Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel Adds GoConcierge

Guest Experience Enhanced with Web-Based System

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. October 14, 2008

FT LAUDERDALE, FL, April 16, 2008. When the luxurious Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel and Yacht Club opened earlier this year after a $70 million renovation, concierge and other departments were well prepared thanks to GoConcierge. Marcos Borras, Director of Rooms at the property, had worked with the Web-based system at two other hotels and knew it was the right choice again. Produced by Los Angeles-based GoConcierge.net, GoConcierge is the lodging industry's leading guest service operations system.

"It is gratifying to know that industry leaders such as Marcos are championing GoConcierge from one property to the next," says Adam Isrow, Executive Vice President of GoConcierge.net. "It is a testament to GoConcierge's ability to streamline operations and add value at each property where it is implemented."

The four-person concierge team at the 589-room hotel uses GoConcierge's online Guest Task Calendar to log and track guest requests and other tasks. With just a few clicks, these can be entered and located. The calendar is color coded, which makes it easy to highlight open, pending and closed tasks. Because a history of each guest's request is stored in GoConcierge, it is easy to generate itineraries. These can be printed or e-mailed in a matter of seconds along with a personalized confirmation letter on stationery that includes the hotel's logo. Point-to-point directions and maps also can be generated easily.

Multiple Departments Benefit

A total of 20 people at the hotel has access to the system. Associates in shipping and receiving, security personnel and bell staff also use it to help manage packages and lost and found items. By adding efficiencies to these operations, GoConcierge ensures that guests staying at the hotel are provided with the highest level of service.

"GoConcierge is the most efficient system in the industry right now to track requests and tasks," Borras says. "It is user-friendly, easy to learn and our concierge team absolutely loves it. We don't have much desk space. We would never be able to run a concierge desk without GoConcierge."

When a package arrives at the hotel, an attendant will log it into GoConcierge. After the package is delivered by bell staff, the open task is closed within the system. Because GoConcierge is password-controlled, Borras knows who handled each package and when. If a room attendant finds an item left by a guest, it is taken to the security department where it is also logged into GoConcierge. After the item is claimed by the guest, the task is closed.

Personnel at a local spa can be given secured access to GoConcierge to monitor reservations coming from the hotel, and departments including room service and sales also can tap into it. The hotel restaurant's chef uses GoConcierge each day to check for amenity requests.

Robust Location Database

A customized location database within GoConcierge enables concierge staff to quickly identify area restaurants and attractions. Links on the GoConcierge screen take users to websites and documents that can be printed or e-mailed to guests immediately.

Reports generated from GoConcierge show managers the volume of reservations sent to car rental companies, area restaurants, and the hotel's own China Grill Fort Lauderdale restaurant. Reports also detail package and lost and found delivery activity. Borras says GoConcierge reports help him with his staff scheduling; they help him project times when the concierge desk will be busiest.

"The Fort Lauderdale Grande Hotel and Yacht Club is showing the lodging industry how Web-based technology can dramatically transform the way a hotel operates," Isrow says. "Guests at the hotel expect five-star service and GoConcierge is a tool to help them achieve that. In a market such as Fort Lauderdale, gaining a competitive edge is very important."