At a time where everyone is too busy working on their professional and personal growth, other tasks which might not exactly fall under these categories — like planning a holiday, arranging a meeting, remembering birthdays, buying gifts and some others — tend to fade into the background, only to cause inconvenience later. But imagine a life where you don’t need to bother about these errands. What if you are being helped out on things you don’t want to spend your time on? Such a life can be possible with a concierge service. Wondering what is a concierge service? Here is everything you need to know before you hire one. By Priyanka Lamba
Importance of a concierge service in today’s world
A French word derived in the 16th century, earlier the usage of concierge was limited to hotel employees whose job was to manage the guests’ luggage and reservations. But in the past few years, this term has progressed manifold and has gone on to encompass a wide range of responsibilities like research, hiring, planning events, problem solving, arranging what is required by the client, and many more. A concierge can either be an individual or a company with goal to fulfil their client’s work. The charges can be monthly, hourly or fixed. Such services are now required in a multitude of industries, including education, business, travel and lifestyle.
The importance of these services has risen exponentially for those — like celebrities, c-level executives and business-owners — who have chock-a-block schedules and require someone to take some load off their hands. And, here’s where a concierge service provider becomes one’s personal assistant or lifestyle manager.
Types of concierge services
Depending on your requirements, there are different types of concierge services at your disposal.
- A lifestyle concierge provides a personalised service that aims to manage your style of living. They help you with your daily chores, shopping, dining, transportation arrangements and planning events.
- Although both doctors and patients can avail medical concierge services, these services are designed for the care of senior citizens, children and injured people. They help you with updating patient records, filling insurance forms, scheduling or rescheduling appointments, handling bills, answering calls and keeping the inventory ready for use.
- Business concierge is more expensive as compared to others because of the domain knowledge one needs to complete the allotted tasks. This type of concierge helps with hiring employees, handling business meetings, tracking reports, business transportation, industry research, ideating strategies, expense management and planning meetings.
- A hotel concierge fixes all problems and fulfils the needs of the guests staying in a hotel or resort. Apart from keeping the guests safe and helping them enjoy their stay, they also make transportation arrangements, suggest places to visit and fix unexpected issues.
- Extremely popular amongst travellers and business persons, travel concierge services are extremely helpful when one is planning to go on a trip for work or leisure. They pick you up from the airport, drive you to the hotel, translate the local language for you, help you with restaurant bookings, recommend places, book tickets for local places to visit and ensure your safe journey.
- A wedding concierge takes care of all your pre- and post-wedding planning which includes deciding the venue and decor, food and drinks to be served, grooming of the couple, transportation, photography, videography and arrangement of fun activities like dance and music.
- Specialists and experts cater to the learning needs of both parents and children, either individually or in groups, with their learning concierge services. They coach parents on various topics of interests, give post-school classes to kids, help students in test preparations, provide self-improvement classes, and much more.
- A little on the costlier side, a chauffeur concierge is provided to an apartment building, hotel or events to receive guests. Apart from picking and dropping clients, this concierge ensures meal and club reservations, safety, and entertainment via various recreation activities.
What to consider while choosing a concierge service
Know your requirements and opt for a company that caters well to your set of needs and has experience in handling similar demands previously. Looking up on some references won’t harm either. Go a step ahead and enquire about the firm’s hiring and training practices.
Also, analyse your lifestyle and decide whether a company with local experience or global exposure will be more suitable for you. To make sure that you receive help even when you are globetrotting, don’t forget to check the location of the concierge company you are hiring.
Related: COVID-19 Travel Checklist: Apps And Websites To Make Your Travels Hassle-Free
Written By
Priyanka Lamba
It was while pursuing her degree in computer applications, when Priyanka decided to set her sights on content writing (talking about realisation and serendipity). In her spare time, she is either found immersed in books or movies.
