PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

It is a great honour in my role as President of Les Clefs d’Or Australia to represent such a prestigious organization, one that is committed to the continual improvement of hotel service standards. As mentioned in our welcome page, The Society of the Golden Keys plays an important role in supporting Concierge professionals around the world by providing a structured network in which we can operate. I rely heavily on the assistance of my colleagues around the country, whether it be for advice, technical assistance or access to resources, all of which helps me provide better service to the guests in my care.

The Australian chapter of Les Clefs d’Or with only 31 members is one of the smallest country’s in the UICH family. Our colleagues in France, Italy, China and the United States for example have several hundred members each. Our lack of size however has not prevented us from making our mark on the world stage, with former Australian President Tony Facciolo OAM distinguishing himself as the first non European International President of the Society. Tony, along with his dear friend and founding Secretary Alfred Jasinski pioneered the Concierge profession in Australia and their wonderful contribution to the Society of the Golden keys is documented in our Memorial page.

Having celebrated our silver anniversary in Brisbane at last years Annual General Meeting, members will gather soon in Sydney to chart our course for the year ahead. The 2007 AGM to be held at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in mid July is preceded by the New Zealand equivalent at the end of June. For those members who also traveled to Vienna for the World Congress in late March, it has indeed been a busy couple of months. Details for these important meetings as well as upcoming events can be viewed in our website diary.

Of course our various State bodies will again be hosting their respective Concierge Balls later in the year with the Brisbane gala on August 4th kicking of proceedings. These events are always well received by the industry and the members of the Society are looking forward to catching up with our many friends and supporters during the night. Proceeds from each ball will again be donated to local charities as listed in our donations section. You can also view some of the images from last years festivities on our Photo Gallery located elsewhere on this website.

All in all we have a busy few months coming up for Les Clefs d’Or in Australia and along with my fellow members I look forward to the exciting challenges that lay ahead.
Vive Les Clefs d’Or!

Yours in Friendship

Colin Toomey
President Les Clefs d’Or Australia