Depending on the location and context, the term “commissionaire” can refer to a variety of positions. A commissionaire in the United Kingdom is usually a doorman, porter, or security guard. In continental Europe, commissionaires are responsible for a hotel guest’s luggage when they arrive train, ensuring that it is transported from the train station to the hotel.
Commissionaires in mainland Europe used to work as general attendants, mostly in train stations. The commissionaires polished boots, cleaned floors, and performed a variety of domestic tasks while dressed in distinctive uniforms. “It is impossible to find anything that they are not ready to do at a moment’s notice, even to giving you the news of the day or the gossip of the neighborhood,” an American traveling in Paris in 1852 wrote in The New York Times.
In the 1850s, the first British commissionaires were unemployed soldiers. Captain Sir Edward Walter wanted to find work for injured military personnel who couldn’t find steady work. He established the Corps of Commissionaires, which employed men to deliver messages throughout London and guard the doors of post offices, hotels, shops, banks, and other government institutions. In the twentieth century, this institution spread to Canada and Australia. The Corps of Commissionaires is now a security firm that reports to the British monarchy.
Uniforms are typically worn commissionaires. Members of the Corps of Commissionaires are required to maintain strict uniform standards of presentation at all times as former soldiers, and European commissionaires wear distinct uniforms to indicate their role in a crowd. In the modern era, British commissionaires wear uniforms that are clearly identifiable with their place of work.
A commissionaire is an individual or organization that works on behalf of a company, known as the principal, but is not considered to be a part of that company in a legal sense. In civil law jurisdictions throughout Europe, commissionaires are common. The commissionaire fulfills contracts with customers on behalf of the principal, and the commissionaire handles all business between the principal and the customers. The principal pays commissionaires, who act as distributors.
A commissionaire is frequently used a company to conduct business in a foreign country. Because the commissionaire is not a subsidiary of the principal company, the latter is exempt from paying taxes in the country where the commissionaire operates. In Europe, there have been legal challenges to the legality of this agreement.