What life is like for the concierge at this top Adelaide hotel
IF YOU ever spot InterContinental Hotel’s Chef Concierge Siddhartha Kaul in the lobby, you may catch a glimpse of some shiny, crossed gold keys pinned to his lapels. This isn’t a fashion statement — this is global recognition.
Siddhartha is the third concierge in SA to receive this prestigious badge of honour from global network of concierges, Les Clefs d’Or, putting him among the top concierges in the world. He chats with Sophie Perri about life as a concierge, crazy requests, and working for celebs.
How do you get the Golden Keys?
There is criteria … you need to be working within the concierge department for five years in a five-star hotel and … you sit for a panel interview that’s quite intensive, it goes for a few hours..
What do they ask you?
All sorts of questions, they ask you about your experience, the city, different procedures within the hotel — basically the key is to ensure that whoever becomes a member can handle a concierge role anywhere in the world.
So this is great for your resume.
Yes and the hotel. It’s great for the state as well, it’s not as big in SA as it is in other cities where they have like 70 per cent of the members there.
There’s three golden key concierges in SA now?
Yes Dimitri at the Grand Chancellor and Adam at Peppers.
So you know a lot of other concierges in town?
I do yes, we are kind of tight-knit. We keep ourselves up to date on what’s happening around the city and ask for each other’s help.
What other perks do you get from this — a payrise?
No, unfortunately. Well, not as yet — let’s see after my annual review.
We’ll put a call-out to your boss now.
Please do, maybe it will help! (laughs). No I’m not expecting that, but it does make you sellable in the market and when you have guests, mostly from overseas, when they see the golden keys they know they are in the safe zone. A lot of guests have said, ‘you’re so great why don’t you have the keys?’
So people know about the keys?
Yes, mostly overseas guests because it’s bigger overseas. Also they are well travelled.
I think a lot of people’s ideas of concierges come from movies … do you reckon?
I’ve seen only a couple of movies ...
Home Alone?
Yes, also Wes Anderson’s Grand Budapest Hotel and For Love or Money. It’s not necessarily an actual portrayal of what hotel concierges are like (laughs).
What does a concierge do?
Most importantly for me, it’s about being an ambassador of the hotel, the face of the hotel. I’m in the hotel, talking to businesses, networking off-site … I attend the Art Gallery, Jam Factory, wineries, Festival Centre shows ... I get invited purely because they want me to experience it so I can recommend it. If I haven’t been to a restaurant, then I can’t recommend it. So I try out new restaurants.
What restaurants do you recommend to people?
The most important thing is to throw the question back and ask what sort of cuisine they like, whether it’s for a special occasion ... it depends on what the guest is looking for. If they want something unique I recommend Orana. Red Ochre is great too. For good pizzas I like Etica. Shiki is good for a theatrical experience.
InterContinental seems to get a lot of celebrities … who have you looked after lately? Oprah?
We did have Oprah yes, I welcomed her but with high profile people we have a dedicated guest relations manager that looks after them. I actually used to work as a butler.
Where?
In the US and Dubai. I’m from Nepal, so I left when I was 18 and went to a hotel school in India and worked for Starwood Hotels and Resorts.
Why did you choose this industry?
I enjoyed serving. I think it’s my nature and coming from Nepal, we are by nature very hospitable. We have this mantra, if I translate to English, that is Guest is God. So we have always been brought up in that environment. And the other reason is I’ve always wanted to travel. You know, hanging out with hippies in Nepal, going trekking etc, that opened my window where I really wanted to mix work and travel.
But you always wanted to be a concierge?
It happened by chance. I started off in food and beverage and went to become a butler then got a scholarship to go the US and specialise in butler services so I worked as a butler trainer, training Americans over there and from there I moved to Dubai and worked as a hotel butler. I worked in a private island called Sea Island and you had A-list celebrities from Hollywood to US presidents. In fact every US president has been there and planted an oak tree. I don’t know about President Obama ...
Who have you met?
I was a butler for George Bush Sr, Neil Armstrong, Harry Connick Jr … they were all nice, friendly people. The island at one time was the third most expensive zip code in the US. It’s a very exclusive community.
What’s the craziest request you’ve had to fulfil for somebody?
The most difficult one for me was in the US, a couple was staying with us and he was proposing. His girlfriend really liked m & ms and he wanted me to order some with her name and I love you etc, all the words written in one pack. In the US you can order (custom) ones online but he wanted me to arrange it in a few hours. So I had to send my colleague to the m & ms depot in Georgia which was a 45 minute flight.
One (request) from here that I really enjoyed was a German couple — the lady hadn’t met her uncle for 50 years but all she knew was he stayed at one of the aged care facilities here. She had met him when she was seven and she had no contact with him, she had his name and that was it. So I spent the whole day calling every aged care facility and I didn’t give up. We found out and eventually they were reunited.
How long have you been at this hotel?
Four years. Prior to that I was at the InterContinental in Perth.
So you’ve never been in one city for too long? Where have you stayed the longest?
Adelaide.
And you’ll be here for a while?
I think so. I enjoy Adelaide. It’s vibrant and liveable. It’s definitely great to raise a family and I’ve got a little one.
Are you married?
Yes. Me and my wife used to work together for Starwood in India, we met in 2002. She came to Australia many years ago, 10 to 12 years ago but I was travelling. It was long distance. After Dubai she said ‘time’s up, you’ve gotta come home’.
Source: Adelaide Now - Messenger, Sophie Perri, 17th December 2015
