This is what it's like to be a hotel concierge


This is what it's like to be a hotel concierge

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No figure in the hospitality industry mystifies me more than the hotel concierge. They have to know everything and anything, do anything and everything, and keep perfectly pleasant and


positive even when requests are totally absurd. I connected with Wonder Woman concierge Isabelle Hogan, head concierge at The Mark Hotel, a five-star dig on Manhattan's Upper East Side,


to learn a little bit more about what she and other concierges do exactly and how they do it. (MORE FROM _MAP HAPPY_: Most hotels will accept your packages) SUBSCRIBE TO THE WEEK Escape


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delivered directly to your inbox. Her background: She's been making helicopters and perfect amenities appear for guests since she started as a concierge in 1998, first working at New


York City's The Plaza, The Carlyle, and the former Mandarin Oriental (now The Mark Hotel). I'll let her tell it how it is, though unfortunately, what doesn't come across below


is that she has the best French accent ever. IN A NUTSHELL? IT'S A BALANCING ACT: RESERVATIONS, TICKETS, KEEPING BATHS WARM AND BUBBLY. THERE'S REALLY NO LIMIT TO THEIR SCOPE OF


WORK, WHICH CAN INCLUDE 8-HOUR SHOPPING SPREES WITH SAUDI PRINCESSES. A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com THEY'RE


INHUMANLY OPTIMISTIC AND RELENTLESS. (MORE FROM _MAP HAPPY_: The etiquette of out-of-town wedding invitations) THEIR NETWORK IS ENVIABLE. YOU WANT AN UNLOCKED IPHONE 6 IN A FEW HOURS?


ISABELLE DID JUST THAT FOR A GUEST THE OTHER WEEK. THE JOB DOES HAVE SOME JEALOUSY-INDUCING PERKS. BUT THEY TAKE THEIR RECOMMENDATIONS SERIOUSLY. A complimentary invite doesn't equal an


automatic recommendation. THEY TRUMP TRIPADVISOR AND YELP. Because when they give recommendations, they're also reading and considering the guests. THEY DO TALK ABOUT GUESTS AND STORE


INFORMATION ON THEM. They're going to commit things to memory but they're also going to back it up with some software. THEY CAN GET ROYALLY SCREWED. Concierges need to protect


themselves (and their businesses) from the flights and fancies of guests with some sort of collateral. They'll get those front-row _Lion King_ on Broadway tickets but there's going


to be a credit card put down or form signed. (MORE FROM _MAP HAPPY_: How to override your hotel's thermostat) THEY HAVE THEIR LITTLE HELPERS. MOST GUESTS DO ACTUALLY THANK THEM.


It's not all outlandish guests asking for the moon to be handed to them five minutes without any niceties or thanks. _To read more posts like this, subscribe to_ Map Happy_'s


newsletter or follow_ Map Happy _on Facebook._