Comité des Sages, Les Clefs d’Or International
Chief Concierge
Shangri-La Hotel Sydney
176 Cumberland Street, Sydney
Sydney NSW 2000
Ph: +61 2 9250 6018
Email

About Colin…

When I commenced in the early 80's, the tourism and hospitality sector provided an exciting new career opportunity for people in the service industry (I had come from retail banking). To this day it still holds the same appeal for me.

I have spent the last 23 year in four different Hotels including The Sheraton, InterContinental and Nikko Hotel. The last 12 years have been at The Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney.

My personal philosophy is to never say no. Even if I can't produce the impossible I can always arrange an alternative to satisfy the request. "Expect the Unexpected" also rings true in the concierge role.

One on my most memorable requests came from a Saudi Prince who asked that I arrange a complete news crew (cameraman, sound technician etc) to cover an official engagement he was attending. Not such a difficult request in it's own right, but the lead in time given - 17 minutes did present something of a challenge.