By DAVID CHURCHILL


Ten ways to say hello


APEX HOTELS IS AIMING TO ELEVATE the art of the “warm welcome” by pledging to ensure front-of-house teams greet hotel visitors in their native tongue. Concierge and reception staff, among others, are learning key phrases in at least ten of the most commonly spoken languages among Apex guests, including Mandarin, Portuguese and Italian.


Apex hotels staff welcome guests in ten languages But away from the luxury sector, those


hotels in the middle of the market are losing interest in dedicated concierges: just 16 per cent for high-end hotels and a mere 3 per cent for midscale properties. Budget hotels, unsurprisingly, are not in the game at all. What happens in the US hotels market is


usually replicated in the UK and elsewhere. While there is no official UK data for all hotels with concierges, the trend is said by hotel insiders to be similar to the American experience. But adding to the pressure, however, is the ongoing need for hoteliers – es- pecially at the top end – to keep costs under control. It is hardly surprising, therefore, that front-of-house services – including the traditional lobby check-in and concierge desks – are coming under scrutiny. The emergence of self check-in, online check- in and the use of smartphones as room keys is growing apace, adding to the pressure. But, in some ways, the image


of the top hotel concierge ful- filling difficult tasks for a rela-


tive handful of guests, with either their own or their company’s money to spend freely, is a rather fanciful notion. Many concierges, in fact, have much broader responsibilities and are, in effect, often undertaking front-of-house duties as well as their concierge role. Some upmarket hotels, moreover,


have eschewed traditional concierg- es altogether: the Andaz hotel at London’s Liverpool Street, a Hyatt luxury brand, was among the first to empower its public-facing employ- ees to handle (via tablets) all guest queries,


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including recommending and booking restaurants, shows and other facilities. Yet it is new technology that remains


the key threat for the traditional concierge. Expedia Group, which has already played a key disruptor role in the travel world, not surprisingly already offers a digital con- cierge, Expedia Local Expert, although it is only available to those who book a hotel through Expedia’s websites. Then there are concierge-style start-ups,


such as Roam (wheninroam.com). When in Roam launched last year in 22 US cities with backing from US private equity firms. Its founder, Krista Krauss Miller, denies the online business is aimed at hotels but rather is focused on the Airbnb or family and friends markets. “We’re trying to reach users who don’t have access to a physical concierge,” she says. When in Roam is unlike most other online concierge sites in having a genuine hotel concierge in each city, albeit they’re acting on a freelance basis.


INSTANT MESSAGING The luxury hotels group Four Seasons also believes in keeping in touch with its guests at all times. “New technology helps us to be able to stay in contact with our guests even when they are outside the hotel,” says Cordelia Griggs, the Four Season Park Lane concierge manager, citing the “Four Seasons Chat instant messaging service that allows guests to contact us with any of their needs”. Griggs believes that the core of the hotel’s concierge operation still revolves around restaurants, theatres and cars. “We have noticed a change in London with the volume of new restaurants opening, which makes having the contacts even more important,” she says. “This increases the importance of the concierge as the amount of information can sometimes be overwhelming.”


BBT May/June 2018 39


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