Concierge

LONDON -- Hotel guests have strange requests. Consider the American who asked the concierge at the Four Seasons Hotel London for a dresser to help his wife through the many steps it takes to don a traditional kimono. It was 4 p.m. Christmas Eve. He needed the dresser at 8. Then there was the family whose nanny left her passport at the hotel and then got stuck in immigration in Dubai. The concierge put a porter with the nanny's passport on the next plane to Dubai, where he rescued the stranded nanny, did a bit of duty-free shopping and returned on the next plane to London.

Pregnant and on bed rest, with a 3-year-old son and a husband working full time, Rochelle Walker wanted her mommy, who lived hours away. She would have settled for a concierge. Walker muddled through somehow, but she has just launched a Baltimore-area concierge service to offer the sort of help she could have used as an expectant and new mother. Pampered Mommas offers a wide range of services, including in-home pre- and postnatal massage, hypnosis for childbirth, in-home prenatal yoga, maternity and newborn photography, meal delivery, housekeeping, baby sitting — even "cloth diapering education.

LOS ANGELES -- The movie's over and you need a cab home. You'd like to have dinner after the show but don't know where to go. Your toddler didn't enjoy the film as much as you'd hoped.You can handle these minor-league moviegoing dilemmas yourself, but at four Pacific Theatres multiplexes in Southern California, somebody's being paid to do it for you.Under a Patron Assistance Program introduced at Pacific's Northridge Cinemas three months ago, a "patron assistance coordinator" is available to help with everything from information on show times and taxi services to ATM locations and restaurant reservations.

What's the deal?: The landmark Willard InterContinental Washington hotel is offering a freebie. The Cost-Conscious Concierge special lets guests book two nights at $299 per night and receive the third night free when they stay Thursday to Sunday. What's the savings?: At least $299. The nightly rate can be higher. After all, this historic hotel, known as the "Residence of the Presidents," has hosted many U.S. presidents and elite international travelers. What's the catch?: There's no online code, so you'll have to call the hotel and ask for the Cost-Conscious Concierge deal.

The Maryland insurance commissioner is weighing whether "concierge" medical care - in which physicians provide comprehensive services for a flat annual fee - should be considered a form of health insurance and thus regulated. "Our concern is whether the practices are structured in a way to constitute insurance," Ralph Tyler, the commissioner, said after a holding an information hearing on the issue yesterday. But advocates of the model argued that patients have the right to pay extra for services that are not covered by insurance.

Dorothy Moran's duties over the years read like bits from a Liz Smith column. Map out David Letterman's jogging route. Carry Itzhak Perlman's Stradivarius. Find Holly Hunter a humidifier. And, perhaps her favorite, buy kitty litter for Robert Goulet's cat.umbrella. Room 624 wants Advil.These, though, are no-brainers compared to trying to find Sharon Stone a Sunday Los Angeles Times in Baltimore. The actress was staying at the hotel with her boyfriend Bob Wagner, who worked on the production crew of the Jodie Foster movie, "Home for the Holidays."

ONE OF the hottest new concepts in American home real estate seeks to answer this intriguing question: Would you like a concierge for your own home?That's right -- a concierge, much as you'd find at the front desk in a fine hotel, ready to help you whenever you need assistance.Got a squirrel in the attic or a bee's nest in the back yard, but not a clue where to turn for help? No problem -- call the concierge. Have a plumbing emergency, a bad electrical outlet, a leaky roof? Call the concierge.

Eric Watson is a busy man. A financial adviser at Merrill Lynch in Baltimore and a father of four, he tries to make the most of his time at the office. So, if during his busy workday he needs his dry cleaning picked up or tickets to a show, Watson simply calls his concierge. "I'm willing to pay a premium to get something done for me," he said. "I'm better off doing what I do for a living than chasing around tickets." Watson is taking advantage of a growing number of concierge services delivered right to workers' offices, from having their shoes resoled to getting their cars washed.

When it comes to planning lodgings for overseas trips, I've had a standard policy for several years: I always try to make the last hotel on my itinerary the best one.With a long, uncomfortable flight home looming the next day, even the most intrepid, indefatigable traveler is likely to hunger for a gleaming bathroom, a movie on the TV and a room-service dinner. The cultural discovery is over, and the most important thing is gathering strength in the marble-walled womb of an upscale hotel or an airport-handy Hilton or Hyatt or Marriott.

J. Preston Rooks Jr. Chief concierge InterContinental Harbor Court Baltimore hotel Salary --$13.39 an hour, plus tips Age --34 Years on the job --Two How he got started --Rooks began in the hotel business more than seven years ago, working first as a concierge for a Marriott hotel in Norfolk, Va. He then moved to a management position with Marriott in Hunt Valley. Wanting to get back to the concierge profession, he went to work at the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel as chief concierge before switching to his current job two years ago. "I love to interact with people.

I recently traveled round trip from Los Angeles International Airport to Washington, D.C., on United Airlines. United told me I could print my boarding pass and pay the baggage fee online. I did that, but as I was making my selection, I had to opt out of several costly offers. When I returned from Washington, I asked the hotel concierge to print the boarding pass and pay the baggage fee. When I got home, I noticed that one of the pages the concierge printed was an acceptance of a $137 charge for United's Award Accelerator, which increases the value of flier miles.

Many people spend more than $1,500 a year on their hair, on cigarettes, on their pets' veterinary bills - even on their daily Starbucks coffee. Are these kinds of expenses more important than a modest annual fee that guarantees immediate access to an unhurried, focused and attentive physician who has the time and energy to enjoy doing his job well? Let's first get past the pejorative terms "concierge" and "boutique" as descriptors of this new medical model. It is simply not true that retainer medical practices cater only to the rich and elite.

The growth of "concierge" practices is a relatively minor symptom of a much more serious malady: the shortage of primary care doctors in our country ("Md. ponders regulation of 'concierge medicine,'" Dec. 20). There is overwhelming evidence that enhancing access to primary care doctors improves health. And primary care is an especially rewarding area of medicine that puts years of medical training to maximal use and, at its best, allows for a close, long and productive relationship between a doctor and a patient.

The Maryland insurance commissioner is weighing whether "concierge" medical care - in which physicians provide comprehensive services for a flat annual fee - should be considered a form of health insurance and thus regulated. "Our concern is whether the practices are structured in a way to constitute insurance," Ralph Tyler, the commissioner, said after a holding an information hearing on the issue yesterday. But advocates of the model argued that patients have the right to pay extra for services that are not covered by insurance.

Baltimore is a condo town after all. How else could The Ritz command condo fees approaching $7,000 a month? Yes, a month. That is not a misprint. Nor is it the mortgage. Also called "common charges," the fees cover those little extras - lush landscaping, a fancy fitness center, white-gloved doormen - that will make living at The Ritz feel like, well, living at The Ritz. No one is actually shelling out yet, since the 192-unit development is under construction at the harbor. And the fees - about 58 cents per square foot - will be cheaper for most units.

J. Preston Rooks Jr. Chief concierge InterContinental Harbor Court Baltimore hotel Salary --$13.39 an hour, plus tips Age --34 Years on the job --Two How he got started --Rooks began in the hotel business more than seven years ago, working first as a concierge for a Marriott hotel in Norfolk, Va. He then moved to a management position with Marriott in Hunt Valley. Wanting to get back to the concierge profession, he went to work at the Sheraton Inner Harbor Hotel as chief concierge before switching to his current job two years ago. "I love to interact with people.

What's the deal?: The landmark Willard InterContinental Washington hotel is offering a freebie. The Cost-Conscious Concierge special lets guests book two nights at $299 per night and receive the third night free when they stay Thursday to Sunday. What's the savings?: At least $299. The nightly rate can be higher. After all, this historic hotel, known as the "Residence of the Presidents," has hosted many U.S. presidents and elite international travelers. What's the catch?: There's no online code, so you'll have to call the hotel and ask for the Cost-Conscious Concierge deal.

Tina Hughes figures it's about time her business took Baltimore by storm. After all, when you're a partner in a concierge business, time is what your business is all about.Ms. Hughes is a partner in Charm City Concierge Inc. one of two companies battling to introduce the Baltimore office-building market to concierge services usually associated with hotels."It's all about time," said the Towson State graduate, whose firm takes over its first assignment at the B&O Building on Dec. 1. "We think time is people's most valuable commodity, and Charm City Concierge can give people back their time."

LONDON -- Hotel guests have strange requests. Consider the American who asked the concierge at the Four Seasons Hotel London for a dresser to help his wife through the many steps it takes to don a traditional kimono. It was 4 p.m. Christmas Eve. He needed the dresser at 8. Then there was the family whose nanny left her passport at the hotel and then got stuck in immigration in Dubai. The concierge put a porter with the nanny's passport on the next plane to Dubai, where he rescued the stranded nanny, did a bit of duty-free shopping and returned on the next plane to London.

Eric Watson is a busy man. A financial adviser at Merrill Lynch in Baltimore and a father of four, he tries to make the most of his time at the office. So, if during his busy workday he needs his dry cleaning picked up or tickets to a show, Watson simply calls his concierge. "I'm willing to pay a premium to get something done for me," he said. "I'm better off doing what I do for a living than chasing around tickets." Watson is taking advantage of a growing number of concierge services delivered right to workers' offices, from having their shoes resoled to getting their cars washed.