How a concierge service can benefit your business

Other agencies have always had
the service in place. “We’ve had the concierge service since we started out, which is now almost 10 years ago,” says Carolyn Park, director of C the World, a TTG Top 50 Travel Agency. “I did it myself when I started.”

The store has two concierges, Nicola Woodland and Catherine Smith. The role has no selling element to it at all, explains Park. “They will do 
all sorts of things like checking customers in and helping them fill in their Estas. People get nervous, so it’s a peace-of-mind service.”

Park believes having a concierge service can become a USP for your agency, reassuring clients and keeping them coming back for repeat bookings. “We thought about why people should book with us when there are plenty of agents and operators out there. If we’re there holding the client’s hand, we build trust. Keeping clients you’ve got is easier than finding new ones,” she says.

“We thrive on repeat business and we grow by word of mouth. I call our service the ‘bat phone’ as, like Batman, we are on call 24 hours a day, and if the phone rings we drop everything to sort out the issue.”

One argument for a concierge is client retention due to the tailored service. Park gives an example of a concierge who thought outside the box to make sure clients didn’t miss part of their holiday.

“While clients were in the air flying to Hawaii, we had a notification that their tour pick-up time had changed. We couldn’t get hold of them so the concierge booked them a 6.30am alarm call the day after they landed. The clients thanked us, even though they were jet-lagged, because it meant they didn’t miss their tour.”

Tony Mann, director 
at Idle Travel, prefers 
to have all members 
of staff mucking in with
 any additional requests, as opposed to having a dedicated concierge service. He outlines his reasons:

Working together: “By sharing the concierge tasks, the whole team gets to know customers. Having
 a dedicated role takes away the personal bit.”

Informal approach: “If we’re all sectioned into boxes, we lose the personal touch. As an independent, knowing customers by name and all about them makes us stand out. A concierge service is too corporate; doing things this way adds a more relaxed feeling.”

No change yet: “I’ve considered it, because if we had one person focusing on the concierge service everything would get done straight away. I always re-evaluate what could be an advantage for the customer, but at this moment in time I’m happy with how things are.”

For some agencies, the concierge role is relatively new. “About a year ago we felt we needed a concierge service, so we’ve had someone fulfilling that role since then,” says Richard Dixon, director of Holidaysplease. “We don’t advertise the service or shout about it. In our view, if we provide it, the customer will book again.”

The agency found that by contacting suppliers in advance, it could ward off potential issues before they happen. This also cemented relationships, which has led to upgrades and special treatment of valued clients.

“We’ve had lots of success with customers getting stuff from a hotel that they wouldn’t usually have done if we hadn’t been in touch,” says Dixon.

“An example is one of our clients who made a Christmas booking and received a lot of money off the price. She looked at the website afterwards and discovered that lots of things the hotel normally offers weren’t applicable because of the special offer. Our concierge, Cait, spoke to the hotel so the customer got everything included, like a romantic meal on the beach and spa treatments.”

Does your agency have a concierge service? What's your view? Email feedback@ttgmedia.com or leave a comment below.