Announcing the 2016 New York City Association of Hotel Concierges Board of Directors

PRESIDENT

Ms. Loida Diaz

Concierge, The Trump International Hotel and Tower

Loida Diaz, Concierge of the Trump International Hotel and Tower, three-term President of the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges.

Loida Diaz, Concierge at the Trump International Hotel and Tower, has been reappointed President of the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges (NYCAHC). Ms. Diaz has served on the organization’s Board of Directors since 2003, and was the recipient of the 2009 Concierge of the Year Award. A longtime member of Les Clefs d’Or USA as well, Ms. Diaz serves on the Les Clefs d’Or Retirement and Recognition Committee, and is an active member of the Tiger Raffle committee, a fundraising raffle associated with the annual Congresses of Les Clefs d’Or.  

Ms. Diaz is passionate about developing the concierge community and its relationship with New York City at large. She explains, “As one of the pioneer members of the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges, I take great pride in the progress we have made building this organization into one of the most respected civic organizations in New York City. Concierges are the ambassadors for this great city, and we take great pride in giving back to the community through the Association.”

Ms. Diaz has been instrumental in the success of many initiatives for the Association over a decade and served in leadership positions including Social Director, Membership Director, Vice President Public Relations and appointed, three-term President. She was instrumental in building the Association’s funding program through corporate membership. Under her Presidency, the Association has reached its highest fundraising goal for the organization and, as a result, the NYCAHC Crisis Fund was established to help its members. It has also simultaneously supported several NYC based-charities

“I give credit to my Board and the support of our members for achieving our goals during my tenure as President,” says Diaz. “Likewise, I am looking forward to be working once again with a dynamic and visionary Board of Directors. I strongly believe that the success of our organization depends on its Board members’ hard work and the seemingly never-ending dedication of our members. I sincerely thank every single one of them for their passion and support.”

Ms. Diaz and her new Board will undoubtedly bring the organization to a new level of professionalism and respect across the New York City community.

 

FIRST VICE PRESIDENT and MEMBERSHIP DIRECTOR

Ms. Regena Falling

Chef Concierge, Park Hyatt New York

Ms. Regena Falling has been appointed First Vice President and Membership Director of the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges.

Regena Falling, Chef Concierge at Park Hyatt New York, was appointed Vice President of the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges (NYCAHC) effective January 18, 2016. Regena has been a member of the Association since 2010. She has participated in many of our charity events and served on our Ethics Committee.

Ms. Falling has previously served on the Board of Les Clefs USA as Director of Membership, Vice President and President. She has also served as President of the Concierge Guild of Seattle and Co-Chair of the Les Clefs d’Or Pan American Congress Seattle. She was honored by her peers with the Silver Plume Award for Chef Concierge of the Year at the 2015 Hotel Excellence Awards/Silver Plume Awards, held on January 25, 2016.   

Ms. Falling is very enthusiastic about her new role within NYCAHC. She explains, “Being a concierge has allowed me to live my life giving of myself; mentoring colleagues, befriending guests, and letting the joy I receive by helping others feed my soul.”  She views her position of Director of Membership as a wonderful opportunity.  “I will have the chance to continue to share my love of our profession by helping to encourage and mentor our newest colleagues.” Ms. Falling looks forward to working with the outgoing Membership Director, Nicole Longchamp, to learn all she can about the Association’s Membership process and to continue in her footsteps.

In her role as Vice President, Ms. Falling hopes to “provide support to our President, Board of Directors and our members—keeping always in sight the goal to streamline our meetings and encourage input and participation from all of our members.  I promise to be forever mindful of the trust the membership has placed in me.”

 

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT and SPEAKER

Michael Cerrato

Concierge, The Surrey

Mr. Michael Cerrato has been appointed Second Vice President and Speaker of the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges.

A concierge for 29 years, Mr. Cerrato, Concierge at The Surrey, was appointed Vice President and Speaker of the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges (NYCAHC) effective January 18, 2016. Michael has been a member of the Association since 2001 and has served as Chair of the Bylaws Committee, Chair of Membership, and on the committee for the annual Concierge Choice Awards.  

Mr. Cerrato has been a member of Les Clefs d’Or since 1995, serving on the Board of LCD as Treasurer for one year.

Mr. Cerrato is very enthusiastic about his new role within NYCAHC. “As Corporate Membership Liaison, I want to foster deeper relations between the Concierge Association and restaurants, tourist attractions, service providers and other vendors,” he explains. “As Speaker, I want to encourage open and clear communication between the Board and the Membership.”

He also hopes to encourage greater participation in the decision-making process by the Membership at large, and promote more interest in the bylaws and parliamentary procedure, a particular interest of his.

“The bylaws and parliamentary procedure are sometimes seen as cold, stuffy, and uninteresting,” he says, “but really they are meant to not only make sure that we have clear goals but give us the tools to attain them efficiently, impartially, and clearly; how we do things is as important as what things we are doing.”

Mr. Cerrato is excited—and delighted—to be working with both the new faces on the Board and the veterans, and sees great growth and progress for the NYCAHC in the future.

 

SECRETARY

Mr. Graham Thomas

Concierge, The Waldorf Astoria

Mr. Graham Thomas has been appointed the Secretary of the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges.

Graham Thomas, Concierge at the Waldorf Astoria, was appointed Secretary of the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges (NYCAHC) effective January 18. 2016. Graham has been a member of the Association since 2011. He has participated in many Association-sponsored events, particularly the Association’s annual Trade Show, in which representatives of vendors, attractions, restaurants and other service partners are afforded the opportunity to meet members of the Association face to face.  He is excited to continue in his community service efforts.

Mr. Thomas came to the Waldorf Astoria in 2007, after working at the City Club Hotel previously for two years. In 2015, Graham was accepted into Les Clefs d’Or, and is eager to become more involved with the both Les Clefs d’Or and NYCAHC in 2016 and beyond.

Mr. Thomas is very enthusiastic about his new role within NYCAHC. He states,“I am humbled to be elected to the Board by my colleagues and peers and I look forward to serving you this year as Secretary. My hat goes off to the outgoing Board. I will follow in their footsteps of hard work and leadership as I continue to learn and extend upon the great progress they have made over the years.”

 

TREASURER

Ms. Aisha Thomas

Chef Concierge, The Gramercy Park Hotel

Ms. Aisha Thomas’ two-year term on the Board continues, and she will continue to serve as the Treasurer of the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges.

Ms. Thomas is the Chef Concierge of the Gramercy Park Hotel. Her career as a concierge spans 18 years, formerly serving at the W Union Square and the Doubletree Times Square.  She is a member of Les Clefs d’Or USA, and serves on that organization’s Membership Committee.

As the Treasurer of NYCAHC, Ms. Thomas plans on continuing to define and execute a clear financial path for the organization to grow and contribute more to New York City and the Concierge community. She feels that the financial stewardship is of utmost importance— “It is critical that we continue to find new sources of revenue to fund our charitable outreach and our operations to advocate for the Concierge community in New York City.”

 

PUBLIC RELATIONS AND MEDIA DIRECTOR

Mr. William Hawkins

Concierge, Mandarin Oriental New York

Mr. William Hawkins has been appointed Director of Public Relations and Media of the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges (NYCAHC), effective January 18, 2016.  

A member of NYCAHC since 2010, Mr. Hawkins previously served on the Association’s Membership Committee. He has participated in many of the Association’s charitable endeavors, including the MillionTreesNYC campaign, the Fare Share Friday dinner with Crossroads Community Services, and the AIDS Walk, where the NYCAHC team broke its previous fundraising records in 2015. He was honored to have contributed to the team’s efforts to such an extent that he was designated a “Star Walker” by the AIDS Walk organizers.  

Prior to working in hospitality, Mr. Hawkins was a licensed attorney and commercial litigator for seven years before leaving that career in 2006 to follow a passion for service. He began this new career at the Mark Hotel, then served as a Concierge at The Alex Hotel for more than five years before he moved to Mandarin Oriental New York in 2012. Mr. Hawkins was honored to have been accepted as a member of Les Clefs d’Or USA in 2014.  

As the new Director of Public Relations, he will continue the effective work of his predecessor, outgoing Public Relations Director Mr. John Janusz, by continuing to cultivate and enhance the organization’s image in the public arena. “In addition to continuing and growing our wonderful participation in AIDS Walk, MillionTreesNYC, Toys for Tots, and all the other initiatives, I would love to see expanded participation from a broader cross-section of our membership,” he states. “I would also like to solicit input from the membership regarding any new endeavors or events they would like us to undertake, so that everyone has a stake in our efforts.”  

Mr. Hawkins would also like to work with the media, both in traditional channels as well as social media to shape the perception of the profession of Concierge in these changing times—“I am so honored that my fellow concierge members have entrusted me with this position. I firmly believe that, as we practice our profession in an ever more diverse environment of electronic gadgets, websites, and service providers, we need to emphasize a focus on the core strengths of the professional concierge—our discernment, our personalized attention and our integrity—as we continue to demonstrate and communicate that the professional hotel concierge is an essential element to providing the best visitor experience that a New York City hotel can offer to its guests.”

 

SOCIAL DIRECTOR

Mr. Marco De Los Rios

Concierge, The W New York

Mr. Marco De Los Rios has been appointed the Social Director of the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges. 

Marco De Los Rios, Concierge at the W New York, was appointed Social Director of the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges (NYCAHC) effective January 18, 2016. He has been a member of the Association since 2013. During his time in the Association, he has been an active participant, serving on both the Membership and the Concierge Choice Awards Committees from his induction in 2013.   

Mr. De Los Rios has worked in a number of leading hotels in New York City since 1999. He is originally from Lima, Peru, where he earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Hospitality Management.

Mr. De Los Rios is very enthusiastic about his new role within NYCAHC. “I ran for the Board of Directors at NYAHC to reach out to diverse potential new members, and to bring new ideas and new destinations for our members to promote in this beautiful city,” he says. “As Social Director, I will work hard to ensure we are seen as an essential part of the Hotel and Tourism Industries. New York City is growing quickly and I would like every member to experience as many of the upcoming new cultural events, as well new and unique restaurants, tourist attractions, Broadway shows and more. It will be exciting to explore philanthropic partnerships, as well—there are so many opportunities that can open new doors, and lead to new opportunities, and most importantly, new friends.”  

 

Mr. Domenic Alfonzetti

Concierge, St. Regis New York

Advisor/Past President

Mr. Domenic Alfonzetti will continue to serve as the Advisor to the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges.

Domenic Alfonzetti presently serves as concierge at the St. Regis Hotel, and was formerly the Chef Concierge of the InterContinental New York Barclay. He remains the Board of Director’s Advisor for the fifth year in a row.

Mr. Alfonzetti is one of the most distinguished and experienced concierges in New York City. He first served on the Association’s Board in 1995, was a past Vice President of the Association and served as President from 2010-2012. He has been a hotel Chef Concierge for the past 25 years in New York City. He is currently serves as a committee member on the Les Clefs d’Or Foundation of the Americas.

Mr. Alfonzetti is best known for his warm, engaging personality and his ability to communicate to his guests and colleagues the hidden secrets that make New York City the world’s top tourist destination. Mr. Alfonzetti is passionate about developing the concierge community and its relationship with New York City at large. He states, “As one of the pioneer members of the New York City Association of Hotel Concierges and past President, I will continue to mentor and help the Board of Directors take the Association to a new level of excellence through service.”  

Mr. Alfonzetti’s vision has been outlined and carried on by the incumbent Board. He will continue to help improve several outreach programs and support the community with charitable giving. Mr. Alfonzetti has been a fundamental member and has brought us back to the core principles so elegantly outlined in the credo “In Service through Friendship.”

 

Media Contact:   Bill Hawkins, Public Relations and Media Director, New York City Association of Hotel Concierges.  

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The New York City Association of Hotel Concierges is a not-for-profit organization that works to foster the professional development of concierges in the hotel industry by promoting tourism and the highest standards for our guests. To learn more about NYAHC and our profession please visit our website at www.nycahc.org