*筆者：一般而言，在分工細的中大型旅館酒店，禮賓部門(含接待諮詢櫃檯、行李員、門僮、泊車人員)會獨立出來接待往來賓客，而小規模的旅館中，則是八爪章魚般的多功能前檯人員來負責。曾聽過一些業界人士談及當初踏入旅館業的職務就是在服務中心當行李員，因為在早期，這個職務的小費極為豐厚，即使本薪低，加總起來也是相當可觀，然而時至今日，榮景大不如前，變得有些差強人意。
我曾經遇過二種極端的禮賓部人員，一位是在我進修實習期間的資深禮賓服務人員，他興奮地表示正在申請中國金鑰匙協會的認證，也將他所累積的顧客好評遞交給協會做為參考依據，他那閃閃發亮的眼神，是種美好；而另一位則是將工作本分居次，小費抽佣優先的服務中心人員，有錢的味道自然服務滿分甚至有點過頭，沒賺頭則「慢走不送」，有幾次把在前檯的我搞得很火大。
如果我經過一位領口別有金鑰匙獎章的禮賓人員，你應該會看到我有些驚訝的表情反應( OS: ?! 是金鑰匙 !!)，因為那是經過業界認證過的殊榮肯定，在從業人員之中佔比很少。下方的文章是由國際金鑰匙協會的資深成員所撰文，有值得學習與了解之處。
eHotelier.com by Editor eHotelier May 21st, 2014
The hotel concierge of Les Clefs d’Or invented the profession the world now calls ‘concierge’. To determine what role Les Clefs d’Or continues to play in redefining the modern concierge, it is first necessary to examine the origins of the profession and the organisation.
旅館酒店禮賓部的金鑰匙獎章奠定了現今所謂禮賓部職務的專業形象。為了確定金鑰匙獎章在現代禮賓部的定義中仍能扮演何種角色，我們必需首先檢視禮賓部與金鑰匙組織的起源。
History lesson(歷史背景)
The roots of the concierge position date back to the middle ages when there was a specific attendant at European palaces who was responsible for literally carrying the keys to the palace gates. Visitors to the palace would be greeted by the concierge and their needs would continue to be catered for during their sojourn by the concierge.
禮賓部職務的起源得要回溯到歐州中古世紀，當時在歐州各個宮廷中都有個專職人員負責宮廷大門的鑰匙，而 concierge 按字面翻譯就是指「門房」。前往宮廷的來賓訪客會由門房人員所接待，而在造訪停留期間，門房人員會照料來賓訪客的需求。
As these grand European palaces were gradually converted to hotels in later years, the concierge remained at their post just inside the main doors ready to greet visiting hotel guests – they became the central point from which to receive a room key. The concierges even took to wearing an emblem of a pair of crossed keys on each side of their uniform collar so as to be readily identified.
當這些富麗堂皇的歐州宮廷之後逐漸轉變成酒店，這些原有的門房人員依舊在大門後的崗位隨時恭候造訪酒店的客人─ 而他們也成為住客取得客房鑰匙的中心點。這些門房人員甚至在其制服的左右領口部份佩帶起一對交叉鑰匙的徽章，讓客人得以立即辨認出來。
During this period the concierge position existed primarily in Europe, but as air travel expanded following the Second World War, the concierge started to make appearances in other parts of the world as well. Ferdinand Gillet, Chef Concierge at the Scribe in Paris and then President of Les Clefs d’Or France (an organisation founded in 1929 by Pierre Quentin, Chef Concierge at The Ambassador Hotel) proposed that the various concierge organisations that had sprung up throughout Europe combine to form a European co-operative association of hotel concierge which they called: Union Européene des Portiers des Grands Hôtels (U.E.P.G.H.), but most often it was called simply: Les Clefs d’Or (which translates from French as ‘The Golden Keys’).
在這個時期，門房人員的職務主要存在於歐洲地區，然而在二次世界大戰之後，隨著航空旅遊的擴展，門房人員也開始出現在世界其他角落。巴黎Scribe酒店的禮賓部主管及法國金鑰匙組織(在1929年由時任巴黎大使酒店禮賓部主管的Pierre Quentin所創立的組織)主席 Ferdinand Gillet 提議將歐洲形形色色的禮賓部組織結合成單一的歐洲旅館禮賓部合作協會，稱作「Union Européene des Portiers des Grands Hôtels (U.E.P.G.H.–大酒店禮賓人員的歐洲聯合會)」，但大都簡稱為：「Les Clefs d’Or (由法文直譯意指"金鑰匙")」。
Global and gender expansion（全球擴張與性別兼容）
In 1970 with the admission of Israel as a member section, Les Clefs d’Or became an international association. This period of time saw a rapid expansion of Les Clefs d’Or throughout the rest of the world. In time, trailblazing concierge started working at hotels in countries outside of Europe. More often than not they were the only one of their profession in the entire country.
當1970年以色列以成員區獲得成立許可後，金鑰匙協會成為一國際性協會。這段時期，金鑰匙協會在世界其他地區迅速擴張。於此同時，具拓展性的禮賓人員開始在歐洲以外國家的旅館酒店裡工作服務。協會成員經常是所在國家唯一的專業人士。
The first concierge to arrive in my home country of Australia came from Europe in 1966. His name was Antonio Lauro Facciolo, but everyone called him Tony. A Venetian by birth, Tony had come to Australia by way of London where he had worked at the Ritz hotel. Tony was employed at the Wentworth in Sydney, which was at the time a subsidiary of Qantas Airlines. Being the first concierge in the country, Tony Facciolo literally set the standard for all hotel concierge that where to follow him in his adopted homeland. Tony spoke close to half a dozen languages (though some would contend that he never quite mastered English; he was renowned for his malapropisms), and he was the embodiment of the consummate concierge professional – with outstretched hand, ready to greet the world traveler. Everyone who ever met Tony remembered him, and Tony remembered everyone. Tony had been accepted into the Society of the Golden Keys in London and was the first wearer of the crossed golden keys in Australia.
首位從歐洲抵達我家鄉澳洲的禮賓人員是在1966年的時候。他名叫Antonio Lauro Facciolo，但每個人都稱他為Tony(東尼)。東尼的出生是義大利威尼斯人，經由英國倫敦來到澳洲，而他也曾在倫敦的麗池酒店工作過。東尼到澳洲時是在雪梨(悉尼)的Wentworth 酒店工作，該酒店當時是隸屬於澳洲航空的產業。Tony Facciolo是澳洲第一位禮賓人員，而他在第二故鄉澳洲也確實建立起所有酒店禮賓人員所依循的工作準則。東尼會說近六種語言(雖然有人可能會反駁說他並不專精於英文；但他以其飛白方式的幽默而著名。)，他是禮賓專業人士的完美化身，隨時張開雙手歡迎來自世界各地的旅人。每個遇過東尼的人都會記得他，而東尼也記得每個互動過的客人。東尼已成為倫敦金鑰匙協會的成員，並且是澳洲佩帶金鑰匙徽章的第一人。
At the same time that Tony was defining the role of the concierge in Australia, other Les Clefs d’Or members were doing likewise throughout the rest of the world. Among a number of concierge pioneers outside of Europe was Holly Stiel, Chief Concierge at the Grand Hyatt San Francisco. In the United States, Holly was the first female to be appointed as Chief Concierge and in 1978, the first female to be accepted into Les Clefs d’Or.
當東尼為澳洲的禮賓人員角色下註腳之際，其他金鑰匙協會成員亦在世界其他角落努力著。Holly Stiel也是在歐洲以外地區身負開拓先鋒的一員，她是美國舊金山君悅酒店的禮賓主管。荷莉於1978年成為美國首位任命為禮賓主管的女性，也是首位為金鑰匙協會所認可的女性成員。
At the time there was much discussion (and some consternation) about allowing the fairer sex into the hitherto male bastion of the crossed keys. Today more than 60% of the 550 members of Les Clefs d’Or USA are women, and the Society, in this part of the world at least, has done its part in addressing the gender imbalance. Tony, Holly and many others like them in emerging countries taught both their hotel guests as well as their fellow hotel staff what a concierge truly was. Their Les Clefs d’Or motto was (and still is today): ‘In Service through Friendship’; an oft quoted maxim among concierge that became the precept by which many hotel guests received the ultimate in customer service.
當時對於讓女性進入到金鑰匙協會長久由男性所據有的堡壘中，引發相當多的討論甚至有些驚愕的反應。時至今日，美國金鑰匙協會的550位成員中有超過60%是女性，而協會本身也為世上性別不平等的現況盡其本分。東尼、荷莉與其他許多協會成員在新興國家中為酒店客人及公司同僚傳授何謂真正的禮賓人員。金鑰匙協會的格言(至今仍是)：「寓友誼於服務中」，這是個在禮賓部門常被引用的格言，也是許多旅館客人獲得禮賓人員頂極服務的準則依據。
派屈克沈的旅館園地 