Setting a concierge service intake process for a billionaire family

Built on Chapter 3 of How to Start a Family Office by Richard C. Wilson.

A family concierge request needs an acceptance step. A billionaire founder can ask someone in the office to arrange travel, and the employee can begin helping before anyone has agreed on spending authority or responsibility for the booking. The family then assumes the request is being handled.

Chapter 3 includes lifestyle management among possible family office services. I would turn that service into a clear intake process so a useful convenience does not become an undefined promise. The office needs to know what it has accepted and who will finish the work.

Give requests a recognized entry point

Choose the contact responsible for receiving lifestyle requests. A family member can still speak directly with a familiar employee, but the assignment should reach the person who coordinates the service.

Acknowledge the request without implying that every detail has been approved. Confirm what the family wants arranged and when a decision is needed. If the request is outside the office's assignment, explain the route for obtaining approval.

Keep the process easy enough to use. The household should not need a long form for an ordinary request. The employee does need the facts that determine whether the office can perform it.

Confirm the booking the household actually wants

For a travel arrangement, clarify who is traveling and what has already been booked. Ask which elements are fixed and which are preferences. If the household wants options, establish when it intends to choose between them.

Identify the supplier's commitment point. A quotation can expire without creating a reservation; a deposit can create cancellation exposure. Obtain the actual terms and put the material conditions before the authorized person before a commitment is made.

Confirm whether the proposed booking permits substitutions. A different property or service class may be unacceptable even if the price remains similar. Do not let a supplier's description of an equivalent option replace the household's instruction.

Repeat the final arrangement back for confirmation. State what is being purchased and what remains subject to availability. The employee should be able to distinguish an option requested from an approved booking.

Establish authority before spending

Use the office's approved spending and payment procedures. The fact that a request comes from a family member does not establish which entity should pay or whether the employee may commit funds.

Have the appropriate person approve costs and material conditions. Counsel or the accountant should address unusual payment or ownership questions where needed. The concierge employee should not invent a treatment to complete the booking quickly.

Record the accepted instruction in a location suited to the work. Keep sensitive payment information in the approved payment system instead of placing it in a general request note.

Assign completion to one responsible contact

An outside provider may carry out the service, but someone in the office should know whether the arrangement is complete. Identify that person when the request is accepted.

State which confirmations the household will receive. A supplier's availability message is different from an accepted reservation. If a required document or approval remains outstanding, make that dependency visible.

If the responsible employee becomes unavailable, transfer the open assignment through the office's coverage process. A request should not disappear because it arrived through a personal conversation.

If a supplier changes the arrangement, establish the available choices and the time for a response. Check the actual terms before telling the household it must accept a substitute or will receive a refund.

Bring material choices back through the approved contact. A change that increases cost or alters the service needs the appropriate authorization. Record which alternative was accepted before asking the supplier to proceed.

Tell the household who is responsible for a cancellation request and how acceptance will be confirmed. Asking a provider to cancel is different from receiving its confirmation that the cancellation has taken effect.

Keep the provider's response with the booking record. If a refund or credit remains outstanding, assign the follow-up to a named office contact. The concierge request is not finished merely because the travel date has passed.

Close the request with usable information

Send the household the final confirmation and the contact for any immediate problem. Identify outstanding choices plainly. Retain the relevant booking and payment records under the office's records policy.

After completion, capture a preference only if it will help with an authorized future assignment. A concierge file should remain practical and proportionate. It should not become an unnecessary collection of personal information.

If the request caused confusion, correct the intake step that failed. The next employee should be able to distinguish a request received from a service accepted and a service completed.

Questions and answers

Does acknowledging a request mean the office has accepted it? The acknowledgment should state whether the assignment is accepted or still needs approval.

Should concierge staff approve their own payments? Use the family's approved controls. Convenience should not erase the separation between arranging a service and authorizing payment.

This page is general information, not legal advice. Family governance documents and dispute processes should be reviewed by a qualified attorney.