Luxury Hotels Compete W/ Increased Concierge Services

Such luxury hotels as Conrad, Four Seasons, Fairmont, Ritz-Carlton and St. Regis all have stepped up the range of concierge services they offer, reflecting how competitive the deluxe lodging category has become during the past few years. These properties compete not only with each other to be considered the most service-oriented, but also as a way of distinguishing themselves from such upper upscale and upscale competitors as Westin, J.W. Marriott, Park Hyatt and W Hotels, which also are stressing service delivery. However, because different chains structure various concierge services differently, this profusion in concierge service may confuse buyers as to precisely which services travelers are entitled to at which hotel.

When the Conrad Miami, Hilton Hotels Corp.'s deluxe brand, opens in July, the lobby concierge will fill guest requests, while one floor in the hotel features 24-hour butler service. In addition, a meetings concierge will be specially trained to answer guests' technology questions. A team of specialists, meanwhile, who report to the property's spa, can be dispatched to jet-lagged business travelers' rooms to draw a bath or even do a manicure or pedicure.

"Our concierge team has to be as well-informed and well-educated as never before about the city and area we support," said Robert Thrailkill, Conrad Miami general manager. "We expect to host very discriminating travelers, many of whom are entertaining clients here. They need to be seen in a good light."

The most visible service of this type still is found at the lobby concierge desk. "We remain the pivotal point in the hotel," said Frederick Bigler, chef concierge at the Ritz-Carlton New York Central Park South, who is stationed at such a desk. "We make sure it happens. We schedule bath butlers, for example, even though that function doesn't report in to us. The guest will be flying in on a long flight and wants to relax before a meeting, but won't know whom else to call. Given how service-focused this business is, we make sure it's taken care of."

Regardless of reporting relationships, staff members with concierge responsibilities still back each other up.

"Our club floor, called Fairmont Gold, has its own concierge, but we work closely with them, calling ahead when guests are going up to check in. They, in turn, call us when guests are coming down and need additional service," said Kitt Vidnovic, chef concierge at the Fairmont Washington, D.C. "Whatever experience I have, I offer to other staff members, if they don't know an answer or how to set something up."

At the Ritz-Carlton Boston, the club floor concierge does not report to the lobby concierge. "Many hotels are structured that way, but not us. We keep the two functions separate," said concierge Tom Carroll. "Yet, if a club floor guest calls, we certainly help them. You don't want to be transferring guests around the hotel unnecessarily. Such requests are noted in the hotel's property management system so the club concierge has a record and knows the issue was resolved."

Overlaps in service might be inevitable. "Travelers today are booking much more short term. In that kind of environment, concierge services become more critical," Vidnovic said. "Guests are more apt to forget things because they haven't had time to prepare or a need comes up they couldn't anticipate because the trip was so last minute. As a concierge, you have to be able to make a decision and go with it, based on whatever knowledge you have."

Jerome Jeannest, chef concierge at the St. Regis Los Angeles, draws a clear distinction between butlers and concierges. "Butlers typically answer questions related to the guest room and, by extension, any service provided internally," he said. "Concierges, on the other hand, are responsible for matters that go beyond the hotel, questions related to outside vendors, for example.

Guests frequently have requests that require purchasing items locally. "That's the province of the concierges, who have the contacts in place. Butlers who receive such requests pass them on," Jeannest said.

When it comes to technology requests, lobby concierges are less likely to be experts themselves. "We get frequent requests concerning things like battery packs for laptops and cell phone chargers," said Josephine Danielson, chef concierge at the Four Seasons New York. "So we function as a sort of clearinghouse and fall back on the IT department or the business center staff. In another example, guests won't be able to log on to their laptops in their rooms. In these cases, we send someone straight up to help them."

Timing of the request can be a factor. "Our technology butlers tend to leave at five or six o'clock, so we'll take care of requests that come in after that along with the engineering department," Carroll said.

For travelers attending business meetings, particularly at deluxe resorts, the conference or meetings concierge has grown in popularity. "A conference concierge is assigned to meeting planners on arrival, one per program, so planners have a dedicated person at their disposal," said Devin Passelle, who holds the job at the Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall in Jamaica. "We set up a special group hospitality desk to handle questions conference attendees have about free time activities, whether it be sightseeing tours or golf tee times. For additional questions, we really partner with the lobby concierge, which deals more with the leisure market."

Despite the range of concierge-type services that may be available, concierges are trained to take ownership of any guest request they personally receive. "Even if other staff members are called in, it's the person who owns the request who makes sure it's resolved," Ritz-Carlton New York's Bigler said.

"Similarly, if another department is involved, we don't refer the guest. We make the call or escort them personally," Passelle said.

The important thing is that the service appears seamless to the guest. "Guests may be working in their room, for example, and need a document printed," Carroll said. "Rather than download it and bring it to the business center themselves, they e-mail it to us. We then have it printed and distribute it to their associates staying in the hotel. It's so much easier for them."

In customizing service to frequent guests even further, these concierges reach out to their counterparts at other deluxe hotels—both at their own chain's properties in other locations and even at competing properties in their own cities. "Concierges within St. Regis know each other," Jeannest said. "Consequently, when we have a first time guest at the St. Regis Los Angeles who is a frequent guest at the St. Regis New York, we call the chef concierge there and exchange information on the guest's preferences. When he or she checks in, we already know their choice in amenities, for example."

In terms of accessing local resources, Jeannest's outreach extends to the chef concierge at the nearby Four Seasons Los Angeles and other deluxe hotels. "As the concierge function has grown more complicated, it's useful to have these contacts in place. It's about relationship building and is almost always mutually beneficial," he said.

The recent profusion in concierge-type service does not surprise Carroll, who has been in the job since the early 1980s, when it first evolved from a director of guest services role. "Guests are looking for more service today. They're more likely than before, thanks to the Internet, to know what amenities we offer before they arrive. Business travelers' lives, in particular, are more stressed."

The whole concept of the concierge has become much widely known. "All types of businesses today have concierges. Condominium apartment buildings have them, office buildings have them," Carroll noted, "so we do get more requests."