Arizona Biltmore Supercharges Concierge Services

Guest services keep pace with the Twenty-first Century at historic Arizona luxury destination

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. October 14, 2008

AUGUST 13, 2008. Springing impressively upward from the Sonoran desert, the Arizona Biltmore Resort & Spa in Phoenix is a priceless jewel amid an oasis of natural beauty and man-made artistry. Part of the renowned Waldorf Astoria Collection, the Biltmore is considered the "Grande Dame" of Arizona resorts, having continuously attracted stars, statesmen and sophisticated travelers from around the world since its opening nearly 80 years ago.

The Biltmore was originally designed by Frank Lloyd Wright prot'eg'e Albert Chase McArthur. Wright was actually the Consulting Architect and oversaw the design; McArthur, whose brothers financed the project, was the official architect, however. Through the years, the luxurious destination has upgraded and renovated, but never strayed from its historically inspired architectural roots that consistently earn it awards and accolades. The resort now boasts more than 750 guest accommodations, including 78 one- and two-bedroom villas artistically nestled among its 39 acres. With such an abundance of lodging, it is no wonder that the Biltmore finds itself serving the needs of an increasing number of guests each year.

Turning Service into Art

Until recently, the Biltmore's highly trained Concierge staff coordinated guest services and activities by phone, a laborious process that often necessitated putting people on hold and generating numerous follow-up calls. With its focus on elevated service, the Biltmore began looking for ways to "revolutionize" concierge operations and ultimately turned to Concierge Assistant(R) (CA) software from Gold Key Solutions. The results were nothing short of spectacular, according to Biltmore Concierge Keri Christian. The system not only enhanced guest service, but provided much-needed individualized guest preference tracking and stay histories that are easily accessible.

"Since installing The Concierge Assistant, we have achieved a level of organization, efficiency and implementation that was not possible before," Christian said. "We have raised personalized guest services to a new level." According to Christian, that includes being able to keep a secured, password protected record of each guest's personal itinerary that appropriate staff can view from any terminal on the network.

Additionally, the concierge staff can use CA's many features to:

Track requests

Quickly print professional guest itineraries on hotel letterhead

Automatically post reminders to ensure guest requests are fulfilled

Send welcome and confirmation letters

The Key to Golden Service

Providing highly individualized service is one of the Arizona Biltmore's hallmarks and Christian says CA is very reassuring to their guests. "Now they can communicate with any contact at the resort to have their requests recorded and executed, and that enhances their knowledge that their requests are being handled personally." Additionally, Christian notes, if requests extend across shift changes, CA provides 24-hour communication with automated event message reminders that keep staff aware of guests' needs so requests are always fulfilled on time.

Another benefit Christian points to is her team's ability to track guest request trends and preferences, including the types of restaurants they frequent, the types of tours they book, favorite foods, spa visits and more. "By utilizing this tracking activities software," Christian said, "we are able to determine the best product options to recommend to guests."

After initial pre-arrival contact with guests, most often conducted by telephone but also by email, all requests are logged into the Concierge Assistant system. Arrangements and confirmations are then completed by the concierge. During this process, the software records each request to ensure that all are fulfilled. "The Gold Key system has literally revolutionized the Arizona Biltmore's guest service operations," Christian said.