[A house is a small, very good hotel]
Rough economic times have forced many affluent clients to streamline their domestic staffs and eliminate specialize positions, such as valets or laundresses, says Keith Greenhouse, who owns New York’s Pavillion Agency with his brother, Clifford. “Often the owners have no idea how to run these houses,” says Greenhouse, who makes about 600 placements a year for 400 clients, about a third of whom have five or more full-time staff. So they look more to their house managers to do everything from pack a suitcase to co-ordinate children’s schedules, pick up an aunt at the airport or prepare a low-carb meal. Salaries start at about $55,000 but quickly rise to more than $100,000, he says. Clients may request a house manager who can double as a cook. “There’s a trend where people are picking up more and more tasks,” says Greenhouse. “The ideal house manager can do every position.”
