Butler business thriving for well-to-do families

High-net-worth families in China are showing a growing demand for private butlers, and working as a butler has become a career choice for an increasing number of college graduates, and those who have studied abroad, industry players found.

Private butlers mostly provide services for families whose heads of household work as corporate leaders or celebrities, including many foreigners who work in China.

China's high-net-worth population is growing and becoming increasingly younger, and many of them have studied or lived abroad. So it is easier for them to embrace the concept of private butler services. Such a trend has fueled the professional market of private butlers in China to experience a rapid growth.

"Private butlers usually act as senior life consultants for their employers' core family management issues. They can live at their employers' home or not. For our butlers, about 70 percent of them are females," said Zhang Ran, founder and president of Meiyinghui Family Service Co Ltd, a Beijing-based butler management company.

"The butlers we hire are mainly those aged between 28 and 48, and many of them studied abroad and have master's degrees. They graduated in different majors such as hotel management, human resources management, education and nursing care," Zhang said.

She added that the average salary of a private butler is about 400,000 yuan ($55,000) annually, and the salary ranges from 200,000 yuan to 800,000 yuan a year. The salary level has attracted many people to engage in this profession.

Unlike ordinary housekeeping service personnel, private butlers usually need to understand about advanced family affairs, children's educational planning, risk management and other knowledge such as nutrition, luxury products and cooking of various cuisines.

In Beijing, the city has a high demand for private butler services, and there are at least five butler management companies. In addition to major cities such as Beijing, Shanghai and Guangdong province's Guangzhou and Shenzhen, more well-to-do families from second and third-tier Chinese cities have shown growing demand for such services.

Unlike English-style butlers, high-net-worth individuals in China have more specific and tailored demands and they would like some services that cater to the Chinese culture and different family members.

For instance, butlers usually need to know about different washing and ironing standards of different clothes, as well as knowledge about luxury products, wines and cigars — including wine opening, product areas and grape varieties of a specific kind of wine. In addition, butlers need to master skills such as risk response and first aid dressing.

Zhu Zhe, a young female who has worked for more than five years as a private butler for two families in the capital, graduated from Hebei University as an English major. Zhu said she used to manage a team of five staff members at a family, including three cleaners, a driver and a chef.

"In my daily routine, I was responsible for preparing the daily menus and selecting ingredients for the family feasts. I also helped make plans for family travel, booking flights and hotels. My other responsibilities sometimes included accompanying my employer on outings and responding to family emergencies," Zhu said.