and in-tegrate with our associates. Some of the restauran-teurs sought advice on the best method of networkingwith and building relationships with concierge. Therewas interest in becoming Associate members fromsome of the attendees at the breakfast.

May 30th, 2015

In Loving Memory of Colin James Short

Many members joined the family for a funeral masswhich was held to celebrate Colin’s life at The HolyApostles’ Church, Winchester Street, London SW1V4LY on Friday 5th June, at 10.00 am. The presidentAntony Lynch graciously hosted a small drinks recep-tion after the mass to the members who didn’t attendthe memorial service reception organised by Colin’sfamily to share the great memories of Colin.

October 30th, 2015

10th Annual Morris Visitor Publications Golden Keys Concierge Awards

Congratulations to all the winners of 10th annual Morris Visitor Publications and Golden KeysConcierge Awards.

Regional Concierge of the Year Award Stuart MassieConcierge of the Year Award David Young Andre Damonte Award Riyas KallanService Through Friendship Award Madeleine CalonLifetime Achievement Award Gerry Defilippis

Congratulations to allnominees. Thank you toMVP, The AA, all sponsors,the attendees and St Pan-cras Renaissance hotelteam for making it a magi-cal evening.

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ORIGINAL SIX-MEMBER SECTION COUNTRYGREAT BRITAIN

November 22nd, 2015

Congratulations to retired Member Mel and his partner Pat who recently tied the knot.

Congratulations to retired Honorary Member Mel and his partner Pat who recently tied the knot. Melworked for most of his hotel career as Head Concierge at The Waldorf Hotel in London. He was aformer International Delegate of the society, but his longest stint on the committee was as Treasurer.His astute management of our funds over a period of many years led to society’s being able to workon a sound financial footing, also allowing it to stage events at ever-more prestigious locations.

We all wish Mr and Mrs Demetriades the best on their marriage!

January 21st, 2016

Concierge Educational Day at the Marylebone Hotel

Concierge Educational Day at the Marylebone Hotel,London, organised and hosted by Riyas Kallan AndreDamonte Award Winner 2015 and 2016 British AndyPongo Nominee, on Thursday January 21st, 2016.Thank you to all who attended the Educational Day, tothe guest speakers: Mr Walsh and Riyas (MaryleboneHotel), Paul (Le Meridien Hotel), Binoy (St James Court

Hotel), Jose (Milestone Hotel), Antony (Hilton Kensington Hotel), Mark (Morris Visitor Publications),Paolo (London Serenity), Greg (Evan Evans Tours), Aline and Caterina (British Tours) and Mr WalshGeneral Manager at the Marylebone Hotel and the staff who allowed this educational day to takeplace. The educational day was a huge success and sincerely appreciated by the junior conciergeattendees.

January 29th, 2016

St Andrews Gala Ball

It was on Sunday November 29th, 2015,at Cameron House on Loch Lomondand was attended by 150 people. Theattendees were a mix of members, as-sociates, retired members and industrycolleagues. The Gala Ball started offwith a champagne reception and enter-tained with some local fiddlers. Thenmoved on to dinner where after ad-dressing the haggis we had a beautiful3 course dinner. It was a fantasticevening jointly sponsored by the Inter-national New York Times and the Glengoyne distillery. In the process of having a great time we man-aged to raise £5k for CHAS (Children’s Hospice Association Scotland).

January 29th, 2016

Riyas Kalan, Andre Damonte Award Winner 2015 and 2016 British Andy Pongo Nominee wasinvited as a guest speaker at Reception AcademyGraduation ceremony, Hilton Metropole Hotel.

Riyas gave a presentation about a 'Concierge Career inUK Grand Hotels’. Graduates were very interested to hearabout Les Clefs d’Or, the Society of Golden Keys, andhow we make the impossible possible for the guests.Many of the students were inspired to learn more aboutthe concierge profession and sought the advice to starttheir career in the Concierge Department worldwide.

Riyas said “it’s simply amazing to talk to so many freshminds about Les Clefs d'Or!!!"

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gErMAnYORIGInaL SIX-MEMBER SECtIOn COUntRy

my #lesclefsdor golden moment.

My name is Sandra and I am working at the Re-gent Hotel in Berlin, Germany. I would like toshare my special and unforgettable golden mo-ment working as a Concierge with you. Before and after the Soccer World Champi-onship in 2014 the German national soccerteam stayed at the hotel in which I was workingduring that time. The team was spending 5nights with us as a preparation and then flew toBrazil. For those who know me, I am a soccernerd always supporting the German team.

After becoming World Champion in Brazil thefirst match for the „German Eleven“ was afriendly match versus Argentina, in which occa-sion they stayed again with us.

Due to the work before the Soccer World Championship by that time I knew the team "behind theteam", including the security staff. All of them had to learn while working with me that I am a big soccerfan. In order to celebrate the win of the World Cup, we prepared a big party at the hotel after the game.

The first bus arrived and with it the security as well as the world cup trophy. One of the security guyscame to me and said, “Sandra, it´s your turn, you have one minute! Enjoy!” We went to the grandballroom and there it was - the trophy, right in the middle of the room! I was not able to believe whatI saw. The security allowed me to take some pictures.

This was definitely one of my best moments ever. I was thinking about kissing the trophy like all thefamous players did before. But I did not dare touching it.

Can you image how many soccer stars were holding that trophy in their hands? Franz Beckenbauer,Lothar Matthaeus, Gianluigi Buffon, Zinédine Zidane, Ronaldo, Diego Maradonna.. breath-taking! Before that another stunning moment occurred to me. Upon the arrival of the German National Team,the first person, who got off the bus, was Joachim Loew (trainer of the German team). He directlyheaded towards me, shook my hand and asked “Sandra, how are you?!”

These days will be unforgettable. I´m so thankful forthese moments! I guess, every soccer fan knows whatI'm talking about.

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"My name is Mike Kaemper - I am the current Andy Pongco AwardNominee for Germany.

On this picture you can find not only me but also a slight impressionof my lovely hometown Baden-Baden - and I would love to welcomeyou here personally.

I feel very honored to be a part of the Les Clefs d’Or Family and Iam very much looking forward to see you all in Dubai in April.“

When guests become friends

The little Chris stayed with his family at the Vier Jahreszeitenfor a longer period. During his stay it happened, that he andmany staff members of the Concierge/Porter Team becamegood friends.

When the family had to leave Chris was very sad to leave his"new friends" and so we decided to elect him to the newGeneral Manager with his own name badge.

At the end Chris was very happy and so it was much easierfor him to leave.

The phone was ringing at around 9 pm and our guest was lookingfor a tennis lesson within the next hour. As Malte once was a pro-fessional tennis player he offered to have a hit with him. The guestwas very excited to play with somebody who played on the ATP toura couple of years ago. It was a very special moment for our guestand for Malte as well.

As one of our regular guests called us that he will bearriving within the next 15 minutes, as his original flightgot cancelled and it is his wife’s birthday today, Sabinewas taking action right away and decorated the roomas a birthday surprise. With a birthday cake and a bot-tle of champagne served on arrival our guests weremore than happy.

breidenbacher Hofmalte masuth

michael Webervier Jahreszeiten munchen

mike Kaemperbelle Epoque

Sabine breidenbacher Hof

gErMAnYORIGInaL SIX-MEMBER SECtIOn COUntRy

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sWItZErlAnDORIGInaL SIX-MEMBER SECtIOn COUntRy

Swiss Treasurer Cornelius Haug andhis team at The Grand Hotel Kempinski (St Moritz,Section Graubunden).

Presidente Cristina Bally, Les Trois Rois (section Basel).

President Roland Margelisch and Chantra Malorni, Riffelalp Resort (section Zermatt).

Presidente Sylvie Goninand Swiss Secretary Lau-rent Etienne, Beau RivagePalace Lausanne, sectionRivieira vaudoise et basvalais.

Thoms Gmur at Park Hotel Vitznau

(section Luzern).

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sWItZErlAnDORIGInaL SIX-MEMBER SECtIOn COUntRy

Michael Zurcher at The Dolder Grand,Zurich (section Zurich).

Swiss Commitee and Section Presidents in The Baur au Lac , Zurich.

Swiss President Marc Pierrain,

Beau Rivage Geneve.

Patrick Ritschard, BellevuePalace, Bern, and his section.

Western zone meeting in Geneva.

Alexander Piderit, Swiss Andy PongcoCandidate.

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BElgIUMattEnDED 1St IntERnatIOnaL COnGRESS CannES 1952

great moments in belgium.

The belgian section had wonderful occasions ot gathering and share new experiences with variousproviders, asociations and more.

The National barmen contest was one of these, we were invited t by the U.B.B. to be members ofthe jurg in section, "tasting, look, flavour", more than just the fun of this experience it was a greatoportunity to start new relations with profesional associations of the hotel industry.

The memebers invited, were haluk sahin, alain keysers' herve vandendrice, jean-francois debois andmariano van cleve.

Some of our members were invited as peakers into prestigious schools of hotel management andtourism to introduce our profession to futur gaduated students, this was the case for Herve Van-dendrice and Gregory Vanbulk.

We also had the chance to participate to differents meetings with the B.H.A, the brusels oteliers as-sociation, which never happened in the past, various sjbject were depated as, securith, mobility.

Through these meetings our asociation has taken an active part in the life of our city and not only inthe glamorous side but in the realty of our town.

Last but not least we had several cultural visits organised by our members as a private tour of theamazing Atomium, monument of our beautiful city!

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BElgIUMattEnDED 1St IntERnatIOnaL COnGRESS CannES 1952

We would like to also to mention that we went through and still hard time due to the different criticalsituations around Europe and in our city.

All of us have been inpacted hardly in our properties.

We would like to express our sympathy to our colleagues who had to sufferfrom the terorism andalso to the ones who to took the time to express their sympathy to us .

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sPAInattEnDED 1St IntERnatIOnaL COnGRESS CannES 1952

“golden moments”. that’s the leitmotive choose for this time.

Every time you think what a Golden moment can be you will never realize that every single instant ina concierge life is magic. Concierge is always 24hs available. His duty doesn’t stop at the end of theshift or the day and what happens during his shift and outside his or her hotel is unique. We, theconcierge, make every action spotless, we create our Golden moments.

From a visit to the wax museum to receiving the visitof an ICI student for a charity cause.

Every moment counts.

From a masterclass in an university of what a concierge and Les Clefs d’Or is...

... to getting ready at the atelier of a hotel for the guest.

We feel that our job is not just a job but a way of living.

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sPAInattEnDED 1St IntERnatIOnaL COnGRESS CannES 1952

From our national executive committee on ourlast National assembly working hard to improveour association...

... to receiving a wonderful gift from the uniqueMichael Jackson.

And we are honour to add one last moment, that it represent more than a golden moment, it meansa lot to us, the second position of Helene Debain, chief concierge at Monument hotel, for the AndyPongco award.

Remember, concierge is a way of living, a spirit the never ends, is the reason why we smile every day.

Thank les Clefs d’Or for this opportunity.

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AUstrAlIA

Dearest Golden Global Gurus,

Greetings from Les Clefs d’Or Australia,which has had an abundance of goldenmoments, memories and masterfulevents. The golden generation of the Mel-bourne Concierge Ball continued to glis-ten. Held in the ever-opulent SofitelMelbourne on Collins, home of the Mel-bourne Ball maestro, Mr. Andrew Natoli.The Melbourne membership continued toset the trend for celebrating our glorioussociety. Golden keys insignia littered theroom and were strikingly ominous in lightson the backdrop of the ballroom. Our Aus-tralian executive, led by the always-smil-ing Mr. Peter McBrearty, along with theball committee and the local cast of sup-porting Clefs d’Or Concierge, created a golden night that many would hope would linger for a sus-tained period in the memory banks. The Casino Royale theme had Auric Goldenfinger himselfrelinquishing his schemes to soak up the aurora of the evening. The evening also had our jubilant

treasurer, Mr Ben Davies, having a nightmore concerned with golden beveragesand golden pide then the financial re-serves in our own Fort Knox. Thoughwhen gold coin counting was continuedwe were pleased to announce that wemanaged to raise almost AUD$9000 forLes Clefs d’Or Victoria’s chosen charity,Bayley House. Truly a first rate effortfrom everyone.

Though not to be out done, the goldencity of Sydney welcomed back theConcierge Ball and clipped at the heels(some say surpassed) of our southerncolleagues. International President, Mr.Colin Toomey, graciously allowed for the

event to be held in the pristine Shangri-la Hotel Sydney. This evening couldn’t have been possiblewith out the tireless efforts of the Concierge Ball committee, led by the Golden Ale Gentleman- Mr.Josh Blake. Through the countless man-hours undertaken into the event, sprung out of the ashes agolden evening that had all attendees eagerly awaiting what is install for the next unforgettable event.One of the highlights was our Betty White-esque golden girl, Roz Jackson awardingthe Hall of Fame award to the man withthe golden driving gloves, Mr. Paul High-ams. Furthermore the evening managedto raise almost AUD$9425 for Les Clefsd’Or New South Wales chosen charity, St.Anthony’s Family Care. This mark has sur-passed previous efforts and really is stellarto see how generous our friends and col-leagues can be.

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AUstrAlIA

In attendance at the Sydney Concierge Ballwe had our Les Clefs d’Or International Ex-ecutive Committee and Zone Directors whowere able to find time to regale in the goldenhospitality of Sydney Hospitality in betweenmeetings. During the short time they were inSydney they were able to interact with manyof the local members, sail on the gloriousSydney harbour and experience stellarmenus from our finest chefs. The man withthe golden pen, moustache and charm, Mr.Jacob Detering was even spotted with asmile enjoying the local delights.

Looking forward we are increasing our social calendar by including a third Concierge Ball in thegolden sanded state of Queensland! The members are eagerly awaiting to make the trek up northand experience the sights and sounds of sunny Brisbane. To tie in with the Brisbane Concierge Ballwill also be our AGM and is sure to make a pleasant change of scenery for the members across thecountry. I have it on good authority that Mr. Paul Rumpff is taking special preparations to ensure histrusty camera will be in fine condition to capture the undertakings and share the momentous occasionon social media.

Recently we welcome five new members to our golden society, and I would like to take this oppor-tunity to welcome to our friendly society:

- Siddartha Kaul of the InterContinental Adelaide- Paul McLean of the Emporium Hotel Brisbane- Phil de Merindol of the Shangri-la Hotel Sydney- Jonathan Fambart of the Park Hyatt Sydney- Greg Hillard of the Sydney Harbour Marriott

Hearty congratulations and welcome gentlemen!

Finally it is with mixed emotions that we farewelled our goldendarling of Brisbane, Yuki Kimura who has left our shores butunder celebratory reasons. Congratulations to your engage-ment to Great Britain Les Clefs d’Or member Jose Pauco andI’m sure you will both have a long and prosperous marriage.

In friendship,

David LuffAssistant Chef ConciergeFour Seasons Hotel SydneyState Director NSW & ACT “Les Clefs d’Or Australia”

James Ridenour at SovereignHill, Ballarat Australia holdinga solid gold bar worth

$250,000

In the year of 2015 we have accomplished some activities and achievements for Les Clefs d’Or Brésil.

les Clefs dÓr brésil Concierges´ Day Celebration – June 29th

Les Clefs dÓr Brésil is extremely happy for celebrating the Concierge´s Day for the 5th year consecutively!

We´ve chosen, not randomly, the date to celebrate our day, but the same date as St. Peterday, because us, as him, we are also guardians of important keys that open doors to distinguishedvisitors! We celebrate on 29th June!

We can open doors for guest to realize their desire, to reach their expectations, to make theimpossible became possible and to make all dreams come true. Educational seminar was done inone day program and we had a meeting at the Sugar Loaf Mountain to celebrate with a special cakefor the tourists that was visiting this famous monument in Rio de Janeiro.

We can make the link for a good relationship with partners and touristic products in the cities.We love networking and provide the best use of it!

All members in Brazil were celebrating together this special date!LE

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les Clefs dÓr brésil Agm (Annual general meeting) 2015

Les Clefs dÓr Brésil, welcome the new international members nominated during our 7o An-nual General Meeting that took place in Rio Grande do Sul this year, in Gramado and BentoGonçalves cities. The event happened in October 06th, for the first time in the South of the country.The ceremony was at Casa da Montanha Hotel, after two intense days of cultural and educationalprogram in the romantic, charming and chilling Serra Gaúcha.

Part of our international team of the new concierges are Cassiano Stahl, Serra Azul Hotel,Gramado; Alberto Divan, Windsor Atlantica Hotel, Rio de Janeiro; Sebastian Hedjan, Boutique HotelCasas Brancas in Búzios; Deivisson Bento, of Pestana Curitiba Hotel, in Curitiba and Fabio Volk,from Il Campanário Resort, in Jurerê Internacional, Florianópolis.

Our message: Be a concierge at all times with passion and love and your clients will be ex-tremely happy with everything that will be delivered. Pay attention to the details and scan your clientswith your five senses to be sure that all the things you are doing will be right and appropriated forthem. And we have 5 moments to do that interaction during the stay, so don’t loose them.

This year we celebrated 10 Years of our ConciergeFoundation where we are always assisting 05charities in Brazil (03 in Rio de Janeiro and 02 inSão Paulo), and we have a great pleasure to assistthem. We celebrated 10 years in a place calledEstudantina with a great Samba Show calledGinga Tropical, that was Brazilian traditionalsamba show with a feijoada lunch meeting. Thisnoble gesture of citizenship that we do is muchadmired by the people who know our work andparticipate in our events.

Vive Les Clefs d’Or!

Guilherme S. BorgesPresidente da Les Clefs d'Or Brésil

les Clefs dÓr brésil 10 Years of Concierge foundation in brazil

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ChInEsE tAIPEI

Welcome to Regent Taipei! From the moment getting off the car, you will no longer need to worryabout anything, as our Golden Key Concierge and the professional Concierge team are on standby24/7 to fulfill your every needs and requests. Other than arranging flights, transportation to and fromthe airport, hire cars, chauffeur cars, city tours, private shopping, flowers, courier services and restau-rants recommendations, we are experts in dealing with guests’ last-minute inquiry. Come and meetthe Dr. Know-all and the anonymous Superman of the hotel!

Provided by Regent TaipeiLes Clefs d’Or Chinese Taipei

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ChInEsE tAIPEI

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ChInA

Asian Congress

Les Clefs d’Or Japan was the hosts of the 9th Asian congress and they did a fantastic job! It was apleasure for our members to have participated in this significative congress. We remember that weare all in service through friendship and it is appropriate on occasions such as this to reflect on theimportance of friendship and the value of good neighbors. Friendship long live to China and Japan!

les Clefs d’Or China AnnualCongress

The 20th Annual Congress ofLes Clefs d’Or China has suc-cessfully convened from17th-20th November.Themeeting host by CYNN hotelin Chengdu city. The People'sMunicipal Government ofChengdu City and the TouristAdministration of ChengduCity show attach great impor-tance and support to thismeeting.This meeting wasquite emotional and all dele-gates here more confident tospread the service throughfriendship afterward.

Asian Presidentsand Friends

Committee Member of Les Clefs d’Or China

Chinese attendees

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This year is our election year, after the voting and discussion among our executive committee andthe members, Mr. LI Gang from Beijing Metropark Hotel have the honor to take the position ofCRO(Chief Representative Officer). Mr. LI Gang joined Holiday Inn Lido Beijing since 1987, he havebeen working in this hotel for 28 years. He started from a bellboy position, through all the efforts hebecame a qualified Chief Concierge. He joined the organization since 1997 and taken an active partin activities of the organization.

Mr. Abey Sam (right side), the President of Les Clefs d’Or U.A.E introduced the “Dubai Congress” to the Chinese members.

Mr. LI Gang(in the middle with ribbon)

Enjoyable dinner

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CZECh rEPUBlIC

Last year, Czech TV proposed an appearance in their documentaryGejzir to introduce the job of a concierge to a wider public.

The program aims at covering topics and professions which are gen-erally not widely known. The location for the shoot was Prague's besthotel and Petr Zezula was the main speaker. Initial questions dealtwith the nature of our job, our organization and its global coverage;it was when Petr started recalling some of the more peculiar requestshe and his colleagues had to face that the show developed a con-siderable momentum. The program was broadcast in prime time andthe echo was very wide.

We had been contacted by numerous friends and other contacts andthe feedback was indeed very positive. The producers are alreadyspeaking about a follow-up so let'sget ready for a possible surprise...

This fall, section of UICH Czech Republic has been very active.

Several meetings have been organized but most importantly in Oc-tober 2015 we held a first meeting outside of Prague visiting city ofPilsen including the tour of famous Pilsner Urquell brewery and fa-mous city undergrounds.

The decison to organize such meeting has been done early in springto allow our fellow concierge colleagues, who are not able attend in-ternational or European cogresses, to meet not only during ourmonthly meetings.

The trip was a great success and we hope to repeat it soon.

After a two weeks break we travelled to Budapest, where Central Eu-rope Zone meeting was held organized by Hungarian section led byTamas Ungar. The Zone meeting was very productive and we asusual enjoyed seeing our friends and colleagues. Thank you Tamasfor great arrangement and wonderful surprise for last night – cookinglesson.

December is as usual month, where we organize our Christmas dinner. This year we have decidedto organize this different way. We felt, it is important not to have only a sit down dinner, where mem-

bers can talk only with their col-leagues at the table, the dinner hasbeen organized in modern artgallery Hauch.

The space has been adjusted to ourneeds and the catering has beenarranged with Il Catering. We havereceived a great feedback and thedinner has been attended with morethan 30 members and our parners.

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During this dinner we have also welcomed new concierge members to UICH family. Ms. Diana Iazawaand Mr. Radovan Voch from Prague Hilton Hotel, Ms. Barbora Klapetkova from Prague Hilton OldTown Hotel and Mr. Radek Zacharias from The Mark Hotel. Welcome on board.

Even the winter season isquiet now and we all takingdeserved rest after very busyChristmas perior we take timeto prepare well for upcomingseason 2016.We have been invited in Feb-ruary to explore the Museumof Kubism in Prague with theprivate tour as well as the visitof newly opened Milionaregallery focusing on memora-bilia sale.

Also two private tours of Prague for Les Clefs d’Ormembers have been arranged to refresh the informationand sources. Organized by Pavel Ruml from MandarinOriental and Radek Zacharias from The Mark Hotel.Thank you.Looking forward to seeing you all in Dubai.

Petr ZezulaPresident Les Clefs d’Or Czech Republic

CZECh rEPUBlIC

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DEnMArKLes Clefs d’Or Golden Moments.

So many members across the world and so many moments to share, but being able to do so throughthe eyes of one of our mutual guests is very rare.

Therefore I am so happy to introduce you all to Mr. & Mrs. Scott and Alice So is one of those guestsalways on the go either for business or leisure and always seeking our advice, no matter where inthe world it may be.

I came across the charming couple last year during their trip to Europe where they were visiting inBerlin and Alexandra Bösemüller contacted me upon their arrival to Copenhagen a few days later.Thanks to Alexandra their travels and hotel stays is so much more and they always search for thekeys to the destination, the hotel concierge.

Since their stay in Copenhagen we have been in touch on regular basis and they have shared somany of their great memories with me and many of these memories, they have permitted me to usesome of these experiences in this revue as our “Golden Moments”.

In friendship,

Anders Ruggiero

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fInlAnD

Erkki Kerttula, one of our well known members anda name in the Finnish hospitality industry is well knowas the Head Concierge of the newly open Hotel lillaroberts, featured in the cover of Hotels magazinelast December. more here http://www.kampcollec-tionhotels.com/hygge-in-helsinki-hotel-lilla-roberts-in-hotels-magazine-december-2015/

virpi vidal-Stockley, Hotel best Western plusHaaga our newly elected president is a master ofbowling and as you see the golden bowling ball hasbrought her great success during one of our latestevents.

Jad lian, Hotel Haven Sometimes youhave to go the extra step and shovle thesnow to make a path for guests :)This picture was taken during a snowstorm hitting Helsinki a few weeks ago.

Kalle valjento, Hotel Klaus K our vicepresident is the master of chess at theHotel Klaus K, one of Helsinki's trendyhotels.

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fInlAnD

riku Nurminen, Hotel fabian is the master of Opera,he is a concierge with a twist, Riku's humor is wellknown by guests and on his free time he plays roles arethe Opera House in Helsinki and is great talent.

Sofia Saarinen, Hotel lilla roberts is a Concierge witha love to animals, she enjoys conversations with guestsabout that huge design horse in the Hotel Lobby, thehorse lamp was designed by a group of Swedish design-ers http://www.moooi.com/designers/front and has be-came almost a visited sight in Helsinki.

tero Kangas, Hotel Haven Tero's lovefor sweets has created great guests in-teractions, the guests come to visit hisdesk just for these old traditional Finnishcandies made for over 100 years andthat are so delicious.

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It’s our pleasure to make the hotel guests satisfied and help them toreturn home with unforgettable memories. This happens many timesand we like special challenges. Last summer we arranged a minivanpick up for a US family from Vienna to Budapest. They requested in theprevious booking to see some medieval castles in the countryside andvisit a vineyard on the way to Budapest. We made a full they plan whatto show on the way for the clients. Also we find a nice family vineyardat the Lake Balaton. They got a perfect wine tasting in the cellar and adelicious lunch with a breathtaking view on the terrace. When theguests returned home they sent an e-mail, that this trip was the mostmemorable part of the three weeks long European round trip.

What makes a concierge really happy? When you find out the guest’sdreams and you can help them to come true. And what is one of the worstthing? If you are against… (Do not worry - Finally both of us were happy).

It happened to me last year that guests arrived to my hotel from Greece.The occasion was the point: they were coming to see the Hungary vs.Greece football European qualifier game…

Being a big football fan myself as well we talked a lot and made a really good relationship. I helpedthem a lot with sightseeing, table reservations etc. Although on the day of the game – when they toldthat they have the last request to wish luck for their team : I kindly told them that I wish good luck inthe rest of the qualifiers except this one.

The end of the match was equal (0-0) – we said good bye to each other with a smile as both of ourteams still had the chance to qualify.

Balázs Andrónyi and Peter Simon members of LesClefs d'Or Hungary / Hilton Budapest

Barna Kövesdi – Member of Les Clefs d'Or Hun-gary / Sofitel Chain Bridge Budapest

In this picture you can see a real Golden momentwhich happens rarely: all the five members of theHungarian Cles D’Or of the Corinthia Budapestis together.

Our year in review: Golden Moments

Our Annual General Meeting and Gala Ball this year was held in The Radisson St Helens Dublin inFebruary. It was an election year for our executive board and all positions went unopposed for thesecond term, we had also 6 new members ratified at the meeting in which they received their keysat our Pinning Ceremony.

Later on that night our Gala Ball was attended by 150 guests, representing the many great servicesuppliers and tourism bodies from within the industry; it was also a pleasure for us to have Mr AntonyLynch, President of Great Britain and Mr Paul Still, Western Zone Director also in attendance.

During the night we and various awards to include our” Jimmy Connor” Concierge of the year awardwhich was presented to Marie Claire Sabogal of the InterContinental Hotel Dublin and our Memberd’honour award which was presented to Mr Jimmy Dixon, former Head Concierge of The ShelbourneHotel until 1997, a lifelong member of over 40 years and a past president, first holding the presidencyin 1972 - 1977 and again FROM 1986 – 1990.

An extract from a book written about The Shelbourne and in which some paragraphs are dedicatedto Jimmy:

“As a child Jimmy used to play in St Stephen’s Green and would peer through the railings at theShelbourne Hotel and watch with fascination as the lords and ladies arrived in great horse-drawncarriages.” At fourteen he realised his dream becoming a pageboy in 1946 at the historic hotel; overthe next 50 years he catered to the needs and eccentricities of the elite guests, politicians and count-less aristocrats who graced the hotel with their presence. He retired in 1997, working the majority ofhis years as the Head Concierge of the Shelbourne Hotel; his desk a stage, himself the performerand the guests the enthralled audience.

In January we had hosted our Annual Associates Appreciation Night which was held in The RusticStone Restaurant, as with every year we invite our most valued and loyal associates to engage withus and to discuss opportunities on how best we can work with each other.

Speaking on the night was our President Mr Paul Fitzsimons, Mr Billy Creaney, Sales and MarketingManager of Prime Steak Restaurants Group and Miriam Brady, Commercial Director of Dublin BusSightseeing.

During the summer we werepleased to meet up with Mor-ris Visitor Publications ontheir official launch into Ire-land. MVP through one of ourAssociate Members, GlancePromotions will now them-selves be an Associate Mem-ber of the Irish Society andwe look forward to workingwith them.

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Mr Jimmy DixonMember d’Honour

Marie Claire SabogalConcierge of the year 2016

Our newly ratified members

Paul Fitzsimons – President.Denis O Brien. John Rice –Glance Promotions. William Mor-ris. Chris Manning. KrishnaKumar. Conor O’Connell.Stephen Brannigan.

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hEllAs

Athenaeum interContinentalAthens

Dimitrios liapisNight Concierge

brazilian rope tricks

Greetings from sunny Larissa, Greece. I’m Dimitris Kakadiaris and, as hotel’s concierge, I’m respon-sible for making sure that my guests will be receiving the best service throughout their stay. The serv-ice starts by greeting and welcoming my guests at Grecotel Larissa Imperial Hotel, as well as assistingthem throughout their stay by providing travel information’s, suggesting and handling bookings torestaurants, bars and shows, etc.

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hEllAs

It’s been almost 16 years that I work as a Concierge at Hyatt Re-gency Thessaloniki Hotel and I’m truly honored to be a member ofLes Clefs d’Or Hellas. Due to all the problems that our world is trac-ing today, in Les Clefs d’Or the journey still on course…

In FriendshipMichalis Chatzakis

Marios Takos. Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki Concierge De-partment since 1999. Working at hospitality who servesguests requests for the requirements by introducing theright host. In Hotel setting act as a primary informationsource of the Hotel by providing particular help and infor-mation regarding hotel services and local area attractionsto customers.

“THE SECRET OF CHANGE IS TO FOCUS ALL OF ENERGY, NOT TO FIGHTING THE OLD, BUT ON BUILDING THE NEW”

SOCRATES

Dimitris Drakidis Hyatt Regency Thessaloniki Concierge since 2003.

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hollAnD

New Year’s reception les Clefs d’Or in Holland (De gouden Sleutels).

We started 2016 with a beautiful new year’s reception at a very special place, the famous museumof Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum. Delighted as we are to be able to hold this at this place which isvery exceptional and it confirms as well our growing of contacts and relations.

The ”De Gouden Sleutels” in Holland can look back on a very good 2015 with a number of new mem-bers but especially lots of new sponsors.

This reception is what we call a very good beginning of 2016. Our board is the first one who deservesa compliment for this all with on top our president Brian Mackenzie (our “front seater”!!).

But don’t forget the others of course, they are doing it together.

The reception itself was a great success and the visitors has been growing with approx. 100 personsin compare to the years before. At this party Brian took the lead in speeching but also together withthe rest of the board. During this there were given a few rewards by the sponsors to make it possiblefor a few to join the coming congress in Dubai.

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“So Dubai, here we come”!!!

The total amount of delegates is not known yet but there will be quite a few joining. You will recognizeeverybody again at the grey “Oger” suite with the crossed keys on it.

We were honored by the visit of Yvonne Alton(USA) and Greg during the reception. Also at that sametime we could congratulate our oldest member, Arie v d Laan, who is a member for 50 years now.Lots of people met him already at congresses before, according my information he joined it for about27 times now (can be even more). He will be there in Dubai also.

All together we are ready for 2016 and we hope to see lots of colleagues in Dubai.

I will send some pictures with this to give you an impression of our reception.Look forward to meet (again) in Dubai.

“Service through friendship”!!!On behalf of the Dutch section - Ronald Westerhof

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hong Kong

The Society of The Golden Keys of Hong Kong now have 98 Les Clefs d’Or Members, 10 Local Mem-bers, 58 Associate Members 15 Honorary Member as of Jan 2016.

the royal gardenFRED LUI, Presidentmarco polo Hong Kong HotelTONY LO, Vice President / Membershipthe royal pacific Hotel and towersGARY YU, Vice President / Financefour Seasons HotelHAMSON TSUI, Treasurerroyal park HotelLEWIS LI, General SecretaryKowloon Shangri-laRINGO CHAU, Committee Advisorthe langham Hong KongSTEVEN WONG, International Delegate the luxe manorTERENCE YIP, Committee MemberConrad Hong Kong HotelTHOMAS TONG, Committee Member the Excelsior, Hong KongWOODY LEUNG, Committee Member the park lane Hong Kong A pullman HotelJASON YEUNG, Committee Member

On 2 Dec 2015, Les Clefs d’Or Hong Kong collaborated with Hong Kong Polytechnic University andHotel ICON for hosting the first ever Concierge Forum. Around 350 personnel from different hotelConcierge, hotel management, hotel schools and hospitality industry took part in the forum. During theforum, Richard Hatter – GM, Director Hotel ICON & Adjunct Associate Professor School Hotel TourismManagement Polytechnic University, Michael Romei – Past General Secretary UICH, Jerry Soh – Found-ing president of Les Clefs d’Or Singapore, Fred Lui – President of Les Clefs d’Or Hong Kong, LouisBaleros Jr. – Past president of Les Clefs d’Or Hong Kong, Chief Concierge of InterContinental HongKong, Timothy Gan – Founding president of Les Clefs d’Or Malaysia, Vice President, Hotel Operationsat Galaxy Entertainment, Johnson Wong – Group Director of Rooms, Shangri-La Hotel and Resorts,Ringo Chau – Advisor Les Clefs d’Or Hong Kong, Chief Concierge Kowloon Shangri-La took the stageand host panel discussion in topics of past and future of Concierge profession, prospect of Conciergedevelopment, new technology, recruitment of new comers and the response was enormously positive.

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hong Kong

The Spring dinnerwas hosted on 26Feb 2016 withover 320 atten-dants from hotelConcierge, GMsand travel partnersenjoyed a greatnight.

Society Facebook page has now 508 likesand grow over 100 since September 2015.

The Society will continue to focus on education initiatives and members development in echoing withUICH headquarter.

• Co-develop Concierge Course with HitDC, vtC – Contribution for developing Concierge coursewith Hospitality Industry Training and Development Center, VTC Hong Kong. Target audience includingexisting members, potential Concierge staff to be promoted.

• planning for hosting the 2nd Concierge forum with polyU and Hotel iCON

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JAPAn

http://www.bifteck.jp

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IsrAEl

On 03/01/2015 We had a tour of the "Ilana Goormuseum" in Jaffa, where also was announced an "2015 honorary member" of "Les Clefs D'or-Israel"

On 13/01/2015 We had a " preparing cocktailsworkshop" in the "Inca- Cigar Bar" at the "DavidIntercontinental Tel Aviv"

On the 15/03 We had a whole day tour inJerusalem of the following attractions:the "Begin museum", " Ha- Tachana" : the newshopping area, a segaway tour of Jerusalem,the "city of David" and for dessert we had a tourof the newly opened "Waldorf Astoria-Jerusalem" , which ranked according to "Conde Nast " magazine readers as the besthotel in the middle east .(6 pictureS attached). On 03/02/2015 We had a visit in the new shop-

ping and restaurants area of Tel Aviv called"Sarona"

On 29/03 We had a Chinese culture event spon-sored by "IDC- Israel Diamonds centre"

On 15/02/2015 Wevisited "Alexander"brewery and "Recanati" wineries

On 21/02/2015 Wehad a "Carmel mar-ket-tasting tour"

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FIRST DINNER OF 2016

First Les Clefs d'Or Luxembourg of theyear at the most delicious italian restau-rant DELIRIO CULINARIO. Renzo and histeam made us discover the outstandingsunny cuisine of southern Italy while Mrs.Joanne BRAUN, Concierge at theKIKUOKA GOLF HOTEL was honoured bythe famous french top designer COUR-REGES for being the only lady Clefs d'Orin the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.

Simon DELCOMMINETTE, President ofthe local section raised his glass to thankand congratulate the owner of theDELIRIO CULINARIO, Renzo BELLANIMAfor his great involvement in projects help-ing disavantedged children in Nigeria.

Simon DELCOMMINETTE

lUxEMBoUrg

Simon DELCOMMINETTE with Renzo BELLAMIA

Joanne BRAUN honored by COURREGES

THE supporters team Simon motivating the future generation of Clefs d'Or !!!

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QAtAr

Appreciation & recognition Award

During the visit of Mayumi Hayakawa – President of Les Clefs dÓr Philippines and Andy PongcoAward Committee in Doha, Qatar from 15-17th of April 2016. Les Clefs dÓr Qatar headed by RandySantos Founder & President along with his Executive Committee and members, given the opportunityto thank Les Clefs dÓr Philippines and our dear friend Andy Pongo in bring the Les Clefs dÓr to theMiddle East region.

In the middle is Mayumi Hayakawa along with the Les Clefs dÓr Qatar members & guests.

it’S timE tO ApprECiAtE!

Given for both Les Clefs dÓr Philippines & Mayumi Hayakawa, appreciation & recognition award toinspire our young concierge and the next generation and to continue the legacy of Andy Pongco aswe independent countries will stand as the mentors and guide them to become a truly In ServiceThrough Friendship.

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INDIA

Le Meridien Gurgaon is the first Le Meridien hotel in Gurgaon. Le Meridientargets the creative minded traveler and believes in helping guest discoverand unlock destination in a new way through the filters of cuisine, cultureand coordinates. I love serving my guests as a Les Clefs D’or Concierge.

A Memorable Experience

Ms Bastel, a French national, was staying at Le Meridien Gurgaon in themonth of November 2015. A few days ahead of her travel, she fell downfrom a flight of stairs at her house and fractured her leg. Being her first visitto India, the guest was excited about her elaborate schedule of visiting var-ious shopping destinations to take back some souvenirs.

She met Anuj who recommended her a few places which she couldhave easily accessed with a walker. Anuj, then went a step ahead and instructed the chauffeur to as-sist the guest wherever she went. Ms Bastel returned in the evening and mentioned that she had avery good experience. Later, Anuj learnt from the chauffeur that the guest was looking for a particulartype of hand woven bag and scouted 7-8 shops, but was unable to find it. Since,she had a very tightwork schedule she would be unable to go out on any of the coming days. Anuj immediately realizedthat this particular style of bag was easily available at Janpath. After finishing his shift Anuj personallywent to janpath and bought the bag for the guest. The next day he placed the bag in the guest roomwith a small note to the guest “with compliments from team Le Meridien Gurgaon”. MsBastelwaspleasantly surprised on her return back to the hotel and she was overjoyed by this gesture.

The next day in fact she made it a point to be late for work so that she could personally meet Anuj &thank him for his effort. She mentioned that this is exactly the type of bag she was looking for andwanted to gift it to her daughter and the effort by Anuj made her feel as if she wasn’t away from herfamily. In fact, she felt that she was staying at her home in India. As per Anuj it was just another dayof doing what he usually does ‘service by the heart’.

In Service Through Friendship

Anuj Kumar TyagiChief Concierge Le Meredien Gurgaon

In today’s day and age, when it comes to dealing with a hotel Concierge, theguest’s expectations have sky rocketed to an all new level. These global travelersexpect superior services and world class experiences with next to negligibleturnover timeframes. Catering to the same expectations, my most importantlearning, right from the start of my career, has been to keep myself in the guest’sshoes and assess his requirements and needs accordingly. For us, Conciergemembers, one has to face different situations on a daily basis and each day turnsout to be a new set of learnings and absolutely no request is unusual.

One such situation wherein a Spanish lady guest at the hotel scheduled to flyout last midnight came up to me next day morning to inquire about her flight! Ifaced great difficulty due to the language barrier (The guest could only comprehend a few words in English)in explaining to her how she is 10 hours late. When the guest finally caught on to reality, she was com-pletely heartbroken and in tears as her family was expecting her back home at the Madrid airport. I im-mediately sprung into action and tried to see whatever possible I can manage to bring the situation undercontrol. I coordinated with the airlines and her agent in Spain, apprised them of the situation and managedto reinstate the same reservation with nominal charges for the afternoon flight the very same day. At thesame time, I informed her family back home about the recent developments and her new flight status.

I have to say this was an extremely urgent and challenging situation for me as we were not only hardpressed for time, but facing language issues and not sure of cooperation from third party authorities. Butall in all, we managed to turn around things quickly and have the guest board her flight the same day.

With the guest conveying her heartiest appreciation to my management in 3 page long letter and nowbeing a regular guest at the hotel, I guess the hard work more than paid off and I couldn’t be happier tohave served more smiles to my guest.

Rajiv JhuraniChief ConciergeThe Grand New Delhi

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INDIA

On the morning of march ,2010 Mr. Rabindranath Ganguly was terribly sick andDavid, concierge took the initiative to save his life. His daugher, who was working inChennai got a call from her mother from Kolkata and she said that her father was insevere pain and got a heart attack. She tried his best to arrange for an ambulancebut failed. She contacted the Chef Concierge, David at Taj Bengal with a hope ofgetting any resource. Though she was not staying with them, David took her numbermade a conference call with Miss. Subhalaxmi Ganguly (his daughter) and a doctor. After getting all details, he took the initiative to arrange for a mini, fully stocked am-bulance and also he booked a bed at The Woodland Hospital without taking any de-

posits as in India without deposit patients arenot admitted. But due to David’s request andinitiation no deposits were taken and the pa-tient was admitted. He therefore made allnecessary arrangements possible. Then Mr.Rabindranath Ganguly was brought from Tol-lygung,Kolkata to Woodland Hospital andwas admitted there. There he received med-ical help and could recover fully.

THANKING NOTE FROM GUEST

Miss Subhalaxmi Ganguly, who was an NRItherefore wrote an appreciation letter to theconcierge, DAVID last month when shecame to dine in Taj Bengal, during her visitto Kolkata.

Mr. David AaronChef ConciergeTaj Bengal Kolkata

Ms. Legrand was a guest of the hotel for the duration of her stay in Delhi. As such,I frequently interacted with her colleagues and herself and we grew to be friends.During one of my interactions with her colleagues, one mentioned that Ms.Legrand’s’ birthday was in the next few days. I realized that, being away fromhome, she probably did not have anything planned and decided to do my best tomake the day memorable for her.

We contacted her colleagues and discreetly asked for them to all arrive at herroom by 6 pm. Once they were all assembled (with a rather confused Ms.

Legrand), I opened the door of the room opposite hers and presented her with the rest of the surprise.I had organized a trolley with a birthday cake, juices, soft beverages and other refreshments as well asa bouquet of flowers and crockery.

The event was a huge success and Ms. Legrand seemed to be overwhelmed with the considerationand thought that had gone into planning the evening for her. She was delighted by the surprise and bythe fact that we had taken the initiative to go above and beyond to make her day special. She thankedme for the effort put in and told me that this birthday would be one to remember!

Narender SinghConcierge ManagerITC Maurya A Luxury Collection Hotel

There was a guest from Japan, who had misplaced his passport. He couldn’tremember where he had left it so I asked him his trail. Being late afternoon on aSaturday, the consulate office was closed so he couldn’t seek support till Mon-day. I called the Bangalore airport manager, the Indigo airlines staff, the captainwho flew the flight, and finally asked him, “Did you go to any of the restaurants?”He told me he had got down in Bagdogra. It was there in an airport restaurantthat I finally tracked down his passport.

Rupa VermaConciergeThe Oberoi Grand

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srI lAnKA MEMBErs AttAChED to lEsClEfs D'or InDIA

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srI lAnKA MEMBErs AttAChED to lEsClEfs D'or InDIA

loolecondera tea Estate, the origin of Ceylon tea wellcomes you to see.

A day trip to first commercial Tea estate, Kandy, Sri Lanka. Ceylon Tea is renowned for its qualityand taste but very few are knows about how its begin in old Ceylon.

Loolecondera Tea Estate, the origin of Ceylon Tea & first tea field planted by Mr. James Taylor in1867. A Scotish planter Mr. James Tylor planted first tea plants in Loolecondera Estate, Delgoda,Kandy. His estate is 40km from Kandy Town.

Early tea plants now grown up to 15 feet high, in the estate has ruins of his log cabin built in 1868,well that he used for bathing, Granite seat he stand planning tea industry. Tea processing machinesused by James Taylor now kept at Ceylon Tea Museum, Hanthana, Kandy.

Sri Lanka Sightseeing information from www.conciergesrilanka.com web page.

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KEnYAConcierge Activities 2015

The Kenya Concierge society had a an average year in terms of participation and growth in 2015.While the constraints are somewhat work related, members lost steam midway and officials hadan hard time convening meetings and activities which sometimes had very low turnouts.

The Importance of this noble Society to Members needs to be re emphasized to parent Hotels sothat Members get the support from their Managers, without the backing of their hotels, then thegrowth of the society to a full chapter will remain a mirage.

We would also request for more support from Les clef d’or India to assist in sharing the benefits ofthe society to Members to particular Hotels that have shown little or no support including Serena,Inter-continental, Sarova Panafric, Tribe Hotel, Safari Park Hotel, Southern Sand Hotel (Mayfair),sankara among others.

The Society had several activities spread over the year as follows.

• Nairobi city Monuments Tour• Visit to one of Kenya’s most photographed house-The African Heritage House• Windsor Hotel Golf Course Tour• Point Zero Coffee House Tour• XS Millionaire’s club visit• Florida 2000 club cocktail

MEMBErs AttAChED to lEsClEfs D'or InDIA

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KOREA

MEXICODear Colleagues around the Golden Keys World!

Mexico is really proud to be part of the sections with more than 100 Clef d’Or members.

We are sharing this with some countries in Latin-America as Costa Rica, Colombia and Panama thatare part of Mexico while they are creating their own part of the story.

We are very glad to had received Michael Romei in Costa Rica and Los Cabos sharing his knowledgewith many Concierges. We are looking for more of “CREATING SERVICE MAGIC”

We have also had the opportunity to meet colleagues in Mexico City sharing and making noise aboutLes Clefs d'Or.

We are waiting to share with you all in Dubai and make memorable experiences.

Macau is not your normal city, and most of our hotels arenot anyone’s idea of a normal. We feature members fromthree different integrated resorts, so large, that they hardlyrun into each other even though they work in the same build-ing. Getting them together for a photo and just chatting withus is a golden moment in itself. Also, we hear from a mem-ber of a newly-opened hotel sharing his experience as aconcierge.

Having two best friends working in the same complex canbe a bit of a challenge. Just ask Samantha Lok, the chiefconcierge of the MGM MACAU, and Francis Sien the chiefconcierge of the Mandarin Oriental Macau. Both hotels areconnected to One Central, and are friendly competitors ofsorts.

“One of the advantages is that MGM offers diversified en-tertainment and cultural events such as casino and art exhi-bitions, it is convenient for Mandarin Oriental guests to visitto MGM for different experiences” laughs Samantha, “andsometimes when our facilities are under renovation, ourguests can just pop over to use the facilities at the MandarinOriental without having to go far.”

“The food and beverage offerings at the Mandarin Orientalcompliment those of the MGM and vice-versa” says Francis,“though our restaurant and bar have a better view of thecity”.

Lisa Li and Herbert Leung, the Assistant ChiefConcierges of the Holiday Inn Macao, Cotai Central andthe Conrad Macao Cotai Central respectively, haveknown each other since the opening of The Venetian®Macao where they both worked, before moving to theircurrent roles. Both hotels are located in Sands® CotaiCentral, as part of the integrated resort city Sands Re-sorts Cotai Strip Macao.

“We have so much in common, but we are also very dif-ferent,” says Li. “We work in the same complex and havemostly the same duties, but our clientele and the size ofthe hotels are quite different so the demands of our jobsare quite different.”

“As Lisa says, even though we work in the same com-plex and even speak on the phone or email each other,we rarely run into each other because of the size of thecomplex,” says Herbert.

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MACAU

(From left) Samantha Lok, chiefconcierge MGM MACAU; Francis Sien,chief concierge Mandarin OrientalMacau

(From left) Lisa Li, assistant chiefconcierge Holiday Inn Macao Cotai Cen-tral; Herbert Leung, assistant chiefconcierge Conrad Macao Cotai Central

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What is it like to work in one of Asia’slargest integrated resorts? We ask MariaYang, Freda Cheung, and Francis Yang,who work at properties inside Sands Re-sorts Cotai Strip Macao on Macao’s CotaiStrip.

Sands Resorts Cotai Strip Macao is com-prised of The Venetian® Macao; ThePlaza™ Macao, featuring the Four SeasonsHotel Macao; and Sands® Cotai Central,featuring the world’s largest Conrad, Sher-aton, and St. Regis hotels as well as theHoliday Inn.

Navigating this complex is no easy matter.“Guests do get lost from time to time,sometimes ending up at an entirely differenthotel,” says Freda Cheung, chef conciergeat Four Seasons Hotel Macao. “In factSands Resorts Cotai Strip Macao is so bigthat you will need a map to get aroundwithout getting lost,” says Maria Yang, chiefconcierge The Plaza Macao.

“The great thing about its size is that you can get everything you could possibly want or need underone roof,” says Francis Yang, Assistant Chief Concierge The Venetian Macao. “Whether you are look-ing for a place to eat, the latest fashion offerings or even blue skies, you can find it at Sands ResortsCotai Strip Macao!”

“In fact it is so big, that getting us together for a photograph is a very rare occasion because eventhough we work in the same complex we rarely run into each other,” Yang adds.

Being the newest hotel in the city has it challenges. Goingbeyond expectations and keeping everyone happy arethings Vincent Tong has to ensure on a daily basis. Join-ing as the chief concierge of the Crowne Plaza Macau,Vincent has his work cut out for him.

"To avoid having to deal with a potential issue as a ChiefConcierge, my ability to delight as a Chief Conciergecomes in extremely handy". “Every moment for me is agolden moment. That point in every interaction where Ican make a difference, either by offering recommenda-tions that are insightful and informative, or by being sen-sitive and intuitive in somewhat touchy situations."

Vincent sees his challenges as opportunities to enhancethe awareness of the Concierge profession. "Nothing isgoing to be handed to us on a plate. We have to workhard for what we what, and by doing so we will be rec-ognized as a credible organization."

(From left) Maria Yang, chief concierge The PlazaMacao; Lawrence Lu, concierge supervisor Four Sea-sons Hotel Macao; Francis Yang, assistant chiefconcierge The Venetian Macao; Timmy Huang,concierge supervisor The Plaza Macao; Freda Cheung,chef concierge Four Seasons Hotel Macao.

Vincent Tong

MACAU

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MAlAYsIA

greetings from mAlAYSiA!

GOLDEN MOMENTS! A grand theme indeed for this issue’s UICH Revue. Instead of sharing individualgolden moment experiences from each of our members, we are sharing with you a collective GoldenMoment from all of us here in Malaysia – whereby recently in January 2016, we celebrated 13 of ourfriends – who have stuck with us through thick and thin, supporting our Society and truly believe inwhat Les Clefs d’Or truly stands for.

Please join us in congratulating the following individuals who, in their very own way assisted us in cre-ating many golden moments for the Society of the Golden Keys Malaysia since its inception in 1997.

1. Mr Michael Lee General Manager, Fraser Residences Kuala Lumpur2. Mr Ferhad Abdul Rahman Past Member, Resident Manager, Fraser Residences Kuala Lumpur3. Mr Azman Ismail Past Member, RSP Architects Sdn Bhd4. Mr Toh Sheau Jong Past Member, Metro Limo and Tours5. Mr Syed Ali Past Member, Swiss Garden Damai Laut, Lumut Perak6. Mr SS Raja Malaysian Association of Hotels (MAH)7. Mr Andrew Lee Customer Service Trainer8. Mr Gurcharan Singh Lecturer, KDU University College9. Mr Gregory Tan Les Clefs d’Or Singapore10. Mr Sam Osman Les Clefs d’Or Singapore11. Mr Ismail Hussein Internationa Honorary Member (Les Clefs d’Or Singapore)12. Mr Sadi Sariman Les Clefs d’Or Singapore13. Jack Suseelan Internationa Honorary Member (Les Clefs d’Or Singapore)

Thank you gentlemen, for always being there for us, in the true spirit of “Service Through Friendship”

Vive Les Clefs d’Or!

Sharezal Abd WahidHead of Public Relations – Society of the Golden Keys MalaysiaDirector of Concierge, the Majestic Hotel Kuala Lumpur

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MoroCCo

the Charity event

During the month of Ramadan, people are more generous, more cordial, more friendly and moreready than any other times of the year to do good deeds. The poor and the needy receive food, cloth-ing and money from the well - to – do in the community.

In this year Ramadan, a month of fasting was marked by our participation in various charity activitiesin collaboration with the DIAA Association for Development and Culture. In fact, within the frameworkof the theme “solidarity” and in perfect conformity with tradition, thanks to your donations, we havebeen able to offer:

• 8400 IFTAR• 101 AID AL FITR gift bags.

At work with some members of theConcierge team.

With my best regards,

IN SERVICE THROUGH FRIENDSHIP

mohamed taoufiq Ait El HaddadChef Concierge

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roMAnIA

12.12.2008 during the meeting at InterContinental Hotel in Bucharest, the young Concierge decidesto reestablish the connections with UICH made in 1990 by our national sages and to give the legalstatus to Cheile de Aur - Les Clefs dÒr Romania.

November Zone Meeting in Budapest - meeting the Romanian`s greatest supporters and friends.

With Dan Gheorghiu our Honorary Member and Founder of the first Romanian Concierge Association.

Sept 2009 hosting for the first time in Romania - the Central European Zone Meeting.

May 2009 best ever Concierge trip& endurance team building

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roMAnIA

Jan 2012 UICH Congress in London - the land-mark moment when the Romanian Association de-cided to organize the First PanEuropean Congress.

July 2012 presenting the PanEuropean Congress`sconcept to our Central European Zone Meeting inGermany.

Nov 2012 during the First PanEuropean Congressin Bucharest, President Virginia Casale is present-ing the Honorary Diploma to Stefan Frank - Inter-continental Hotel General Manager, the host andour principal supporter.

Nov 2012 - First PanEuropean Congress - Inter-Continental Bucharest - the historical landmarkmoment of the Romania`s Clefs dÒr Association.

Nov 2012 - visiting Dracula`s Palace in Transilvania during the First PanEuropean Congress.

Nov 2012 - Educational day during the First PanEuropean Congress - the first "Tee-shirt Congress".

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rUssIA

rUSSiAN SECtiON b-DAY

On 22nd of January we were celebrating our birthday. Today we are in the ageof our sweet sixteen. We are still young and there are not a lot of us in our hugeRussian section but we have big ambitions. As every sixteen year old kid :-)

We are happy that today we have Moscow, St. Petersburg, Kiev, Baku, Sochiwith us and we build our geography. We are growing with members and we wantto wish to ourselves to move in one direction. Every concierge from our sectionfeels very special today, Happy Birthday, Dear Russian Section!

Vive Les Clefs d'Or!

OUr lASt prOJECt

We gladly inform you that the "Les Clefs d'Or Russia" became informational partners wonder SOUNDUP russia music festival. SOUND UP - a series of unique concerts for people who are interested innew sounds and new ideas.

Every month on the best stages of Moscow will perform Russian and foreign composers and per-formers, who make music, which is in the transfer zone between academic tradition and contempo-rary pop music, at the junction of sound acoustic and electronic experimentation.

This music has yet to find the words - it belongs to the future, which can be heard now.

EffOrtS tO mAKE tHiS WOrlD bEttEr

If you remember our Les Clefs D'or section visited theorphanage in Christmas Eve. Besides the new yearpresents and handmade cookies, we were intended tocontinue on fulfill the sensor room in the orphanagethat we started to work on last year.

The money that was collected by the members gavea chance to buy few more useful things for the sensorroom. After the long discussion of what is better topurchase, the order was placed and finally all the

items arrived toorphanage... Wewant to thank ourcharity projectschampion Artyom Osipov for all the efforts he made to arrangethis and Tatiana Golova for support that finally made it all hap-pen. And certainly it could not happen without sincere desire tohelp of members from following hotels and partners:

Moscow: Radisson Royal Moscow, The Metropol, HotelBaltschug Kempinski Moscow, Four Seasons, Ritz-CarltonMoscow, InterContinental Moscow Tverskaya, National, MarriottNoviy Arbat, Marriott Royal Aurora, Swissotel Krasnye HolmyMoscow, Pavel Nikolaev and Maria Nikolaeva, St. Petersburg:Astoria, Four Seasons

Andrey KorystovChief Concierge, Hotel Metropol MoscowPresident of “Les Clefs d’Or”, Russia

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rUssIA

OUr gAStrONOmiC AND NOt qUitE SUrvEY

Moscow Concierges visited a wonderful Georgianrestaurant “Hachapuri”, and with their hospitalitynearly felt themselves as if they were in Georgia -that is what we call a cosy evening!

We were taught to speak Georgian toasts, underwhich wine and chacha flowed freely, and the foodwas incredible that in a trice by eating it, we forgetabout the diet! Especially recommend lobiani Rachuli,crispy cake with tomatoes and peppers, khinkali,Ajarian cakes with lamb and peppers - it's very tasty,and most importantly, once again, sincerely!

We had a nice dinner at the Moscow restaurant "Chemodan" .Traditional restaurant with the Siberian cuisine, you exactly findin the menu dishes that you have never eaten before - elk, deer,bear and boar are among the many things to offer for the ad-ventures diners. Big variety choice of the homemade vodkawhich was provided from the Siberian city Krasnoyarsk (ero-feech, nastoika, nalivka). Thank you for the such warm atmos-phere, we definitely come back.

lES ClEfS D’Or AWArD– ANDY pONgCO 2016

Please meet our nomineefor the AP award 2016 -Erkin Aliyev from Baku,Azerbaijan. We are veryproud to have him in oursection and wish him suc-cess in Dubai.

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sIngAPorE

Xavier Kok-Chef Concierge, The Ritz Carlton Millenia Singapore. "For the Best View In Singapore"

Syed musaddiq-President, Chef Concierge, InterContinental Hotel Singapore.

"Only The Best Restaurant Booking"

mohd ibrahim-Chef Concierge, Royal PlazaOn Scotts Hotel. “The Golden 80s”

Ali Alsagoff-Vice President,Guest Experience and ConciergeManager, Four Seasons HotelSingapore. "You Booked a Limo?"

Ariffin-Chef Concierge, Holiday Inn Atrium. "Thirsty?"

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thAIlAnDWelcome to Les Clefs d'Or, Thailand. The Land of Smile!

As "Les Clefs d'Or" literally mean "Keys of Gold", and with that magic crossed key that display on ourcollar, we are able to open doors that no others can. Be our guest. We promise to make you satisfy inour guaranteed service.

Bangkok is Asia's most vibrant city, a dazzling contrast in ancient and modern, packed with things todo, see, eat and buy. But the city is not only worth a visiting for its impressive old temples, Bangkokis also noted for its huge choices of out-of-beaten track attractions, dining and entertainment oppor-tunities, and for shopping, in up-market luxury mall or bustling open-air markets and so on.

Whenever come to Thailand, please visit us and let us know how we can delight you!

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tUrKEY

In Turkey, where the city tourism and hotel invensments are in an increase especially in the last fewyears, Les Clefs d’Or Turkey has started 2016 with completing the official process of being an assosi-ation and electing the new Board of Directos. The first thing done is putting down the important strate-gies which are quite important for both Istanbul, the headquarters and the Les Clefs d’Or Turkey. Withour world famous hospitality of Turks, in order to develop the abilities of Concierge, which is definitelya hospitality occupation, Les Clefs d’Or Turkey is taking any opportunity, especially in Human Re-soures, whether personal or corporate evolution. Here are latest news from Les Clefs d’Or Turkey.

NEW mANAgEmENt At WOrK!After completing the legal process, at the end of 2015, LesClefs d’Or Turkey has elected the New President, Board ofDirectors and the administrative boards. Accordingly; HeadConcierge of Swissotel the Bosphorus Adnan Oner is thePresident and board of directors is as follows; AlparslanYıldız from The Grand Tarabya, Cengiz Gorkem fromCıragan Palace Kempinski, Ali Oner from Intercontinental Is-tanbul and Serkan Evcumenli fro Swissotel the Bosphorus.The most important project of new management will bebeing the candidate for hosting 65th UICH Congress (2018)in Istanbul, which will be announced in Dubai.

iStANbUl iS AftEr 65tH CONgrESS!As the 15th anniversary is approaching, les Clefs d’Or Turkeyhas succedded in creating a synergy in such a short time withits young and dynamic profile of members, which is almost 50at the moment. Especially during the last five years, Les Clefsd’Or Turkey has managed to have good relations with tourismenterprises and had incredible support from them. Within thisaspect, members are coming together not only in montly meet-ings, but also in social gatherings which are organized at leasttwice a week. By giving importance to its corporate develop-ment, Les Clefs d’Or Turkey is walking towards its goals with aday by day increasing desire and pleasure in their Conciergework-lifestyle. Encouraged by this desire and the support of all

members, the board of directors started to work on preliminary for international congress to be heldin Istanbul in 2018. The committee, leaded by the board of directors, is busy with completing thepresentation that will be presented in 63th UICH Congress in Dubai in April.

tUrKEY’S CANDitAtE Of ANDY pONgCO AWArD65th UICH Congress nomination will not be the only reason for Les Clefs d’OrTurkey to be excited about in Dubai. As one of young members of Four Sea-sons Istanbul at the Bosphorus Concierge team, Alida Reggio’s nominationfor Andy Pongco Award and announcement of the winner will also be a greatexcitement for Les Clefs d’Or Turkey. As having a encouraging sight in in-creasing the women's presence in concierge occupation, Les Clefs d’OrTurkey is willing to give a support to UICH’s global vision with positive dis-crimination by the nomination of young and successful colleague, Alida Reg-gio. French-Italian originated Alida Reggio is 32 years old and working fornine years as a professional Concierge.

NEW HOtElS – NEW CitiES“As we are getting new members from other cities, we now have a wider and stronger networkthrough Turkey. At the begining it was only Istanbul and then Ankara - the capital of Turkey is addedto our network. As the service quality increasing in the resorts and holiday destinations, we are movingforward and now we have members from Antalya, the Akra Barut Hotel, Regnum Hotel Antalya, andfrom Bodrum – The Mandarin Oriental recently added to our group. Also new hotels from Istanbul 10Karakoy A Morgans Original & Sheraton Istanbul Atasehir.

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SigNAtUrE Of bArUt iN tHE HEArt Of CitY ...How about enjoying the pleasures of the Mediterranean? Putting its sig-nature in to the heart of the city with its quality, vision, service conceptand energy, Akra Barut hosts all your congregations and events with itsoutstanding infrastructure and traditional Barut Hotels' concept of qual-ity while it offers its guests the pleasure of a resort hotel in the city cen-tre. If you would like to taste a unique accommodation experience withan astonishing view of the Mediterranean and the Bey Mountains twinedwith history, the sea, sun, serenity and happiness then your path willdefinitely cross with Akra Barut!

10 KArAKOY A mOrgANS OrigiNAlThe first and only boutique hotel in Turkeywith Les Clefs d’Or Concierge, 10 KarakoyA Morgans Original, is also part of ourgroup and keeps serving its guest with LesClefs d’Or quality and understanding. Thehotel is nominated as the Best Boutiquehotel in Turkey by Skalite Istanbul 2016 andthe Highly Recommended Classic / Her-itage Hotel in Turkey by The InternationalHotel Awards’ 2016-2017 held in London.

SHErAtON AtASEHir iStANbUlAtasehir is an emerging residential and business center on the Asian side of Is-tanbul. The Sheraton Istanbul Atasehir Hotel is located in the heart of this mod-ern suburban district, only 1 kilometer from the site of the Istanbul FinanceCenter development. Ulker Sports Arena is within walking distance. Severalfreeways and bridges are nearby, and the hotel is only 28 kilometers fromSabiha Gokcen International Airport (SAW).

tUrKEY’S COUplE CONCiErgEThe wedding of Raffles Istanbul Head Concierge KaanOzkan and Ece Akar from Park Hayatt Istanbul. TheHead Concierge of Park Hyatt Mr. Koray Tufekci (onthe right ) is against the Raffles Concierge team (onthe left), but the winners do not change! Congratula-tions and we wish them a happy life with full ofConcierge memories.

bOrN tO bE A CONCiErgE – NEW bOrNS – NEW COmErSSee our new members, we have many new Les Clefsd’Or Concierges added to our network in 2015. Withtheir energy and enthusiasm we are after being anexperienced but also a younger team. We are almostup to 50 with the new comers to the Les Clefs d’Or.Erhan Pekbilek from Polat Renaissance Istanbul onthe right, Gokhan Aksu from Four Season Sultanah-met on the left. Ahmet Guvenc from The MarmaraTaksim below left, Zeki Yusufoglu from CiraganPalace Kempinski Istanbul in the middle and Isa Ah-metoglu from W Istanbul on the right below.

thAnK YoU to oUr

sPonsors

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5tH ANNUAl gENErAl mEEtiNg 2015

Above Honorary Member Mr. Radwan Al Jumaah

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BAhrAIn MEMBErs AttAChED to lEsClEfs D'or UAE

2016 bahrain Hotels Concierge group ElectionsFebruary 14, 2016Mary TawadrosPRO, Bahrain Concierge Group

Bahrain may be a small island but that is what differentiates our Concierge family. Made up of mem-bers from the most elite hotels in the country, we are constantly supporting each other under thestrong belief that “my guest today is your guest tomorrow, and vice versa”.

Tuesday, February 9th, 2016marked the elections for the 2016-2018 term for the Bahrain HotelsConcierge Group, under the UAELes Clefs d’Or chapter. Hosted bythe magnificent Sofitel Bahrain Za-llaq Thalassa Sea & Spa, the newExecutive Committee was elected.

left to right:roderick Asahan - Chief Concierge (interCon bahrain) - firSt viCE prESiDENt of bahrainHotels Concierge groupKamal Jayalath - Chief Concierge - interCon Dubai festival City - 3rd vice president les Clefsd’or UAE Chaptermuzammil parkar - Chief Concierge (K Hotel bahrain) - SECrEtArY gENErAl of bahrain Ho-tels Concierge groupAbel Sam - Chief Concierge - JW marriott marquis Dubai - president of les Clefs d’Or UAEChapterKhalil Al Yaman - Chief Concierge (four Seasons bahrain) - prESiDENt of bahrain HotelsConcierge groupmary tawadros - Chief Concierge (Sofitel bahrain) - pUbliC rElAtiONS OffiCEr of bahrainHotels Concierge groupmark Nadonza - Chief Concierge (ritz Carlton bahrain) - ASSiStANt SECrEtArY gENErAlof bahrain Hotels Concierge groupmandar Naik - Chief Concierge - Assistant general Secretary of les Clefs d’or UAE Chapter

We would like to congratulate our re-elected President, Khalil Al Yaman, Chief Concierge at the FourSeasons Bahrain, along with Roderick Asahan, now First Vice President, Chief Concierge at the In-terContinental Regency Bahrain and Mark Nadonza, Chief Concierge at the Ritz Carlton Bahrain, As-sistant Secretary General of the Bahrain Hotels Concierge Group.

Newly appointed members of the executive committee are Muzammil Parkar, Chief Concierge at theK Hotel Bahrain as Secretary General, and Mary Tawadros, Assistant Chief Concierge at the SofitelBahrain Zallaq Thalassa Sea & Spa, as Public Relations Officer.

Together with our growing members, we hope to accomplish even more throughout the next term.Firstly, in service through friendship, in promoting our hotels and Bahrain, and in creating memorableexperiences for our guests.

Our Bahrain Hotels ConciergeGroup members from the KHotel, The Domain, Four Sea-sons Bahrain Bay, SofitelBahrain Zallaq Thalassa Sea &Spa, Ritz Carlton, InterConti-nental Regency, Al AreenPalace & Spa, Gulf Hotel,Westin and Meridien City Cen-tre Hotel, Crowne Plaza, andRotana Downtown.

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roderick Asahan: pinning CeremonyFebruary 15, 2016Mary TawadrosPRO, Bahrain Concierge Group

The Bahrain Hotels Concierge Group and the Les Clefs d’Or UAE chapter are proud to presentBahrain’s second Les Clefs d’Or member. Roderick Asahan joined InterContinental Regency Bahrainon October 25th, 2005. Prior to that he was with the InterContinental in Doha, Qatar for three years.

Roderick received his first Les Clefs in September of 2014. He has a passion for Concierge becausehe simply loves creating memorable experiences for others. To Roderick, his job is about presentationand results; all in order to bring a smile tohis guests’ faces. He also loves a goodchallenge, which is naturally an every dayoccurrence for hoteliers!

The pinning was conducted according tothe tradition of the Les Clefs d’Or – by thePresident, Abey Sam, and Roderick’sGeneral Area Manager, Mr. Jan Ifcic. Alsojoining to congratulate Roderick are Mr.Mohammed Mahmoud (Director ofRooms) and Mr. Mohammed Sanad (HotelManager).

We asked Khalil Al Yaman, President of the Bahrain Concierge Group and Chief Concierge of theFour Seasons Hotel Bahrain what he feltabout Roderick’s grand milestone: To besuccessful, the first thing to do is fall inlove with your work – words of Sister MaryLauretta. “This is simply what describesRoderick; sedulous, efficient, and commit-ted. This is what our Bahrain HotelsConcierge Group members and myselfhad in mind when we elected him as ourFirst Vice President.”

Congratulations Mr. Asahan!

Left to right: Kamal Jayalath - Chief Concierge - InterContinental DubaiFestival City - 3rd Vice President Les Clefs d’or UAE Chapter, RoderickAsahan – Chief Concierge – InterCon Bahrain, Mr. Jan Ifcic, InterCon-tinentatal Regency Area General Manager Bahrain & Kuwait”

Left to right: Mohamed Mahmoud (DOM, InterConBahrain), Mary Tawadros (Asst. Chief ConciergeSofitel Bahrain), Muzammil Parkar (Chief ConciergeK Hotel), Kamal Jayalath (Chief Concierge InterConDubai Festival City - 3rd Vice President Les Clefsd’or UAE Chapter), , Mr. Jan Ifcic, (InterCon AreaGeneral Manger), Roderick Asahan (ChiefConcierge InterCon Bahrain), Abey Sam (ChiefConcierge JW Marquis Dubai – President Les Clefsd’Or UAE Chapter), Mandar Naik (Chief Concierge- Assistant General Secretary Les Clefs d’or UAEChapter), Khalil Al Yaman (Chief Concierge FourSeasons Bahrain), Mr. Mohammed Sanad (InterConBahrain Hotel Manager)

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Sometimes, it’s the simple things in life that make the greatest impact.Les Clefs d’Or USA is proud to make thousands of Golden Momentspossible everyday. Here are just a few examples of our members mak-ing Golden Moments happen from coast to coast!!!

One evening, Mark Peterson (on the left) from the Montage BeverlyHills, was speaking with a guest on the phone about an issue in theirroom in one ear and in the other he was coordinating with his engineer-ing department to assist the guest on the radio at the same time. Thisissue was resolved more quickly due to Mark’s quick thinking andphone juggling!

In the photo on the right, Ryan Lettier,from the Vintage Plaza Hotel in Portland,Oregon, is pictured with seven bottlesof Oregon Pinot and a New York Timesarticle. He was flipping through the NewYork Times Food section and noticed an

article featuring 10 Oregon Pinots. Ryan says, “When our hotel wentunder renovation it was my project to partner with 117 Willamette Val-ley wineries.” He facilitated a partnership with seven of the ten winer-ies mentioned in the article. He quickly alerted his PR team (who hadno idea the article was published). That picture of the wines and Ryanwent out on social media sites. “Being Portland's wine themed hotel,I am surrounded and educated by wine makers, distributors and folksin the wine industry. I have visited the Willamette Valley on numerousoccasions to better educate the hotel staff and hotel guests.” As theysay, it’s a hard job but someone’s got to do it!

Pictured on the left, is Nancy DuBois from theLodge at Cavallo Point, in Sausalito, California.Nancy says, “I have created the Eco Luxe PupsProgram here at Cavallo Point, where dogs come tostay, play, eat treats and be pampered by myself,and my two house mascots; King Cooper andQueen Quilo. They are both purebred dogs and domeet-and-greets with me for a lot of our guests,curbside. Our furry guests can have a play sessionwith Cooper & Quilo on our parade ground. This isjust one of my responsibilities here at Cavallo Point.However, it has be-come a very popularamenity for our

guests who have dogs. On any given holiday, I would say 75% of ourguests are with their dogs of all shapes and sizes.”

Dogs are a popular topic, here is photo of Mark Chambers sitting inthe lobby of his hotel, the Fairmont Pittsburgh, as he sews Eddie’s fa-vorite toy, so it’s stuffing doesn’t fall out. Throwing it out was not anoption and now Eddie is back with her buddy.

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Here, Adhara Mereles, from the Fairmont Grand Del Mar, in San Diego, California, shows one of over2000 pieces of artwork and furniture that fill her hotel. Adharaoffers tours of her property so guests can learn more aboutthe art and architecture of the hotel.

During Mardi Gras, MelissaComardelle, from theLoews New Orleans Hotel,had a great quest requestfor King Cakes. So whatdid she do? She hopped inher car and ran to get them,snapping this photo on herway back to the hotel.What a great Golden Mo-ment!

Paola Peschiera and Robbin Quevedo are in ac-tion at Miami’s St. Regis Bal Harbour, workingboth phones to assist guests with their GoldenMoments.

Jay Baldridge stands in the “Cathedral” at thenewly opened Faena Hotel in Miami Beach,Florida. Here, heis going oversome instructionson an iPad, withone of his Porters,as they prepare tomake Golden Mo-ments possiblefor their guests ar-riving that day.

On a busy Sunday, Nathan Goff, from theBoston Harbor Hotel, stepped away from hisdesk to show function space for a potential fu-ture bride who was just walking by the hotel.Here, Nathan is giving a history lesson on theCustom House, pictured in the background,which was Boston’s first skyscraper.

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Documents

Les Clefs d'Or® International Revue | Spring / Summer 2016 No. 212