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PROVIDE VALET/BUTLER SERVICE

The job of the valet

A valet, sometimes also known as a 'butler', is employed by a hotel to
provide a personalized and specialist service to guests for the duration of
their stay. They add a degree of service, class and style many people
associate with indulgence and opulence. Valet services are not common.
Certainly not all establishments provide valet service and the position may
not exist in some countries. Many hotels will only supply a “valet parking
“service.

However international guests may have very high levels of expectation

in relation to the service provided by valets, especially American and
Japanese guests. Many expect the same level of service provided by other
up-market hotels around the world.

The many roles of a valet

Many regard the valet as providing a combination of roles each with
its own demanding level of personalized and individualized services. The
various roles include:
1. Housekeeper – performing a range of services normally provided by room
attendants in other rooms.
2. Confidant – being a trusted person whom the guest can confide in when
they need to talk or share an idea, experience or opinion.

3. Guide – informing the guest of what is available both within and outside the
venue, when it is available, how to get there and how to obtain entry,
tickets, preferential treatment.

4. Concierge – while all valets work together with the concierge in a venue,
many valets often take the role of concierge for the guests they are looking
after.
5. Organizer – organizing activities including reservations, tickets to shows,
entry to events, meetings with people, daily schedules, on behalf of and
under the direction of the guest.

6. Supervisor – overseeing the work of other people (venue employees and

outside workers) who provide products and service to the guest.

7. Guest relations – ensuring the guest has a pleasant stay in the venue,
ensuring their expectations are met and dealing with any problems that
arise during the stay.

The main duties of a valet

The main duties of a valet refer to the services they provide to their
guests. The Position Description for “valet‟ at your venue will provide a good
starting point regarding what they are expected to do.
The nature and extent of these services will vary between guests with some
guests demanding constant attention and others requiring little in the way
of valet service.

Services can include, but are not limited to:

1. Professionally and confidentially communicating – with the guest and
on behalf of the guest
2. Unpacking and storing guest luggage
3. Preparing guest clothes and footwear – ready for use
4. Light pressing of garments – as required or requested
5. Packing guest luggage – for their departure
6. Cleaning and polishing shoes – as required or requested
7. Repairing, or organizing the repair of, clothes and other guest
belongings.
8. Providing assistance in relation to organization of guest needs and
requests including wake up calls, newspaper, coffee and tea
9. Monitoring the provision of establishment services to the guest – both
in-room and throughout the venue. This may include:

 Arranging and supervising the provision of room service for

meals, snacks, parties and drinks.
 Organization and implementation of functions for the guest in
their room or in a function room at the venue.

10. Recording services that have been delivered – for quality control and
accounting procedures.
11. Preparing room before guest arrives – by providing various items
such as fruit bowls, complimentary gifts, bathrobes, chocolates or
flowers.
12. Looking after guest laundry and dry cleaning needs – on an ongoing
basis for the duration of their stay.
13. Organizing and processing secretarial duties upon request – such
as messages, faxes, packages, translation, postage, and use of the
business facilities at the property.
14. Arranging restaurant bookings, car hire, tours, and specified
purchases of gifts or other items.
15. Organizing activities to meet guest needs – such as arranging
special functions in the venue, booking. Local excursions and tours,
 and making reservations for the theatre, shows, dining and special
events.

16. Provision of local advice (the „concierge‟ function) including:

 Recommendations for dining and shopping
 Suggestions for transport and sight-seeing
 Options for tourism and leisure activities
 Acquisition of personal services
17. Making, altering or confirming travel arrangements.
18. Prior to guest arrival the valet must:
19. Investigate background information and knowledge about guest
preferences and previous history with the establishment.
20. Take action to ensure promises made to the guest are met when the
guest arrives.
On guest departure the valet must:

 Record and process guest charges and accounts – for billing and
payment.
 Assist in the maintenance of guest history file – to provide relevant
and up-to-date information about the guest/VIP
 De-brief with management – to identify lessons learned, determine
changes needing to be made to SOPs and whether or not
management needs to contact the guest to make an apology.
 PREPARE TO DELIVER VALET SERVICES

While many guests in a venue are walk-ins, guests who require a

valet never arrive without a reservation. As part of this reservation a request
is made for a valet or management decide a valet will be provided. The guest
also provides certain details about their stay and their needs, wants and
preferences during their stay.

Why is it important to obtain this information?

It is important to obtain VIP guest information so you can:
1. Learn about the guest – knowledge is power when used to satisfy the
guest. The more knowledge you have about the guest to be served, the
better you can meet their needs.

2. Identify their individual needs, wants and preferences – so service

delivery can be tailored to meet their personal needs.

3. Meet expectations – where valet service is provided, VIP guests have

high expectations about the standard of service received, and how
they will be welcomed and treated. Meeting or exceeding guest
expectations is important in relation to:
 Attracting repeat business
 Obtaining positive word-of-mouth advertising and
endorsements.
Where and how can guest information be obtained?
The need to be proactive
Valets need to be proactive in sourcing information about guests they are
required to service. They cannot afford to wait for information to be given to
them – they must take action to obtain it.

This may mean valets may:

1. Ask management to contact the guest and request information from
them.
2. Contact guest support staff (such as personal assistants) to obtain
information.
3. Possible sources of guest information
Valets may also use the following to source guest information:
1. Internal guest history
Where the guest is a repeat visitor to the venue there is a strong
possibility the venue will have details about their previous stay that
can be used to provide information about their next visit.

The internal guest history may be a paper-based report or an

electronic file on the venue CRS containing: Information from venue
staff who served the VIP on their previous stay/s about:

 Likes and dislikes of the guest

 Things to do and not do for the guest
Preferences in terms of things such as:

 Brand names
 Wake-up calls
 Food and beverages
 Timing of service delivery
 Privacy
 Personal treatment
 Forms of address
Requirements relating to the room – such as preferences regarding:

 Room type or number

 Room set-up on arrival
 Facilities required
 Extra items required
Problems encountered by the guest or their party – so special effort can be
made to avoid a repeat of these issues.

Examples of pre-arrival information

Information regarding guests who want or merit valet service will
greatly exceed the traditional information captured from other guests when
they make a booking. The type of pre-arrival information available may
include, but is definitely not limited to:
Names – of the VIPs and those in their party. Their „party‟ can include:

 Spouse or partner.
 Children – including their age and special; requirements for them:
 Entertainment
Food and drinks
Child-minding
 PA's or agents
 Retinue – such as security, cooks, hairdressers, make-up people,
advisors, media personnel, nannies, doctors
Title (if appropriate) – and how the person is to be addressed:
 “Your Majesty‟
 “Your Holiness‟
 Culture-specific forms of address and respect to be employed.

Special requests – these can relate to specific tasks to be undertaken when

the guest in the venue or during their stay:
 Valets may be asked to run errands, arranging bookings or functions,
obtain nominated items, meet with designated people.
 There really is no limit to the range of things a valet may be asked to
do for a guest.

Personal preferences
Itinerary– this is a list of what the guest is doing during their stay, where
they are going and when it is all happening:
 This is provided so the valet and other venue staff can make sure they
accommodate guest needs. Schedules can range from the very detailed
to general.
 Not all guests who use a valet will provide an itinerary
Functions to be organized detailing:

 When they are required – date, start and finish times

 Numbers attending – and who the venue needs to invite
 Where they are to be held – in the venue or at another location
 Menus and drinks required
 Entertainment
 Budget
 Ancillary requirements – theme for the event, color scheme, displays.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS REQUIRED OF A VALET

Valets need to be able to perform a range of technical skills. This

includes serving food and drinks, cleaning and folding clothes, shining
shoes and making reservations. In order to deliver the services required by a
guest and fulfil the expectations of guests, a valet must possess all of the
following personal characteristics as a minimum requirement in order to
make their guests feel comfortable, valued and respected.

1. Tact and diplomacy

Tact may be seen as the ability to know when to say something and
when not to say something. It also means being able to say what needs to
be said without giving offence, without making people feel uncomfortable
or ignorant. Diplomacy is the skill of applying tact to situations so the
outcome is beneficial to the valet and their guest. The two terms „tact‟
and „diplomacy‟ are commonly used together. A person who is effective
with tact is said to be “tactful‟. A person who applies tact very well is
regarded as being “diplomatic‟.
2. Discretion
Exercising discretion means being discrete. In practice this means
demonstrating the ability to judge when to ignore something the guest
may have said or done. Central to being discrete is:

 The action of „turning a blind eye‟

 Not mentioning the event to the guest or to anyone else.

3. Etiquette
Etiquette refers to knowledge about social convention across a
range of issues such as:

 The different forms of address to be used when talking to dignitaries

 The correct piece of cutlery to use when setting a table for a meal
 Action to take to make others feel “at ease‟.
Etiquette can be described as good manners, decorum and
propriety.
It is the set of customary rules for behavior in polite society.

4. Good manners
Good manners and etiquette go together but they are not the same
thing. Manners relates to:
 Showing respect for others
 Demonstrating politeness
 Being refined and appropriate in all situations.
In practice it means:
 Knowing when to talk and when to be quiet
 Giving way to guests
 Remaining a respectful distance from guests in terms of
physical distance and personal connection.
5. Politeness
Being polite means applying necessary etiquette and good manners. It
is closely aligned with showing respect, making people feel at ease and
 creating an appropriate and refined atmosphere for the guest and
their associates.
In practice it means:
 Asking for permission to undertake tasks
 Saying “please‟ and “thank you‟
 Knowing when to withdraw and leave guests alone and when to
maintain a presence.

6. Civility
Civility means acting in a civil manner. Civility is closely linked to
manners and means avoiding anything that could be construed as
rude, disrespectful or intended to give distress or cause offence. It
may embrace adhering to a „Code of Conduct‟ imposed by the venue
in regard to treatment of guests and others.

7. Honesty. This is a basic requirement for all staff.

8. Dedication. Dedication means being committed to your job and the
guests and showing enthusiasm about what needs to be done. As a
valet you may sometimes find yourself in a position where being
dedicated to a guest means you cannot be dedicated to what the
venue requires you to do.

These situations require you to use personal judgement about what to

do. When making a decision about who or what takes priority in these
situations, consider the following:
 Always use common sense to assist in deciding what to do
 Never do anything that is illegal or places you in danger
 Be prepared to seek guidance and counsel from more
experienced and senior staff.

9. Willingness to be of genuine service

All venue staff should be willing to provide genuine service to all guests
but nowhere is this more important than with valets. Demonstrating
willingness to be of genuine service means not only „doing the right
thing‟ but doing it with the right attitude. For a valet, a willingness to be
of genuine service is critical because:

 They spend comparatively more time with guests than any other
staff member – valets are with their guests on a day-today basis
and sometimes for many hours at a time.

 Guests rely on valets to a greater extent than they rely on most

other staff – valets are expected to undertake many duties on
behalf of the guest that reflect the guest’s standing, image and
reputation.

 Guests pay a premium to have the services of a valet – generally

speaking valets must be paid for by the guest on an hourly, or „per
stay‟, basis so guests are entitled to expect them to be genuinely
committed to excellent levels of service delivery.

 Very often, this means being prepared to do „a little bit extra‟ to

please or satisfy the guest.
Note: some venues, especially casinos, provide valets free-of-charge to
“high roller‟ guests.

10. An unbiased and prejudice-free disposition

All valets must be free of bias and refrain from judging their guests
because:
They will have to deal with people from a wide range of cultures,
ethnic backgrounds, and ages. They will experience a great variation
in the personal habits of guests, individual opinions and thoughts of
guests and in the manners, attitudes and beliefs of guests. All of these
characteristics will give rise to differences in the way guests behave,
 conduct themselves, talk to and treat people. The role of the valet is
not to judge the guest based on these individual differences but
simply to continue serving them. The important thing to remember
when a guest holds a different opinion, attitude or stance to your own
is you do not have to agree with them. You do not have to adopt their
orientation, you only have to serve them.

11. Punctuality
All valets must be highly aware of the need for them to be punctual.
In practice this means:
 Arriving for work early – to ensure all the requirements for the
day have been arranged. Not leaving work until the needs of the
guest have been taken care of – a valet can never work hours
totally governed by a roster. You must stay as long as the guest
needs you or arrange for another valet to replace you.

 Making sure all arrangements made for the guest are delivered
punctuality – this applies to ensuring in-house services are
delivered when expected as well as following up with external
service providers to make sure what they have promised arrives
on time.

12. Attention to detail

The valet must have an eye for detail and take necessary action to
make sure everything done for, or provided to, the guest is the best it
can be. The fact of life for a valet is the little things do count and it is
often the little things that make the big difference for a guest.

Definitely, for a valet, “near enough is never good enough”.

Keys to making sure every detail is correct are:
  Planning and preparation – deciding in advance what needs to
be done, what needs to be present and how things must look,
flow or occur.
 Observation – physically paying attention to determine whether
or not things are correct or whether some details requires
attention.
 Many expert valets develop what may be regarded as a sixth
sense – being able to intuitively predict what their guest needs
will be even before the guest realizes them. Taking action when
a detail is identified as missing, or in some way incorrect –
valets must always take action when there is a need to do so.

13. Initiative
Perhaps the greatest personal characteristic a valet can have is the
ability to use their initiative to best serve their guest. Some people are
born with initiative and some learn it on-thejob through ongoing
contact with guests. This guest contact teaches them what to expect
and gives them insight into how individuals can vary and how these
variations translate into necessary or appropriate service delivery.
Initiative requires you to anticipate what the guest will may need
and take action to ensure these needs are met. When unsure about
what a guest wants, needs or prefers the recommended advice is to
ask the guest what they want.