Hotels are a vibrant industry – as temperamental, moody, fun, idiosyncratic, and eccentric – as the people who make the structure throb and come alive. And that presents a unique challenge to those who are responsible for ensuring that the brand personality seeps into each employee optimally for a cohesive representation of the brand. Ask the Training andHuman Resource fellas and they will tell you how much sleep they lose over beating, shaping, moulding, clubbing a delightfully eclectic mix into a unified cookie-cutter, strait-jacketed, assembly line incarnations of the Brand.
So, let’s take a closer look at these folks who hold the power of the Hotel’s universe in their very able hands.
5. THE GOLDEN KEYS
The Concierge need not be Les Clefs d’Or decorated to be one of the luminary performers in the scheme of superlative service at hotels.
Two of the essential qualities that should be central to a Concierge’s role are charm and compassion – the first helps build a bridge with the guest and the second creates an indelible bond.
The Concierge team must be the right mix of friendly, charming, warm and pleasant such that any guest – Asian or African, Western or from the Indigenous tribes of the world – should find them accessible and forthcoming.
Not just the product awareness, the Concierge must know the City (and in many cases the Country) like the back of their hand.
I once worked with Steve, the Head Concierge at our Hotel who incidentally is also India’s first Concierge to be dressed with the Golden keys by the international Les Clefs d’Or. Steve was so zealous about his task that he was always eager to collaborate with me for putting out interesting information for the hotel guests in unique ways. With him, nay, for him, I began the weekly Concierge letter that he would come knocking on my office door for every Friday. He was so keen to over deliver and capture the A-ha moments with his guests that he was forever reading up on new information and looking up for any and every guest contact opportunity to learn just what would they want, what could they want and when.
Where to get the suit put together in a hurry, which seamstress can remake a Dior gown, where can a pink elephant be sourced for a kiddie party, which places are best to enjoy the local cuisine in, where do you get authentic pearls, jades and rubies, what’s the best antidote for a spot of seasonal allergy or a local insect bite and which store will stock it, who sells the best souvenirs and also gives the best deal, what are the local no-nos to watch out for, what is safe and what is just not worth the guest’s time, where to buy branded luggage, high-end watches or couture or where to shop for artisanal products or essential oils, is there a play, musical or movie that is highly recommended, how to pack more in a little time and what all little things to relish so as to fill out an extended stay most optimally – the Concierge is a store house and Mr. Know-it-all of all this information and much more.
From Agony Aunts, tour guide, confidante, to information Mnemonic and super fixer – the Concierge must play out these roles with élan and expertise.
The Concierge need not be Les Clefs d’Or decorated to be one of the luminary performers in the scheme of superlative service at hotels.
Two of the essential qualities that should be central to a Concierge’s role are charm and compassion – the first helps build a bridge with the guest and the second creates an indelible bond.
The Concierge team must be the right mix of friendly, charming, warm and pleasant such that any guest – Asian or African, Western or from the Indigenous tribes of the world – should find them accessible and forthcoming.
Not just the product awareness, the Concierge must know the City (and in many cases the Country) like the back of their hand.
I once worked with Steve, the Head Concierge at our Hotel who incidentally is also India’s first Concierge to be dressed with the Golden keys by the international Les Clefs d’Or. Steve was so zealous about his task that he was always eager to collaborate with me for putting out interesting information for the hotel guests in unique ways. With him, nay, for him, I began the weekly Concierge letter that he would come knocking on my office door for every Friday. He was so keen to over deliver and capture the A-ha moments with his guests that he was forever reading up on new information and looking up for any and every guest contact opportunity to learn just what would they want, what could they want and when.
Where to get the suit put together in a hurry, which seamstress can remake a Dior gown, where can a pink elephant be sourced for a kiddie party, which places are best to enjoy the local cuisine in, where do you get authentic pearls, jades and rubies, what’s the best antidote for a spot of seasonal allergy or a local insect bite and which store will stock it, who sells the best souvenirs and also gives the best deal, what are the local no-nos to watch out for, what is safe and what is just not worth the guest’s time, where to buy branded luggage, high-end watches or couture or where to shop for artisanal products or essential oils, is there a play, musical or movie that is highly recommended, how to pack more in a little time and what all little things to relish so as to fill out an extended stay most optimally – the Concierge is a store house and Mr. Know-it-all of all this information and much more.
From Agony Aunts, tour guide, confidante, to information Mnemonic and super fixer – the Concierge must play out these roles with élan and expertise.
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