Ms. Oksner

Concierge

Your Concierge: An Undiscovered Powerful Marketing Tool

By Elaine Oksner, Guest and Concierge Services Trainer, Hospitality Excellence, Inc.

Today's hospitality world presents a constant ebb and flow of sales and marketing challenges, especially with recent changes in the economy. With that in mind, there may be people on your hospitality team who present an undiscovered sales and marketing resource. Savvy hoteliers can make a strategic move in their overall sales strategy by harnessing the power of the concierge position. Before I tell you how and identify six ways to maximize this often underused resource, let me explain why this strategy will work.

I remember, and perhaps you do as well, when the term "concierge" was not a regular part of our vocabulary. If you traveled to Europe, of course, you discovered concierges in most hotels. They were the gentlemen in uniforms, often with gold crossed keys on their lapels, who, once you had checked in, were in charge of your visit. They collected your key when you left the property and gave it back to you when you returned. These ubiquitous fellows made sure you got your messages and packages, gave you directions, recommended restaurants and entertainment, and assisted with future travel needs. They could help with emergency medical and dental needs, arrange tours, babysitters, and just about anything else you can think of.

As Americans traveled more abroad and interacted with these service professionals, they realized they would like to be just as pampered on their home turf. And, as luxury properties were expanding their market in the United States, many European-trained hoteliers were hired and were coaxing their European concierges to cross the ocean and set the standard for service here. In no time at all, home grown men and, yes, eventually women, too, were being trained as concierges to assist the well heeled travelers here with their every wish. Today's concierges are in hotels and resorts all over the world and are an international mix of men and women who put their own stamp on the job. They bring their individual charm and personal style as well as a wealth of knowledge and an address book full of key contacts into play to serve the most demanding hotel guests.

During the past several decades, the public has seen, through first-hand interaction, as well as stories in the media and even characters in movies, that the epitome of customer service is represented by hotel and resort concierges. If you see a picture of a concierge with the gold crossed keys of Les Clef d'Or, the prestigious international concierge association, don't you automatically think that this person can handle anything that comes up? That is their job and their reputation, and it is well earned.

Now the term "concierge", because of the reputation of these service pros, has been somewhat hijacked and used in every possible venue. There is a "concierge" at the movie theater, the car dealership, the office building, the department store and most new condominiums. The good news is that the term is being used so much that everyone now knows its meaning has something important to do with customer service.

Even some hotel chains are appropriating the term for specialized segments of their market to entice their guests. Perhaps you have "ski concierges" or "tea concierges" or even "bath concierges" at your property? The terms would mean nothing without the years of hard work of the pioneering lobby concierges who built the outstanding reputations. "Concierge" - that key word - evokes a mental word association with terms like "luxury", "excellent customer service", and even "miracle-worker".

So, how do you harness the professional concierge's considerable aura to market your property? How can they become a powerful sales and marketing tool? Here are six ideas for you to contemplate:

1. Have your in-house public relations person interview your concierge staff. They will have interesting and amusing stories to share (without mentioning any guest names, of course) that can be "pitched" to the media as a story idea. Newspapers are always looking for stories with human interest angles, and getting the hotel mentioned is free publicity. Encourage your concierges to update your public relations provider when something story-worthy occurs. It should go without saying that the stories should always put the hotel and the property in a good light and never embarrass your guests or employees.
   
   Those concierges who are written about in the local media are often the ones tapped for articles in major newspapers and magazines. The effect snowballs. Go on the internet and Google the term "concierge" and see how many articles you find. Notice that whenever a concierge is mentioned or quoted, so is the property where he or she works. And you will find that many of the same concierges appear repeatedly. Isn't it time to get your concierge in the news?

2. Another approach to take with your local media is to highlight people on your team to promote as "quotable experts" - the General Manager, of course, for knowledge of tourism trends, financial impact on the local tourism business, etc, and the hotel's Chef and Sommelier for articles about food and wine trends, for example. And, yes, your Chef Concierge should be the go-to person for articles on the tastes of the traveler - what is "in" or "out", insight into night life, tourist must-sees and so forth. Build a list of your "experts" that includes their credentials that make them authorities on these subjects, distribute that list to the media and let the interviews and quoting begin.

3. When your concierge joins the local professional association, becomes an officer in that association or gets his or her gold keys, let the media know. Every newspaper has a section, usually in the business or local news that highlights accomplishments in the professional community. Take advantage of it. And you can go even further---|many hotels make a big production out of pinning the new member's Clefs d'Or -gold keys- on in a ceremony and the press is invited. Here again, there is little or no cost and good public relations.
   
   (A side benefit to this publicity is the morale boost it gives to the Concierge. As you know, recognition of a job well done is highly motivating. You can also use the occasions for restating the importance of great customer service throughout your property. Your concierge can, and should, be a role model and a teacher on the subject of customer service excellence.)

4. By encouraging your staff to join local and national concierge organizations and to join other professional groups or to represent the hotel at local merchants' associations or Convention and Visitors Bureau, you send out some of your best ambassadors to build ties with other businesses and create more "buzz" about your property locally, nationally and even internationally. The rapport your concierge builds with shop owners, restaurant maitre d's, salon and spa owners etc., in the community, and with other concierges here and around the world comes back to the hotel in the form of referrals - room nights and restaurant meals sold.
   
   Most General Managers I have worked for understand that when the Concierge staff attends functions off site, representing their hotel, they are working for their property. Make sure they have the time to do it in their schedules. And, please, don't hesitate to pay their professional dues and expenses for attendance at their meetings. Give them the tools they need to be your best representatives.

5. You have a great Sales Department in place, no doubt, but have you considered sending your Chef Concierge out on sales calls with them? He or she knows the hotel inside out and the area as well. They deal with the myriad of guest requests and are in tune with both individual travelers and group needs. Their knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, your local area, can add an extra dimension to the teams sales pitch.

6. And, finally, what about your advertising campaigns? Beautiful rooms, lush settings, colorful sunsets or skyline city views are typical in advertisements, but, so often, I have found that people pick properties and keep coming back to them for the personal service they receive and the staff that provides it. Perhaps the Concierges and their stories might provide a new angle for you to approach in your advertising. People love to know that there is someone waiting at their destination to help them make the most of their stay, whether for business or pleasure. Perhaps your Concierge will prove to be your undiscovered powerful sales and marketing tool.

Elaine Oksner is Past President of Les Clefs D'Or, USA. In this role, she traveled internationally representing the concierge profession to the business community and to business leaders worldwide. She is the former Chef Concierge of the Breakers Resort, Palm Beach, one of only two Five Star, Five Diamond hotel properties in Florida. Previously she served as Chef Concierge for the Four Seasons in Palm Beach and the Park Hyatt in Washington, DC. She has served as President of Washington, DC and Palm Beach, Florida concierge associations which she helped to establish. Ms. Oksner can be contacted at 954-739-5299 or elaine@hospitalityexcellence.com Extended Bio...

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