Provide porter services

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Chapter 6

• Provide porter services

2
Learning outcomes

• Describe the role of the porter.
• Handle guest arrivals and departures.
• Handle guest luggage.
• Describe the porters role in security.
• Respond to requests for ancillary services.

3
Who are porters?

• Porters are the people
• Who greet guests as they arrive at the venue
• Manage guests luggage
• Provide general information services
• Provide valet services (car parking)
• Act as a central point of contact for groups.
• Porters work in the Concierge department.

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Concierge department
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Desirable qualities of a porter

• High standard of personal grooming and hygiene.
• Be attentive and courteous.
• Be organised.
• Be discreet, tactful and sympathetic.
• Be resourceful.

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Desirable qualities of a porter

• Have excellent product and local area knowledge.
• Have excellent interpersonal skills.
• Have excellent selling skills.
• Understand the various needs of the venues target
  market(s).

7
Porters

• Many hospitality professionals start out as
  porters (particularly those who work in the front
  office).
• Many porters make a career in the Concierge
  department.

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Making a career as a concierge

• To officially receive title of Concierge, you
  must become a member of Union Internationale des
  Concierges dHotels (UICH).
• UICH previously known as Les Clefs dOr Golden
  keys.

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Making a career as a concierge

• To become a member requires
• Minimum five years experience in concierge
  department, two years in charge
• Commitment to the professionalism of the
  concierge role
• Demonstrate integrity and respect in the
  position.

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Guest pre-arrival activities

• Check front office / porter diary.
• Check expected arrivals and departures (reports).
• Collect master key (if issued).
• Arrange for and deliver special requests.

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Guest pre-arrival activities

• Book and collect theatre/event tickets.
• Arrange for parking.
• Arrange luggage storage facility.
• Tidy foyer area.
• Neatly arrange display units.

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The master key

• A master key is a key that opens all or some
  specific doors (e.g. All rooms on a particular
  floor, function rooms, storage areas, etc.).
• The nature of porters work dictates master key
  requirements.
• Master keys are signed out at the start of a
  shift and in at the end of the shift.

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Guest arrival activities

• When guests arrive, the porter is likely to
• Welcome them warmly
• Assist them out of the car
• Collect their luggage from the car.

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Guest arrival activities

• Direct (or escort) the guest to reception
• Park the guests car
• Deliver their luggage to their room
• Room the guest
• Offer additional services.

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Welcoming guests

• This is often the first opportunity for face to
  face contact porters need to make it a positive
  moment of truth.
• Immediately guests arrive, they begin to form
  opinions, draw conclusions, etc. about the venue
  and the service
• How warmly were they welcomed?

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Welcoming guests

• How helpful was the porter?
• How convenient was the parting?
• How clean are the venues door/front steps/foyer?
• Did the porter remember their name?

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Assisting with luggage

• Luggage handling is one of the most common roles
  undertaken by porters.
• Always remember to lift correctly.
• Not all guests will want assistance with luggage.

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Direct/escort guests to reception

• Particularly guests who havent visited this
  venue before may need to be directed to
  reception.
• If the guest has a lot of luggage, it is often
  appropriate to escort them to reception.

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Traffic management

• The front of a venue can get very busy with
  traffic.
• It is important to keep the flow of traffic
  moving through.

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Group arrivals

• Group arrivals need to be well coordinated to
  ensure
• Flow of traffic
• Guests directed quickly to meeting area/reception
• Luggage collected, tagged and delivered to
  correct rooms.

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Rooming the guest

• A porter is often called upon to escort guests to
  their room. This affords the porter the
  opportunity to
• Build rapport
• Respond to queries
• Highlight venue and room features
• Advise guests of emergency procedures.

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Guest departures

• On departure, the porter is likely to
• Collect luggage from the guests room
• Collect the guest car
• Arrange for other transport (if required)
• Forward mail
• Provide information
• Provide directions.

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Handling guest luggage

• Luggage is often
• Collected from the guests car
• Delivered to their room
• Collected from their room
• Stored.

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Manual handling

• The nature of the porters work exposes the porter
  to potential workplace hazards. The most common
  is manual handling injuries form handling
  luggage.
• Correct manual handling will help reduce the
  likelihood of injury.

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Manual handling

• Is the physical manoeuvring of items and involves
  lifting, pulling, pushing, carrying and holding.
• Follow the manual handling guidelines to ensure
  appropriate workplace safety.

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Collecting and delivering luggage

• Whether luggage is collected from (or delivered
  to) cars, coaches or rooms it is done
• Within designated timeframes
• Safely.

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Timeframes

• Guests expect their luggage to be delivered to
  (or collected from) their room in a timely
  manner.
• Always give an indicative timeframe for luggage
  collection or delivery.
• Try to keep it within standard times for the
  venue (e.g. within 15 minutes).

28
Transporting luggage

• Follow designated routes.
• Never inconvenience a guest.
• Dont take luggage back of house.
• Dont take trolleys into guests rooms.
• Dont take trolleys into restaurants, bars,
  poolside.
• Dont leave loaded trolleys unattended.

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Putting luggage into guest rooms

• Leave the trolley in the corridor. Leave the door
  open.
• Carry all items into the room for the guest.
• Place suitcases on luggage rack (or jack stand).

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Putting luggage into guest rooms

• Place garment bags in wardrobe.
• Place toiletry bags in bathroom.
• Place smaller pieces of luggage on bed or table.

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Collecting luggage from guest rooms

• Leave the trolley in the corridor. Leave the door
  open.
• Collect first the large pieces, then the smaller.
• Look around for additional pieces.
• If guest is in the room, ask if there is any more
  luggage.

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Luggage security

• While luggage is in the porters care, the porter
  is responsible for its security.
• No else must have access to guests luggage.

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Storing luggage

• Many guests request their luggage be stored.
• A secure area (lockable room) should be
  designated for this purpose.
• The secure area should have restricted access.
• All items secured in this way should be tagged.

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What Is tagging luggage?

• Tagging luggage means to place an identifying
  label on each piece of luggage.
• The guest is given a corresponding tag which is
  presented in order to collect their luggage.

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Tagging luggage

• The tag will indicate
• Whose luggage it is (guest name)
• Guests room number
• Group name (if appropriate).

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Tagging luggage

• Date luggage placed in storage (and date to be
  collected)
• Type of luggage
• Number of pieces
• Fee charged (porterage).

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Reclaiming luggage

• In order to reclaim luggage, the guest must
  present the luggage tag stubs.
• If the guest loses the stubs they may need to
• Accurately describe each piece of luggage
• State the date luggage left and their room number
  (and dates of their stay)
• Give their name and identification in order to
  claim their luggage.

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Tracking lost luggage

• Occasionally luggage goes missing. Sometimes its
  the venues fault, sometimes it is not. In any
  event, porters make every effort to track luggage.

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Tracking lost luggage

• If the luggage cannot be found
• Explain this to the guest
• Apologise but do not accept responsibility
• Write a report about what was done to locate the
  luggage.

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What is porterage?

• Porterage refers to the fee charged by some
  venues for the convenience of luggage storage.

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Security and the porter

• Because the porter spends a significant amount of
  time in public areas, they have an important role
  to play in security of the venue and its guests.

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Security and the porter

• The porter can keep a look out for
• Potential theft
• Suspicious people
• Disturbances.
• The porter also plays a role in key security.

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Preventing theft

• During the course of the day, as porters move
  about the venue, they are able to keep an eye on
  the activities of others to prevent the
  likelihood of theft.
• Guests personal belongings and venue assets are
  at risk.

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Suspicious behaviour

• Suspicious behaviour is when someone behaves in a
  manner that seems unusual, such as
• Avoiding eye contact
• Trying to access staff only areas
• Acting nervous
• Fidgeting.
• Never ignore suspicious behaviour.

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Deal with disturbances

• A disturbance is any incident that interrupts the
  normal activities of the venue.
• Disturbances may be averted if a porter is alert
  to certain behaviours and takes control of the
  situation.

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Key control

• The porter may be responsible for a master and
  the concierge department is most likely to manage
  guests car keys.
• The porter may also handle room keys (left by
  guests).

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Key control

• All keys must be secured in an appropriate place.
• Porters are not permitted to hand room keys to
  guests.
• Guests retrieving their car must produce the
  ticket issued by the porter when they left the
  car on arrival.

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Guest occupancy providing ancillary services

• While staying in the venue, the porter is likely
  to
• Provide information for the guest
• Book theatre and event tickets
• Arrange transport.

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Guest occupancy providing ancillary services

• Arrange laundry and shoe shine
• Run errands
• Courier documents and forward and deliver mail
• Recommend sights to see, things to do, places to
  eat.

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Guest requests for porter services

• Guests may request porter services at the
  concierge desk, another department, or on the
  telephone.

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Guest requests for porter services

• However a request is made, the porter must take
  responsibility for ensuring all requests are
• Met in a timely manner
• Appropriately and accurately completed
• Completed in a courteous and friendly way.

52
Providing, sourcing and maintaining information

• Porters need to maintain a vast bank of
  information relating to
• Local area knowledge
• The venue itself
• Where to get certain items
• How to arrange certain services etc.
• This information is available via the internet or
  a porters directory.

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What is the porters directory?

• A directory is an alphabetised reference book
  maintained by most porters and holds information
  about
• Local attractions
• Costs
• Transport
• Directions
• Contacts.

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Local area information

• Even if a porters directory is not maintained and
  the internet is not accessible, a porter must be
  able to source local area information.

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Local area information

• Sources for local include
• Local visitor guides/brochures/flyers
• Local publications, such as newspapers
• Timetables
• Colleagues
• Personal visits
• Tour operators.

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Personal shopping

• Although not common, this is sometimes requested.
• The porter must know where and how to purchase
  items requested by guests.

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Personal shopping

• Some concierge departments maintain a small store
  of commonly requested items (toothpaste, soap,
  etc.).
• Other items that may be requested include
• Clothing
• Flowers
• Gifts.

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Arranging transport

• This is a common request of guests who do not
  have a car.
• Usually it is as simple as hailing a taxi but may
  include a limousine service, or booking flights
  or trains.

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Organising tours

• This is another common request.
• Most venues maintain a stock of local tour
  brochures.
• Many tours booked by the porter attract a
  commission from the operator.