The Modern Concierge Is Too Skilled to Be Made Redundant by Technology
Photo Credit: A concierge at the Mandarin Oriental in Geneva. Hotel staff take guests to visit private watchmaking ateliers. Mandarin Oriental Geneva
Skift Take
It would be easy to dismiss a concierge as a relic of another time. But concierges are the secret weapon of the educated traveler, and when the job is done well, it is vital.
Automation and advances in artificial intelligence will eliminate many jobs; those with recurring tasks that are characterized drudgery and predictability may be on the chopping block soon.
One might assume the hotel concierge would be on this list. If we look at the most simplistic asks of the studied staff at concierge desk, this could be true. We can use OpenTable or the local equivalent to find the tables around town. We can use discovery apps like Foursquare and Spot to discover interesting things to do. We can generally handle cars or logistics from the airport with options like Uber and Lyft.
So what, then, is
