At your service: clubs adopt concierge concept from hotel business.

In a leisure market where consumers are spending their dollars carefully, country clubs and resorts are looking for the edge that will differentiate them from their competitors. Several country clubs have begun introducing a strategy that premiere hotels across the country have been employing for years to offer enhanced customer service: concierges. Concierges at the Keswick Club near Charlottesville, VA; Club Dallas at Las Colinas; and the Gainey Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ are adding personalized service that enhances a club membership. In a sense, country clubs are catching up to the Breakers in Palm Beach and the New York Palace Hotel--high-end resorts that have demonstrated that skilled concierges boost customer satisfaction and increase customer retention.

By introducing concierge services, country clubs provide "value to membership," says Frank Vain, president of the McMahon Group, a consulting firm specializing in private clubs based in St. Louis, MO. Concierges "deliver added interaction with members. Whether they help plan a trip or a night at the theater, it facilitates the member's life. Clubs can play a central role in a member's social life rather than only using the club to play golf or come for dinner," he said. "You can't play golf everyday, but you can use the services of a concierge. Concierge services can help the club be a home away from home, providing one-stop shopping," he asserted. Vain has seen only a limited number of clubs introducing concierge services, mostly larger clubs in the Sunbelt and West, "where people have busy, hectic lifestyles," he said.

At Club Corp., which owns over 200 country clubs nationwide, a pilot of concierge services started at eight clubs in California in June 2003, Mark Murphy, vice president of sales and marketing at Club Corp., explained. Concierges were introduced because "one of our chief competitors is time. Our members don't always have the ability to access golf. This service isn't really about tickets, but to free up a member's time so they can better figure out how to spend time," he said. Because the pilot lasted only several months, Club Corp. hadn't done any surveys on what percentage of members enrolled.

Club Corp. members at these clubs pay $40 a month (a fraction of what it cost to a non-club member) to join the Compass Society, which offers 24/7 concierge services through an 800 number. Members can ask anything, ranging from how to get into the best preschool, the best DVD to buy, to ordering tickets to a Broadway show. Members form relationships with individual concierges over the phone. "It's like having your own personal assistant," Murphy said. Focus groups about the concierge service revealed that members saved about 2.5 hours for each request.

Introducing concierge services helps keep Club Corp. competitive. "Pizza Huts know who you are, so do daily golf courses. What it will take to keep members over the next 20 years will be saving time and building relationships. We have to enrich lives and become a club without walls," Murphy asserted.

The $38,000 Caddy 

But for most resorts, it's onsite concierges who build relationships with guests and encourage them to return for a second visit. At the Breakers in Palm Beach, FL, guests return at a 65-70 percent rate, reported Jennifer Jodoin, the hotel's director of reservations, which is attributable to several factors including its seasoned staff of concierges. At its premiere Flagler Club, which has only 28 rooms, Bernard Nicole, its chef concierge (chef in French means "taking charge") for the past 22 years, said its three full-time concierges are there "to fulfill all the needs of the guests. Most of the time that involves reservations for restaurants, spas, going to the theater, renting car or a fishing boat," he said, himself a native of Antibes, France.

"I make sure guests are so comfortable that they don't want to leave and are sure to come back," he said. Concierges (the Breakers has 11 concierges who serve the hotel's other guests not staying at the Flagler Club) elicit guest preferences, whether they play golf or tennis, ascertain their likes and dislikes, learn if they prefer down-feather pillows or special pastries for breakfast. Being an effective concierge is all about "listening to the guests and providing exactly what they need," he said. He sends notes to guests on their birthdays, anniversaries, and special occasions, and when guests leave, his mantra is, "When can we expect to see you again?"

Concierges can also fill unusual requests. Nicole has arranged the purchase of a $38,000 Cadillac for a guest whose car had broken down, provided rose petals to hide an engagement ring, arranged a lobster and champagne picnic on the beach with candles at night, and used his influence to gain prime time reservations at Chez Jean Pierre, the French restaurant. Guests don't forget a concierge's meeting an unusual request, which heightens customer retention.

Sheiks, CEO's, and celebrities stay at the New York Palace Hotel in the three-bedroom triplex for $10,000 a night with a private elevator from the parking lot to ensure privacy, but concierges provide the same level of service to any of its hotel guests, noted Melody Williamson, the hotel's chef concierge. "Every guest is different," and the concierge's role is to ensure that each guest feels special by establishing a personal relationship with him/her, Williamson suggested. She offers new guests her business card, informing them that she can answer questions during their stay or later if they return to New York. She also holds two meetings a day with her concierge team, reviews any specific needs of the hotel's 720 guests, and compiles this information on a software program designed for concierge's use.

Getting to Know You

Concierges can play an even deeper role at country clubs than resorts. The concierge's relationship with club members is based on "familiarity. Many members are in every day. Concierges can establish trust and a close relationship," said Todd Handy, director of guest services at Club Dallas at Las Colinas, a private club with 1,800 members and 3,000 users, which is connected to the Four Seasons Resort, a 357-room hotel in Dallas.

At Club Dallas, concierges take a "daily pulse check" of members to determine whether the club is meeting guest expectations, Handy said. For example, when several Club Dallas members told the concierges that 5 p.m. was too early to end childcare services, the club responded by extending childcare hours until 9 p.m. When members suggested that the locker rooms needed sprucing up, the club renovated them. "Concierges serve as the front line of communication. They operate like a constant comment card," Handy says.

Since most guests at the Four Seasons Hotel stay only several nights on a leisure trip or at a business conference, concierges must provide a "greater speed of delivery and level of intensity to ensure that guests get what they need now," Handy noted.

The nine hotel concierges must get to know guests as quickly as possible in order to anticipate their needs. To provide that enhanced service, concierges take notes on guests preferences, such as ordering the Wall Street Journal at 6 a.m. or an espresso from a nearby Starbuck's. On the guest's next visit, concierges make sure that the paper is delivered early and the espresso arrives at their room.

Similarly, at the Barton Creek Resort & Spa and its Barton Creek Club in Austin, TX, which has 2,100 members and is owned by Club Corp., and has four, 18-hole golf courses, the three full-time concierges are dedicated to "exceeding guest expectations," Tony Ingargiola, chef concierge said. "The hotel industry is all about service. People want to be taken care of and don't want to expend too much energy. This is a resort where people can relax and let us do the worrying," he said. But Barton Creek Club members use the concierge services more sparingly than hotel guests. Ingargiola attributes the light usage to location, since concierges are situated in the resort lobby, quite a distance form the clubhouse, and members don't need to ask directions or gain tourist information.

The Keswick Club is a 350-member club near Charlottesville, VA, owned by Orient Express, which operates over 30 global luxury hotels, cruise lines, and trains. The Keswick Club has an 18-hole Arnold Palmer golf course, five tennis courts, a fitness center and spa, and is associated with the 48-room luxury hotel, Keswick Hall. Management recognized that it was "missing a component in its service," asserted Greg Slaven, the Keswick Club's manager. "We offer discounts with Orient Express' 30 properties, but we had no one here to assist, no one here to meet and greet club members and hotel guests who can use the club." In August 2002, Keswick Club hired concierge Pam Tiscornia, who works a Monday to Friday nine-to-five schedule. The club has been so pleased with the results that it added a weekend concierge.

Concierges add another level of service to the Keswick Club. Tiscornia answers member's questions, makes hotel and theater reservations, and meets and greets new members. In addition, the concierge handles so many customer service requests that she relieves Slaven's workload, enabling him to focus on other issues. The concierge makes the "club that much more important to a member's life and the club become more a part of a member's life. Concierges build positive word of mouth that can only help boost membership," he said. For Keswick Club members, concierge services are free. "It's part of our cost of doing business," Slaven stated. "If your room rate or club initiation charges are substantive, why nickel and dime the client?" he added.

Service Sells Membership

Concierges at Keswick Club are trained to market the club. "Why don't you join us for dinner?" the concierge might say to a hotel guest, who has just played golf. The concierge also markets other Orient-Express properties around the world, and also promotes its 10-day trip to Mandalay and an excursion to New Orleans.

Some clubs are only in the beginning stages of adding concierge services and haven't hired a full-time person for the role. At the Gainey Ranch Golf Club in Scottsdale, AZ, which has 950 members, three nine-hole golf courses, an affiliation with the Hyatt Regency Scottsdale, and is owned by Club Corp., Kristin Jeffers has added concierge to her role as member relations director. "We don't have a pool or tennis courts and we have plenty of competition, so we need to add value to our members," Jeffers said. "Our members want tickets to 'Mamma Mia' and 'The Producers,' and to see the Phoenix Suns and Arizona Diamondbacks," she says. Even if the member has a regular golf foursome, the concierge can help get their wife involved in the club or make faxes or copies. "As the concept grows and we add more benefits and services, it will likely turn into a full-time job," she added.

Consultant Vain thinks that having a person with the right skills add concierge duties to a full-time job is a good way to break-in the service. "For all but the larger clubs, the membership sales position is rarely a full-time position, so adding other duties makes sense," he said. But if the person weren't trained properly, it would likely lead to "shoddy performance," he contended.

If a club were considering launching concierge service, Vain suggested conducting members' surveys to gauge their interest and see what services they'd like provided. "If nobody responds, that also tells you something," he added. If concierges encourage members to use the club more, dine at the club, and partake of more services, they will justify the cost. "People are busier than ever. If you're doing something to help them with their life, it will add value," he said.

Ultimately, what do concierges bring to a club? "Concierges define the service culture. They can make or break it for the member," Handy of Club Dallas noted. Gainey Ranch Club's Jeffers said that concierges arrange social events and "create camaraderie, relationships, and friendships to keep members of the club around for a long time." Keswick Club's Slaven added that "having a concierge at the club, when other local clubs don't have one, gives us the competitive edge."