50 Occupational Outlook Quarterly ● Spring 2002

You’re a what?

Corporate 

Gordon Jones saves time for

busy people who have no

time to spare. As a corporate

concierge, he arranges for a vast

variety of personal and businessrelated services for corporate clients.

When Jones launched his company,

Concierge of Boston, in 1988, he

planned to cater to top executives and

managers. Today, Jones and his staff of

four help all kinds of employees

manage their work responsibilities,

work-related social activities, and

personal lives. “Our job,” says Jones, “is

to find solutions for our clients in a

timely, cost-effective manner and let

them stay focused on their work.”

Sometimes, Jones provides services

like those a traveler might receive from

a hotel concierge. He arranges limousine service, makes dinner reservations, and procures tickets for sporting

contests, concerts, and cultural events.

Unlike a hotel concierge, Jones may

also have clients ask him to charter a

private aircraft, rent a yacht, or

schedule a ride on a hot air balloon for

a special occasion. “Their wish is our

command,” Jones says. He once even

arranged for a baby elephant to make a

brief visit to a child’s birthday party.

More commonly, Jones offers party

planning services for company holiday

parties. He reserves a venue, deals with

caterers, and arranges entertainment.

Need a mime or a face painter to

amuse the children at a company

picnic? No problem. Jones knows

whom to call.

Other tasks have more ordinary

business implications. Jones often

books hotel and conference rooms for

business meetings involving out-oftown attendees. He also connects

clients with vendors that provide

audiovisual equipment, temporary

office help, document translation,

and computer instruction,

rental, and repair.

Some corporate concierges work in the same

buildings as their clients, but

Jones does not. “Although

we’re not sitting there,” he

says, “we’re just a phone call, an

e-mail, or a fax away.” He receives

most requests by phone. “At times,”

he says, “I’ve probably sat at my desk 8

hours straight through, fielded 80 or

90 phone calls in a day, and never left

the office.”

Jones usually fulfills client requests

by calling appropriate vendors. “I can

just make a call,” he says, “and buy

tickets for a client, for example, and

have a messenger take them over.”

But Jones notes that some requests

require a more personal touch. A client

might ask that a special gift basket be

put together, for instance. Then the

concierge becomes a personal shopper

and seeks out just the right combination of items to fill the basket.

Jones looks just as carefully for the

right combination of qualifications when

hiring a concierge. Communication skills

Matthew Mariani is desktop publisher for the

OOQ, (202) 691-5728.
Occupational Outlook Quarterly ● Spring 2002 51

concierge

and attention to detail are key. “You have

to be detail-oriented and polite,” Jones

says. “You need to listen closely and

never second guess your client. You ask

questions and find out exactly what the

client wants.”

If someone requests limousine

service to the airport, the concierge

must know how to query for particulars. Is this client catching a flight or

having someone picked up? What are

the arrival and departure times and the

flight number? How many people are in

the party? Hiring a limousine that seats

six passengers when the party includes

eight will not do.

The role of the corporate concierge

also requires tact. “You deal with all

kinds of people with different needs

and attitudes,” Jones says. “You can

have some really pushy people who

could be having a bad day, and you

could be the one who gets part of it.”

A good concierge handles difficult

clients with diplomacy.

Although the occupation does not

require college education, many

corporate concierges have bachelor’s

degrees, according to Jones. He notes

that concierges often have some travel

experience and work history in

hospitality-related businesses. Job

experience in hotels or catering helps

some workers develop the interpersonal skills and savvy corporate

concierges need.

Data on the employment and

earnings of concierges do not identify

corporate concierges as a distinct

group. According to the Bureau of

Labor Statistics, about 18,000 concierges were employed in the United

States in 2000. Corporate concierges

likely accounted for a small portion of

the total. Jones estimates that there

are about 2,000 corporate concierges

nationwide. A much larger number of

concierges work in hotels and motels,

providing services for guests. Although

the Bureau cannot classify corporate

concierges as such, it does project that

the employment of concierges in

general will increase by almost 16

percent from 2000 to 2010.

Median earnings for all concierges

were about $20,200 in 2000. But Jones

thinks that corporate concierges earn

more. They often receive commissions

based on arrangements they make for

hotel rooms and some other services,

in addition to their usual salary.

The occupation offers nonfinancial

rewards as well. Jones enjoys meeting

and dealing with new people and

finding ways to fulfill unique requests.

His ability to arrange almost anything,

anyplace, for anyone has earned him

respect. And at day’s end, Jones never

has trouble getting reservations for

himself at the restaurant of his choice.

by Matthew Mariani