«César Ritz» Colleges And “Les Clefs d’Or”

«César Ritz» Colleges and “Les Clefs d’Or” have the same philosophy: providing exceptional guest services! During their visit to IHCR on the 26th of January, Mr. Aldo Giacomello, Head Concierge of the Hotel Beau-Rivage, Geneva, confirmed his collaboration with the school and will provide a series of seminars each term.  This will be integrated within the Rooms Division courses in order to contribute to the student learning experience.

Mr. Giacomello said that “nowadays, there is an emphasis in hotels on how to solve issues that arise from clients on a day to day basis…”  This direct insight from the industry from such professionals will be a great asset for our students as they embark on careers in the hospitality industry.

Mr. Aldo Giacomello, Honorary President of the U.I.C.H. “Les Clefs d’Or”, with his team member Mr. Marc Pierrain, Mr. Hervé Fournier, Vice President and School Director and Mr. Luc Gomes, Rooms Lecturer

History of “Les Clefs d’Or”

The French concierge, Ferdinand Gillet, who worked at The Scribe in Paris, felt there was a need for the concierges and head porters of Paris to get to know each other to be able to better serve their respective guests. His initiative saw the foundation of the French Association of Les Clefs d'Or in October 1929. This French society developed and matured and had the foresight to realise that by extending the concept of a friendly society of concierges beyond the borders of France, more concierges, and consequently more hotel guests, would be able to benefit from the professional development being a member of Les Clefs d'Or brings.

Ferdinand Gillet and his French associates expanded their society by forming a European Association in Cannes in 1952. In 1953 at the San Remo Congress, the emblem of the crossed golden keys, to be worn on the member concierge's lapels, was adopted to identify members and to symbolise the opening of doors for travellers. This European Association eventually became the International Association in 1972 at the 20th Congress in Palma, Majorca.

The creation of Les Clefs d'Or established a group of professionals whose role is recognised by national and international travellers alike. There are now 30 member countries worldwide with approximately 4700 members. There are six different areas worldwide;

Jean Gillet (the son of Ferdinand) established the International Concierge Institute (ICI) in Paris in 1982. Budapest and Montreal were set up following the success of the Paris Institute. The ICI is a training school for young, emerging concierges. ICI graduates are highly regarded and eagerly sought by hotels worldwide.

(Information from the website of the Australian Chapter of "Les Clefs d'Or")

Click here to see a list of International Chapters of "Les Clefs d'Or"