(upbeat music)
- This is the only place in San Francisco
you can see bison.
This is the best spot to view the Golden Gate Bridge.
This is one of the oldest gay bars in the city, cheers.
But it all starts here, at the concierge desk
of the Fairmont, San Francisco.
(upbeat music)
I'm Tom Wolfe, and I'm America's first concierge.
I was very lucky because my parents loved to go out,
so I was constantly seeing the world of hospitality,
the world of new restaurants, the world of sophistication,
and that's kind of where the seed was planted,
shall we say.
My first hotel job was working in Washington D.C.,
and I then went to London, and the general manager
asked me, "Have you got a morning suit?"
Luckily, I knew what a morning suit was,
and I said, “Of course, Mr. Schwinter, I do.”
My next port of call would be Paris.
I managed to get a job at a very luxurious hotel
right on the Champs-Elysées, and I learned many lessons.
I made my way back to the United States,
where I found myself in San Francisco.
I started as the concierge at the Fairmont in 1974.
The Fairmont Hotel occupies an entire square block.
The main building opened in 1907, one year to the day
after the great fire.
If these walls could whisper, what stories they would tell.
A secret door, that could be used for a discreet exit.
The Tonga Room was once The Fairmont swimming pool.
If you can think of somebody important, they were here.
Whether they were from the world of Hollywood,
or the world of politics.
Pretty much every president has stayed here at one time
or another.
And we had the first person to break the color barrier
in the Venetian Room, where an entertainer of color
would be able to stay at the same place
where they performed.
The Fairmont philosophy has always been,
the best kind of guest you can hope for is a repeat guest.
(light music)
When I'm out and about walking to this very day,
I'm still exploring.
And I find these little streets that I haven't been down,
or I find a shop that I've not been in,
and I take the time to go in,
say hello and introduce myself.
It's a constant learning experience.
And the minute you stop learning, well, you might as well
stop working.
(light music)