G Hotel Gurney Struck Double Gold in Concierge Service Excellence
G Hotel Gurney is the only hotel in Penang with 2 concierges who are members of the Golden Keys Society Malaysia, the Malaysian chapter of Les Clefs d’Or (translated from French as The Golden Keys), a professional association of hotel concierges, which expects its members to consistently provide the highest quality of concierge services.
On 11 May 2018, Mr Mohd Junaidy Bin Abdullah (Mr Junaidy), Chief Concierge at G Hotel Gurney received the exclusive golden crossed keys, “Les Clefs d’Or”, an honour of becoming a full key member at the Pinning Ceremony of Malaysian Hotel Concierge and Les Clefs d’Or. At the ceremony, Mr Jason s/o Kavinselvan (Mr Jason Kavin), Assistant Chief Concierge at G Hotel Gurney was also recognised as a member of the Malaysian Hotel Concierge, which is the first step towards receiving the “Les Clefs d’Or”. Mr Jason Kavin is also the youngest keyholder of the Malaysian Hotel Concierge in Penang.
Mr Jason Kavin’s job performance was closely observed by the Golden Keys Society Malaysia for 2 years before he was nominated by 2 official full key members of Les Clefs d’Or to sit for an entry examination, based on the observatory results. Nominated candidates will be notified via e-mail a month before the examination. The examination consists of two parts — a subjective written test, consisting of knowledge-based questions on the history of Les Clefs d’Or, tourism events in Malaysia, as well as International Air Transport Association (IATA) airport code and an interview.
“I was asked questions like how to capture guests’ attention when answering their questions on local tourist attractions, as well as knowledge-based questions about tourism in Kuala Lumpur and other states in Malaysia,” said Mr Jason Kavin as he recalled his membership interview session for Malaysian Hotel Concierge.
From Left: Mr. Syahreezal Kamaruddin, Director of Rooms at G Hotel, Mr. Mohd Junaidy Bin Abdullah (Mr. Junaidy), Chief Concierge at G Hotel Gurney (Centre) after he received the exclusive golden crossed keys, “Les Clefs d’Or”, an honour of becoming a full key member at the Pinning Ceremony of Malaysian Hotel Concierge and Les Clefs d’Or.
With more than a decade of experience in frontline service, Mr Jason Kavin embraces these tough questions with poise and maturity as how he serves guests and associates who comes to him for assistance. Mr Jason Kavin started building his career as a Bellman in G Hotel Gurney since he was 19 years old and has worked tirelessly to his current position as an Assistant Chief Concierge at the age of 31 years old. Mr Jason Kavin has not complained of rough days or late nights, rather he is a jovial soul who would give others a pat on their backs regardless of department.
Furthermore, Mr Jason Kavin aspires to follow the footsteps of his superior, Mr Junaidy in becoming an official full keys member of Les Clefs d’Or. Mr Jason Kavin is well-connected amongst fellow members of the Malaysian Hotel Concierge nationwide and is opened to share knowledge on the latest happenings in Penang within the group. Mr Jason Kavin is also often seen to be leading fellow concierges by guiding them on best practices in handling guests’ belongings and lending a hand to anyone who approaches the concierge at G Hotel Gurney.
Contrary to common belief that a hotel concierge just opens doors, greet and help guests with luggage or arranging for taxi pickups; they can deliver unique and bespoke travel experiences, such as assisting guests with private jet and flight arrangements, buying of concert tickets, restaurant bookings and arranging a birthday surprise. Easily identified by the golden crossed keys on their lapels, the golden keys members are expected to set new standards for guest service perfection as a hotel concierge.
With 18 years of experience as a hotel concierge, Mr Junaidy shares about his humble beginnings. Mr Junaidy started his career as a Public Area Attendant in Housekeeping in 1998 and was a Bellman in 1999. In 2000, he ventured onto a journey as a hotel concierge, where he earned the Adherent Key (former recognition for Malaysian Hotel Concierge) in 2014. When the Adherent Key was rebranded as the Malaysian Hotel Concierge in 2017, Mr Junaidy was automatically included as a member upon its launch. Furthermore, Mr Junaidy also worked towards earning the Full Keys membership, the highest honour of the Les Clefs d’Or, which he recently obtained.
Currently, Mr Junaidy is one of the 4,000 Full Keys members recorded in the Les Clefs d’Or Book of Members, who are professionally connected hotel concierges working in over 80 countries and 530 destinations worldwide. A preeminent benefit of being a Full Keys member is the luxury of receiving first-hand ground information about different locations across the globe without being physically present. Mr Junaidy shared that if a Full Keys member would like to know whether it is safe to travel to a certain country before assisting a guest with travel arrangements, the member would just need to post the inquiry to their exclusive group and another member would respond promptly. Mr Juanidy said that accuracy of information is essential for making travel arrangements smoothly and to provide helpful travel advice to guests.
Similar to attaining the Malaysian Hotel Concierge membership, prospective Full Key members would need to undergo 2 years of stringent observation, sit for a written examination and go through an interview. Candidates were only given a 1 month notice prior to the examination and interview. For Mr Junaidy, holding the Full Keys membership is not the end goal of being a hotel concierge, rather it is to be a leader through consistent professional service to guests and one who would go the extra mile to encourage other hotel concierges.
“Hotel concierges are ambassadors of a hotel. We have to listen attentively to our guests and give good recommendations, like a live Google and assist guests to the best we can,” said Mr Junaidy.
Besides attending to guests, Mr Junaidy also shares his vast experiences with his colleagues and other hotel concierges in Penang. Mr Junaidy sees the importance of building good relations with other concierges within the hotel industry globally, which is why he encourages other colleagues like Mr Jason Kavin to work towards attaining the Les Clefs d’Or membership. Currently, Mr Junaidy has created a group chat connecting hotel concierges in Penang as a platform for sharing information on the latest happenings in Penang, tourist attractions, best food and other industry news. He hopes that more hotel concierges from Penang can work towards attaining the Full Keys membership, delivering hotel concierge services that meet and exceed international standards.
About The Author
Leave a Reply