Hotel in 13 Stories: Concierge - Escape to Wonderland

We are bringing a series of columns 13-story hotel by author Domagoj Grgić, hospitality manager who will explain from his point of view through 13 short stories a picturesque depiction of hotels and hotel business.

Domagoj Grgic He built his career in tourism at the Le Meridien Lav 5* hotel (Grand Casino Lav and Club Lav), the Martinis - Marchi 5* hotel, the multi-awarded Marina Frapa Resort Rogoznica and the Imperial hotel, and is currently, as an ambitious and experienced manager, engaged in Ireland at the Monart Spa Destination 5* (listed among the 1 percent of the best hotels in the world by Tripadvisor for 2020).

After the first two stories, we bring you a new story Concierge - escape to wonderland.

"In the LAST 24 hours, x new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection have been recorded, and the number of active cases in Croatia today is x, the Headquarters announced." You've had enough of this kind of news and simply turn off the radio.

You arrive at the hotel ramp in a relaxed manner and open the window. You are greeted by a man dressed and decorated to the finest detail. Concierge, kindly greets you by name, welcomes you and directs you to the hotel.

On your way to the hotel entrance, you think that you haven't been greeted so warmly and nicely in a long time. You arrive at the entrance and as you prepare to get out of the car, the door is opened by an equally polite and elegant man. ConciergeHe welcomes you, asks how your trip was and if he can help you carry your suitcases to the hotel.

You step out of the car like a prince, watching as the concierge carefully carries your suitcases out while you hand him the car key. He opens the front door for you and lets you in. As he tags your suitcases, he tells you that he will take them to your room as soon as possible and that he will disinfect your car when you park it and then plug it into the power charger.

As he leads you to the reception, he tells you about the hotel's glorious history and how you'll be sleeping in the very part where the famous warrior slept. When you arrive at the reception, he introduces himself once again and says that he's available for anything you need. You suddenly remember that you forgot your cell phone charger, and he tells you that it will be waiting for you in your room.

By the time you arrive at the reception desk, you've long since forgotten about the headquarters and COVID. Your vacation, your escape to wonderland, has just begun.

Concierge - Count of Candles - in translation - candle keeper. In the Middle Ages, they were supposedly responsible for lighting in noble castles, and since they led guests to their rooms, they were also called key keepers.

There is only one school for concierges and only one association. Unobtrusive, yet always on hand. Subtle, yet clear enough to know they are there. Neat and classy, ​​but not kitschy.

In the age of online booking and online check-in, a person really feels special when someone takes care of them. And they really do.

After you've checked in, your concierge suddenly appears next to you and offers to take you to your room. While he's taking you to your room, he mentions how busy the hotel restaurant is and offers to book a table for dinner or arrange room service for you. Even though you didn't plan on eating anything, of course you agree to go to the restaurant because if the concierge is this good, what's the food like?

Before entering your room, you greet the concierge and think he must have forgotten something. But no, you see your suitcases by the bed, your coat is in the closet, and your cell phone charger is already waiting for you on the table.

Who thinks more about headquarters, who thinks more about COVID?

If you ask me, this was an example of the ideal approach of a concierge service. In a nice, smooth and decent manner, in coordination with the reception, a slightly distracted guest was ushered into the hotel and given maximum attention, their suitcases were taken, their car was parked, disinfected and plugged into the charger.

In this way, the guest went from a state of distraction to a state of carefreeness and decided to eat dinner on the way from the reception to the room, thus achieving the desired cross-selling.

A guest in this state of carefreeness is certainly willing to treat themselves and spend more money than they planned in the restaurant (an ideal opportunity for up-selling), so with maximum guest satisfaction, additional revenue will be generated. Toothpaste and sleeping pills are possible additional requests from such a guest, but with good coordination with the reception, such problems are resolved without any problems to everyone's satisfaction.

Finally, a guest who has forgotten about their everyday worries will be happy to reward the concierge service upon departure and sit carefree and happy in a disinfected and charged car. 

In the end, the only question left is when the guest will return and escape to his wonderland again.

Author: Domagoj Grgić

Photos: cottonbro, Pexels.com