Hotel concierge staff can be tourism ambassadors

source: Society of the Golden Keys Malaysia facebook

KUALA LUMPUR: To many hotel concierge workers, meeting their customers’ needs is everything. Some have found that networking with other concierge staff around the world has helped them serve their customers better.

“I had a guest from Belgium who would send flowers to his wife every year for their anniversary, but he found it difficult when he was in Indonesia. “So I called a fellow concierge staff in Belgium so that flowers could be sent to the man’s wife,” said Menara Pen­insula Hotel staff member Hassan Asari, 40, who is from Jakarta.

Concierge staff Konstantin Pilip­en­ko, 26, from the Russian Seasons Del­uxe-Hotel in Sochi, Russia, felt the same way about going the extra mile. “We had a guest from Argentina who lost his luggage in the airport, and he needed to go for a meeting. All the shops were closed, so I made the decision to give him my colleague’s suit and my shoes,” he said.

Up to 500 delegates from 45 countries around the world are here from Friday until Jan 15 for the 61st Inter­national Concierge Congress. Gathering under the banner of Les Clefs d’Or, the delegates discussed issues related to the industry.

The Congress was officiated by Tou­rism Malaysia director-general Datuk Mirza Mohammad Taiyyab who praised concierge staff wor­l­dwide as “tourism ambassadors” .

-thestar online.