So Scottsdale January 2019

Julie Baxter
Concierge, Arizona Biltmore, A
Waldorf Astoria Resort
Phoenix native Julie Baxter always knew
what she would be when she grew up.
“It sounds old-fashioned now, but my
mother was a homemaker, so I planned on
getting married, having kids and taking care
of our home, like her,” Baxter says.
But, as the saying goes, the best-laid
plans often go awry.
“After college, I found myself unmarried
and in need of a career, so I got into
real estate,” she says. “Then it gets interesting.”
At 31, Baxter ran off with her boyfriend
to the U.S. Virgin Islands, where they
started a powerboat business. By 33, she
moved to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and
started a parasailing business.
“Americans would often come to me
for advice on what to do while in Cabo. I
became an unofficial concierge of sorts,
offering sailing customers tips on the best
attractions the city had to offer,” Baxter says.
Given parasailing instruction wasn’t
a career option in Phoenix, Baxter opened
the newspaper and surveyed the “help
wanted” ads when she made her way back
to the Valley in the mid-1990s.
“There was an ad for a concierge position
at the Arizona Biltmore, which required
expertise in helping people navigate activities
and attractions at the resort and across
Phoenix,” she says. “It married my unofficial
position in Cabo with my lifetime of knowledge
of the Valley, so I applied.”
That was 23 years ago. Since then,
Baxter has become an icon within the
concierge community as an active member
of the Valley of the Sun Concierge Network
for 20 years and a certified Biltmore Resort
Historian for 10 years.
“And whenever I think I’ve seen and
done it all, something comes up,” says
Baxter, who fondly remembers one of her
biggest challenges – planning a woman’s
leap year-themed birthday party, which had
to dazzle the well-heeled guests in attendance,
including Diana Ross.
This year brings perhaps the biggest
challenge of her career to date: Celebrating
the Biltmore’s 90th birthday all year long
with monthly events, culinary programs and
plenty of other festivities.
50 So Scottsdale! January '19