Raphaël Mathon-Goupil
Head Concierge at the Hotel Beau Rivage in Geneva and President of the Association Les Clefs d'Or Geneva
How does the Concierge Organizer application contribute to the continuous improvement of the Guest experience at the Beau Rivage hotel in Geneva ?
Raphaël, could you please introduce yourself?
Raphaël Mathon-Goupil : I have been the Head Concierge at the Beau Rivage Hotel in Geneva since 2019. I have been working in this city for 8 years now, and I previously worked in Courchevel and Saint-Tropez during seasonal periods. I have been a member of Les Clefs d’Or for 4 years.
What are your main responsibilities?
Raphaël Mathon-Goupil : The Concierge service, along with doormen and bellboys, is part of the guest service department. It is located at the hotel entrance, near the Front Office Desk, which is in charge of check-outs, check-ins, and billing.
The Concierge service is at the heart of the operations of a hotel. We are in contact with various departments, including management, to respond to all kinds of guest requests. As most Clefs d’Or concierges work iconic hotel, we need to have an in-depth knowledge of our Guests in order to offer them a 5-star service.
As a Concierge, I deal with all types of requests : reservations for activities, transfers or restaurants, including even pre-stay and post-stay assistance. We are constantly adapting to changing circumstances.
What level of excellence do you strive for on a daily basis?
Raphaël Mathon-Goupil : In my opinion, a Concierge should be curious, empathetic, attentive, and a good listener. General knowledge is also a very important aspect in our profession.
We must be able to advise travelers about the city, the country, and the hotel’s partners. Each Concierge is unique, and that’s what enriches our profession.
Can you explain what the Clefs d’Or association is ?
Raphaël Mathon-Goupil : Les Clefs d’Or is an association of selected concierges. To become part of it, you need to be sponsored by two mentors. The final decision to join is taken in a special dedicated meeting after a selective examination.
Being part of the network requires a long-term commitment, with a duty to attend events (partner invitations, gala evenings, after-work gatherings, etc.), but above all, it demands a higher standard of quality in our concierge work. Our partners are also key players in the association, they support us all year round.
Thanks to Les Clefs d’Or, our knowledge is shared. So, if we have a guest with a challenging request, we can ask our friends in the association.
What is the challenge of the concierge service?
Raphaël Mathon-Goupil : I would say organization is the key aspect of this service. As concierges, we have to be very thorough and disciplined when dealing with the large number of guest requests.
Our service cannot allow a concierge to be unaware of a request made during a previous shift. In the luxury hotel sector, you can’t say “no” to a guest, and you can’t expect them to repeat their request to several people.
We also need to be multi-skilled: we may be called upon to act as drivers or help prepare rooms, among other tasks.
How do you effectively manage this daily organization?
Raphaël Mathon-Goupil : Concierge Organizer software is the answer to the need for personalisation and responsiveness. This tool centralises all Guests requests, from transfers to restaurant reservations, massages and various other activities…
Each guest’s profile is linked to our PMS to ensure follow-up and traceability throughout the stay. We record and save guests’ preferences on their profile so that we can anticipate their future requests. So when Guests return, we can make targeted recommendations.
Concierge Organizer also assists us with back-office management, such as storing guests’ belongings during their stay or between stays, managing luggage and mail. We can even offer our guests a program (visits, activities, restaurants…..) tailored to their preferences.
The doormen also have a tablet with Concierge Organizer in read-only mode where they can view the various transfer requests.
With Concierge Organizer, we can maintain the quality of organisation that is essential to our activity, and avoid getting lost in the many tasks we have to perform every day.
Can you tell us more about how you create itineraries for your Guests?
Raphaël Mathon-Goupil : We provide the guest with an ‘itinerary’ which is a summary of their next stay, which we modify according to their needs or requests. This may be a reservation booked during the stay, but it is most often done before the guest’s stay.
It is also important when we receive groups.
This service enables us to gain the loyalty of our guests with a high-quality, personalised document that they can read at any time during their stay.
How did you work before using this software?
Raphaël Mathon-Goupil : The installation of Concierge Organizer took place at the same time as I joined the hotel Beau Rivage.
Prior to this switch, concierges used paper notebooks to record the various requests made by Guests. In addition to this notebook system, which I found rather tedious, we had a color-coded system in our electronic mailbox.
The software is our second brain, enabling us to retrieve information quickly and accurately.
How does Concierge Organizer help you to manage your activity ?
Raphaël Mathon-Goupil : Concierge Organizer enables us to increase guest satisfaction and manage the return on investment of the concierge service for the hotel.
Thanks to the software, we can analyse our guests’ consumption habits. Globally, we can perform profit calculations, occupancy rate calculations and calculate the percentage of sales per customer.
This analysis gives us a better understanding of guest expectations.
The software gives us a detailed view to optimise our actions and generate more income. It’s thanks to this knowledge that we can improve the quality and anticipation of our operational services.
Originally, our profession focused more on service and client satisfaction, so this data-driven approach is relatively new. But as the profession evolves and management expects more from our department, Concierge Organizer enables the head concierge to report reliable information and figures.
What is your management’s opinion on the use of Concierge Organizer?
Raphaël Mathon-Goupil : They fully approve of the change, having seen an improvement in our responsiveness and quality of service. The quality of our day-to-day work has been improved as well.
As our service is focused on client satisfaction, the return on investment is interesting for them.
How would you describe the support you receive from Concierge Organizer team?
Raphaël Mathon-Goupil : We enjoy working with the Concierge Organizer support team, they are always quick to respond to our requests or requirements. They attend many Clefs d’Or National or International congresses and are committed to understanding and supporting our profession.
They are constantly striving to improve the software to meet the needs of concierges. I can only recommend their services.
