Tag: Tips
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7 Tips to Remember When Staying in a Hotel for the Holidays from Concierge Corner
The holidays are over, well nearly, we've still got 2012 to ring in but already we've got a post-mortem of the 2011 holiday season from our favorite concierge, @ConciergeCorner.
1. On Shipping gifts: I will be happy to map out, recommend and even drive you to purchase gifts, but shipping and tipping, that’s on you.
2. Keep complaints to a minimum: You are visiting family but I’m away from mine, at work. Have a heart and don’t complain about the low floor of your third party booked room, thanks.
3. Restaurant reservations on Christmas Eve are tough: It’s Christmas Eve and for some reason you are under the impression that you are getting a table at the popular family owned Italian eatery. Sorry, not happening. Mr. Lucco is with his family but I’m sure Red Dragon Asian eatery has availability.
Concierges / Concierge Corner / Tips / → All Tags
Who The Concierge Wants To Know, And Who He Doesn't Want to Know
He's known as @ConciergeCorner on Twitter who's not afraid to dish on all the crazy things that guests ask concierges. But he also might be the concierge fielding your requests during your next hotel stay and he's got a few tips on how to get the most out of your concierge contact. This week, he's talking about How He Knows Who He Knows. (And no, that's neither @ConciergeCorner or his hotel in the photo above.)
In the hotel business, as in other industries, it’s as much about what you know, as who you know.
When a guest comes to me with a last minute request, I could know all the words in the dictionary, but it's people in the right places that can make things happen. The “must have” gaming system, new Apple product, limited edition handbag or what have you, it’s knowing the right people in a variety of places in the city that can make you a star in the guests’ eyes.
Concierges / Tips On Tips / Yelp / TripAdvisor / Tips / Concierge Corner / → All Tags
How Much To Tip The Concierge
He's known as @ConciergeCorner on Twitter who's not afraid to dish on all the crazy things that guests ask concierges. But he also might be the concierge fielding your requests during your next hotel stay and he's got a few tips on how to get the most out of your concierge contact. This week, here are his thoughts on How Much To Tip the Concierge. (And no, that's neither @ConciergeCorner or his hotel in the photo above.)
To tip, or not to tip: an age old question in the hospitality industry. In an industry where at times over 50% of one’s pay is derived from gratuities, tipping is always appreciated. That said, my HR department pays each (hourly) position differently depending on what they feel we likely receive in gratuities. Sadly, their gratuity estimates are quite high and unrealistic.
Yelp ain't got nothing on us.
In the past, boarding passes, dinner reservations and transportation arrangements would be some of the most common concierge requests, but the emergence of sites like Trip Advisor, OpenTable and Yelp has changed this. Today, many guests will skip the concierge, opting instead to utilize websites. There are still some who will utilize our services, especially in the luxury segment. You can imitate the human touch, but you can't duplicate it. When it comes to a last minute dinner reservation at a popular restaurant or a sold out performance, I'm far more likely to be able to secure them for a guest than a website is. Given that this is something that only I, the concierge, may be able to accomplish; common gratuity is $5 or $10. For me at, I'd say the most common gratuity left is $5.
Concierges / Do Not Do / Lists / Tips / Concierge Corner / → All Tags
5 Things Not to Ask the Concierge
He's known as @ConciergeCorner on Twitter who's not afraid to dish on all the crazy things that guests ask concierges. But he also might be the concierge fielding your requests during your next hotel stay and he's got a few tips on how to get the most out of your concierge contact. So without further ado, we present 5 Things You Should Not Ask the Concierge as told by @ConciergeCorner. (And no, that's neither @ConciergeCorner or his hotel in the photo above.)
1. Don't ask for the hottest new hotspot in town. When a guest requests I recommend the hottest, newest, sexiest restaurant, it is apparent he/she has no clue what he/she actually wants. Just because something is new does not make it good. So please, ask for what you really want, not just what’s new. On a related note, when I recommend a great local (nearby) steakhouse and then see/hear that you have gone to one of the many chain steakhouses simply because it was a few blocks closer, it breaks my heart!
OpenThread / Gratuity Included Hotels / Tips / Tipping / → All Tags
Is the Service Better or Worse at Hotels That Include Gratuity?
While we're on the topic of tipping today, we wanted to know what you thought of Gratuity Included Hotels, i.e. hotels where they automatically tack on gratuity to a food and beverage bill, spa treatment or other service.
Obviously, this is common in Europe (everywhere, not just at hotels) but here in America, it's still quite unusual or helpful/offensive, depending on where you stand on automatically tipping for service.
We encountered this recently at the Canyon Ranch Miami when we dined in their Canyon Ranch Grill and noticed that an 18 percent gratuity charge had been added. The same thing happened after we went to pay for our pedicure in the spa. Apparently this is standard for all Canyon Ranch hotels.
Annual WiFi Report / Hotel WiFi / International Hotel WiFi / HotelChatter Guides / Tips / → All Tags
HotelChatter's 2011 Hotel WiFi Report
**A HotelChatter Exclusive**
Chances are, you are probably reading our seventh annual WiFi Report right now on your iPad. Or your iPhone. Or your Blackberry, Droid, Kindle or Galaxy Tablet, if anyone actually uses those.
Much like cellphones have practically put land lines out of business, mobile devices are fast changing the way we sign onto the web when we’re on the go. And that includes when we're staying in hotels.
While the hardware we carry into hotel rooms is changing seemingly from one month to the next, our demands free and reliable WiFi have not wavered a bit. And as more and more of us start to travel with cellphones, laptops and tablets, the call for free WiFi is more urgent than ever.
Yet hotels around the world, especially those luxury ones, are still charging daily rates of $10 or more for WiFi. Worse, some are even double-dinging us for our mobile devices.
This leaves guests the choice of navigating the always, ever-changing WiFi fees at mid and high-end hotels, or spending the night at budget places just for the internet.
So you better know the lay of the free hotel WiFi land before you book your room. After all, the one thing we can do as loyal, frequent hotel guests is vote "free WiFi" with our credit cards.
Once again, we’ve broken down the Hotel WiFi landscape into Best Hotels, Worst Hotels and the best and worst from the International Hotel Scene. We’ve also added a couple of new sections; picking out the Best and Worst cities for free hotel WiFi, tips on getting secondary devices on for free when the hotel wants you to pay per device, and where to stay in stylin' and free WiFin', to name a few.
Hotel Bars / Manhattan Hotels / Hotel News / Tipping / Tips / → All Tags
Watch Out For Tips Included When Drinking At New York Hotel Bars
The rooftop bar at Hotel Gansevoort.
UPDATE: In response to this story, the Gansevoort Hotel Group let us know that the Hotel Gansevoort does not include an automatic 20 percent tip on all beer, wine, and cocktails ordered, and has never done so. The Gansevoort Park Ave, however, had included a 20 percent gratuity on all bar tabs since opening in the summer. But, as of today, this automatic gratuity has been eliminated. Yippee! Moving forward, the only automatic gratuity charges at both hotels will for large parties and bottle service.
As you might have guessed from our frequent Hotel Cocktails and Hotel Bars coverage, we're fond of a tipple. But a tip? We prefer when that's left to our discretion. Unfortunately, as reported by the New York Post, we can't always get what we want. Many hotel bars in NYC are now charging mandatory tips on drinks tabs.
Hotels mentioned in the article include top spots in the city for getting sozzled--such as Hotel Gansevoort, The Standard NYC, the Tribeca Grand and the Ace Hotel.
Concierges / Viva Vegas / Tips / → All Tags
Sometimes The Concierge Doesn't Always Know Best
The front desk at Vdara in Las Vegas.
Ahh...Concierges. In French, this means "know it all." Just kidding. The word actually evolved from the French Comte Des Cierges, The Keeper of the Candles. (Here's the Wikipedia explanation.)
These days there are all sorts of specialized concierges from shopping concierges to teen concierges to pet concierges and yes, Christmas concierges..But what about a good, old-fashioned general concierge? With so much information out there at the touch of our iPhones and Blackberries, we wondered how the concierges were upping their game.
Staying at Vdara Hotel and Spa the other night, we realized that we had forgotten our memory card reader. We knew where we could get one but we thought it would be interesting to see what the Vdara concierge service would recommend.
After all, this is their town. Maybe they knew of a faster way. Or maybe, just maybe, they had one on loan. Isn't CityCenter supposed to be all about technology anyways?
Interviews / Pitch Your Hotel / Concierges / Holiday Hotels / Tips / London Hotels / → All Tags
The Dorchester's Christmas Concierge Tells Us Where to Go
You wouldn’t know it was Christmas from the weather in London at the moment; you’d think you’d stepped back in time to the Great Flood. So we got a little thrill yesterday when we strolled into The Dorchester and saw the lobby all dolled up with Christmas trees and twinkly lights.
We were there to do something even more Christmassy – to meet the dapper Christmas Concierge, Andy Davies. Sadly, he doesn’t get his title, as we initially assumed, by togging up in a Santa suit for the rest of the month – he earns it because he’s going to be working the concierge desk by himself on Christmas Day. In fact, he’s worked all 26 of the Christmas days that he’s been concierging at the Dorchester. Yup, 26 years of service. And he’s a born and bred Londoner, so he has some serious knowledge to tap.
Seeing as we’re thoroughly unimpressed by the Christmas lights on Oxford Street this year (basically neon ads for A Christmas Carol), we took advantage and asked him where to go to feel festive in London.
Hotel Pools / Hotel Bars / Napa Valley Hotels / Tips / → All Tags
'Dive Bar' Wednesdays at The Bardessono Pool
Can’t afford even the low-season $300 a night rate at Yountville’s new eco-resort, Bardessono Hotel? Fear not. The exclusive resort opens up its guests-only rooftop pool to non-guests on Wednesday evenings from 6:00-9:00pm for its punny Dive Bar, so even Napa townies can enjoy the stunning mountain and vineyard views while enjoying a dip and a drink while DJ's spin tunes near the bar.
The secluded pool is usually open only to resort guests, who come to lie in piece and quiet in one of the screened off day-bed cabanas. Come Wednesday evening, though, anyone can stop by the rooftop cement pond, and they're encouraged to come in their bathing suits to take a dip between bar rounds, with drinks going for just $8 each. The resort even throws in complimentary valet parking. That way, everyone can enjoy the privileges of being a hotel guest without having to spend a night.
Hotel High Tea / Tips / Hotel Etiquette / → All Tags
Five Etiquette Tips for Hotel High Teas
Hotel teas look so inviting, with refined guests sipping chamomile and nibbling on delicate finger sandwiches. But if you're worried that people will gasp you if don't point your pinky the right way while holding a tea cup, don't fret.
We recently went to the Four Seasons Chicago to glean some tea tips so that you won't look like a teatime newbie, or even worse, an uncouth pig.
1. Dress the part.
Okay, you don't have to don white gloves to attend high teas, but dress up. We spotted two ladies in jeans, and while no one shot them disapproving looks, they stood out among the skirts, lady pants and suits in the room.
2. Don't get drunk.
If you choose to get a glass of champagne before your tea, which everyone did in our room except for the jeans-wearing delinquents, try to pad your stomach with some alcohol-soaking food before you arrive. Otherwise, the bubbly will hit your empty stomach quickly and your tipsy party will get a little rowdy and loud, much to the chagrin of the murmuring tea drinkers.
Crazy Hotel Workers / Hotel Staff / Tips / → All Tags
What Not to Say to Crazy Hotel Workers
The passive-aggressive mob we know as the Crazy Hotel Workers is always giving us useful tips on how to be a significantly-less-annoying hotel guest. We can only assume that if we take note of some of these rants and do our part to irritate the staff less, we'll probably get better service — so here are some of their recent pearls of wisdom to absorb and take to heart:
· When you see a deal for pets (or the hotel staff ask if you've got a pet with you) don't ask if your husband/child counts as a pet. Apparently they've heard it before. And it wasn't even that funny the first time.
· Don't ring down to reception to complain that the coffee is too hot. You're not going to get a multi-million dollar settlement out of it.
· If your TV isn't working, that's reasonable grounds for complaint: but if the only reason you want the staff to come immediately to fix your cable up is so that you can watch the Home Shopping Network, you're better off keeping the broken TV (and your viewing habits) to yourself.
Crazy Hotel Workers have also been irritated recently by guests who asked for a bunch of extra shampoos (for their long hair) or who call down for an extra blanket at four o'clock in the morning, but we think these complaints are at least half-way legitimate — we can imagine making them ourselves. Whatever happened to the customer being right, guys?
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