Bird? Plane? It's the hotel concierge

By Thurston Hatcher
CNN

(CNN) -- They can book impossible dinner reservations at swanky bistros. They can arrange tee times at the hottest courses. They can even -- gasp! -- snag tickets for "The Producers."

Just who are these magicians, these superhuman service providers?

If you're not a habitue of higher-end hotels, you may not have ever consorted with concierges. But they're becoming a lot more common these days, and they might just be able to help you.

"These people may have the ins and outs and connections and knowledge that (guests) wouldn't necessarily have on their own or looking in a tour book or anything else," says Ken Phillips, director of corporate communications for California-based travel wholesaler Pleasant Holidays.

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The concierge can do just about anything for you, as long as it's legal and "appropriate," says Sara-ann Kasner, president of the National Concierge Association.

"We often say in the industry, if you can dream it, we can do it, within reason," she says. "If price is not an object, we can charter a private jet on a moment's notice."

'Willingness to serve'

Requests typically involve booking dinner reservations, tracking down theater or sports tickets, making tour arrangements or simply giving directions to the best coffee shop. But concierges can be an invaluable resource on many fronts.

"It's amazing to me sometimes how people look at us as though we walked on water or we're magic people that can pull rabbits out of hats," Kasner says. "We're world-class networkers, and that's all there is to it."

Ellen Crocker, director of concierge services at Marriott's Mountain Shadows Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona, has planned weddings and arranged funerals. She has sent sandwiches from a local restaurant to an enthusiast halfway across the country.

In one of her more unusual efforts, Crocker helped a guest track down the will of an aunt who died in 1940, along with her burial spot.

"I think, inherently, the person who serves in this position has to have that willingness to serve," Crocker says.

Tips are appreciated

Legend has it that the concierge can be traced back centuries to France, where the keeper of the keys opened the palace doors when VIPs came calling, then saw to all of their needs. According to another variation, Marie Antoinette's use of a personal assistant during her prison stint was so effective that other royalty -- and later, hotels -- took to the idea.

Now concierges have surfaced all over the world, and not just in upscale hotels but in apartments, office complexes and elsewhere. There also are independent concierges.

At hotels, the concierge typically is part of the staff, so the service comes with the room rate. Tips, of course, are welcome.

The National Concierge Association recommends tipping around $5 to $20, and perhaps more for going above and beyond.

Crocker says she might receive a $3 to $5 gratuity for a simple dinner reservation or perhaps $8 to $10 for a more daunting one. For procuring tickets to the theater or sporting events, the tip might be $25 or up, depending on the level of difficulty.

If the concierge has devoted a week to helping a guest, $50 to $75 would be in the tip ballpark. Planning a wedding or funeral or group plans for a week might warrant a tip of $100 or more.

Just say help

Even if your hotel doesn't have a concierge on staff, some hotels work with off-premise concierge operations that may serve several hotels at once.

At The Westin Santa Clara in California, guests can use a "virtual concierge," interacting from a monitor in the hotel lobby with a real-life helper working 75 miles away at her home.

Also, your hotel may have connections to another hotel with concierge services. Crocker says she sometimes assists guests when other local hotels in the Marriott family (which includes Courtyard, Residence Inn and Fairfield Inn) contact her for help.

Concierges encourage travelers to ask how they can be of help, no matter how outlandish or silly the request. There's no such thing, they say, as a dumb question.

"I would definitely say use them," Crocker says. "Walk right up to the desk. Don't be shy."