To choose a luxury concierge company, an elegant website or the promise of a bespoke welcome is not enough: you need to check a legal framework, an organisation on the ground and written commitments. Your villa, chalet or prestige apartment is about to be entrusted to a team that will welcome your guests, look after the premises and, sometimes, collect your rental income. This guide reviews the decisive criteria and the precise questions to ask before signing a mandate.
Choosing a luxury concierge: start with the legal framework
Even before discussing the service, the first check concerns the concierge company’s status, a subject we cover in detail in our management section. French law distinguishes between operators who limit themselves to practical services and those who are involved in the letting itself or who handle funds. This status determines what the concierge company is entitled to do for you, and therefore how your rental is organised. It also affects your own financial security, since it determines who holds the guests’ money and with what guarantees. A reputable firm answers these questions straightforwardly and provides the supporting documents. Any hesitation at this stage should put you on alert.
Carte G, carte T or practical services only
The Hoguet law of 2 January 1970 provides for a carte T for letting intermediation (listings, tenant selection, signing on the owner’s behalf) without handling funds, and a carte G (property management licence) for management, which alone authorises the collection of rent, security deposits or the taxe de séjour (tourist tax). These licences are issued by the chamber of commerce (CCI) for three years and require proof of professional competence. A concierge company without a licence remains entirely legitimate, provided it confines itself to cleaning, linen, welcoming guests, key handover and minor repairs, with the listing remaining in your name and payments going directly from the platform to you. The status of the co-host offered by the platforms remains a grey area, with no established case law. So ask clearly in what capacity the concierge company is acting.
Written mandate and financial guarantee
A licence holder must have a signed written mandate with the owner and a financial guarantee, and must undertake continuing professional training. This guarantee, of at least €110,000 as soon as the professional holds funds, protects your rental income if the concierge company fails; an amount of €30,000 is possible for the first two years under certain conditions. Asking for the name of the guarantor and the corresponding certificate is basic prudence, not mistrust. The mandate, for its part, must describe precisely the tasks entrusted, the terms of remuneration and the arrangements for rendering accounts. A vague document on these points will make any later claim difficult.
Insurance and professional liability
A concierge company working in your home must be covered by professional liability insurance suited to its activity, covering in particular damage caused during its work. On your side, it is essential to check that your insurance policy, non-occupying owner or comprehensive home cover, does indeed cover short-term letting, which is not always the case by default. Ask the concierge company how it combines these covers with the guests’ security deposit or card pre-authorisation. The procedure in the event of a claim (report, photos, declaration) should be known in advance. It is often at the first incident that the quality of an organisation is revealed.
The operational criteria of a luxury concierge company
Once the framework is validated, the assessment turns to day-to-day execution, which makes a property’s reputation with a demanding clientele. Price only comes afterwards, and the luxury concierge commission should be judged precisely in the light of this level of execution. Three topics account for most of the differences between offers: the team on site, housekeeping standards and the welcome process. These are also the points guests comment on most in their reviews. Question the concierge company in concrete terms, based on real situations rather than general promises.
Team and local presence
A high-end property requires a team genuinely present in the area, able to respond quickly to an air-conditioning breakdown, a lost key or a delayed arrival. Ask how many people will look after your property, who will be your dedicated contact and how on-call cover is organised in the evenings and at weekends. The distance between the concierge company’s offices and your house matters, particularly in the mountains or in a village in the hinterland. Using subcontractors is not a problem in itself, provided they are supervised and checked. A network of responsive tradespeople, pool technicians, gardeners and heating engineers usefully complements this presence.
Cleaning and linen standards
Hotel-standard cleaning is probably the most visible criterion for your guests: it requires a detailed room-by-room checklist, a quality check with photos at every changeover and particular care for fine materials (stone, waxed wood, delicate textiles). Ask the concierge company about the time allotted to each service and how faults are reported and corrected. Household linen should be professional grade, renewed regularly and stored in good conditions. Toiletries and consumables should match the standing of the property. Ask to see a sample checklist: its precision says a great deal about the team’s standards.
Guest welcome process
At the top end of the market, a personal welcome, through a meeting on site or a concierge, is generally preferable to a simple key box. Have them describe the complete journey of a stay: messages before arrival, check-in with a tour of the premises, bilingual welcome guide, availability during the stay, check-out and inventory of condition. Verifying guests’ identity and enforcing the house rules, particularly on parties and the number of occupants, are an integral part of this process. A photo inventory at every stay makes it possible to trace any damage. An experienced concierge company will show you this process without hesitation.
Comparing Airbnb concierge companies: tools, reporting and transparency
To compare concierge companies on an equal footing, you then need to examine how they manage performance and report on their work. This is also the purpose of our free introduction: we study your property and your expectations, then present a concierge company whose expertise matches them, the services then being carried out by that company under the contract signed directly with you. Whichever route you choose, three topics make it possible to tell rigorous management from approximate management. The table below brings together the questions to ask for each of the criteria covered in this guide.
| Criterion | Question to ask |
|---|---|
| Collection of rent | Do you collect the rent? If so, what is your carte G number and who is your financial guarantor? |
| Insurance | Can you send me your current professional liability insurance certificate? |
| Local presence | Who will physically work on my property, and how quickly in an emergency? |
| Cleaning | Is the team employed or subcontracted, and how do you check each service? |
| Welcome | Is the welcome done in person, at what times and in which languages? |
| Pricing | Which dynamic pricing tool do you use and who approves the prices? |
| Reporting | Can you show me an anonymised example of a monthly statement? |
| Fees | What would the total cost be, all fees included, over a typical year for my property? |
| Contract | What is the commitment period and the notice period, and who owns the listing and the reviews? |
Channel manager and dynamic pricing
Listing on several platforms requires a channel manager, which synchronises calendars and bookings to avoid double bookings. Dynamic pricing by season and by event, supported by a revenue management tool, adjusts prices and minimum stays according to demand. Ask which tool is used, who sets the floor prices and whether you keep control over certain periods, for example to block your own stays. A well-thought-out pricing strategy takes account of major local events, trade fairs, festivals or the ski season. A concierge company that cannot explain its pricing method probably has not mastered it.
Reporting to the owner
A clear owner statement should make it possible to reconcile each booking with the sums received: amount paid by the guest, platform fees, commission, recharged costs and balance paid out. It also lists the work carried out, incidents and reviews received. Some concierge companies offer an online portal, others a monthly document: the format matters less than the precision. This reporting will also be useful for your tax returns, particularly under the actual-expenses regime, where management fees are deductible. Ask for an anonymised example before committing.
Transparency of fees
Transparency is measured by the concierge company’s ability to present an overall cost over a year, not just a rate. Ask whether the commission is quoted excluding or including VAT, on what basis it is calculated, and which costs are added to it: cleaning, linen, consumables, onboarding, maintenance. Any margins on subcontracted services or on services sold to guests should also be disclosed. A clear offer is not necessarily the cheapest, but it avoids unpleasant surprises at the end of the season. Compare proposals on an identical simulation.
Questions to ask a concierge company before signing
The meeting with the concierge company is the moment to turn these criteria into verifiable commitments. Prepare it like a job interview: the same questions for each candidate, answers noted, supporting documents requested. The points below summarise the essentials to obtain in writing, before moving on to incident handling, references and the contract itself.
- Ask for the professional licence and the financial guarantee certificate if the concierge company collects your rent.
- Have them describe, step by step, how a stay unfolds from booking to the guest’s departure.
- Insist on a sample owner statement and a cleaning checklist with photo checks.
- Have them simulate the overall cost over a typical year, commission and additional fees included.
- Read the clauses on duration, notice and exclusivity before any discussion of the rate.
Incident handling and on-call cover
A water leak on a Saturday evening, a guest locked out at the door or a cloudy pool in the middle of August: incident handling reveals how solid an organisation is. Ask who answers the phone outside office hours, what response time is targeted and how you are kept informed. Agree together a spending threshold above which the concierge company must obtain your approval before calling in a tradesperson. Ask also about how complaints and negative reviews are handled, as they require a prompt and measured response. These rules should appear in the contract rather than in a verbal exchange.
Verifiable references
References from other owners are valuable, provided they can be verified. Ask to speak to one or two clients whose property resembles yours in size, location or level of service. Look at the listings managed by the concierge company and read the guest reviews, paying attention to the responses given to criticism. A discreet firm may legitimately decline to reveal the addresses of its properties, but it should be able to show you concrete examples of its work. Be wary of testimonials that cannot be cross-checked.
Contract term and notice
The contract sets the initial commitment period, the renewal conditions and the termination notice, which vary considerably from one concierge company to another. Check the exclusivity clauses, what happens to bookings in progress if you leave and who owns the listing and its review history. Also make sure the contract reiterates the regulatory obligations: registration number, changement d’usage (change of use) where the municipality requires it, and the approval of the co-ownership. The legislature heavily penalises intermediaries who assist in fraud, with fines of up to €100,000 (law of 19 November 2024, known as the loi Le Meur, or Le Meur law), which encourages reputable firms to be rigorous. A concierge company attentive to your compliance also protects your property.
Frequently asked questions about choosing a luxury concierge company
Must a concierge company always hold a carte G?
No, only if it collects funds on your behalf (rent, security deposits, tourist tax). A concierge company that confines itself to practical services, with payments made directly by the platform into your account, can operate without a licence. Letting intermediation, for its part, falls under the carte T.
How many concierge companies should you meet before choosing?
There is no rule, but comparing at least two proposals on the same annual simulation helps put an offer into perspective. The key is to apply the same grid of criteria to each. A targeted introduction can save you this shortlisting time.
Does Conciergerie.luxe manage properties itself?
No. Conciergerie.luxe is an introduction service, free and with no commitment for the owner. We look for a concierge company active in your area, which then carries out the services according to its offer and the contract signed directly with you.
Our guides help owners of high-end properties understand short-term rentals in France: regulations, tax, and choosing and overseeing a concierge company. They are for information only and do not replace advice from a legal or tax professional.