Concierge Jobs in hospitality: what skills do you need?

For concierge jobs in hospitality, your skills and personality can often be more important than your qualifications and experience. Here we look at the personality attributes that you'll need...

Customer service - as with any job that's centered around dealing with members of the public, you'll need to have excellent customer service skills. You'll need to be able to make guests feel welcome and at ease; you'll need to meet and exceed their expectations as a concierge; and you'll need to handle any guest complaints in a sensitive and efficient manner.

Language and communication - Concierge staff must possess superior verbal communication skills. You'll be representing the hotel in all your dealings with guests, so you'll need to ensure that your communication is in line with hotel policy at all times. Concierges with a second or third language are in high demand, especially in large international hotels that draw guests from all over the world.

Team work - as a concierge, you'll be working as part of a team to make guests' stays as enjoyable as possible. You'll have to communicate any problems or issues with other team members and share information to cater your service for each individual guest.

Time keeping - these days, all hotels are 24 hour businesses. Just because the front desk isn't open doesn't mean that the staff have stopped working. Expect to work in shift patterns - which may sometimes by irregular. Good time keeping is needed in order to ensure the smooth operation of the concierge desk.