Hilary Clinton ordered for branded sunglasses and the concierge team at ITC Maurya Welcomgroup, New Delhi, arranged for them overnight. The late Benazir Bhutto asked for tickets in the sold-out Emirates flight, and once again, the ?impossible was achieved?, thanks to the concierge team. The motto for WelcomConcierge is simple ? they should deal ?with any request a guest (who is touring the place) may have, no matter how or what.? And what?s there for them to bank upon besides their wit? An extensive list of personal contacts (local merchants and service providers).
For those who work in the The Taj Group concierge team, however, there is a rider: They?ll do anything provided ?it is legal and moral?.
If we trace the roots, we would find that the term ?concierge? was derived from the French Comte De Cierges (meaning the ?keeper of the candles?) who tended to noble visitors in the castles during the Medieval Era.
The bottomline today is that the business/leisure traveller asks, and the concierge delivers. A seasoned traveller describes the concierge as a ?part Man Friday, part Sancho Panza with a goody amount of Merlin and Houdini thrown in?. Moreover, whatever the demand may be, the concierge philosophy goes that they can never say ?No?: ?The concierge is the last shop. But to the hotel guest, it is first and the only place to go to? says Rajesh K Yadav, the chief concierge of the Taj Palace Hotels.
However, exclusive concierge services are restricted to prime corporate clients only. And they don?t have to pay anything for this facility. Just checking in as a priority client buys you this privilege.
Recalling how a concierge came to his rescue, Partha Sarathi Bandyopadhyay, marketing manager of a reputed software company and a frequent business traveller says: ?At prime hotels they are quite efficient in handling customer queries, especially for corporate clients. There was a time when in the middle of a seminar when the hotel?s system faced technical difficulty, the concierge desk took up the responsibility to shift the venue in a jiffy. That saved the seminar. Corporate clients rely on the concierge for the success of their business deals and meetings too.?
Manish Chandra, room division manager, The Claridges, New Delhi, shares another instance of how a client was facilitated. A guest who had lost his luggage at the airport requested for help at one in the morning to get a business suit stitched for him for a meeting he had to attend at noon the next day. His request was attended to by the concierge, and a tailor was called. The suit was stitched for him within a span of 10 hours with appropriate measurements and trials.
With well-travelled and discerning clientielle becoming the norm in most upscale hotels today, what separates the chaff from the grain is the kind of service on offer. ITC Maurya (part of Starwood Hotel?s Luxury Collection) pre-empts such guest needs and the WelcomConcierge, which is the heart of Front Office operations, keeps itself well prepared to deliver solutions even in the most trying situations. As Dipak Haksar, vice president (Operations) ITC Hotels boasts: ?Our WelcomConcierge is a differentiator and a big reason for most guests wanting to stay with ITC Hotels.?
Here?s how a guest was facilitated: Saurabh Srivastava, a venture capitalist, who travels abroad quite often, says how difficult-to-get tickets for concerts in Vienna reached him at short notice, thanks to the conceirge. ?They also suggested preferred restaurants to get a flavour of the local and continental cuisines too,? Srivastava says.
It?s not just high-end hotels that are waiting to deliver. Le Passage to India Tours & Travel, a reputed travel agency also has concierge desk. They claim ?Whether your dream is to hire a private jet, have a close encounter with wildlife, enjoy a game of golf, or simply indulge in exotic therapies in recommended luxe spas, our dedicated team will ensure you a hassle-free holiday while you experience unprecedented levels of service and luxury.?
Technical advancement has also opened up new fronts for the hospitality industry. ?Courtyard by Marriott? revels in having online concierge service. ?The virtual concierge helps guests request services they would like from the hotel even before they land on the property. Facility of this nature is a mutually convenient service. For a guest it makes life simple and hassle-free as all he/she needs to do is book the services requested, along with the room. For the hotel it helps to preempt a guest need and prepare before hand for their arrival? says Vyshnavi Christopher, marketing communication manager, ?Courtyard By Marriott, Chennai?.
ITC Maurya goes a step further to serve its guests. With every reservation confirmation, the guest receives a link to the e-concierge.
This helps the traveller customise his stay. He/she fills in the form mentioning his/her preferences and accordingly the guest?s stay is personalised.
Speaking about what makes a good concierge, Ajit Sharma, senior GM (Operations), Jaypee Siddhartha says it is essential the person has his finger on the pulse of the city. ?The team should comprise members who have pleasant manners and are welcoming in appearance.
They should also be flexible, calm, adaptable and disciplined,” he adds. Getting harassed and bothered could be a fall-out of the job too. It?s important not to ?lose it? is how Yadav cautions.
So next time you are on a trip out of town, you needn?t worry about possible glitches there. If you get stuck with anything, just about anything, there is a conceirge out there who can bail you out. Just remember to reach out for him.