Concierges provide the emotional connection to guests' experience

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“The hospitality industry is driven by emotion, as such, concierges and guest relations staff would do well to understand that, and harness the power to connect with guests on an emotional level to ensure they leave with lasting memories,” Andrew Hoskings, Tsogo Sun: operations director for the central northern region told South African Annual Concierge Conference 2018.

He pointed out that it is the minor touches to service that make a difference – paying attention and listening to guests goes a long way. Although he concurs that technology has become a huge part of the hospitality industry, he said technology cannot replace human touch.

“We need to embrace what is coming to us in future – it is sadly not technology that will enhance service experience, emotions can only be created by humans and not robots. “As concierges and guest relations staff, it is critically important to embrace the power you have to connect with guests regardless of what new tools are introduced to the industry – keep up with what’s going on, remain relevant and continue to create memorable experiences for all your guests,” he added.

To improve guest experiences on a continuous basis, concierges and guest relations staff need to constantly repeat the good work they are already doing, so as to create that lasting experience or ‘customer delight’, Deon Prinsloo, head concierge and guest relations manager at The Palazzo Hotel said.

Gathering feedback and conducting surveys identify areas where customer delight can be improved. “Gathering the information is useless if no implementation takes place, so implementing solutions is key to achieving the third stage, which is measuring against goals what it is you are trying to achieve,” he said.