Abbie Manning runs her business by the British seaside. Courtesy of Abbie Manning Ex-superyacht chief stewardess Abbie Manning runs a concierge and lifestyle management business. The majority of Manning's clients are high-net-worth individuals, like CEOs and entrepreneurs. Requests have ranged from unpacking groceries to driving a client's Bentley from England to Italy. This as-told-to slideshow is based on a conversation with Abbie Manning, 30, owner of SW VIP Concierge, a luxury concierge and lifestyle management company based in South Devon, UK. The following has been edited for length and clarity. I worked as a superyacht stewardess across Europe for over five years. When I came back to the UK, I spotted a gap in the market where I could apply the experience I had gained working with high-net-worth individuals at sea to serving them on land. I live near Salcombe, a beach town in the UK popular with wealthy people who travel here for vacation or to stay at their second homes. The majority of my concierge clients are CEOs and entrepreneurs. I try to remove as many decisions as possible for clients. These are super busy people; they know what their time is worth, so they outsource what they can to spend valuable time with their family and their businesses. My services could cost anywhere from $1,600 to $3,000 a month, depending on the number of hours I'm needed. Rather than my clients having to find different suppliers for each task or different providers for each service, they can just come to me, and I arrange everything for them. Here are some of my most requested services. I book travel and experiences. Courtesy of Abbie Manning My clients travel extensively for both business and pleasure, so I'll book flights and accommodation, as well as design itineraries. One challenging request was from a client attending a business festival in France. They wanted to take some of their own clients out for dinner that night, and all the restaurants were super busy. I had about an hour and a half to find somewhere they could eat that wasn't too far to walk. Luckily, I had spent quite a lot of time in France while yachting, so I had a good idea of the restaurants there. That was quite fun. I thrive off requests like these because you have a strict timeframe, and you know you can't let them down. I manage all kinds of life admin. Abbie was requested to drive her client's Bentley to Italy. Courtesy of Abbie Manning From making name changes for clients' family members to organizing shipping from the US to the UK for very large cargo, carrying out admin is an everyday part of my job. I even have power of attorney over one client's estate in Tuscany, which is up for sale. So I've had to liaise with Italian estate agents, organize a new photo shoot, and put up listings. This same client asked me to drive a Bentley from the UK to Tuscany for him. It took about three days and was really good fun. I make sure vacation homes are guest-ready. Manning at her client's estate in Tuscany Courtesy of Abbie Manning I do a lot of vacation home changeovers in the summer months. This is about making sure everything is clean and in order at a rental property before the next guests check in. If, for example, the dishwasher is broken, I have to find someone to fix it, usually within six hours before the next set of guests check in. I have a team I hire on a freelance basis to do the cleaning. That enables me to float around and ensure all the properties are maintained to the highest standards. I liaise with the vacation-leasing companies, make sure I've got every changeover date in my diary, and then send them to the designated cleaning teams for each house. I plan bespoke dinner and cocktail parties. Manning curates cocktail menus for clients and their guests. Courtesy of Abbie Manning My time working on boats involved plenty of drink requests, which means I have the skills to curate cocktail evenings for clients. I will speak to the clients beforehand, work out what sort of cocktails they like, and what their tastes are. Then I'll go back to them with X amount of bespoke cocktails. I recently coordinated a big dinner party for a client and their guests. I sourced a private chef for them, arrived before everyone else came down for dinner, and decorated the table. I did all the napkin folds with the place cards, crockery, cutlery, and tablecloths. I then made cocktails for them afterwards. I even unpack groceries. Manning's TikTok page went viral when she posted a video of her unpacking groceries. Courtesy of Abbie Manning I figured a lot of people don't want to unpack their groceries after traveling to a vacation home. With a car full of kids, beach stuff, dogs, and suitcases, they might not even have the space, or want to drag the kids around the grocery store. Quite often, they will organize the grocery shop online themselves and then let me know when it's being delivered. I'll get to the house in advance, make sure the fridge is cleaned, and unpack the groceries for them. It means that when they arrive, they find nice, chilled drinks in the fridge and everything where it should be. It just takes that one unenjoyable or stressful element out of going on vacation. I'll manage clients' laundry. A City worker in London carrying his dry cleaning. Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images I often pick up people's clothes, take them to the laundry, and drop them back in their house. I had a request recently to steam the bridal party and groomsmen's suits and dresses before a client's wedding day. I make clients' homes feel like hotels by providing breakfast. Years of working as a stewardess mean Manning can create table set-ups. Courtesy of Abbie Manning I get requests to deliver fresh breakfast hampers to clients in the mornings. Sometimes, I even go to some houses and make breakfast for them myself. It means they can enjoy breakfast in their own home, but it's made by somebody else. I do all the tidying and cleanup afterward, so it's basically like being in a hotel with breakfast provided, but in the comfort of your vacation home or second home. Read the original article on Business Insider
Abbie Manning runs her business by the British seaside.Courtesy of Abbie Manning Ex-superyacht chief stewardess Abbie Manning runs a concierge and lifestyle management business. The majority of Manning's clients are high-net-worth individuals, like CEOs and entrepreneurs. Requests have ranged from unpacking groceries to driving a client's Bentley from England to Italy. This as-told-to slideshow is based on a conversation with Abbie Manning, 30, owner of SW VIP Concierge, a luxury concierge and lifestyle management company based in South Devon, UK. The following has been edited for length and clarity. I worked as a superyacht stewardess across Europe for over five years. When I came back to the UK, I spotted a gap in the market where I could apply the experience I had gained working with high-net-worth individuals at sea to serving them on land. I live near Salcombe, a beach town in the UK popular with wealthy people who travel here for vacation or to stay at their second homes. The majority of my concierge clients are CEOs and entrepreneurs. I try to remove as many decisions as possible for clients. These are super busy people; they know what their time is worth, so they outsource what they can to spend valuable time with their family and their businesses. My services could cost anywhere from $1,600 to $3,000 a month, depending on the number of hours I'm needed. Rather than my clients having to find different suppliers for each task or different providers for each service, they can just come to me, and I arrange everything for them. Here are some of my most requested services. I book travel and experiences. Courtesy of Abbie Manning My clients travel extensively for both business and pleasure, so I'll book flights and accommodation, as well as design itineraries. One challenging request was from a client attending a business festival in France. They wanted to take some of their own clients out for dinner that night, and all the restaurants were super busy. I had about an hour and a half to find somewhere they could eat that wasn't too far to walk. Luckily, I had spent quite a lot of time in France while yachting, so I had a good idea of the restaurants there. That was quite fun. I thrive off requests like these because you have a strict timeframe, and you know you can't let them down. I manage all kinds of life admin. Abbie was requested to drive her client's Bentley to Italy.Courtesy of Abbie Manning From making name changes for clients' family members to organizing shipping from the US to the UK for very large cargo, carrying out admin is an everyday part of my job. I even have power of attorney over one client's estate in Tuscany, which is up for sale. So I've had to liaise with Italian estate agents, organize a new photo shoot, and put up listings. This same client asked me to drive a Bentley from the UK to Tuscany for him. It took about three days and was really good fun. I make sure vacation homes are guest-ready. Manning at her client's estate in TuscanyCourtesy of Abbie Manning I do a lot of vacation home changeovers in the summer months. This is about making sure everything is clean and in order at a rental property before the next guests check in. If, for example, the dishwasher is broken, I have to find someone to fix it, usually within six hours before the next set of guests check in. I have a team I hire on a freelance basis to do the cleaning. That enables me to float around and ensure all the properties are maintained to the highest standards. I liaise with the vacation-leasing companies, make sure I've got every changeover date in my diary, and then send them to the designated cleaning teams for each house. I plan bespoke dinner and cocktail parties. Manning curates cocktail menus for clients and their guests.Courtesy of Abbie Manning My time working on boats involved plenty of drink requests, which means I have the skills to curate cocktail evenings for clients. I will speak to the clients beforehand, work out what sort of cocktails they like, and what their tastes are. Then I'll go back to them with X amount of bespoke cocktails. I recently coordinated a big dinner party for a client and their guests. I sourced a private chef for them, arrived before everyone else came down for dinner, and decorated the table. I did all the napkin folds with the place cards, crockery, cutlery, and tablecloths. I then made cocktails for them afterwards. I even unpack groceries. Manning's TikTok page went viral when she posted a video of her unpacking groceries.Courtesy of Abbie Manning I figured a lot of people don't want to unpack their groceries after traveling to a vacation home. With a car full of kids, beach stuff, dogs, and suitcases, they might not even have the space, or want to drag the kids around the grocery store. Quite often, they will organize the grocery shop online themselves and then let me know when it's being delivered. I'll get to the house in advance, make sure the fridge is cleaned, and unpack the groceries for them. It means that when they arrive, they find nice, chilled drinks in the fridge and everything where it should be. It just takes that one unenjoyable or stressful element out of going on vacation. I'll manage clients' laundry. A City worker in London carrying his dry cleaning.Richard Baker / In Pictures via Getty Images I often pick up people's clothes, take them to the laundry, and drop them back in their house. I had a request recently to steam the bridal party and groomsmen's suits and dresses before a client's wedding day. I make clients' homes feel like hotels by providing breakfast. Years of working as a stewardess mean Manning can create table set-ups.Courtesy of Abbie Manning I get requests to deliver fresh breakfast hampers to clients in the mornings. Sometimes, I even go to some houses and make breakfast for them myself. It means they can enjoy breakfast in their own home, but it's made by somebody else. I do all the tidying and cleanup afterward, so it's basically like being in a hotel with breakfast provided, but in the comfort of your vacation home or second home. Read the original article on Business Insider
