.
It's no secret that many hotels are understaffed due to labor shortages and/or low wages, and at least at some hotels, even luxury hotels, that includes the Concierge Team. Frankly, we've been shocked at how long some have taken to respond substantively to client requests. After an initial, sometimes automated response to the effect of “we are inundated with requests and will get back to you as soon as possible” some Concierge Teams go MIA, not responding to clients for a week or more, or in the latest example, over two weeks.
We get that the Concierge service isn't a profit center, the way the rooms or spa is, but come on. While not all guests staying at a luxury hotel have requests for the Concierge, many do, particularly at an international luxury hotel where the assumption is that the Concierge can help secure high-end restaurant reservations or unique experiences. We'd like to see the Concierge Team set an appropriate time period for a response, say 2-3 days, and then stick to it. And if the team can't get back to all of the client's requests (say if there truly are many requests in the email) many of the requests should be taken care of, and there should be an ETA for the remaining requests. Otherwise the poor Concierge service significantly taints the pre-arrival experience, and in multiple cases we've had clients question whether they even want to keep their existing reservation, or instead switch to a different hotel with prompter Concierge service.
Communication, communication, communication. Is that really too much to ask? In the meantime, we're urging our clients to be more persistent than usual with their communications, sending follow up reminder emails to the Concierge Team and to loop us in if the Concierge isn't getting back to them in a timely manner.
To be fair, we've had excellent, very prompt Concierge service from other hotels, such as Ashford Castle in Ireland and The Ocean Club, a Four Seasons resort in the Bahamas.
Now if you'll excuse us, we're back to chasing down Concierge help for a client.
What has been your recent experience with luxury hotel concierge teams, particularly outside the U.S.?
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