Press release from Crowne Plaza Queenstown
Tuesday 22 April 2008
Crowne Plaza Concierge accepted into Les Clefs d’Or’s prestigious society
Crowne Plaza Queenstown’s Leisure Concierge, Nathan Wise, is still smiling after a phone call yesterday afternoon
(Monday 21 April) confirmed his admittance to the prestigious Hotel Concierge Society Les Clefs d’Or New Zealand.
Nathan (27) will be awarded his Les Clefs d’Or (or Golden Keys) next month, during an official ceremony in Queenstown
with society President Gustavo Concha, Chief Concierge for Hilton Auckland.
Nathan is one of only 23 concierges in New Zealand to meet the strict criteria held by Union Internationale des
Concierge d'Hotels Les Clefs d'Or. There are 3,500 members worldwide.
“This is an achievement I’ve had my sights set on since I began working in the hospitality field, so it’s absolutely
awesome to be singled out for Les Clefs d’Or. I’ve realised a lifelong goal this week and it feels great,” said Mr Wise.
“It’s been a nerve-wracking process. I applied to the society in January, then in March I was invited to Auckland for an
interview which took place last week.
“The interview itself was over two hours long, with all sorts of questions put to me by a panel of three, testing my
knowledge of things to do and places to go including the unique attributes of both Queenstown and New Zealand.”
Les Clefs d’Or is an internationally recognised means of benchmarking and celebrating the best concierge leaders,
assessed and awarded by industry peers who belong to the world association of Professional Hotel Concierges.
Nathan, originally from Sydney, has over six years’ frontline hospitality experience, and has been a member of the
Crowne Plaza Queenstown team for four years.
Brett Wilson, General Manager of Crowne Plaza Queenstown, said he was thrilled for Nathan and proud to have him in the
hotel’s team.
“The Hotel Concierge Society’s philosophy is ‘in service through friendship’ and that’s something Nathan embodies fully.
You couldn’t meet a more amiable, professional, discreet and fun-loving individual. His lively persona and
unquestionable dedication to helping guests is a major asset to the hotel,” said Mr Wilson.
Membership of the society brings a range of professional benefits, including training opportunities, professional
resources, mentoring, and access to the pooled resources of a close network of established industry professionals to
deliver excellence in guest services.
Crowne Plaza, with it’s positioning as ‘The Place To Meet in Queenstown’ is located on Beach Street, opposite Steamer
Wharf in Queenstown.
ENDS