Of genies and magic carpet rides

A glimpse into the world of luxury concierge services that arrange for exclusive experiences and make the almost-impossible possible

By Jasodhara Banerjee Forbes India Staff

Published: Feb 17, 2023 05:45:09 PM IST

Updated: Feb 17, 2023 05:47:45 PM IST

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Indian luxury concierge service Indulge Global fulfills almost-impossible-to-get requests for clients.

Luxury concierge services promise to fulfil their clients’ every whim. Whether it be access to exclusive experiences—which mere mortals wait months to get a toe-hold in—or the most elusive of products. Want to waltz into the most exclusive of nightclubs? Want to get your hands on the latest ‘it’ bag? Or dine at an almost-impossible-to-get-into restaurant? You got it all!

Karan Bhangay, founder of Indulge Global, a by-invitation-only Indian luxury concierge service, takes us into the world of over-the-top, last-minute and almost-impossible-to-get requests that he has successfully fulfilled for his clients. All for a Rs 4-lakh annual membership fee.

• We got 10 luxury Versace silverware Diwali hampers made and delivered within 12 hours in Ahmedabad as a last-minute request which was made a day before Diwali. Each hamper included Versace champagne glasses, a serving tray, a bottle holder, a dessert bowl and a candle holder, and cost Rs 30,000.

• We arranged a birthday celebration for a client to surprise his wife in Paris. It included a full Parisian experience, from booking the Suite Coco Chanel at Ritz Carlton (where Coco Chanel spent 34 years of her life in luxury and elegance), a private stylist with VIP showings at Hermes, Saint Honoré, for leather and prêt-a-porter collections, and booking tables for the couple at Le Fouquet, Guy Savoy (the world’s sixth-most renowned and expensive hotel) and Le Pershing Hall. We also arranged a private helicopter for a visit to the château de Versailles, which overlooks beautiful gardens. A personal photographer was arranged to capture beautiful moments from their time in Paris.

• We fulfilled a request to book a table at Club Gascon in London within 24 hours. Club Gascon is one of the busiest and most renowned French Michelin-starred restaurants in the UK. The waiting time for a table here is at least a month.

• We arranged a pair of Fendi Flow Sneakers (Rs 80,000) and a Hermes Birkin bag (Rs 8.7 lakh) within a day, which usually has a waiting time of close to three months in India.

• We arranged a breakfast for a couple at the Mount Everest Base Camp. It was a pit stop at Kathmandu and then a chopper ride to the Base Camp. The lavish American breakfast was served with a touch of Indian flavours. It included eggs, bacon, potatoes, hash browns, pancakes, croissants, pain au chocolat, waffles, pahaadi Maggi, momos, toasts and breads, cheese, jams and jellies, juices and Veuve Clicquot champagne.

• Got immediate entry for a group of eight to Berlin’s exquisite and popular underground clubs—Berghain, Sisyphos and KitKatClub—which do not have a guest list or online bookings and are very selective of the crowd they allow in.

• Booked more than 50 VIP tickets to the Fifa World Cup despite them being sold out. Our team assisted our clients in Qatar, along with the Fifa community. We arranged the most exclusive match-viewing experiences for our clients, along with after-parties in private yachts and VIP dining with Michelin-starred chefs.

• We arranged VIP access to different parts of India for an American couple aged between 50 and 55 years. This included a private cooking class, a hand embroidery class, VIP access to forts in Jaipur and Udaipur, and private shopping at Sabyasachi with a personal stylist.

• One client reached out to us at 3 am with an emergency: One of his relatives had been in an accident in Thailand, suffered a serious injury, and needed to return to India right away, for which he wanted to charter an air ambulance. Within 30 minutes, our international team organised a chartered air ambulance with a group of capable medical professionals. The patient was flown from Thailand to Kanpur in 3 hours, and successfully hospitalised.

• We had an unusual request from one of our celebrity clients; it was to get a trustworthy domestic help within a day. We arranged for one according to our client’s wish, got her background check done, and all necessary legal and administrative documents processed and cleared within less than a day.