Here’s a little history lesson on when our country adapted the concept of a concierge. It wasn’t until the 1970s that the actual position emerged in the United States—even though hotel bell captains and front desk staffers had been unofficially performing the same duties for years. And a drum roll please…its Thomas Wolfe whom is known to be one of the first American concierges. He worked in Europe for several years before taking a position with the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco circa 1974, and he founded the original West Coast chapter of Les Clefs D’Or (an organization that enables 3,000 concierges throughout 39 countries to share ideas with one another).

Today, not all hotel concierges are the real things. They may wear the concierge uniform and provide the same services, but many are actually contract employees of second party hospitality companies—just like Portero Concierge. Outsourcing saves hotels on benefits, and some hotel industry insiders say it helps lower-tier (two- and three-star) hotels provide a service they couldn’t otherwise afford. Portero has even expanded into providing Onsite Concierge for retail centers to meet on-demand needs of employees, visitors, and merchants. The unique service helps businesses benefit from increased productivity, elevated engagement, and total customer satisfaction.

So thank you Thomas Wolfe for crossing the pond and becoming a pioneer concierge in our country. You’ve paved the way for high-end personal assistance and provided a platform that’ll keep Portero Concierge poised for growth. USA! USA! USA!