Insider: Hotel Concierge: Aligning Hotel Services and Vendors with Service Standards via the Concierge
By Shujaat Khan, Chief Concierge, The Capital Hilton
Mr. Shujaat Khan
When you hear James Bond say, “It is Standard Operating Procedure,” what thoughts come to your mind? Is James Bond referring to the standards of her Majesty, the Queen of England, or all Spy Agents or the British Spy Agency? If you said the British Spy Agency, then you are correct. However, the Spy Agency had to align their standards to meet the standards of Her Royal Highness, the Queen of England as well as the British Common Law.
All Hotels have a set of standards that they expect the employees to follow. For instance, Hilton Hotels around the world have a standard for all employees - Appearance: uniform must be clean and pressed, nametags should be worn at all times, and staff should be professionally groomed. Smile: when approached by guests, give eye contact at 10 feet, and a warm greeting at five feet. Use the guest's name.
Hotels also have Standard Operating Procedures for all departments for most tasks that team members have to perform. They are commonly referred to as SOP. Similarly, the vendors have their own set of standards for the tasks they perform. This is where the concierges make sure that the vendors are properly aligned to our standards.
Hotel concierges around the globe work with a variety of vendors to provide services to the hotel guests. Gold Key Concierges utilize many techniques to make sure that the vendors we use consistently meet our service standards.
My article on “Aligning Hotel Services and Vendors with Service Standards via the Concierge,” in the Hotel Business Review will provide you a window into our world and show you how we work together to deliver excellent service by communicating and enforcing our service standards with our preferred vendors. After all, our personal and hotel’s reputation are on the line every time we deliver a service to our guests. We take the responsibility of guest satisfaction and protecting our reputation very seriously.
The article outlines the various ways we work together to make sure that the standards of the vendors are in line with the standards of our hotels.
Click here to read the full article
Sincerely,
Shujaat Khan
Chief Concierge
The Capital Hilton
202-639-5712
Shujaat.Khan@hilton.com
