Why have butler service in a hotel?
In the cases canvassed, there were two basic reasons: either because the hotel owners conceived they had the best property in the world/on the PGA tour/etc. and they believed the corollary on the service side could only be supplied by the addition of butlers. Or because they wanted to give their most important guests such a level of service. 

The five hotels participating in this article have provided guests with this butler service for the last 6-16 years, building the desired reputation and reaping the rewards. Contrasting this with hotels that have signed onto the butler concept and then disbanded the service, it is obvious that butler departments are not always guaranteed success.

How did they do it, those who succeeded?
First of all, by overcoming the obstacles they met on the way, starting with launching the service. In the case of the iconic Burj al Arab in Dubai, the problem was finding qualified staff in a country that did not have many locals to draw upon. When you have to man a department of something like 160 butlers, it is easy to see why this would be a challenge. In the end they sourced their staff from about 100 countries.

Falling Rock in Pennsylvania, a privately held resort designed in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright and boasting a challenging Pete Dye-designed golf course, also provides 24-hour butler service to its 42 rooms and suites. Their main challenge, being on a huge estate in the countryside far from any cities, was likewise recruiting butlers, which they resolved by targeting regional colleges and universities.

Harrah’s in Lake Tahoe did not have such issues, but struggled with the more prosaic problem of making their pantries flow sufficiently to keep up with the demand for butler services.

In the ideally situated Seven Stars Galleria in Milan, their challenge was being able to deliver the same level of service required in a private estate, while being in a hotel environment. This resolved with a perception shift that each room or suite was a single house with the most important guest in it. One of these hotels also mentioned justifying a large payroll as a challenge, which they overcame by providing the expected level of service with concomitant guest satisfaction. They all also hired experts to train their staff, rather than trying to fudge the training by in-house solutions not based on the butler model.

Ongoing challenges have related, for Burj al Arab, to their butlers leaving after two years—not because of dissatisfaction, but because, having worked at the hotel, they became valued commodities in the West, as well as their home countries. The solution was hiring mature butlers, providing better pay and living conditions, allowing the butlers to multi-task, and of course, promoting internally so there was a career path worth pursuing.

At Harrah’s, lack of consistency was resolved by having pictures of each set-up, from morning breakfast to elaborate dinner tables and everything in between. Similarly, the other hotels found they needed to continue the focus on training in order to maintain standards.

In the case of Falling Rock, the initial training was sufficiently strong and effective that they were able to continue annual training in-house. Their ongoing challenges have been “the stress of striving for our 5th star so we can be one of the top 25 resort hotels in the world [they achieved 5 Diamond from AAA soon after opening and have maintained it since, and have been awarded 4 Star the last two years by Forbes/Mobil], and keeping the team motivated during incredible busy times.” Team-building and venting sessions have apparently helped keep the team motivated.

In Seven Stars Galleria, the most challenging aspect of the head butler’s work is making sure the guests are satisfied from the moment they arrive at the hotel, as many stay for just one night. This is resolved by empowering the butlers to deal with whatever comes up so that the guest is always given superb service and treated as the most important person.

What’s So Special About Butler Service?
Given that butler service is superior, and that part of it can be attributed to the attitude/mindset and communication skills of the butler, what do butlers actually do en suite to service guests. The key is actually in the phrase “en suite,” because that is the niche that hotel butlers open up for hotels as lines of service to guests. Until butlers arrived on the scene in hotels three decades ago, there was very little hotels could do for guests in their suite, other than clean them, provide amenities occasionally, and room service. Those hotels who have successful butler service list the following actions they can perform to wow their guests or merely make their stay more fun/convenient/pleasurable/tailor made to their needs, etc.

Preparing the suite for arrivals, welcoming with a beverage and hot/chilled towelette; touring the guest; unpacking (and later packing) their suitcases so they can go about their business or vacation straight away; concierge service and being a continue source of information during the stay; helping with IT and business/personal secretary requests; running a bath, usually with all sorts of trimmings from caviar and champagne to less exotic fare; checking-in and –out; promoting hotel facilities (and upselling); wardrobe management, laundry, pressing and shoe shine (Falling Rock provides golf spike detailing!); providing room amenities; replenishing the private bar; providing F&B functions from simple food delivery to serving and clearing multi-course meals (in larger suites) and organizing and managing a wide range of parties; escorting to any and all appointments on-and off-property; personal shopping and personal assistance; wake-up service; and most importantly, anticipating guest needs or dealing with their requests if not anticipated. There are other services that can be delivered, but none of the five hotels questioned offer them.

Compare this to hotels without butler service, where one checks into an empty room and talks through the phone to front desk, and occasionally has food delivered: travelling is a lonely business, so butlers putting the mansion-away-from-the-mansion back into the equation certainly adds value to a hotel’s offering. Think orchestrating wedding proposals; floating-gazebo dinners; tracking down long-lost relatives and arranging the reunion; training a guest on sabering a champagne bottle so he could impress his fiancee; replicating elements of a guest’s home in their suite; the more mundane five-hour drives to deliver lost items and smoothly handling medical emergencies—these are the above-and-beyond the normal hotel stay that butlers make possible.

Which is probably why guests tend to rave about their experience at these hotels, with “nearly 100% exceptional feedback from our guests,” as one GM raved in turn, and comments like “the best service they have received in all their travels,” as one head butler reports.

The media have similarly trumpeted the wonders of these hotels and their butler service: Butlers, like Rolls Royces and Bentleys, super-yachts and private jets, symbolize the ultimate in the striving for and enjoyment of superior service, possessions, and lifestyles. They contain several of the ingredients that the press typically salivates over.

The one fly in the ointment for butlers is that mystery-guest-certifying organizations like Forbes/Mobil, AA, AAA, RAC, Leading Hotels of the World have yet to catch up with the phenomenon of butlers, even though they exist with a wide range of service offerings in something like 400 hotels around the world. As one representative explained to the author in Spring of 2010, they do not want to penalize hotels without butler service by having butler criteria. There is an easy way to resolve this, using the criteria established by the International Institute of Modern Butlers and offered freely to these organizations to incorporate into their own where butler service is offered. Butler service is the way of the future in a world where even the wealthy (and why not) are demanding maximum bang for their buck—service levels to justify the high rack rates demanded in luxury hotels. And by the way, with various hotels straining beyond the five-star rating in an effort to reflect the service they actually do deliver, it might be time to come up with 6-star and maybe even 7-star ratings to reflect hotels and resorts with butler services, private infinity pools, and so forth.

Which brings up another point, while on the subject of these organizations: the ratings have become sufficiently confusing between competing systems in a global environment—and with knock-offs and self-assignments occurring—that the ratings have lost meaning or usefulness to the consumer in some part. One whole country (which shall remain anonymous) adds two stars to their actual level as a marketing gimmick.

At the International Hotel Conference held in Venice during October, 2010, panelists referred to hotels by such terms as luxury, upscale, mid-upscale etc., in their attempts to define hotels. It’s off-subject for this article, but worth exploring and resolving, perhaps, as we move increasingly into a global marketplace.

Other benefits of butlers in these hotels are the ability to personalize service based on an ever-accumulating database of guest preferences (a long-standing butler tool), provide a single point of contact for guests who takes ownership of any problems and removes worry and chores from the guest experience; and the development of a relationship that encourages repeat visits, with guests requesting the same butler.

Butler service has justified high or higher rack rates in these hotels (at a time when occupancy is up and profits and rev par down in the rest of the country, Falling Rock has enjoyed increased rack rates 5 out of the 6 years since they opened). The number one reason guests at Burj al Arab return is because of their butler service. Burj al Arab enjoys 35% repeat guests, Seven Stars Galleria and Falling Rock experience 40%.

Internal Perceptions
Not to paint butlers as super heroes, they are generally simply dedicated and service-oriented individuals, but is that how other employees view them?

Not in all hotels, for sure, where the butlers didn’t get what a butler really is and so earned the opprobrium (harsh criticism or censure) of their colleagues. Possible conflicts and areas of jealousy were avoided in these hotels, however, by understanding that this new beast, the butler, was an unknown quantity in hospitality, a recent entrant. So efforts were made to increase the understanding of the other departments of what a butler is, why they are of value to the hotel and thus to all its employees, and, also how they enhance, not cut across, staff income streams. In additino to meetings and briefings, two hotels employed cross-exposure/training to increase understanding and so acceptance. The result has been respect, mutual respect and the building of long-term relationships that add up to real teamwork and thus excellent service.

One hotel among these five, however, is fighting an uphill battle— probably because they did not start off on the right foot—finding it difficult to make other departments accept their role in servicing guests. Their current effort to salvage the situation is to be as helpful as possibile to other departments in their servicing of guests.

How about the perception of the butler department by the butlers in these hotels? With an industry churn of about 31% per annum, Harrah’s has experienced zero churn over the last three years; Falling Rock 20%; Burj al Arab 14-18% until the Front Office merged with them, at which time the numbers increased to 25%, the same rate as the hotel where there is friction between the butlers and other departments. Whichever way you cut it, butler departments, when well run, have lower churn than the industry as a whole. Maybe this comes about because “there is no greater feeling when, as a butler, you can provide a service to a guest who has it all and still impress them.” and “Exceeding the guests’ expectations is the biggest reward we could hope and strive for” and “I am convinced the hotel butler role is the best guest-experience- maker a hotel can have.” In summary, “Our guests come to our hotel for our rating and our reviews, but they come back because of our service and our staff.”

From the management side, a GM who recognizes the value of butlers says: “the butler profession will continue to grow in the coming years. However, a butler staff is definitely a huge investment: wage scales increase, training is a huge investment, and amenities normally increase in cost when a butler program is implemented”

Then there is the hotel where the butlers are struggling, even while earning a reputation for the service they provide: the friction between butler and other departments traces back to the manager’s perception of butler service, “not seeing or understanding the link between the butler and guest satisfaction and loyalty, and the butler’s role in differentiating the property in the local marketplace”—a bit like a farmer using a Rolls Royce to haul hay.

Where do Butlers Belong?
The hotels participating all agreed that all five star/diamond hotels needed to offer butler service if they expect to provide top-level service; one even suggested that some four-star hotels should also offer butler service. Why? The wow factor and what it does for word of mouth, repeat visits, occupancy, rev par, and the bottom line.

For those wanting to establish butler service, all hotels agree that experienced butlers should be hired if possibile, certainly managers, and those with a passion to serve; train them repeatedly; and focus on attention to detail, especially in compiling and following guest preference databases (which makes anticipation possibile).

Butlers are still relatively new to the hospitality industry, which is behaving a bit like it is reaching puberty on the subject: all angst and knobbly knees about how to proceed…which makes these five hotels early developers and good role models for those following close behind. If service is the name of the game, then added service opportunities seem to be a no brainer. Certainly, more and more guests will feel this way, the more they experience the ideal.

Republished with permission of the author and hotelexecutive.com

Steven Ferry
Chairman
International Institute of Modern Butlers

As Founder and Chairman of the International Institute of Modern Butlers, Steven Ferry campaigns to raise service standards around the world by passing on the finely honed social and service skills of the British butler. He speaks and writes for the industry, and his two books on the profession, Butlers and Household Managers, 21st Century Professionals, and Hotel Butlers, The Great Service Differentiators, are used as the definitive texts for butlers and their employers world wide.
 In addition to guiding the Institute, Mr. Ferry spends much of his time in the field, teaching butlers and household managers in the private and hospitality sectors.

Mr. Steven Ferry can be contacted via cell: 727 492 4082 or <stevenferry@modernbutlers.com>

Being a network run by hoteliers for hoteliers, we thought you should get to know about the people who are keeping our network vibrant and up to date with industry news:

Institute of Modern Butlers

As Founder and Chairman of the International Institute of Modern Butlers, Steven Ferry is campaigning to raise service standards around the world by passing on the finely honed social and service skills of the British butler.

He speaks and writes for the industry, and his two books on the profession, Butlers and Household Managers, 21st Century Professionals, and Hotel Butlers, The Great Service Differentiators, are used as the definitive texts for butlers and their employers world wide.


 

Professor Ferry moves beyond to focus on creating the right mindset, attitude, and communication skills that underpin superior service. He additionally provides consulting and some placement services for those private individuals and hospitality venues requiring such services.

 

 

Professor  Ferry created the standards for rating hotel butler service in use in the industry today, and together with Spa Hospitality Worldwide, was responsible for introducing the concept of the Spa Butler into the awareness, lexicon and service offerings of the industry. 


Mr. Ferry was born and raised in England. He returned there to work in the hospitality industry and private residences before moving back to the United States to continue his work. He resides in Florida with his wife.

Mr. Steven Ferry can be contacted via cell: 727 492 4082 or stevenferry@modernbutlers.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Martin Kubler,
Iconsulthotels.com

Martin Kubler is an innovative, resourceful and enthusiastic international hospitality professional with executive-level management experience in three, four and five star properties.

He has held senior management roles in internationally flagged as well as independently owned and operated hotels in Europe and the Middle East and has worked for operators such as Accor, Wyndham, Thistle, and the Bonnington Group.

Martin now heads up iconsulthotels.com, an ultra-boutique consulting firm specialising in assisting small & medium hospitality companies and international hospitality professionals to achieve their business goals through innovative use of (online) PR, social media and customised CRM strategies.Martin specialises in business development, hotel opening and re-branding projects, e-Commerce and e-Distribution, optimizing operational performance, making a difference, and creating smiles.

Martin is a Fellow of the Institute of Hospitality, a member of Skål International, a frequent speaker at hotel and customer service conferences and events, and a regular contributor to industry websites and publications such as eHotelier.com and bestpracticehotel.com.

Martin’s Homepage: www.martinkubler.com
Homepage: www.iconsulthotels.com
Iconsulthotels on Facebook: www.facebook.com/iconsulthotels
Martin’s Blog: http://www.martinkubler.com/270669
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/martinkubler

 

Lucy Hay,
Founder, Expressions Arabia

My aim at Expressions Arabia is to inspire performance excellence in our trainees and we do this through our Peak Performance Advantage programmes which enhance and compliment soft skills training workshops.

My mission for next year is to use my success to fund education and empowerment programmes for women and children in the Third World.

By Martin Kubler FIH, Chief Cook & Bottle Washer at iconsulthotels.com

In the course of talking to hoteliers about social media, I often come across statements and questions like, “It’s all well and good, but can you actually make money with it?”, “I only use it for marketing purposes – I have yet to find a way to use it to sell rooms!”, or “Isn’t Twitter just a big waste of time?”.

By and large, hoteliers are busy people, so rather than explain to them in detail the theory of how to sell rooms via social media platforms like Twitter or Facebook, I find it useful to show them specific examples, like this one:

 

1. Monitor Twitter and listen to what people talk about

Twitter is a social networking and microblogging service, which enables users to send and read messages called tweets. Tweets are text-based posts of up to 140 characters displayed on the users’ profile pages. All users can send and receive tweets via the Twitter website, compatible external applications (such as for smartphones), or by Short Message Service (SMS).

Since its launch in 2006, Twitter has gained popularity worldwide and currently has more than 175 million users. It is estimated that Twitter users generate around 65 million tweets a day and that Twitter handles over 800,000 search queries per day.

 

Monitoring tweets is relatively easy, because Twitter allows you to search for just about any search term(s) you like and once you performed a search, you can save the search term(s) for future reference.

 

The first step to successfully selling hotel rooms on Twitter, therefore, is to set up and save a number of useful search terms. These should definitely include the words “hotel” and the name of your city and/or area – the idea being that you want to find Twitter users who mention the word “hotel” and your location in the same sentence.

Once set up and tested, check your Twitter searches a couple of times per day, e.g. in the morning, around lunch time, and in the evening/night. With a bit of luck you will come across tweets like these:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 1: Results of a Twitter search for “hotels” + “dubai” in January 2011

This Twitter user is clearly looking for a suitable hotel in Dubai. You’ll also notice that he is young(ish), wants a hotel with access to shopping malls and other attractions, and plans on visiting Dubai Mall.

 

2. Reply and become part of the conversation

On Twitter, much like on most other social media platforms, speed is king, so once you have located an interesting conversation, waste no time to become part of it and reply straight away. Remember, your competitors may be watching and your replies are limited to 140 characters, so act swiftly and keep it concise, e.g. like this:

 

 

 

 

 

After your initial response, stay tuned for further replies or questions. Click the “@Mentions” button on your Twitter dashboard frequently to find things like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This Twitter user is clearly interested in what the hotel has to say, has already visited the hotel’s homepage, and has entered into a conversation. It’s time to take the next step!

 

3. Pitch your property

 

 

 

 

Make sure you show off your property in the right light, bearing in mind what the potential guest is looking for. Composing and sending tweets only takes a matter of minutes, so don’t worry about wasting hours negotiating with clients.

Once you made your pitch and answered all the client’s questions, it’s time to wait and see what happens next. All being well, you won’t have to wait long to close the deal!

4. Secure the business and follow-up

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Enjoy the results

Do not stop to listen, once you’ve send the booking confirmation to the guest. Keep an ear on the conversation, because social media savvy guests are likely spread the word about your property very quickly, so there is always a chance to secure additional business. Alternatively, just enjoy the results of your social media activities:

Also remember to let your customer service shine online as brightly as offline!

Don’t forget that guests who actively use social media sites are very likely to tell all their connections about your hotel and their stay in your property, so it pays to keep an eye on them to ensure that they enjoy their time in your hotel.

As for the question of ROI (Return on Investment) for the example used here:

Total time spent finding the conversation and engaging with the client = Less than 15 minutes

Total room revenue generated = In excess of AED 1,000

6. Conclusion

Yes, it really is this easy! All you need is a social media savvy person with dedication, product knowledge, and a way with words, plus a computer and an Internet connection.

Granted, you will not be successful every single time, but consider the advantage of online sales activities over offline sales activities: No parking hassles, no missed appointment because the client was in a meeting, no time wasted in traffic jams.

 Don’t let anybody tell you that you require hundreds of followers or connections to sell rooms on Twitter, because you don’t. Equally, don’t let anybody tell you that in the foreseeable future, you can get rid of all your “offline” sales people and replace them with computer geeks, because you won’t.

Do, however, realise that it is possible to sell hotel rooms and service via social media platforms and that such sales activities will achieve results and compliment your “offline” sales efforts!

Happy tweeting! Coming soon: How to sell rooms via LinkedIn!

Notes:

 

I would like to thank @pbhavsar and @bonningtontower for letting me use their Twitter conversation as an example.

Please feel free to follow me on Twitter (@iconsulthotels) for more hospitality social media and sales tips and tricks.