Awards Countdown: Concierge of the Year
Hotelier Middle East has revealed the top 10 nominees for the coveted Concierge of the Year Award, in the fourth installment of the long-list announcements.
All levels of concierge, from bell captain to chief concierge, have been whittled down from close to 50 entries to score their place on the long-list.
The winner will be announced on October 14 at the Hotelier Middle East Awards Ceremony held at Madinat Jumeirah.
To find out who is in the running, click through to the next page.
Ashok Kuckian
Chief concierge
Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, UAE
A 15-year career with Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi, plus a recent Clefs d’Or award by Union Internationale des Concierges d’Hotels, gets Ashok Kuckian his place on the Concierge of the Year long-list.
Nominator Layal Bou Habib, assistant director of marketing and communications at Beach Rotana Abu Dhabi, explains: “Ashok has recently been honored with the Clefs d’Or award by Union Internationale des Concierges d’Hotels, for which the ceremony was held in China. This proves that he is one of the select few topnotch concierges in the world.
“Ashok was among the distinctive 26 members comprising the UAE concierge team who have met the strict criteria for excellent guest services set by the organisation. He also received an award from Dubai Tourism for attending the Clefs d’Or conference and for representing the UAE during a ceremony in Dubai.”
Kuckian’s career highlights include forming relationships with celebrities — from Footballer Pele to actor Dennis Haysbert — and directly organising their reservations; obtaining a guest’s doctor’s prescription from the US and buying her medicine in the UAE, needed urgently before the guest was scheduled to speak at a major event, and running excursions and sight-seeing tours with his team.
Habib recalls one guest comment to sum up Kuckian’s important role in the hotel: “I am writing to thank you for your excellent assistance during my short stay last Sunday. You will recall that I was disappointed that my intended tour was missed through a fault not of yours. Your swift action in terms of organizing an evening tour and then early morning desert experience was an outstanding effort. I am exceptionally grateful for your consideration and it has in fact meant that I will no longer route my London trips via Dubai. I will be sure to fly Etihad and make Abu Dhabi my preferred stopover in future. You are an excellent ambassador for the Beach Rotana and I very much look forward to seeing you on my next visit”.
Dickson D'Souza
Assistant Manager Concierge
Jumeirah Emirates Towers
Dubai, UAE
With more than 26 years of hospitality experience, Dickson is “synonymous to the meaning of Concierge at Jumeirah Emirates Towers”, says concierge manager Mirzaf Sally.
Described as being highly-knowledgeable, well-networked, energetic and efficient — as a concierge should be — D’Souza also “goes the extra mile” to attend to all guests needs, says Sally.
“This is reflected in Dickson’ mounting notes of appreciation from guests, whether verbally, by mail, by email or by guest comment cards,” he says, adding that one guest wrote a letter to the GM stating that Dickson was the “main reasons” for him choosing to stay at Emirates Towers.
Currently in charge of Concierge Desk, Bell Desk, Valet and Doorman and on a cross exposure as Duty Manager, D’Souza is responsible for ensuring that Key Performance Indicators are met, if not exceeded, in terms of JD Power results and Guest Satisfaction Index. He had completed several projects such as the Competitor Hotels Survey and implemented best practices.
As a result, he recently won the hotel’s Manager of the Quarter award, reveals Sally.
“Colleagues from all departments look up to him and see him as a great role model. He has developed several line colleagues to become highly competitive concierge professionals like himself,” he adds.
Denver Cramer
Head Concierge
Qamardeen Hotel
Dubai, UAE
Dedicated chief concierge Denver Cramer puts his role at Qamardeen Hotel above everything else; even returning to work after his apartment burnt down with a smile on his face.
Such dedication has won Cramer admiration form guests and colleagues alike, says public relations and marketing services manager Tracey Meskin.
“Whether it’s making numerous calls to gather information on Dubai’s landmark skyscrapers for a group of architecture students visiting the city, to giving his team regular quizzes to make sure they are suitably up to date with Dubai attractions and qualified to recommend the best activities to hotel guests, Cramer goes the extra mile to make sure every guest is happy and well looked after,” she says.
“Denver is a dedicated professional and always looks to exceed the customers’ experience using innovative ways. He goes out of the way and surprises guests by getting their cars cleaned without being asked to do so; sometimes he even gets the cars refueled. At times guests check out and are stranded with no transportation. Denver steps in and ensures that they arrive at the airport in good time for their flights,” adds John Aritho, general manager, Southern Sun, Qamardeen Hotel.
In addition to his role as chief concierge, Cramer has taken on an additional duty management role and a night management role. He has also successfully completed training courses on Commitment to Excellence and The Culture of Dubai, as well as obtaining certificates for First Aid and Fire Marshall from the Safety Training Awards (STA), First Aid Security Group, in order to guarantee that he is fully equipped to attend to any emergency situations.
But what does Cramer think is the key to his success?
“You need to have a clear head in times of crisis, the determination to solve a problem at any cost, and the perseverance to see a project through to a successful conclusion,” he says.
Kamal Jayalath
Concierge Manager
Jumeirah Beach Hotel
Dubai, UAE
Kamal Jayalth began his career with Jumeirah Beach Hotel as a bell boy at the hotel opening in 1997, having worked at the property when it was Chicago Beach Hotel previously.
In 2005, Jayalath was promoted to assistant concierge manager and was also again a part of an opening team at Jumeirah Emirates Towers Hotel. In the same year, he was rewarded for his success that he had achieved so far by being presented with the Les Clefs D'Or Best Concierge of The Year in Manila.
Now concierge manager and vice president of Les Clefs D'Or International, Jayalth has been nominated for Concierge of the Year by Jumeirah Beach Hotel director of rooms
Azar Saliba for his “continuous growth both personal and professional”.
As well as achieving high guest satisfaction results and earning his team a place in the final for Best Concierge Team of the year 2007, Jayalth also captain’s the hotel’s cricket team and has received awards for the team and honours from the hotel in this role.
Amir Hossain
Chief Concierge
Dusit Thani Dubai
Dubai, UAE
Described as a one-stop “information centre, transportation company, and travel agent”, Amir Hossain is also a “person who truly works from his heart”, says Dusit Thani PR and MarCom manager Nattira Anakasiri.
“His enthusiasm and passion for excellence is unrivaled, as well as his "can-do" attitude. Amir can never say no, no matter how unique the request may seem. For Amir, every guest is on a journey with him as their guide,” says Anakisiri.
“While for some it may be easy to fall into a routine after having been in the same line of work for a long period, this is not the case for Amir. Despite having spent many years in the business, each time he comes into contact with a guest it seems like he just started,” she says.
While guests often specifically request that Hossain handle their requests personally, Anakisiri says he is also relied upon by his colleagues.
“The needs of his fellow colleagues are as important to him as to those of his guests and this is what has endeared him to everyone around him,” she says.
Ahmed Allazim
Chief concierge
Hilton Kuwait Resort
Kuwait
Since joining the Hilton Kuwait Resort team in December 2008, Ahmed Allazim has set about using his wealth of expertise and experience to take the concierge service at the hotel to a whole new level, says Hilton Kuwait training manager Ruth Whetham.
She explains: “He has mixed the experience he has gained at some of Dubai’s most luxurious hotels with the team’s knowledge of the local market to raise the standard of service that we give to every guest who walks through our front doors.
“Within a short amount of time he has embraced the Hilton ethos of the “Customer Really Matters”; he has worked hard to personally get to know our long-term and high volume of repeat guests, ensuring that he personalises their stay and makes each and every guest interaction memorable,” says Whetham.
Allazim’s success has been recorded in the improvement of guest satisfaction scores, which have gradually increased in all areas where the concierge desk has an impact.
“Hospitality of bell staff has increased by 10% and stands at 88.9%, overall concierge service shows a increase of 11% and stands now at 72.5%, and ease of parking jumped from 60% to 72.5% YTD,” says Whetham.
“When the hotel made the decision to operate our own fleet of luxury car drivers, Ahmed played an active and integral role from the very beginning. He took an active part in recruiting a new team of seven drivers; from implementing SOPs and standards to policies and procedures.
“He was also involved with ensuring the new team was fully trained in their new roles and ensured a smooth transition into the existing team,” she adds.
Hailed by his colleagues as a mentor with immense amount of patience, Allazim has one main aim: “to ensure that every guest who visits our hotel wants to always come back because of the service they receive” concludes Whetham.
Saiful Khan
Bell Captain
InterContinental Al Jubail
Saudi Arabia
A member of the team at InterContinental Al Jubail for 10 years now, bell captain Saiful Khan consistently looks for new ways to deliver great service and to create memorable stay, says general manager Fahad Al Sayegh.
“In fact, in many instances, he went beyond the call of his duty to assist the guests with their requirements. Some of the examples include: escorting a guest to downtown to help them purchase local SIMs along with mobiles as theirs were non-compatible with local services and helping other guests buy local gifts for their families back home,” says Sayegh.
Khan is regularly commented upon in the hotel’s in-house comment cards, praised for obtaining medication, providing all information that was requested and generally being “helpful, pleasant and professional”, as well as “courteous”, adds Sayegh.
Gerardo Gabat
Assistant chief concierge
Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates
Dubai, UAE
Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates assistant chief concierge Gerardo Gabat reports directly to the front office manager and is responsible for managing both concierge and bell service sections, leading a team of 18.
Since joining Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates in January 2008, Gabat initiated a training programme to increase employee knowledge of local events, including organising a show-around of new hotels such as Atlantis, The Palm, as well as participation in events such as restaurant launches and familiarisation with the services of tour companies.
Commenting on the programme, Gabat says: “It’s about building a good network and rapport, it’s not like you are working alone. Moreover, it’s always better when you’ve seen something personally”.
“It is so fulfilling to see your guests happy to take your recommendations; I will never get over that,” he says.
“The programme was the first of its kind initiated in the hotel and has not only served to upgrade the team’s knowledge of events and attractions in Dubai, but has also enhanced their level of confidence and service orientation,” says nominator Sanaz Ghahremani, assistant marketing manager at Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates.
“Gabat also spearheaded the preparation of the front office team for their first ever participation in the Concierge Awards 2008, resulting in the team winning the Judges Team Award in recognition of the exemplary team effort demonstrated during the competition,” says Ghahremani.
An active member of Les Clefs D’Or and the Union International of Hotel Concierge, Gabat started his career operating the Bell Service at the Shangri-La’s Mactan Island Resort in the Philippines in 1995 and since then has served in various senior guest relations and front office positions within the Shangri-La Hotel group, Marriott and Ritz-Carlton in the Philippines and Dubai, before joining Kempinski Hotel Mall of the Emirates.
Thampi Prasad
Bell Captain
Vision Hotel Apartments
Abu Dhabi, UAE
Vision Hotel Apartments executive secretary Rowena T. Panaligan nominated bell captain Thampi Prasad for Concierge of the Year because of his “never say no” attitude, smile that “outshines the noon-day sun” and a dedication to the role that often sees him work “enormous hours of overtime”.
Panaligan says: “However simple or complex a task is, Thampi will do it with passion and dedication. You’ll never hear him complain about any assignments you give to him.
“He can turn a gloomy day into a sunny one every time you see his sun-bright smile and hear his warm and cheerful welcome as you step in the hotel lobby, when he meets you and opens the door for you, always offering his service and assistance.”
She also cites a recommendation from the front office department head: “I would not promote him or recommend him to be transferred in any of the properties because he does his job so well. I couldn’t find anyone to replace his post”.
Marlon Tunay
Chief concierge
Renaissance Dubai Hotel
Dubai, UAE
Renaissance Dubai Hotel chief concierge Marlon Tunay is a firm favourite with his staff, resulting in his nomination for Concierge of the Year by bellman Levi Marc Ragasa.
Ragasa says: “He’s always there to guide and help us with our daily challenges. He also share his knowledge for us to learn from it. Everyday we have briefing to prepare ourselves for the day and he knows exactly how to motivate each and every one of us in our department on how to serve our guests better and to really give them the ‘wow’ experience.
“We all respect him because he knows also how to respect each and every one of us. He’s very well updated about the things that are happening now in Dubai. For him, it is always about pleasing and wowing the guest and exceeding expectations so our guest will keep on coming back,” says Ragasa.
“It’s always an honour to work with one of the best chief concierges now in Dubai,” he concludes.