UICH Les Clefs d'Or - Union Internationale des Concierges d'Hôtels "Les Clefs d'Or"

Welcome to the 59th Congress of UICH "Les Clefs d'Or"

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 09:43:00 +0100

Dear Members and Friends of Clefs d’Or,

What a pleasure to extend a warm welcome to the 59th International congress in London as your new president. On a personal level, being Canadian, there is no country in the world where I would have wanted to start my duties as your International President. 1976 was the year when Canada was accepted as the 17th member country and that was thanks to Great Britain who sponsored us. I feel a daughter of Great Britain for this and I come to honor the society which has fathered us.

My first words of immense gratitude will be addressed to President Crowdy, Paul Still, Simon Thomas, Madeleine Calon, among others which are leading the troops for success and already the numbers have been achieved in presence.

As we embark on another week of education, this cordial gathering is rich of networking friendship and passion. Our goal as we gather for another congress is to meet concierges within our chain of hotels and network with colleagues who may assist us in cities we may not have any properties. It is with great pride I reach out to all of you, as it is the passion and friendship with which we conduct ourselves that allows us to manage our relationships and service our guests. Our dedication to maintaining the personal warmth in our service is the key to our success and is what allows us to build loyalty and trust with our guests.

The educational is bridged to Toronto, and we shall see again our dynamic Gerald Parent facilitate the event with Roberta Nedry from Hospitality Excellence. Our long time partners American Express, IHT, Chabé Limousines will be among us and will support us one more time. Another top hotelier, Mr. David Webster, will be our key note speaker and another panel of the highest executives from our most important hotel groups will honor us.

Past President from Japan, Etsuko Higashide is heading a special report on Women Concierges… we are very proud to announce the Charte of our Values which was presented in Vissoie and so much more to come.

The British section has been busy finalizing what promises to be another memorable congress which will mark our history. Their efforts and contributions will pave the path for the future heritage of Les Clefs d’Or in London and around the world.

Congratulations to all which made an effort to participate from every corner of the world. I know you shall return to your countries reenergized with the new friendships you will find and enriched by our educational which will mark the beginning of 2012 on the right pace.

Always yours in Service through Friendship
and Service through Excellence!!!

Virginia Casale
President UICH, Les Clefs d’Or
Sofitel Montreal Golden Mile, Canada

Virginia's Winter message

Sun, 01 Jan 2012 11:41:00 +0100

Dear Colleagues and Friends of Les Clefs d’Or,

What a pleasure and honor to address you for the second time on our wonderful web site as your new president. My first words of immense gratitude will be addressed to General Secretary Michael Romei who maintains all the communication channels open from our Blog to our upcoming Revue which you should be reading over the Christmas holidays. Secondly, my sincere appreciation goes to my entire Executive Board; from our 3 Vice Presidents, Emmanuel Colin & Simon who work diligently across the world in their different duties to our Assistant General Shujaat Khan who so actively assists us with special projects such as The Andy Pongco Award, The Book of Members, etc. My invaluable Treasurer Jean-Roland who keeps the accounts, and our French President, Lionel who maintains our Paris office all in good order. Our Past President Robert, maintains his contribution on many levels and will be part of the Andy Pongco committee at this upcoming congress. My seven Zone Director Heroes also need to be mentioned; Maurice, Tamas, Federico, Gregory, Michael, Simon and Sami. Our Sages: Marjorie, Aldo, Denis, and Roger who are the advisors and keepers of our statutes, follow us always with great passion.

Our last Executive Meeting brought us for the first time in Vissoie, and we were so grateful to have among us two other Sages: Walter Freytag and Albert Ostertag. After so many years it was an incredible reunion for our Sages to have this moment together and we as an association directly benefit from this because they are a wealth of knowledge. My sincere appreciation goes to our President d’Honneur Aldo Giacomello and Claudio Caser, President of the Swiss section for making this meeting a reality. Mayor Simon Epiney, our host and the Swiss authorities with Chancellor Casanova, welcomed us so gracefully. This was a return to our roots in our very fast paced world. As our communication is getting easier with the latest technology and we feel closer and closer with Blogs, Facebook, Twitter, etc; we should never forget our past. Vissoie represents our heritage, the spirit that started after the first world war which is still alive today. We are also entering the celebrations of our 60^th Anniversary in 2012 as an international organization and what a better way then to launch it from Vissoie, le Village de l’Amitié, what a perfect setting.

The British section is busy finalizing what promises to be another incredble Congress which will mark our history. President Crowdy, Paul Still, Simon Thomas among others are leading the troops for success and already the numbers have been achieved in registration. The educational component is bridged to Toronto, and we shall see again our dynamic Gerald Parent facilitate the event with Roberta Nedry from Hospitality Excellence. Our long time partners American Express, IHT, Chabé Limousines will be among us and will support us one more time. Past President from Japan, Etsuko Higashide is heading a special report on Women Concierges… we are very proud to announce the Charte of our Values which was presented in Vissoie and so much more to come in London… . Last but certainly not least I thank also our Administrative Assistant Muffin Spielman who assists us with dictation and minutes at our global meetings.

Let us march together towards London united for another memorable congress. In the meantime may you have a wonderful Holiday Season with your families in peace & harmony and start a 2012 with good health & love in your hearts.

I remain always yours in Service through Friendship & Excellence

Vive Les Clefs d’Or !!!

Virginia Casale

President Les Clefs d’Or “U.I.C.H.”

Concierge Sofitel Montreal Golden Mile

A welcome message from the President

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0100

Dear Colleagues,

My first applause will go to our outgoing President Robert Watson; he has led our UICH to another level and I look forward very much to work closely with him as I have done over these wonderful past two years. Our Executive Team remains strong and needless to say, our General Secretary and communication expert Michael Romei will achieve new heights with the assistance of Shujaat Khan. Our dynamic team of Vice Presidents: First Emmanuel Vrettos , Second Colin Toomey and our newly elected Third Simon Thomas are energized and will rejuvenate our next mandate. Our treasurer Jean-Roland Boutillé and French President Lionel Lorans will also keep a tight order in our Paris office as well as Roger Bastoni who will remain as Sages and of whom we can always count on his precious legacy.

Secondly my congratulations goes to President Toni Daoud and the entire Canadian Organizing Team of the Toronto 2011. His vision and courage to attempt such a difficult task and deliver a most successful event will mark in a grandiose way a page of our UICH history. Among all the organizers, I need to point our International & National Honorary Member, Gerald Parent, who delivered such an outstanding educational portion and who will bridge this to the next congress in London 2012. Madame Roberta Nedry, from Hospitality Excellence who collaborated on this portion, will also help in promoting our good name in the tourism industry.

My platform as I mentioned in my speech, is Education, Social and Media development, Sponsors and Hotel Corporate relationships. All our gratitude goes to our long time partners, American Express, Herald Tribune and Chabé Limousine. Over the next month, we will be sending letters to all major hotel chains to announce the London congress in January. We will offer them meeting space to have their own hotel meetings during our UICH event. This should stimulate a larger number of attendees since we will combine Les Clefs d’Or business with our respective hotel programs.

Welcome to India as our newest member section of UICH, congratulations and keep up the growth… a long awaited dream. Good luck to Poland who has officially applied and to other observing countries which have shown much interest.

Congratulations to Anabella Peling, the first woman who won the 4^th Andy Pongco Award this year from the Four Seasons in Buenos Aires, Argentina. May this also stimulate more women to step forward in our Clefs d’Or society, remember Ladies; my presidency is dedicated to you and your contribution is needed in UICH.

Wishing you all to return to Canada or come and discover it one day… all the best wishes from Montreal.

I remain always yours in Service through Friendship,

Virginia Casale
President UICH, Les Clefs d’Or
Sofitel Montreal Golden Mile, Canada

Anabella Peling

Mon, 02 May 2011 21:32:00 +0200

Andy Pongco Award 2011

Anabella Peling, Concierge at the Four Seasons Hotel Buenos Aires, wins the fourth Andy Pongco Award in Toronto. Anabella receives the prize from Virginia Casale and Marjorie Silverman and declares to be very proud to be the first woman to win this high recognition.

Four Seasons Hotel - Buenos Aires, Argentina

INDIA becomes the 42nd Member Section of UICH

Mon, 02 May 2011 07:28:00 +0200

On April 29 during the Board of Directors Meeting, confirmed at the General Assembly held on April 30, 2011 at the Royal York Hotel of Toronto, India and the Concierge Asociation of India were accepted as the 42nd Member Section of the "Union Internationale des Concierges d'Hôtels - LES CLEFS D'OR".
The local association was created in 2000 and the Senior Concierges of India were members of the UICH as individuals under the umbrella of Singapore.

INDIA

Sun, 01 May 2011 14:02:00 +0200


CONCIERGE ASSOCIATION OF INDIA
The Concierge Association of India Registered with The Registrar of Societies has been in existence since July 2000. Having started out as a little fledgling with 10 members (all Adherent members to Les Clefs d’Or, Singapore) it has risen to a very substantial number of 8 Full members and 46 Adherent members with approximately 40 members waiting and learning the ropes to become Clefs d’Or members. Our Activities and Progress to becoming an Independent Chapter got slightly derailed on account of Members ( Concierges ) changing their line and professions. Nevertheless I gives me immense pride as we growing length and breath in India. We now have a presence all over India, including all the metro cities. We have managed to achieve all our goals set in our 4th AGM in Mumbai. Under the effective leadership of Rajesh, Edwin, Albert Amanna in Mumbai and Amit Makker in New Delhi, these two sections are always bustling with activities. In 2001 our 1st AGM was very well received and there were very positive signs of Progress. However, on account of factors beyond our control the Association went into hibernation. The same was revived and the good work started out by the Delhi Members was taken up by the few remaining members in Mumbai, ie. Albert, Edwin and few others and the formation of the Western Region of the CAI was established in 2006. Finally, a very big thank you to all our members who have contributed immensely towards our ultimate goal, i.e. Clefs d’Or India. Of course all this would not be possible without the continuous support of President Tan and Clefs d’Or Singapore, also must not forget the role Maurice, Shujaat and Virginia who I have personally been in touch with over the years. “Vive Les Clefs d’Or” In Friendship Stephen Fernandez
INDIA 28 members Created in 2000 Member since 2011 UTC/GMT +1 hour	Concierge Association of India c/o Concierge Desk The Oberoi, Zakir Hussain Marg New Dehli 110003 Phone : +91 11 24304155 edwin.saldanha@cai.org.in For more information ... http://cai.org.in/cai	Edwin SALDANHA President

Robert's Spring Message

Tue, 01 Mar 2011 11:41:00 +0100

Dear Members, Dear Friends

I wish to covey to everyone my very best wishes for 2011!

In the past few months, many Sections have experienced everything from an upturn in business to the unforseen natural disasters like the floods in Australia and Brazil. In times like these, must always remember to show our continued support to all our Members.

Autumn has been most eventful. In October, the Executive Committee, together with Zone Directors and Committee de Sages, held the annual Face to Face meeting which was graciously hosted by the Dubai Members of the UAE Section. I was able to experience first-hand the Capital City of the UAE, Abu Dhabi, met with members of the local Tourism Office and had site visits to many of our Members' hotels. The International Herald Tribune was a great partner for the events of such a busy week and we share many great memories of Dubai's Burj Khalifa and the exhilarating sand-dune evening under the stars. Thank you to our UAE Members for the wonderful hospitality you have shown us.

In late November, I had the heartfelt honour of attending a Memorial Service for Andras Gunst, our dear friend and Member of our Committee de Sages. Andras was the cornerstone of our Hungarian Section and Founding Member of Les Clef d'Or Hungary. His sudden passing was an unexpected shock and very difficult for all of us and his family. I must thank Tamas Ungar, Hungarian President, along with the Members of LCD Hungary, for organizing a beautiful and reverent tribute to Andras which celebrated his many life achievements. Andras is sadly missed and will ever live in our hearts.

In early December, I was delighted to join Aldo Giacomello, Claudio Caser, John Sun Dong and the Members of LCD China for the celebration of the 15th Anniversary of Les Clefs d'Or China in Chongqing. It was a wonderful week and we had an amazing visit to the geological wonders of the Three Natural Bridges in Wulong County. Prior to our arrival, we had the pleasure of spending an amazing evening in Hong Kong with Fred Lui, President of the Hong Kong Section and his Executive Board of Directors. Thank you again, Fred, for such great reception and sumptuous meal.

Whilst in Chongqing, I had the opportunity to meet with the local Minister of Tourism and also members of the local Press who showed great interest in Les Clefs d’Or and the professionalism that we represent. A big “Thank You” goes to Daniela Cerboni from American Express for her continued support of this Meeting and the many other American Express sponsored meetings during 2010. We are indeed grateful for Daniela's generosity and enthusiasm for our Association..

I wish you all the best and I am looking forward to seeing you at our next International Congress in the great City of Toronto in April 2011. The Congress Programs and Workshops are insightful and promise to be of great professional benefit to us all. See you there!

Very best personal regards,

Robert Watson
International President

Adolf SCHNEIDER

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 18:11:00 +0100

Comité des Sages

Alleestarsse 34
A-3400 Klosterneuburg

Phone : +43 2243 34986

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pars ultima cursus restabat; 'nunc' inquit 'ades, dea muneris auctor!'inque latus campi, quo tardius illa rediret, decit ab obliquo nitidum iuvenaliter aurum. an peteret, virgo visa est dubitare: coegi tollere et adieci sublato pondera malo inpediique oneris pariter gravitate moraque, neve meus sermo cursu sit tardior ipso, praeterita est virgo: duxit sua praemia victor.

Jose-Maria BAUTISTA

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 18:08:00 +0100

Comité des Sages

Els Avets, 40 Torre 2
San Vicent de Montalt
08394 Barcelona

Phone : +34 9379 11 705
Fax : +34 6195 18 635

Andre DAMONTE

Sat, 01 Jan 2011 17:42:00 +0100

Comité des Sages

2 Fernwood Close
South View
Bromley, Kent BR1 3EZ

Phone : +44 208 4607400
Fax : +44 208 4607400