Les Clefs d’Or Award

Randy Villanueva Santos from Doha, Qatar became the president of the organisation.

Les Clefs d’Or Award

Magali Brandariz From Argentina became the recipient of the Les Clefs d’Or Award.

Les Clefs d’Or Award

Angelica Miozza From USA Las Vegas became the recipient of the Les Clefs d’Or Award.

UICH 67th Annual General Meeting

Mr. A. Ølsted Jensen from Denmark became the president of the organisation.

Mr. R. A. Levejac from France became the president of the organisation.

Raphaelle Grandgirard From Switzerland became the recipient of the Les Clefs d’Or Award.

February

Madeleine Calon of St James’s Hotel and Club in London becomes first female president of The Society of the Golden Keys of Great Britain and the Commonwealth

Jennifer Brody From United States of America became the recipient of the Les Clefs d’Or Award.

Mr. S. Thomas from Great Britain became the president of the organisation.

Jessica Gorman from United States of America became the recipient of the Les Clefs d’Or Award.

The membership nears the 4000 mark globally in 536 locations stretching from Seoul to Los Angeles and from Johannesburg to Copenhagen.

Harold Exbrayat from France became the recipient of the Les Clefs d’Or Award.

Harold Exbrayat from France became the recipient of the Les Clefs d’Or Award.

Sarah Dandashy from United States of America became the recipient of the Les Clefs d’Or Award.

Mr. C. Toomey from Australia became the president of the organisation.

Macau joined as member section

James Elliot from Great Britain became the recipient of the Les Clefs d’Or Award

Qatar joined as member section

Anna Endrihovskaia from Russia became the recipient of the Les Clefs d’Or Award

Mr. E. Vrettos from Greece became the president of the organisation.

Matthew Wu from Canada became the recipient of the Les Clefs d’Or Award.

Poland joined as member section

Anabella Peling from Argentina became the recipient of the Les Clefs d’Or Award.

Mrs. V. Casale from Canada became the second female president of the organisation.

India joined as member section.

United Arab Emirates became a member.

Christophe Caron from France (currently member of Great Britain section) became the recipient of the Les Clefs d’Or Award.

Mr. R. Watson from United States of America became the president of the organisation.

Les Clefs d’Or Award launched as “Andy Pongco Award” to honour the memory Andy Pongco, and aims to recognise and encourage young members to become active participants in our global network. The prize for the recipient of the Award is an invitation to the next Les Clefs d’Or International Congress (registration and airfare included). It is the intention of all of us at “Les Clefs d’Or” to encourage as many countries as possible to present profiles of capable young members. We intend to see this friendly challenge continue for many years to come and therefore, enable us to detect the elite of tomorrow’s Concierges Clefs d’Or. Tony Cheng from Chinese Taipei becomes the first ever recipient.

Argentina became the next member section from South America.

Mr. R. Bastoni from France became the president of the organisation.

Korea joined as member section.

Mr. D. O’Brien from Ireland became the president of the organisation.

Thailand joined as member section.

Mr. J.C. Elgaire from France became the president of the organisation.

Taiwan and Turkey joined as member sections.

The international expansion of the organisation continued with Russia.

Mr. A. Giacomello from Switzerland became the president of the organisation.

Newly restructured UICH welcomed its first female president, Mrs Marjorie Silverman from the US section.

In 1998, the organisation officially became UICH (Union Internationale des Concierges d’Hôtels “Les Clefs d’Or”) to emphasise the word concierge and to further reinforce that the organisation is an association of hotel concierges.

With the approval of Japan and Malaysia, the total number of member countries became 32.

Mr. A. Gunst from Hungary became the president of the organisation.

Mexico and China were both accepted as a member sections.

Mr. T. Facciolo OAM from Australia became the president of the organisation.

New Zealand was accepted as a member section.

Philippines was accepted as a member section.

Mr. A. Lodigiani from Italy became the president of the organisation.

Brazil became the first South American member country.

Czech Republic was accepted as a member section.

Romania was accepted as a member section.

Mr. A. Damonte from Great Britain became the president of the organisation.

Luxembourg was accepted as a member section.

Mr. A. Ostertag from Switzerland became the president of the organisation.

Singapore was accepted as a member section.

Mr. J.M. Bautista from Spain became the president of the organisation.

Hong Kong was accepted as a member section.

The United States of America was accepted and brought with it the first female member concierge – Ms. Holly Stiel from San Francisco. Mr. S. Giarola from Italy became the president of the organisation.

Canada was admitted as the 18th member section and the first country that took UIPGH Les Clefs d’Or to the next continent. Mr. J. Gillet from France became the president of the organisation.

Mr. A. Molero from Spain became the president of the organisation.

Mr. R. Burdeyron from Great Britain became the president of the organisation.

In 1970 in St. Moritz, with the addition of Israel, UEPGH Les Clefs d’Or (Union Européenne des Portiers des Grands Hôtels “Les Clefs d’Or”) changed its name to UIPGH Les Clefs d’Or (Union Internationale des Portiers des Grands Hôtels “Les Clefs d’Or”) to accommodate the organisation to reflect its growth and presence outside of Europe.

Mr. O. Wirth from Switzerland became the president of the organisation.

Mr. T. Godde from Germany became the president of the organisation.

Greece joined as a member section.

Austria, Norway and Sweden joined the organization as member sections.

After much communication and several smaller meetings, the gathering of the first six member sections on the historic date of April 25, 1952, at The Carlton Hotel in Cannes took place, which was the birth of Union Européenne des Portiers des Grands Hôtels “Les Clefs d’Or” the international network as we know it today, and the very first international Congress. Representatives from the French organisation were joined by prominent concierges from Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Great Britain, and Ireland. Belgium and Denmark were observing countries, and Spain was an invited guest. This allowed each country represented to go back and form a formal organisation in their respective regions based on the French model. This allowed each country represented to go back and form a formal organisation in their respective regions based on the French model. The members in Morocco, being a French protectorate at the time, although outside of mainland Europe were regarded as French members.

After World War II, Mr. Ferdinand Gillet, originally from Switzerland and the former Vice President to Mr. Dechaume, succeeded him as the new president of the organisation. Mr. Gillet started his Concierge career in Paris as a Night Concierge at Hotel du Rhin in 1920. The origins of present day Les Clefs d’Or as an international organisation has traditionally been credited to him as during his presidency, Ferdinand Gillet, travelled extensively throughout Europe to seek and find other hotel Concierges.

The headquarters of Les Clefs d’Or moved to its present location at 12 rue Cambon in Paris.

Pierre Quentin’s presidency of Les Clefs d’Or was followed by François Dechaume who was elected in 1932 and remained until the war. Mr. Dechaume was among the 11 who created the association. Sadly, there was no activity during the war as all the hotels, especially in Paris, were occupied by the Germans. François Dechaume at his desk at Hotel Raphael

During the mid 1920s, there was a group of Concierges from various hotels in Paris (including one from Algeria) who were trying to organise themselves with the guidance of Mr Pierre Quentin from the Hotel Ambassador. The hotel opened in 1928 and played host to a ceremony in the honour of Charles Lindbergh’s cross Atlantic journey in 1927. The following year, Paris welcomed landmark hotels like Hotel Lancaster, The Prince de Galles, and the George V. On 26 October 1929 Mr. Quentin sent an invitation to 20 prominent Concierges throughout Paris to dine at Restaurant Noël Peters in the hopes of strengthening the bond among them. The restaurant was located across the street from his hotel, in the Passage des Princes. With 11 in attendance, this dinner marks the first instance of professional hotel Concierges meeting as a group. Within 4 weeks, the new association was ratified at the first ever General Assembly, with more than 75 delegates present. Mr. Pierre Quentin was elected the first President of Les Clefs d’Or on 27 November 1929, a post he held for three years.

The commonly used title, especially in France, was ‘Portier’ or ‘Porter’ in English. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the Concierge was, and still is, a title used for the caretaker in a building. The hotel porter or doorman became the focal point of guest relations and customer service at many luxury hotels. It was during this time that the role of the Concierge was created in the various grand hotels of Paris and Western Europe. This was the first time a role had been specifically created to assist guests with their requirements in unfamiliar cities. The Concierge quickly became a popular and essential service in luxury hotels.