concierge standing behind a desk

Bylaws

 Article I

The Society

Section. 1.1. Name. The name of this organization shall be the International Society of Residential Concierge.

Section 1.2. Offices. Offices of the Society shall be located at 7750 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, MD 20814 and/or in such other localities as may be determined by the Board of Directors.

Article II

Objectives

The purposes of this organization are to function and act as a society of professional residential concierge in branded residential properties across the globe. The society will create and foster the talents of the highest caliber residential concierge with a focus on training, development and sharing of knowledge, and the delivery of world class concierge services to residential Owners, Residents, Members and Guests.

Article III

Structure

The Society shall be composed of members. It shall have:

I. a Board of Directors (hereafter, “Board”) which, in addition to such duties as may be prescribed in these Bylaws, shall act as the policy making and administrative body;

II. Committees of the Society; and
III. such volunteers as are necessary to accomplish its purposes.

Article IV

Membership

Section. 4.1. Members. Members of the International Society of Residential Concierge will be considered as such if they have met the qualifications as prescribed in these Bylaws, have been approved as a member by the Board of Directors, and have paid their dues.

Section. 4.2. Membership Levels and Qualifications. The Society shall have three levels of membership and the qualifications of each is as follows:

Section. 4.2. Membership Levels and Qualifications. The Society shall have two levels of membership and the qualifications of each is as follows:


I. Silver Level:

  • Must have at least one year of experience as a concierge at a residential or condominium hotel property
  • Must have been nominated by a fellow concierge, a manager, and a Resident
  • Must have submitted an essay on the importance of a residential concierge in the service commitment to Owner, Residents, Members and Guests
  • Completion of Silver level examination


II. Gold Level:

  • Must have five years of experience as a concierge at a residential or condominium hotel property
  • Must have been nominated by two fellow Society Members
  • Must have submitted an essay on the importance of a residential concierge in the service commitment to Owner, Residents, Members and Guests
  • Must have three (3) letters of recommendation from Owners, Residents or Members
  • Must attend regular monthly meeting with a local concierge association or with fellow residential concierge from another property in the absence of a local concierge association
  • Completion of Gold Level Examination
  • Or have transferred from a hotel concierge position with Les Clefs d’Or designation.

Section 4.3. Governing Document Acknowledgement. All members must sign and adhere to the governing documents of the Society, as well as the Residential Concierge Code of Ethics, which may be updated from time to time, and acknowledged annually by all members.

Section 4.4. Section 4.4. Application Process. New members will be inducted into the Society twice annually. The Board of Directors will meet to vote on applications during the months of June and December, and an applicant requires a majority vote of the Board to be accepted as a new member.

Section 4.5. Free from Discrimination. Membership is open to any residential concierge who subscribes to the objectives of the Society, without regard to sex, race, religion, nationality, age, sexual orientation, disability, marital or veteran status.

Section 4.6. Suspension of Membership. Membership of the Society shall be suspended if the member is not in good standing in regard to either payment of dues or disciplinary action. Disciplinary action can be brought by a concierge’s property or the Board of Directors and may include but is not limited to a violation of the Code of Ethics or a member who has been found to have acted in an unprofessional manner. During a period of suspension, the member will no longer be able to portray themselves as a member of the Society, nor use any of the insignia or branded items that represent the Society. Members will have no rights to vote during suspension.

Section 4.7. Termination of Membership. Membership shall terminate on December 31st of such year that a concierge is no longer employed as a Residential Concierge in a branded residential property. The Board of Directors can at their sole discretion and with a majority vote of the Board, determine that an infraction of the Code of Ethics or unprofessional conduct to be grievously serious resulting in the termination of a membership. At such time, the prior member will no longer be able to portray themselves as a member of the Society, nor use any of the insignia or branded items that represent the Society.

Article V

Meetings

Section. 5.1. Annual Meeting. A meeting of the members shall be held once annually for the purpose of voting for directors of the board and the transaction of other business as determined by the Board of Directors and announced in an agenda presented with the notice of the meeting.

Section. 5.2. Time and Place. The annual meeting of the members will take place at a location selected by the Board of Directors, and shall occur in the first six months of the calendar year.

Section. 5.3. Notice of Annual Meeting. Written notice of the date and location of the annual meeting shall be sent to all members via electronic mail, not less than thirty nor more than sixty days before the date of the meeting.

Section. 5.4. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the members may be called by the President of the Board of Directors, or by the President at the request in writing of the members of the Society if such request shall state the purpose or purposes of the proposed meeting.

Section. 5.5. Notice of Special Meeting. Notice of a special meeting of the members stating the date and time of the meeting, and the purpose(s) of the meeting, shall be sent to all members via electronic mail, not less than ten nor more than thirty days before the date of the meeting. Special meetings may be held virtually and not at a physical location.


Section. 5.6. Voting. All members in good standing in regard to both dues and disciplinary action shall be entitled to attend and vote at all meetings of members. Each member shall be entitled to one vote unless otherwise stated in section 5.8. for the purpose of electing directors of the board. Votes may be cast in person at a meeting or by ballot delivered by the member to the Society. Voting by proxy shall not be permitted. A list of members entitled to vote will be made available by the Secretary at any meeting at which members are required to vote.

Section. 5.7. Quorum. Quorum will be meeting by the attendance in person or via proxy of twenty five percent (25%) of the total number of members. Proxies may only be used for the purpose of achieving quorum and do not transfer the authority to cast a vote. A proxy form shall only be valid for the specific meeting for which it was issued. If quorum is not present at a meeting of the members, the meeting shall be adjourned until such time that a quorum can be met and the business as outlined in the original notice can be transacted.

Section. 5.8. Election of Directors. Directors shall be elected by a plurality-majority system of voting, provided that the number of members voting is equal to quorum. Members can cast a number of votes equal to each open position.

Section. 5.9. Inspectors of Elections. The Board of Directors may, but are not required to, appoint inspectors of election. An inspectors duties may include verifying a member is on the list of members entitled to vote, verify that quorum has been met at a meeting at which votes are being cast,

that votes are cast in compliance with the procedures as outlined in these Bylaws, and votes are tabulated and reported to the Board of Directors upon completion of the voting.

Section 5.10. Rules of Order. The rules contained in the current edition of Robert’s Rules of Order shall govern the conduct of meetings of the Society in all cases to which they are applicable and which they are not inconsistent with these Bylaws and a special rules the Society or the Board may adopt.

Article VI

Board of Directors

Section. 6.1. Authority and Responsibility. The governing body of this Society shall be the Board. The Board shall have supervision, control, and direction of the affairs of the Society, its committees, and publications; shall determine its policies or changes therein; shall actively pursue its objectives and supervise the disbursement of its funds. The Board may adopt such rules and regulations for the conduct of its business as shall be deemed advisable.

Section 6.2. Composition. The Board shall be composed of a President, Treasurer, Secretary, and six Board members-at-large. Each board member term will be three years, but for the purpose of staggering the terms, the first board will be elected based on the three directors with the highest number of votes serving three years, the next three directors serving two year terms and the next three directors serving one year terms.

Section. 6.3. Qualification of Directors. With the exception of the initial Directors, each Director shall have been a member of the Society for at least two years and have attended at least two annual meetings. All Directors must be a member in good standing.

Section. 6.4. Vacancies. A vacancy on the Board of Directors for any reason may be filled by a vote of a majority of the directors then in office. A director elected to fill a vacancy shall hold office until the next Annual Meeting at which the election of directions is in the regular order of business.

Section. 6.5. Resignation of Director. The resignation of a director will be effective as of the date of receipt in writing of the resignation.

Section. 6.6. Removal of Director. A director may be removed with or without cause by the affirmative vote of two-thirds of the members entitled to vote on the removal of directors, at a meeting at which a quorum is present, provided written notice of the meeting is delivered to all such members stating that a purpose of the meeting is to vote on the removal of the named director(s).

Section. 6.7. Nomination of Candidates for the Board of Directors. Eight weeks prior to the Annual Meeting date, the Secretary will send a call for candidates to all members advising them of the election of three directors. Any member in good standing and meeting the qualifications of Directors (Section 6.2) may submitted themselves for consideration as a candidate for office by submitting a letter and a one page biography to the Board of Directors four weeks prior to the date of the Annual Meeting. The names of all candidates and their biographies will be sent to the members prior to the Annual Meeting.

Article VII

Meetings of Directors

Section. 7.1. Location of Meetings. The members of the Board may participate in any meeting by teleconference call, videoconference call, or by any means of communication by which all persons participating in the meeting are able to hear or to interact with one another, and such participation shall constitute presence in person at such meeting.

Section 7.2. Regular Meetings. The Board shall hold at least three meetings annually. Regular meetings of the Board may be held with 72 hours notice at such time and place as shall from time to time be determined by the Board.

Section. 7.3. Organization Meeting. An organization meeting of the Board of Directors shall be held no more than thirty days after the Annual Meeting to elect the officers of the Board.

Section. 7.4. Special Meetings. Special meeting of directors may be called by the President or the Secretary, or at the request of a majority of Directors, with five days notice to each director. Notice must be provided via electronic mail and state the purpose of the special meeting.

Section. 7.5. Quorum. At all meetings of the Board of Directors a majority of the entire Board shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. With the presence of quorum, a vote of a majority of the directors present at the time of the vote, will considered to have passed. If a quorum is not achieved, the directors present at such meeting may adjourn the meeting from time to time until a quorum shall be present.

Section. 7.6. Minutes. The Secretary shall ensure that all meetings of the Board and all meetings of the members have an appointed secretary for the purpose of taking minutes of all proceedings, and recording all votes. All minutes will be kept in a book solely for that purpose.

Article VIII

Committees

Section 8.1. Committee Structure. The Society shall be organized with the following type of committee structure:

I. Subcommittees of the Board composed of members of the Board which are intended to facilitate the work of the Board in providing advisory information;

II. Standing committees which are identified in the Bylaws and which are intended to facilitate the cooperation of the Society as indicated by the Bylaws;

III. Advisory committees operating with broad descriptions and which provide advisory and administrative activity; and Task Forces which perform specific activities for a defined term.

Section 8.2. Committee Formation and Operation. The Board shall create and dissolve each committee, designate charges, and establish policy with regard to budget. The President shall appoint members to the committees of the Society; committee chairs shall be appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Board. The following are standing committees of the Society:

I. Nomination Committee
II. Annual Meeting Committee
III. Committee on Ethics and Professional Standards

Section 8.3. President’s Advisory Board. All Past-Presidents of the Society shall compose the President’s Advisory Board, to which board the Board of Directors may turn for advice at any time. Said advice, however, is not binding upon the Board, but merely advisory in character. Each President, upon completion of office, shall become a member of the President’s Advisory Board and shall become its Chairperson for the ensuing two years.

Article IX

Dues and Fees

Section. 9.1. Dues. The amount of the annual dues shall be determined by the Board of Directors and shall be payable by January 1 each year. All members will be members for the full calendar year which will also represent the fiscal year. For new members, the first year of dues will be considered the initiation fee and are due on February 1 of the first year of membership.

Section. 9.2. Special Assessments. The Board of Directors may be required from time to time to issue a special assessment to the members of the Society. The purpose of the special assessment must be stated in any notice of intent to collect a special assessment, and fund can only be used in accordance with the intended purpose stated.

Section. 9.3. Failure to Pay Dues and Special Assessments. Members who fail to pay their dues by the due date or any additional assessments as determined by the Board of Directors shall be assessed a late fee in the amount of 10% of the dues and notified that they have thirty days to pay any outstanding amounts. Any member who fails to pay any outstanding amounts owed by the date indicated in the notice will be suspended. A further notice will be issued to the member providing ninety days to pay all outstanding amounts at which time the membership status will move from suspended to terminated.

Article X

Fiscal Procedures

Section 10.1. Fiscal Year. The fiscal year of the Society shall be aligned with the calendar year.

Section 10.2. Funds. The Board may establish and maintain designated funds as set forth in Board policy.

Section 10.3. Annual Budget. The Board shall adopt a budget each fiscal year.

Section 10.4. Non-Compensation. No member of the Board acting in the capacity as an officer or board member-at-large shall receive compensation for services rendered. Travel expenses personally incurred by the Board members attending to the business of the Society shall by paid by the Society in accordance with rules and procedures adopted by the Board.

Section. 10.5. Annual Financial Report and Audit. The Treasurer shall provide to the Board at each regular meeting a report of the Society’s financial status. An annual financial report subsequently shall be published by the Board. The Board shall appoint an independent Certified Public Accountant to audit the financial records of the Society and submit an annual audit report.

Section 10.6. Deficit Financing. No financial obligation in excess of funds available in the treasury shall be assumed by the Board or by any officer on behalf of the Society except when approved by a two-thirds vote of the Board.

Section 10.7. Indemnification. Every officer, Board member, employee of the Society, and such others as specified from time to time by the Board, shall be indemnified by the Society against all expenses and liabilities, including counsel fees, reasonably incurred or imposed upon them in connection with any proceeding to which they may be a party or in which they may become involved, by reason of being or having been an officer, Board member, or employee of the Society, or any settlement thereof, whether the person is an officer, Board member, or employee at the time such expenses are incurred, except in such cases wherein the officer, Board member, or employee is adjudged guilty of will ful misfeasance or malfeasance in the performance of duties. The foregoing right of indemnification shall be in addition to, and not exclusive of, all other rights to which the indemnified may be entitled.

Article XI

Amendments

Section 11.1. Proposing Amendments. Amendments to these Bylaws may be proposed by the Board on its own initiative or upon petition of 25% of voting members of the Society. Such amendments shall be submitted to the Board of Directors for review and for preparation of a recommendation to the Membership.

Section 11.2. Approval of Bylaws. Amendments to these Bylaws shall be approved by vote at any of the following: 1) by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the members at an Annual Meeting; 2) by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the members at a special meeting of the Society duly called; or 3) by a majority vote of members via electronic ballot. In each instance, written notice of proposed changes shall be sent to the members at least 30 days before such meeting or voting deadline.