A concierge for your stay, not a rental manager
In France, the word “conciergerie” often means managing short-term rentals on behalf of their owners: cleaning, key handovers, welcoming guests. That is not what we do. Our private concierge service is for those staying in Marseille and Provence, or hosting there. It prepares everything around the journey, with the chauffeur at its centre:
- tables: lunch on the Old Port, a gastronomic dinner in Marseille or Aix, a waterside address in Cassis;
- accommodation: a hotel, a villa or a Provençal bastide, for a few nights or the whole season;
- the sea: a day out towards the Calanques, the Frioul islands or the bay of Cassis;
- private receptions: a birthday, a family dinner, an evening at a country estate;
- the whole stay, when all of this runs over several days and several places.
The Federation studies and coordinates; the chosen provider delivers
For each request, we first clarify what you need: dates, number of guests, the style you have in mind, any constraints of timing or access. We then look for suitable establishments and providers, check their availability and make the request on your behalf. You receive a written proposal that describes each service and sets out the chosen provider’s terms: deposit, minimum spend, cancellation conditions.
Each service is delivered by the chosen provider, under its own responsibility: the restaurant serves dinner, the owner lets the villa, the operator runs the day at sea, the caterer looks after your guests. The Federation answers for the care taken in selecting and vetting that provider. We do not promise that a table, a date or a house will be available or obtained: nothing is booked until the establishment has confirmed it and your payment has actually been received, under the accepted quote.
Opening a concierge file
Work on a request begins with opening a file. This involves a study fee, stated on a file-opening quote and paid before any work starts: no search is undertaken until it has been received. Its level, set on that quote before any payment, depends on the work required:
- a single-request file: one clearly defined request, a single objective, few providers to approach;
- a coordination file: several services to fit together, a stay or reception over several days, several places, a tight deadline, or a chauffeured journey combined with a service supplied by a third party.
The fee covers the search and the preparation of the proposal. It is separate from the cost of the services proposed and is not deducted from it. It is non-refundable if you decline the proposal, but refunded in full if no proposal is sent to you. The fee is due per file: a new need means a new file.
For private clients, the file-opening quote also sets out the right of withdrawal and how to ask for the study to begin straight away. Each provider’s own terms, including cancellation terms stricter than ours, appear on the quote before any payment. A day at sea, a helicopter or a jet flight follows the terms specific to those services, set out on our yacht, helicopter and jet page; in every case, the study fee requested is stated on the file-opening quote.
At sea, at table, in a villa: what to plan for
A trip to the Calanques takes place within the Calanques National Park, created in 2012, whose rules apply to every boat: a speed limit of 5 knots within the 300-metre coastal band, zones closed to anchoring or to motorised craft, and regulated access to the calanques of En-Vau, Port-Pin and Port-Miou. The route is agreed with the chosen operator, and the weather may lead to a change of plan or a postponement. For a crewed yacht, a helicopter or a jet, see our page on yachts, helicopters and jets; for the coast by road, Cassis and the Calanques.
The most sought-after tables are booked early, especially in summer: the earlier your request arrives, the wider the choice. A villa or bastide is rented from its owner or the agency that manages it, on their terms: minimum stay, damage deposit, house rules. We pass these on to you before you commit to anything.
A whole stay, a single point of contact
When your stay runs over several days, we coordinate all of it: arrival at the airport or station, the hotel or villa, the tables, a day at sea, an excursion into the Luberon, departure. Journeys are entrusted to a chauffeur who is a member of the Federation, for a transfer or at your disposal by the hour or by the day. For a reception with many guests, several cars are coordinated: see our chauffeurs for your events.
Our terms and conditions bind us to absolute discretion, with no time limit, about your identity, your movements and those travelling with you. To begin, a few lines are enough: let’s talk about your stay, or find all our details on our Contact page.