Ms. Leroy

Hello Xavier

What a year this has been! While we entertained some, after your visit, it was not nearly as much as we would have liked!
The entertaining we were able to do went fabulously well. Our staff are excited to be part of the evening festivities. Thanks to you both, they have more confidence, a better understanding of good service, and are willing to work at perfecting it. The staff do not want outsiders working at the house and, instead, have chosen to spilt the working evenings between themselves!

I have not taken the opportunity to write a note expressing my gratitude for what you added to our home- let me share some of my thoughts.
I appreciate the care, enthusiasm, and esteem given to our staff to help them understand their value. You and Mary were able to impart this to them better than anyone would imagine and the changes in the running of the house have been lovely. They are following your guidelines, working on the household binder, chef is cleaning his own kitchen, and Daniel is calming down enough to focus(most days!). When issues arise they attempt to solve for themselves, only bringing the most difficult issues to me. Each person, I believe is happier now than before, and thinking through their day rather than just mindlessly attending to their tasks.

I had the impression Mary, and perhaps you too, Xavier, are feeling the service field has changed dramatically, not needing your expertise to train, coach and guide any longer. I feel strongly that we, as a people, nation, and world, need your expertise today more than before. Please, Please do not stop training! Train trainers. Train principals. Train government. Train, those with a service heart, is the art of service and how gracious living is perpetuated.

May the New Year bring you moments of joy, laughter, and most especially time with loved ones. (and ones to train!!)

All my best,
Shirley

The Best of the Best

Mary Starkey TeachesMrs. Mary Louise Starkey has been a guiding influence of the U.S. Household and Estate Management profession, and has been the torchbearer of Private Service for nearly 41 years. In the industry, she is known as the “First Lady of Service.” As Starkey was the first Institute for Household Management education, we have set the standard for the industry. Our programs are now imitated, but never duplicated, by other schools in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.

Our educational courses and placement expertise have been fine-tuned over many years, thereby proving our commitment to the Service Management Profession. We are considered a hybrid of sophisticated education in Household and Service Management. We have been positioned at the Master’s Degree level of education by our college administrative colleagues. We have focused on quality as opposed to quantity, and have continued to develop progressive and inspirational curriculum serving a highly varied American marketplace. Our Placement strategies have also been proven to be genuine and highly successful. We have published multiple text books, including our 700-page Original Guide to Private Service Management and others for both our clientele and our students.

 

 

Unrivaled for 41 Years

Starkey International Institute for Household ManagementConsidered the Harvard of Private Service Education, Starkey International Institute for Household Management is now celebrating its 40th year. Mrs. Starkey began in 1981 by coining the title Household Manager. She has worked diligently her entire career to help create a profession of service; in other words, Household Management. She brought agencies, international schools, veteran Estate Managers, Butlers, and Military Enlisted Aides together for 10 years at Restoring the Art (RTA) conferences to help grow the industry. RTA has also become Starkey’s Student Financial Assistance 501(c)3 nonprofit corporation. Today, Starkey is considered a highly sophisticated Service Management education corporation teaching the art form of Private Service. We are a state-approved vocational institute. We are also a seasoned Placement Corporation, placing our new and veteran Service Graduates with a 95 percent success rate. Our Publishing Company has penned five Service Management Publications for our students and our clients. We house Starkey in a classical and registered historical mansion, built in 1901. This 13,000-square-foot, high-end private residence is where students are invited to reside while in training and where we conduct our Service Management Programs.

About Mrs. Mary Louise Starkey

mary_louise_starkey

Mrs. Mary Louise Starkey – Founder of Starkey International Institute for Household Management

Mary Louise Starkey, the “First Lady of Service” and the founder and visionary of the Starkey International Institute for Household Management, coined the term “Household Manager” in 1981, and with it, she launched a movement.

She then set about to create a Private Service profession by opening the world’s first modern-day educational Institute for Household and Estate Managers, Butlers, Personal Assistants, and Private Chefs. Mrs. Starkey began writing about the profession, and eventually developed Starkey’s patented “Starkey Service Management System,” the world’s first advanced management tool for Private Service. She has continued to set the standard for Private Service in education and in Private Service placement for nearly 41 years.

Today, she has 18 patents, copyrights, trademarks and publications. The United States military deemed Mrs. Starkey the “First Lady of Service” due to her years supporting and educating Enlisted Aides, the soldiers who serve the White House, Admirals and Generals. Her clientele includes Old Guard families, legacy families, CEOs, tech entrepreneurs, entertainment personalities and diplomatic leaders across the country and abroad.

Mrs. Mary Starkey is passionately devoted to changing the outdated paradigm of “servitude” into “Service as an Expertise,” and building a profession that is world-recognized. In 2007, Starkey was featured in journalist Robert Frank’s best-seller Richistan, and once again in his 2011 book The High Beta Rich. In recent years, she has been regularly featured in many media outlets, including The Today Show, Good Morning America, BBC, Town and Country, Forbes, Vanity Fair, Costco and the London Times.

Mrs. Starkey serves the high-net-worth and their family offices throughout the U.S., Europe, Canada, China, Anguilla and India through private training, education for employers, public media for openings, staffing of certified Graduates and other education. A dynamic and passionate public speaker and natural storyteller, Mrs. Starkey continues her vision for the art form of Service by appearing at international conventions, both here and abroad, at seminars, corporate events and hospitality forums around the globe.

For more information, please contact:
Starkey International Institute for Household Management
Phone: 720-788-3398
Email: services@starkeyintl.com

Publications and Media

An avid writer, Mrs. Starkey has penned several service related textbooks and guides, including Mrs. Starkey’s Original Guide to Private Service Management, Setting Household Standards for Employers, and Mrs. Starkey’s Nanny Manager.

Mrs. Starkey’s contributions to the Private Service profession have been featured in:

• The Wall Street Journal
• The New York Times
• The Washington Times
• The London Times
• USA Today
• The Atlantic Monthly
• Forbes Magazine
• Worth Magazine
• Town & Country Magazine
• CNN
• MSNBC
• the BBC
• National Public Radio
• Discovery Channel
• Fuji TV
• The Travel Channel

Starkey Milestones

 

1981 Created the concept of the professional Household Manager and coined the term “Household Manager”
1985 Became a nationally recognized Private Service placement company
1987 Hosted the first “International Nanny Conference” and became a charter member of the International Nanny Association
1988 Developed first approved educational curriculum for personal service and Household Management
1989 Published first Household Management textbook, The Original Guide to Household

Management©
1990 Opened first school for Household Management in the United States
1991 Featured on the front page of the Lifestyles section in USA Today
1995 Developed the first professional and systemized language for the service profession
1997 Patented the world’s first Service Management System that identifies and manages

Service Expectations
1998 Published Mrs. Starkey’s Nanny Manager
1999 Offered first publication for Private Chefs, Starkey’s Alchemy of Cooking for the Private Chef
1999 Starkey International® featured on front page of The New York Times
2000 Published Mrs. Starkey’s Setting Household Standards for employers
2000 Created “Restoring the Art®” as a continuing education conference, now an International Association for Private Service Professionals
2001 Starkey Household Management curriculum became an approved U.S. Military

educational program
2002 Incorporated Wine Cellar Management into the Household Management Curriculum
2003 Began training Butler and Service Etiquette Skills for the hospitality market, private clubs and luxury service hotels
2005 Household Manager title accepted by the Department of Labor. Supported the development of a national certification in Household Management
2007 Prominently featured in journalist Robert Frank’s best-seller Richistan, as well as his book The High Beta Rich
2008 Graduated the 100th class of Starkey
2008 Featured in British and French media outlets
2009 Featured in The Costco Connection
2009 Featured in Forbes Magazine and on “The Today Show”
2010 Created specialized student scholarships and loan programs in cooperation with Restoring the Art® for Potential Students needing financial aid
2010 Invited to provide luxury Service education in Asia and the Caribbean
2011 Created specialized Service Managers Certification Program for Estate, Service, Concierge, Senior and other Service Hospitality for Residential Communities.
2012 Launched certified Service Management System Correspondence Course
2013 Expanded Starkey curriculum to China
2015 Created textbooks and curriculum for the different Ten Standards
2016 Published e-books for Starkey’s Alchemy of Cooking For the Private Chef (2nd Edition) and Mrs. Starkey’s The Original Guide to Private Service Management 
2017 Published e-books for Mrs. Starkey’s Entertaining Etiquette and Protocols for the Private Home and Mrs. Starkey’s Fine Housekeeping Standards for the Private Home in English and Spanish
2017 Developed online courses for the Starkey Service Management System Course and The Relationship of Service And Your Personal Statement  Course
2019 Completed an extensive renovation of The Starkey Mansion in downtown Denver
2020 Continue to teach students online and at The Starkey Mansion, as well as place Graduates with the high-net-worth across the country

Mission Statement

To create a world-class Private Service industry in which Private Service Management is seen as an art form, continuing education and growth are valued, and standards of professionalism are recognized, honored and fortified.

History and Philosophy

Mary Louise Starkey began Starkey & Associates, Inc. in January 1981, offering housekeeping and placement services. In November 1989, Mary Starkey created Starkey International Institute for Household Management in response to marketplace requests for trained and skilled professionals. Since its first class offering in January of 1990, the Institute has benefited from the presence of old-world European and American Butlers, experienced service professionals, and Household and Estate Managers from the United States and abroad.

The Starkey Curriculum teaches Private Service expertise and an organizational structure which supports the management of complex homes and lifestyles. The curriculum is creative, interactive and transformational in style. A conceptual and hands-on education, the Starkey Curriculum teaches the Household Manager to identify and attend to the specific needs or Service Standards of the Principal and household.

Starkey International History and PhilosophyThe Private Service Management profession in America has been growing rapidly. Over the years, Starkey has produced mature, seasoned veterans who are continuing to set the standards in Private Service, as does Starkey’s work in helping new clientele identify their needs.

The success of the Starkey International Institute for Household Management is based on the commitment to redefine the time-honored service profession in terms of the modern, upscale American service and quality-of-life expectations.