Such an unusual request is, fortunately (for both horses and concierges), rare. The most frequent request is a restaurant reservation, followed closely by arranging transportation and scoring tickets to events. But there's plenty a concierge can do that even the savviest travelers are not aware of, from replacing bathroom amenities with a preferred brand, to setting up after–hours museum tours, to serving as a personal shopper. Jonathan Edelman, a Manhattan banker, recalls when he solicited the help of the concierge at the InterContinental Hong Kong to help him find a particular Cartier Tank watch for a colleague. Not only did the concierge locate four places that sold the timepiece, but he then helped him negotiate. Edelman ended up buying the watch for half the U.S. retail price and "twenty–five percent off what I generally found in Hong Kong," he says. Similarly, we've heard tales of concierges buying cuff links, picking up prescriptions, running out to buy lipstick, and even procuring a grand piano on a moment's notice for an impromptu party in a hotel suite.

Just as important, a good concierge will serve as a tutor on local etiquette and street smarts—whether it's following the local custom of covering your head in a house of worship or avoiding a dangerous neighborhood.

A guest's relationship with the hotel concierge often begins well before check–in. "We do a lot of planning for the future," says Wittorp–De Jonge. "We prefer that." Though many don't realize it, guests can call the concierge desk as much as a month before they arrive to discuss the objectives of their trip—whether it's business, romance, food, art, sports, or college tours for prospective students and their parents. With notice, the desk can make all arrangements and appointments and have a detailed hour–by–hour itinerary prepared by the time you arrive. You can then adjust the schedule as needed.

At the best hotels, the concierge often doubles as a travel agent: He or she can confirm flights, change seat assignments, and even plan and book an entire vacation, including securing visas and printing boarding passes. Mandarin Oriental's Abisror, who got his Clefs d'Or membership while working at Manhattan's Four Seasons, has arranged holidays for guests, particularly Europeans headed to the Caribbean and to other American cities.

Loyal guests who develop a rapport with a particular concierge often use them as a sort of personal assistant, even when they're not staying in the hotel. Plenty of concierges tell stories of extra–mile duties. Little, the motorcycle buff, recently returned from London, where a client who'd relocated to Los Angeles sent him to fetch her beloved Jack Russell terrier. He spent a few days in a hotel off Hyde Park, getting to know the family pet, and then flew back with the dog in business class.

"There's no limit to the services we can provide," says Roderick Levejac, concierge at Paris's Four Seasons Hôtel George V. "That is, as long as the request remains moral and legal." This was not always the case. Long ago, in fact, European concierges had a reputation for being pimps—at least in circles that didn't mince words. Today's concierges say they don't go anywhere near "funny massages," but that doesn't mean they don't get asked. One former concierge at a trendy Manhattan hotel admits that he received as many requests for escorts as he did for dinner reservations. "Male, female—it was just insane," he says. "I couldn't book them because it's against the law, so I'd give them the phone numbers to do it directly."