Tvoi Concierge
A beautiful villa in the Tuscan hills or by the sea at Forte dei Marmi only performs the way it should when the right team stands behind it. The very same house feels completely different depending on who runs it: whether you notice the seams of the work or everything simply happens, unseen. A well-staffed residence greets you cool and fragrant with fresh flowers, lunch ready and the car waiting at the gate, while the staff stay discreet and almost invisible. A poorly assembled team turns a holiday into endless admin. This guide sets out the roles a private house actually needs, the difference between seasonal and year-round and between daily and live-in staff, how sourcing, vetting and confidentiality work in practice, what really drives the budget, and how a concierge takes on recruiting, vetting and managing the team on your behalf so you can simply enjoy the house.
The core roles and what each one does
At the heart of any residence beyond the smallest is the villa or estate manager: they coordinate everyone else, run the budget, suppliers and calendar, and answer for the condition of the house. Housekeepers and a head housekeeper keep order, laundry and stores. A private chef plans menus, shops the markets (the greengrocers at Sant'Ambrogio in Florence, say) and adapts to allergies and preferences. A driver handles logistics and transfers; a butler runs table service and guest reception. A nanny, a gardener who tends the olives, hydrangeas and pool, and security where needed complete the picture. On a smaller villa, roles often combine: a couple, one cooking and running the house, the other driving and keeping the grounds, covers most needs elegantly.
Seasonal or year-round, daily or live-in
The first strategic choice is how you use the house. If you come for the summer and the holidays, it is usually wiser to keep a small year-round core (a manager and gardener who watch over the property in the off-season) and scale up to a full team around your dates. A permanent residence needs a stable team all year. Live-in staff suit secluded villas deep in Chianti or the Val d'Orcia, where daily commuting makes no sense, and give you flexibility on hours; they need proper, comfortable quarters. Daily staff work well for houses closer to Florence, Lucca or the coast. A hybrid is often ideal: a live-in couple on site, with extra housekeepers, cooks and drivers coming in for peak weeks and entertaining.
How sourcing and vetting actually work
Good household staff are rarely found through an advert; they come through trusted referrals and established agencies. Serious vetting is more than an interview. It means confirmed references from previous principals, checks on the right to work and correct employment (in Italy that means a formal contract, contributions and compliance with the domestic-work CCNL), verified driving licences and certificates, and background checks for sensitive roles. Human fit matters just as much: a chef can be brilliant and still not suit your family's rhythm. A trial period or a test dinner often tells you more than any CV. Discretion and the instinct to keep a household's private life private are prized here every bit as highly as technical skill.
What drives the budget
Exact figures depend on many things, but the logic of cost is predictable. It is shaped by the size and number of residences, how many roles you need, year-round versus seasonal, live-in versus daily, the experience and languages of the staff, and their willingness to work the irregular hours that entertaining brings. Florence and Forte dei Marmi, as prestige locations, cost more than the deep countryside. On top of salaries sit mandatory employer contributions and taxes, the thirteenth-month pay (tredicesima) and severance (TFR), board and lodging for live-in staff, uniforms and training. An honest rule of thumb: plan the budget early and several months ahead rather than at the last minute, because saving on vetting and paperwork almost always costs more later.
Managing the team and setting expectations
Hiring people is only half the task; getting a team to work as one is harder. The households that run beautifully rely on clarity: clear job descriptions, house routines, an agreed way to escalate issues, and one point of accountability, usually the manager or the concierge, who shields you from the daily grind. Written house-standard notes help: how the table is laid, how guests are received, which wines are kept, how art and systems are handled. Regular, calm feedback works far better than rare outbursts. Staff need to feel respected and secure: in Tuscany the best people stay with families for years, and that continuity becomes a form of luxury in itself, one you cannot buy in a hurry.
Confidentiality and NDAs for high-profile households
For well-known families and privacy-sensitive guests, discretion is not a pleasant extra; it is a baseline requirement. Professional household staff understand that what they see and hear in the house stays in the house. In practice this is anchored by a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) as part of the contract, clear rules on photos, social media and guests, and careful handling of keys, codes and access systems. When you host events, the same expectations extend to contractors and temporary staff. Privacy done well is invisible: no one posts a story from your sitting room, suppliers sign their paperwork in advance, and the team instinctively protects your family, your guests and your routines from unwanted attention.
Before you hire: a checklist
- Decide the model: seasonal or year-round, live-in or daily staff
- List the roles your house and your family's real rhythm require
- Insist on confirmed references from previous principals
- Verify lawful employment: contract, contributions, domestic-work CCNL
- Check licences, certificates and backgrounds for sensitive roles
- Budget for contributions, tredicesima, TFR, board and lodging
- Put an NDA and clear photo and guest rules in the contract
- Name one point of accountability to coordinate the team
Let us build your team
We recruit, vet and manage the household staff for your Tuscan villa, entirely turnkey. Send the short request form or message us on WhatsApp or Telegram, and Tvoi Concierge will handle it all.