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ANALYSIS


Yet the key attribute of a hotel concierge


at the top end of the market, believe many in the hospitality world, remains their con- tacts. “If a concierge can get tables at Paris’s top restaurants, such as Le Jules Verne or L’Ami Louis, it’s not because of the tools they use but because of the business they bring, having contacts with a restaurant’s head waiter, maitre d’ and manager,” says Francois Delahaye, chief operating officer of the Dorchester Collection. But technology is not all bad news for traditional concierges. New systems are being developed to help concierges manage their operations more effectively. Expedia, for example, enables concierges to manage


“If a concierge can get tables at top restaurants, it’s not because of the tools they use but because of the business they bring”


guest activities and communications through its majority stake in Alice, an op- erations platform for hotels. Late last year, Alice also acquired a similar business called GoConcierge and is developing a single plat- form offering the best of both systems.


CONVERSE WITH CONNIE There remains an unspoken concern among some travellers (and travel departments) about the lack of transparency between con- cierges and restaurants, and other hospitali- ty vendors. What is the concierge getting out of the deal? While some travel buyers see the benefits of concierges helping employ- ees get the best out of their stay, most have been more sceptical – especially given the information and contacts available online. Now there is Connie – a two-foot tall robot developed a couple of years ago at Hilton’s innovation incubator in McLean, North Vir- ginia, as a guest concierge. Connie may have seemed something of a gimmick, but Hilton says the robot has helped reduce waiting times and “surprised and delighted” guests. In March, IBM announced its new Watson Assistant AI software, with a particular focus on the hospitality industry. Connie is Wat- son-enabled and the new software would, among another benefits, help it converse with guests in their own language. Food for thought for holders of the Golden Keys.


40 BBT May/June 2018


Tipping point


Should you tip the concierge? Of all the vexed questions and issues that the whole business of paying gratuities to people in the hospitality industry invariably raises, giving a gratuity to a concierge is probably the most difficult to resolve. Tipping the doorman, bellboy, maid or the person who delivers room service (even though a gratuity has usually already been added to your bill) is fairly straightforward for most business travellers. But the decision on whether the concierge gets some cash is fraught with potential pitfalls. How much should you tip? When should you offer it? What if it is refused (although that, according to insiders, is unlikely). The simple answer, of course, is that yes, you should give a gratuity to a concierge if they deliver service above and beyond what is expected (although that in itself raises certain issues). If they really can get you that sought-after table in the most sold-out restaurant in the city you find yourself in at short notice, then that is definitely worth some monetary recognition. But if it is just making a routine


reservation, then probably not (although you could build up brownie points towards snagging future hard-to-get reservations).


Yet there are further complications about the way concierges are paid: some are remunerated by the hour – usually the more junior members – while others are salaried. Either way, however, it seems to be anticipated that tips are part of concierges’ overall remuneration. Bjorn Hanson, a hospitality professor at New York University’s Tisch Centre, acknowledges that “tipping concierges feels less natural to many” while other hotel guests simply do not know what is expected. Partly this may be due to some guests using concierges as another source of information, confirming their own view, rather than whether the concierge has come up with a hidden gem. There seems to be a rule of thumb that if, for example, the advice is simply about the best restaurants in town, then no tip is required. But if it is for a hard-to-get reservation, then some acknowledgement is required. In US cities this gratuity should be US$5-$15, some observers suggest, although in the UK £10-£20 might be more appropriate. But there are also some concerns that the concierge may be getting commission from the restaurant or box office, although this practice is uniformly denied by concierges.


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