Kiwi Curated
7 Tales From The Concierge Desk
by Darren DunneWith their position on the front lines of hospitality, concierges are often privy to unmentionable secrets, while deftly accommodating requests with all the finesse of a magician. The term was born in the French language, originating as commute des cierges or “keeper of the candles.” It applied to the servants who tended to French aristocracy, responding to each of their whims and flights of fancy with minimal fuss.
Nowadays, a concierge wears many hats — confidante, string-puller, and conjurer — and goes to great lengths to ensure a guest’s happiness. In this week’s blog, seven hotel concierges share their most memorable stories from on the job.
7 Tales From The Concierge Desk
Among the most frequent requests handled by a concierge is the retrieval of lost or forgotten items. At Brunelleschi Hotel, this request proved no problem for their intrepid concierge:
A few months ago two Canadian ladies arrived in Florence and discovered they had left a bag containing one of their passports in a small bar near San Marco in Venice. Fortunately, they remembered the name of the bar so I called it up and the nice people at the bar arranged to have it brought to the local police station. Unfortunately, it was Saturday lunchtime, the guests were leaving on Monday to return to Canada, and the police office was going to close in a few minutes.
With time running out, I got in touch with a very good friend of mine who was the concierge at The Londra Palace in Venice. He immediately called a friend inside the police force and sent a bellboy to retrieve the passport. I sent a trustworthy person to Venice on the train, and that night the guest received her passport.
7 Tales From The Concierge Desk
Every inch the modern day Cupid, Mr. Roszel Marop, director of guest services at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore and The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore, found himself extra busy over the Valentines Day period this year. He recalls:
This year my team attended to numerous requests, including sending bouquets to loved ones in home countries, and decorating 15 guest rooms romantically for the evening. Probably our biggest achievement was facilitating the proposal between a Russian guest and his girlfriend. The guest had requested a spectacular proposal, so we arranged a limousine to whisk them to Seletar Airport, where they spent 45-minutes on a private, romantic helicopter ride. I’m happy to report she said yes.
7 Tales From The Concierge Desk
A skilled concierge can immensely improve the guest experience. At Belmond Maroma Resort & Spa, a little empathy went a long way for one guest and her pet dogs. The concierge shares what happened:
A few months ago a guest arrived at the hotel for four nights accompanied by her family and two dogs. She was an elderly lady with walking problems, so our bellboy accompanied her to her room in a golf cart. She was originally assigned a suite on the top floor, but we quickly arranged for a ground floor suite instead.
We moved the dog bed and amenities to the ground floor room, and we quickly built a ‘dog ladder’ so the pair could go up and down to the bed without assistance and sleep beside the guest as they do at home. During her stay, she didn’t leave her room much since she could enjoy the pool concierge who was assisting her poolside.
At the end of their stay, the guest’s assistant came to the front desk and requested the same reservation for next year, commenting that her whole family was amazed by the service they had received.
7 Tales From The Concierge Desk
For Hotel Imperial’s head concierge, Manfred Grassauer, proving flexible to his guest’s needs has provided him with some excellent anecdotes. He recalls a few:
A famous author once wrote a book based in Vienna, but due to him not being in the city he asked our concierge to investigate the facts he wanted to feature in his book. Not wanting to say no, I walked the streets of Vienna marking where trees stood, who the head waiter at the cafe his character liked to go to was, and which corners of the streets had notable features. Of course the hotel received a signed copy of the book for our help.
Another time, we had a famous pop star stay with us and they wanted to practice Bikram Yoga in one of Vienna’s studios. They didn’t want to go alone, so we arranged a concierge to travel with them and he even practiced yoga in the sweltering studio in his full uniform.
Finally, a Japanese guest who stayed with us fell in love with our bathrooms. So much so, she decided to build an exact replica in her apartment. Our concierge took exact measurements of every corner and piece of the bathroom, and together with the guest, helped to create a replica.
7 Tales From The Concierge Desk
Park Hyatt Siem Reap’s concierge team found themselves responding to a medical situation earlier this year, going above and beyond to handle it with tremendous empathy. They recount the details:
A senior Australian couple recently stayed with us as part of a tour. On the second night, the husband felt sick and was brought to the hospital. On the couple’s scheduled departure date, the husband had not recovered and was still in hospital, leading to the tour guide of the couple’s group to decide to leave the couple behind.
The wife was understandably depressed, and we noticed she had been taking a tuk tuk from the hotel to the hospital. The duty manager decided to offer the hotel’s car to escort her to see her husband each day. We also sent her soup each day to help her feel better and tried to do our best to make her feel at home.
After a few days, the husband got better and the couple were able to depart. Before leaving, they expressed their appreciation to us and said they felt at home and like family.
7 Tales From The Concierge Desk
Going the extra mile to make an occasion special is the hallmark of a good concierge. At Shangri-La Vancouver, the concierge team created a Canada Day surprise for two lucky guests. A concierge describes the set-up:
On Canada Day this year, we had a guest book our West Coast Wilderness Adventure package as a surprise for his girlfriend. He contacted our concierge desk an hour prior to arrival with a special request — he wanted to have their room decorated with a special Canada Day motif.
We immediately sent two of our concierge team members out on a mission to find something tastefully Canadian. Rather than going with touristy trinkets that are readily available, the team visited Roots Canada, bumping into a head office contact that was able to assist.
Within 15 minutes, our team had secured a beautiful decorative canoe (miniature of course), filling it with maple candies. The canoe was entirely appropriate since the couple would be paddling down the River of Golden Dreams in Whistler the next day. As it was a romantic treat for the couple, we arranged a bottle of their favorite champagne and some Canada Day treats upon arrival. For the gentleman’s girlfriend we found a beautiful scarf with an elegant maple leaf print, which she could take away as a memento.
7 Tales From The Concierge Desk
Occasionally a concierge’s job is tinged with sadness. Their ability to shine in these moments is highlighted in the actions of the staff at De L’Europe in Amsterdam, and here’s their story:
A lady in her early 20s was terminally ill and stayed at our hotel as a way of spending her final moments among close family and friends. During her stay, we booked her a reservation at her favorite restaurant, Pasta e Basta. Unfortunately, on the day of the booking she felt too unwell to go to the restaurant.
This specific restaurant is famous for their singing waiters, so our concierge staff went out of their way to organize a video of the waiters singing her favorite Adel song, and had food from the restaurant delivered to her room as a gift on behalf of the team. The whole family enjoyed the meal and watched the video on their TV screen as if they were dining at the restaurant.
Among the most frequent requests handled by a concierge is the retrieval of lost or forgotten items. At Brunelleschi Hotel, this request proved no problem for their intrepid concierge:
A few months ago two Canadian ladies arrived in Florence and discovered they had left a bag containing one of their passports in a small bar near San Marco in Venice. Fortunately, they remembered the name of the bar so I called it up and the nice people at the bar arranged to have it brought to the local police station. Unfortunately, it was Saturday lunchtime, the guests were leaving on Monday to return to Canada, and the police office was going to close in a few minutes.
With time running out, I got in touch with a very good friend of mine who was the concierge at The Londra Palace in Venice. He immediately called a friend inside the police force and sent a bellboy to retrieve the passport. I sent a trustworthy person to Venice on the train, and that night the guest received her passport.
Every inch the modern day Cupid, Mr. Roszel Marop, director of guest services at The Fullerton Hotel Singapore and The Fullerton Bay Hotel Singapore, found himself extra busy over the Valentines Day period this year. He recalls:
This year my team attended to numerous requests, including sending bouquets to loved ones in home countries, and decorating 15 guest rooms romantically for the evening. Probably our biggest achievement was facilitating the proposal between a Russian guest and his girlfriend. The guest had requested a spectacular proposal, so we arranged a limousine to whisk them to Seletar Airport, where they spent 45-minutes on a private, romantic helicopter ride. I’m happy to report she said yes.
A skilled concierge can immensely improve the guest experience. At Belmond Maroma Resort & Spa, a little empathy went a long way for one guest and her pet dogs. The concierge shares what happened:
A few months ago a guest arrived at the hotel for four nights accompanied by her family and two dogs. She was an elderly lady with walking problems, so our bellboy accompanied her to her room in a golf cart. She was originally assigned a suite on the top floor, but we quickly arranged for a ground floor suite instead.
We moved the dog bed and amenities to the ground floor room, and we quickly built a ‘dog ladder’ so the pair could go up and down to the bed without assistance and sleep beside the guest as they do at home. During her stay, she didn’t leave her room much since she could enjoy the pool concierge who was assisting her poolside.
At the end of their stay, the guest’s assistant came to the front desk and requested the same reservation for next year, commenting that her whole family was amazed by the service they had received.
For Hotel Imperial’s head concierge, Manfred Grassauer, proving flexible to his guest’s needs has provided him with some excellent anecdotes. He recalls a few:
A famous author once wrote a book based in Vienna, but due to him not being in the city he asked our concierge to investigate the facts he wanted to feature in his book. Not wanting to say no, I walked the streets of Vienna marking where trees stood, who the head waiter at the cafe his character liked to go to was, and which corners of the streets had notable features. Of course the hotel received a signed copy of the book for our help.
Another time, we had a famous pop star stay with us and they wanted to practice Bikram Yoga in one of Vienna’s studios. They didn’t want to go alone, so we arranged a concierge to travel with them and he even practiced yoga in the sweltering studio in his full uniform.
Finally, a Japanese guest who stayed with us fell in love with our bathrooms. So much so, she decided to build an exact replica in her apartment. Our concierge took exact measurements of every corner and piece of the bathroom, and together with the guest, helped to create a replica.
Park Hyatt Siem Reap’s concierge team found themselves responding to a medical situation earlier this year, going above and beyond to handle it with tremendous empathy. They recount the details:
A senior Australian couple recently stayed with us as part of a tour. On the second night, the husband felt sick and was brought to the hospital. On the couple’s scheduled departure date, the husband had not recovered and was still in hospital, leading to the tour guide of the couple’s group to decide to leave the couple behind.
The wife was understandably depressed, and we noticed she had been taking a tuk tuk from the hotel to the hospital. The duty manager decided to offer the hotel’s car to escort her to see her husband each day. We also sent her soup each day to help her feel better and tried to do our best to make her feel at home.
After a few days, the husband got better and the couple were able to depart. Before leaving, they expressed their appreciation to us and said they felt at home and like family.
Going the extra mile to make an occasion special is the hallmark of a good concierge. At Shangri-La Vancouver, the concierge team created a Canada Day surprise for two lucky guests. A concierge describes the set-up:
On Canada Day this year, we had a guest book our West Coast Wilderness Adventure package as a surprise for his girlfriend. He contacted our concierge desk an hour prior to arrival with a special request — he wanted to have their room decorated with a special Canada Day motif.
We immediately sent two of our concierge team members out on a mission to find something tastefully Canadian. Rather than going with touristy trinkets that are readily available, the team visited Roots Canada, bumping into a head office contact that was able to assist.
Within 15 minutes, our team had secured a beautiful decorative canoe (miniature of course), filling it with maple candies. The canoe was entirely appropriate since the couple would be paddling down the River of Golden Dreams in Whistler the next day. As it was a romantic treat for the couple, we arranged a bottle of their favorite champagne and some Canada Day treats upon arrival. For the gentleman’s girlfriend we found a beautiful scarf with an elegant maple leaf print, which she could take away as a memento.
Occasionally a concierge’s job is tinged with sadness. Their ability to shine in these moments is highlighted in the actions of the staff at De L’Europe in Amsterdam, and here’s their story:
A lady in her early 20s was terminally ill and stayed at our hotel as a way of spending her final moments among close family and friends. During her stay, we booked her a reservation at her favorite restaurant, Pasta e Basta. Unfortunately, on the day of the booking she felt too unwell to go to the restaurant.
This specific restaurant is famous for their singing waiters, so our concierge staff went out of their way to organize a video of the waiters singing her favorite Adel song, and had food from the restaurant delivered to her room as a gift on behalf of the team. The whole family enjoyed the meal and watched the video on their TV screen as if they were dining at the restaurant.