No DNA Required: Hotel Genealogy Butler Helps Visitors Discover Irish Roots
Photo Credit: The Shelbourne Hotel in Dublin employs a genealogy butler. Flickr / Tom Flemming
Skift Take
Hotel companies love to brag about providing local experiences for their guests, but few actually live up to their billing. One of Ireland's top hotels created a job to literally help visitors find their place in the destination's history: a genealogy butler.
Hotels have bath butlers, beachside butlers and beagle butlers. But in Dublin, one storied inn with deep Irish roots has a genealogy butler in place to help guests find their own connections to the country.
It all started with Helen Kelly, a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists who has served as a consultant at places like Ireland’s Genealogical Office, the National Library of Ireland and the National Archives of Ireland. She had read that The Shelbourne Hotel, the grande dame of the Dublin hospitality scene, was reopening in 2006. “At the time,” said Kelly, “they were advertising for staff. Given that the Shelbourne is a very historic hotel (it was built in 1824), I asked if they be interested in my services.” At first
