9 Types of Concierge Services for Travel

When it comes to traveling, so many things need to be considered and planned for in advance. And that’s where the different types of concierge services come in – to make sure the trip goes off well without a hitch.

Generally, not many of us like planning, or even having to remember every detail about our travel! Even keeping a record of a busy schedule can be pretty difficult.

That’s why many travel companies offer concierge services for stress-free travel.

But what are concierge services?

And what are the different types of concierge services?

Well, it’s a pretty broad spectrum in terms of companies offering such services and what those services entail. Most teams are available to complete various tasks for you 24/7 and will take care of everything you need.

This includes booking your hotel room or cruise ship cabin, booking tickets, making restaurant reservations, special events services, vacation planning, handling business chores, transportation arrangements, delivery management, household management, lifestyle management, or even something as simple as laundry – a good personalized service can help cover whatever you need.

The list goes on and on, with a plethora of companies in the service industry offering this type of concierge service to customers.

If the idea of a little extra help on your next trip sounds appealing, then it’s important to take a look at all your options before deciding which concierge is best for you.

Guide to the Types of Concierge Services

Concierge services can be divided into four main categories; personal concierge, corporate concierge, residential concierge, and hotel concierge services.

Let’s take a closer look at each category.

Personal Concierge Services

As the name goes, personal concierge refers to personalized services. That’s right!

Nowadays, most people are too busy to get even the smallest personal tasks in their lives done. For instance, you want to go shopping but can’t spare even 30 minutes to do so.

Or, your vacation days are around the corner, but you don’t even have time to book your flight or make hotel reservations.

When you have such problems, a personal concierge service is what you need. A personal concierge will complete personal chores at hand for you, just like you would if you had time.

They will help you with tasks like making a hotel booking, dining booking, flight reservation, taxi rental, event booking, pet sitting, child care, paying household bills, booking appointments, etc.

Typically, personal concierge services relieve you of those stressful small tasks, leaving you more time to handle the bigger stuff.

The role of a personal concierge is to assist clients at a personal level, either at home or anywhere they want – as long as what they are asked to do is legal.

Personal concierge services are offered on a monthly basis or based on the projects completed.

In essence personal concierge is like a personal assistant.

The only difference is that instead of just catering for one client, they offer services to multiple clients.

The Corporate Concierge Service

Unlike a personal concierge that caters to individuals, a corporate concierge deals with corporate clients. A company may hire a corporate concierge to handle all its office responsibilities. These include responding to emails, retaining employees, planning for meetings, arranging business travels, etc.

Instead of hiring costly fixed labor, many companies have embraced corporate concierge services, which are a bit cheap and can be hired hourly.

Delegating office responsibilities to corporate concierge staff is not only cost-effective but also time effective. And it increases output.

Residential Concierge Services

This is another type of concierge service that has become quite common. A residential concierge not only links the management and residents of a specific property (complex or apartment) but also assisting guests in making life here easier.

As some people would put it, a residential concierge usually acts as the face of a household or a residential community. The residents can also outsource various services, including laundry, housekeeping, food shopping, travel arrangements, etc., from a residential concierge.

Tenants tend to like residential properties that include residential concierge services, as they can make life quite easy. This means that such services can even add value to the property.

While residential concierges enter a contract with the property management, their services are paid for by the tenants.

Hotel Concierge

When you book into a hotel and require some extra assistance, the hotel concierge always steps in to assist – but at an additional cost. Mainly, these services are more common with the large hotels, where the wealthy reside.

One important thing to note, though, is that hotel concierge is the oldest form of concierge service. All the other types of concierge services have been built upon the hotel concierge.

Some of the main roles and duties that a hotel concierge handles include:

• Making reservations
• Keeping you safe
• Transportation services
• Bringing your room orders
• Keeping your room tidy and in order
• Solving your travel issues, etc.

In fact, they are your personal assistants when you are in that hotel.

Types of Personal Concierge Services

Personal concierge services can be further categorized as follows:

The Personal Shopper

As we have noted, a concierge is a person or a company that helps you complete tasks that you don’t have enough time for. And, shopping is one of those tasks.

A personal shopper comes in to assist you with your shopping, especially by giving you advice and suggestions.

In most cases, personal shoppers are part of the departmental stores, boutiques, or furniture stores’ staff. However, there is also a good number of them who work independently as freelancers. The advantage of personal shoppers is that they are not limited to physical stores – you can get these services even on online stores.

When a personal shopper is an employee of a certain store, it means that the store pays them. However, some stores will require you to pay a small fee for such services.

Freelance or independent personal shoppers are available on auction sites such as eBay, where they offer their services for a price. They even offer more services, including closet organizing, event styling, etc.

Personal shoppers might sometimes be referred to as shop assistants, sales assistants, or fashion stylists.

Travel Concierge

While most other concierge services can cater to your travel needs, a travel concierge does it better. This is because they are specifically designed to serve that purpose – catering to your travel needs.

Typically, your travel concierge is your personal travel assistant. This means that the service falls under personal concierge services, as it’s meant to make your personal travel easier, comfortable, and stress-free.

They will take care of booking flights, reserve your hotel, schedule your vacation, buy health insurance policies, offer options on places to visit (e.g. local restaurants) and ensure that all is well during your trip.

Even better, if you are traveling to an entirely new place, a travel concierge can arrange for a local guide to help you find your way around or even relate with locals.

See Related: Pros and Cons of Being a Travel Agent: Is It Stressful?

Concierge Medicine

Yes, you read that right! There are concierge services even in the medical field.

Concierge medicine goes with several names, such as retainer medicine, cash-only practice, direct care, or member medicine. And it’s nothing complicated. These are just some fancy names that refer to a personal relationship between a doctor and their patients.

Here, a doctor offers additional or personal care to a patient at an extra fee, usually made annually. This helps you, as the patient, to receive more attention from your doctor.

However, you should note that different medical concierge practices vary in terms of service offered, structure, and fees. For this reason, you should choose one that covers your needs and budget.

Statistics show that between 800 and 5,000 US doctors practice concierge medicine. This is an indication that the practice is gaining popularity day after day.

Learning Concierge

This type of concierge service involves experts or specialists coming together to offer special programs to clients. It might include coaching on personal development, child development, or even post-school lessons.

Such services are available for both adults and kids and might include activities like:

• Parents or kids coaching
• Personal tutoring
• Summer field trips, etc.

Here, you receive assistance from the best in different fields.

Lifestyle Concierge

Last on our list of different types of concierge services is the lifestyle concierge service. This one comes in to offer assistance in your personal life and lifestyle.

Generally, this kind of service is hired by celebrities and wealthy individuals to help them achieve a balance between their personal and professional lives. A lifestyle concierge service will complete the chores for you, which would otherwise have taken you quite some time to complete.

This way, you can be left with more time for your family and work. Whether you want them to make your travel bookings and reservations, go shopping, or do some professional errands, lifestyle concierges are there for you.

See Related: Family Travel Hacks

Benefits of Using Concierge Services

To get the most value out of personal concierge service, you will need to hire the right consultant for the job that you want to be done.

If your requirements are on the line, such as reservation and expert travel, personal concierge service will both be as essential as preparing hotel concierge and restaurant reservations.

Here are some benefits of using a concierge service:

1. Personalized Pro-active Services

Concierge service means that the provider gets to know your tastes, preferences, and sometimes even routines. If you usually use the same concierge service provider, they can offer pro-active services, as they know quite much about you.

They can pre-empt some activities that need to be done and make plans at your approval.

2. Tailored Search Engine and Guidebook

Sometimes, you don’t have all the time to keep searching through all the numerous travel holiday destinations, hotels, event providers, etc. It’s not only time-consuming but also tiresome.

However, you don’t have to do those blind searches anymore. With concierge services, you get recommendations tailored to your needs, making your search much easier.

3. Access to Better Rates and Perks

Let’s say you are traveling or are planning an event. Do you know where you can get the best services at the best prices?

Well, it might take you quite a long time to do so.

However, concierge services already have the contacts to these service providers. Whether you are looking for the best place to stay during your vacation or an event planner for your kid’s birthday party, a concierge service will ensure that you get the best based on your budget.

Since this is what they do daily, they have contacts with almost every event planner, hotel, cab service, holiday destination, etc.

5. Save Time

Typically, time is the main reason why concierge services have become so common – besides convenience. If you don’t have much time to do some important tasks in your life, concierge services step in to assist.

This frees more time for you, allowing you to do things that matter. Instead of spending a whole day researching for the best holiday destination, you can spend more quality time enjoying your time there.

6. Reduces Stress

Leave the hard work to the professionals. If you want to travel, just pack your stuff and be on your way. The travel concierge will have done everything else for you – including your itinerary.

With such convenience, where would stress come from? Concierge services can be a great stress reliever when it comes to planning and organizing.

7. The Convenience

Besides saving time, these services offer immense convenience, as I’m sure you’ve already realized.

The solution to your problems is just a call or an email away.

Knowing that someone is there to handle your tasks is quite relieving.

8. Access to Expert’s Knowledge and Advice

Concierge services providers are always on their toes, looking for the best ways to make their clients’ lives easier.

Whether you are looking for the best tourist destination in the Caribbean, the best wine factory in Germany, or an exclusive resort in Maasai Mara to watch the wildebeests, your concierge service has the answers.

You don’t even need to stress yourself searching.

See Related: Cheapest Countries to Visit in the World

Services that the Different Types of Concierges Offer

I’m sure I have mentioned numerous tasks that a concierge service can help you with. But, here is a recap of the main services:

• Hotel reservations and flight bookings
• Making travel plans and reserving appointments
• Gathering crucial information as required by the clients about hotels, clubs, travel destinations, or event planners.
• Handling mail, luggage, and transportation needs of a client
• Acting as guide for clients in new places
• Locating lost items
• Handling some office work as delegated by the client
• Event organizing and planning
• Financial services

See Related: Top Sites for Booking Tours

Best Types of Concierge Services Companies

Today, concierge services are spread wide beyond just hotel and travel concierges. The tremendous growth in this industry has seen numerous concierge companies being established to tap into the lucrative market.

While this is a good thing for the clients, as they can get various services, maybe at lower prices, finding the right provider can also prove challenging.

But not to worry! Here are some of the best concierge companies that you can rely on:

1. Quintessentially

The company has been in operations for over 20 years now. Established by Ben Eliot, Aaron Simpson, and Paul Drummond in 2000, this concierge service company has passed the test of time.

It has around 60 offices globally, with over 1,500 concierge professionals ready to offer you the best services. The company is among the best luxury concierge service providers and has achieved some of the most extraordinary requests for its clients.

For instance, they once managed to plan for a private diner atop an iceberg.

2. One Concierge

“If you want something done right, you don’t have to do it yourself.” That’s how OneConcierge puts it. And, it certainly has some truth in it.

One concierge is one of the concierge companies that have grown significantly within a very short time. It offers both on-demand and membership concierge services to clients, serving over 115 countries globally.

With over 10,000 exclusive global services on speed dial, you can be sure to have the best services here. Their partnership programs spread large and wide to always ensure satisfaction for their clients.

3. Velocity Black

Whereas it’s relatively new in the market, Velocity Black has taken the concierge service industry with a bang. Founded in 2014, the company incorporates the best technology and human expertise to ensure that your most precious asset (time) is taken care of.

They combine human experts and artificial intelligence to offer lifestyle assistance right from your phone.

It is present in over 60 countries globally and claims to have offered more than 50,000 exceptional experiences for clients.

4. MeetnGreetMe

This is a global concierge company that works to connect international travelers or tourists with locals. The platform allows travelers to hire personal assistance services from local people, ensuring them the best experience in the area.

MeetnGreetMe offers more than 45 services to its clients, including travel (arrival/stay), entertainment, business matters, as well as health and fitness.

All you have to do is choose a city and service, hire a MeetnGreeter, and enjoy your travel.

See Related: What is Travel Concierge?

Final Thoughts

The concierge business is a huge industry with numerous concierges available for every kind of occasion and service.

The concierge can offer any sort of service, from luxury concierge to corporate and personal concierge, with 24-hour assistance or one-day availability.

The following are some examples of this sort: hotel concierge, event planning services, restaurant reservations, airport assistance, cruise ship concierge, and party conferences.

We hope that your next travel will be as stress-free and enjoyable as it can be. All you need is to pick one of the above-mentioned concierge companies and tell them what you need.

See Related: Best Travel Credit Cards

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