Thanks to the saintly and heroic hotel staffs of the world, guest requests come welcomed and well executed. Suggestions on local activities and worthwhile eateries are no-brainers and fairly standard, and a sewing kit is as easy to arrange as a spare toothbrush. But how about getting a daily supply of Kobe beef for your dog or a sleep-sitter to watch you while you sleep because you have trouble with sleep-walking?

Of course not all wishes are granted, but many concierges do everything they can to make their guests’ stays 100% perfect.

Here, three of our favorite guest request stories from three of our favorite partner hotels:

Shadyside Inn All Suites, Pittsburgh, PA

“No request is out of the norm for our staff at Shadyside Inn All Suites Hotel. If a guest requests that we place a framed picture of Vladimir Putin and two towel swans in their suite, we are happy to do so. So here you go, incoming guests to suite A203. Mr. Putin has put his seal of approval on the suite.”

Whitney Peak Hotel, Reno, NV

“I requested a Nic Cage picture on my pillow at the hotel when I made my reservation,” said a guest who stayed at the Whitney Peak Hotel last year. “They decided to go all out.”

 Hotel Veritas, Cambridge, MA

“If you have ever worked in the hospitality industry you understand the importance of always keeping the guest happy. For most of us this is what makes our job great!

Working at the front desk in a small boutique hotel, I deal closely with a variety of people. We receive all different types of requests. Recently, we had one that stood out to all of us. A woman emailed a request for one of our front desk employees to draw a framed picture of what we thought she would look like and have it in her room when she arrived. As it is not in our job description as the concierge to be artists, nobody was very excited to volunteer. After some discussion, I agreed to draw the picture. Not only was I worried about my sub-par drawing skills, but I also started to wonder if I would offend the guest with what my vision was of them! After I took some time to think of all the ways to approach this drawing, I started.

I decided to create two people, one of which would be the woman who requested the picture and the other her partner. Seeing that she never mentioned the gender or age of that person, I made them as gender-fluid as possible. It was New Years Eve, so to make the drawing a little more fun I made the two of them celebrating.

When the guest arrived, we were anxious to see their reaction. It may not come as a surprise to some, but the whole request was a joke! However, after seeing the effort I put into their framed drawing, they were very thankful and loved having a unique souvenir. I believe that this is an example of what it means to go over and above our guests’ needs. Regardless of how strange a request might seem, if you manage to deliver and exceed expectations, you will always make someone happy!” –Megan G. Concierge @ Hotel Veritas.