Memories linger on about special guests, for instance - the young and rich guy who pulled up in the new Cadillac with the two gorgeous young model-types, spent the weekend in the “Outer Limits” suite and “hired” me on as his personal butler. I fetched newspapers, cigarettes; I deliv- ered in-room steak and lobster dinners for the three of them from the nearby high-end restaurant...
When the weekend had ended, an enve- lope awaited me on the writing pad of my too-huge desk. Inside was a nice thank-you note and two crisp ‘Whales,” or, as a hundred dollar tip is known in Bell- speak, a “Dinosaur.’
I became a bit of a “squid” leg- end after that check-out.
Sadly, our days were numbered at the property. The owner and his investors filed for bankruptcy and I was off to search for a position in another hotel.
I’d have another three-year hotel stint, take a few chances on other jobs and other fields, and then, in January of ‘94, I read a classified ad in The Philadelphia Inquirer that changed my life: Corporate Concierge. Must have a wide knowledge of the area and prior experience, prefer- ably in the hotel industry...
Seventeen-and-a-half years in, a thousand colleagues and a million stories later, I’d say I made the right career choice.
My name may have morphed from Kenny to Ken over the years, and I’m now in the corporate side of the concierge profes- sion. I continue to appreciate every moment of these last twenty-five years -
And I still remember to keep dancing.
Ken Alan is Vice President of Concierge Services for BPG Properties, Ltd. He is the founder of the Philadelphia Concierge Association, At Large Chapter President of the National Concierge Association, and a contrib- utor to several regional publications.
kalan@bpgltd.com (610) 687-8600
Member of
I was born to be a concierge.
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