We are people, work and live surrounded by others like us, and need to be in mutual balance and coordination as much as possible. In tourism, you work with people, and for people. The concept of service does not mean the fact that you become some kind of slave for another person that is paying you for certain services, it is a question of respect between both parts.
In hotels, every guest is different, and the staff should always treat everyone the same, because each person is supposed to receive an equal treatment. Offering vip treatment, special amenities, etc. to someone who pays more is normal, but we must remember that maybe the guest staying at that reduced priced single room can bring you more business in the future.
When it comes to offering personal service, like I do at Different Spain, it´s a mistery to know how your guest is gonna react, feel or behave. He/she may not like you from the beginning, or you may feel that it´s a difficult client, but approaching the person in a polite way, introducing yourself and being nice at all times assures that half of the work is almost done. Even if the person is a very important CEO, or a VIP, or a celebrity, I always treat them the same, nicely and kind, and never acting as if I was honoured to have them as guests or feeling lucky that they came to me, something that I may think or not for myself, but this type of clients are normally used to have a lot of persons around them , at their service or trying to get something out of them. Maybe all they want is to feel like just another citizen in town, without big useless luxuries and people asking if they need something.
The best luxurious service you can give is to make them feel relaxed and happy, they already have a stressed life sometimes so all they search is for tranquility and calm atmosphere in their free time. I once had an important businessman coming to Seville, I took him for a nice stroll by the river at sunset and I showed him a couple of local tapas bars in Seville. He said he missed these small pleasures of daily life and that he was happy to be able to enjoy such walk with a disconnected mobile phone and mixing with the locals. Sometimes life is so easy that we just insist on making it difficult…
BlanConcierge 