On either side of his impeccable midnight blue suit shine two brooches which leave no doubt about their origin: two intersecting gold keys, emblems of the International Union of Hotel Concierges to which Pierre-Louis Rousseau adheres. Assistant concierge for two and a half years at the Martinez hotel in Cannes, the 29-year-old won the prestigious Pierre-Quentin trophy on November 5, against twenty-two other participants. (1). He is now considered by the profession as the twenty-third “best young Clefs d’or concierge in France”.
An honorary title that he endorses with pride and humility, given his atypical career path before joining the very demanding world of luxury hotels.
What was your journey?
I didn’t have traditional hotel training. I started by joining an engineering school before switching to a degree in art, culture and heritage. In 2015, to finance my studies, I worked as a valet baggage handler. And as I thought about my future, I realized that I really enjoyed working in the hotel industry. So I decided to invest myself fully in it. I progressed little by little, going from porter to lodge assistant and then concierge. Since then, I have had the opportunity to work in half a dozen large houses, including the immense Hyatt Regency Paris Étoile hotel, in 2019.
How did you end up at the Martinez Hotel?
I arrived at the Martinez Hotel as a seasonal worker in the summer of 2022. It was a very intense period, all the rooms were full due to the post-Covid recovery and the closure of the Carlton Hotel for work. Despite this, the atmosphere with the colleagues and the missions assigned were incredible. After a quick break in Haute-Savoie for the winter season, I returned to Martinez for good.
You won the Pierre-Quentin trophy, tell us…
To participate in this competition, you must first be a member of the Les Clefs d’Or organization, an Association which brings together around 400 members in France, working exclusively in the concierge service of four and five star hotels, and 3,000 throughout the world. . To nominate the best young concierge, I had to pass a three-hour written exam consisting of a general knowledge test and a practical case in which I had to solve a customer’s problem. .
What does it mean to be “the best young concierge” in France?
Unlike other hotel services where you have to follow very strict procedures, my job allows greater flexibility because you have to adapt to any request and say “yes” as much as possible. Of course, 80% of requests concern basic services such as a transfer from or to the airport or even a restaurant reservation. But sometimes you have to deal with improbable requests for which there is no procedure. To be a concierge in a hotel as prestigious as the Martinez, you have to know how to think outside the box. Be inventive.
Do you have an example of an unlikely request?
When I was a young assistant concierge in Paris, at the very beginning of my career, a Saudi client came to ask me to deliver a package to his home in Dubai. I then connect to the La Poste website to consult the Colissimo prices. I tell him there is no problem and ask him the nature of the package. He tells me he wants to send a… Porsche! I figured I needed to find a bigger box and luckily there are companies that take care of this sort of thing. So I was able to satisfy this customer’s request.
List three essential qualities in your opinion to succeed in this profession…
Lots of curiosity, because you have to be able to seek out information and store it. Patience: with 400 rooms to manage in summer, a queue of very demanding customers can quickly form, to whom we must be able to respond as individually as possible. And finally, be empathetic. Succeeding in putting yourself in the customer’s shoes is not always an easy task, but it is the best way to try to understand their expectations. It is not enough to intellectualize, we must feel what the person in front of us thinks.
Is it difficult to be confronted with this wealth every day?
The concierge navigates between two worlds: that of the ultra-rich and his own, much more modest world. When I return home in the evening, everything returns to normal. Everyone experiences it in their own way, I find it very interesting. The important thing is to keep our feet on the ground and to be aware that we are not ultra-rich. But you have to be able to understand them and identify their expectations. Vigilance is required so as not to try to live in this parallel world and have the same expectations as them…
How do you see the rest of your career?
I see myself at Martinez for years to come, that’s for sure. I feel pushed towards excellence by my superiors and the team with which I work. Will I stay there though? to eternal life? I don’t know anything about it. Ten years ago, I didn’t even know what a hotel concierge was… In the medium term, I will stay in this house.
Are you going to continue your adventure within the Clefs d’or in a few months?
By winning the Pierre-Quentin trophy, I won my place at the next international congress of the Les Clefs d’or association in Madrid, in April. I will represent France in the international competition “Young Leader Award – Alfredo Molero”. I have to admit that it’s a lot of pressure.
1. A springboard for young concierge members of Les Clefs d’or France, this competition was created in 1998 to highlight a young concierge and the values of the association. Founded in 1929 by Pierre Quentin, the Les Clefs d’or association brings together concierges from luxury hotels and large establishments in France.
