5 Attributes Every Concierge Should Have

Landing a job as a Concierge hardly makes you good at what you’ve been hired to do. It’s the hands-on, can-do performance that sets an excellent Concierge apart from the applicant that looks good on paper. I understand that everyone needs to start somewhere, and of course, there is no fault in that, however having and honing tools of the trade will keep you, your clients and your employer happy long after your first day.

Guests will ask for basics like local restaurant recommendations to the bizarre, but usually won’t inquire about more obscure interests like say Airbnb Manager St Catharines ON or something of the sort. The wide range of demands is equal only to the multiple personalities that walk through the lobby door. Therefore, the Concierge should be unflappable, no matter what the request and respond appropriately.  Continue reading

Concierge Services of the Future

“Stay in the present” my wife calls out to me as I leave for work each day. By this, she means that if I take care of what needs to be handled in the moment the next moment, the future, will take care of itself. She understands that my position is a demanding one where I have an unending stream of requests placed on me from the minute I clock-in until the last parting good night of the day. She also knows I love my work, and put my heart and soul into serving our guests.

So, what’s to become of concierge services in the future? What will your hotel Concierge be in 50 years – a human or an android? The concept isn’t hard to imagine if a digital marketing company takes the profession by the lapels and shoots it right into the dimension of AI. I can’t help but wonder if the profession will be even remotely similar to what we know it to be now.  Continue reading

A Brief History of Concierge Services Part 1

Most of us have stayed at a hotel with concierge service, but have you ever given a thought as to how and where this amenity first started? It’s not likely that you spent a moment, wondering while you were on vacation or a business or family trip, but just for grins wouldn’t you like to know?

After all, everything has a beginning somewhere, sometime, somehow. Most services, like a prom limo rental Greensboro NC concierge duties were born out of necessity. Dating back to the middle ages – yes – the middle ages, the concierge of the day was known as “a personal slave”, but the term soon graduated to mean “keeper of the keys”. Although there are times when the slave description seems to fit the bill, personally I resonate much more with the keeper of the keys. Continue reading

5 Simple Things to Know as a Concierge

When starting out as a Concierge you are in for a career of surprises. In fact, if the surprises ever stop, then that’s your cue to retire, change careers or write a book. As a young man entering the realms of the social elite from the perspective of service, I realized I was a total rube and had a lot to learn.

The first lesson I learned was to pretend I could produce anything asked of me. Then give it my best shot. Fortunately, I managed to pull off even ridiculous requests. Like the time a guest occupying the penthouse suite asked for a tow truck instead of limo services in Fayetteville NC. I didn’t ask and I never knew why the gentleman wanted a tow truck as his means of transportation when planning an otherwise elegant evening out on the town. He probably lost a bet or something like that.  Continue reading