Some hotels have begun to expand the definition of concierge to mean more than just a knowledgeable employee. It now can also mean smart digital devices. Software companies are creating programs that offer information like restaurant tips, flight arrivals and departures and driving directions via these devices to guests at mid-tier hotels that do not provide traditional concierge services.
Even more upscale brands that employ human concierges are joining in, by offering location-specific information, accessible via the internet, iPhone apps and even live chats. And all Hyatt hotels let guests send requests, via Twitter, to customer service agents who are on call 24 hours a day.
When it comes to concierge services, ?we as an industry cannot operate in an analog way in a digital world?, said John Wallis, global head of marketing and brand strategy for Hyatt Hotels.
With the proliferation of midprice and limited-service brands, high-tech concierge services represent an effort by hotel companies ?to differentiate themselves, to add a service that usually ranks among the highest for guest satisfaction and to achieve higher rates?, said Bjorn Hanson, divisional dean of the Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management at New York University.
He said these services could be more attractive to younger guests, while older and more international guests, he said, ?tend to prefer personal service?.
Still, the question remains whether digital concierges can ever equal their human counterparts. Henry Harteveldt, travel analyst for Forrester Research, said he did not think they would. ?A guest visiting a city for the first time will have a lot of questions and will need to have interaction with a concierge,? he said.
But hotel chains are moving ahead with the digital version nonetheless. For example, InterContinental Hotels in 2007 began creating videos starring individual hotel concierges offering destination-specific advice. Today, 150 of the brand?s 171 hotels have created the videos, which are available on each hotel?s Web site and on YouTube and iTunes.
InterContinental is testing use by concierges of iPads with information for guests, as well as live chats between them through Skype or Apple?s FaceTime. It has also developed an iPad app with destination information for guests. And guests receive an e-mail from the chief concierge five days before arrival offering suggestions and maps.
Last year, Marriott International?s Renaissance hotels introduced a program called Navigator that offers suggestions for dining, drinks, shopping and sightseeing. This information, generated by Wcities, an online destination content provider, and by hotel employees, can be found on each hotel?s Web page and on an iPhone app. The hotels also employ traditional concierges.
Hyatt?s high-tech concierge service, at all of its hotels, is Twitter-based. Introduced two years ago, it lets guests send requests to HyattConcierge. Customer service agents must respond to messages within 15 minutes. If requests require more than a 140-character response, the agent will e-mail or call. One recent message from a guest at the Andaz Wall Street requested a hangover remedy that included two extra-strength Advil and wheat toast with butter.