高级酒店的门房正在改变！

　　在伦敦Halkin酒店，38岁的斯特凡诺·特罗沃(StefanoTrovo)穿着一身乔治·阿玛尼(GiorgioArmani)西服，与“头戴礼帽、身穿制服、随时准备伸手服务”的传统酒店门房形象相去甚远。

　　科技的发展让门房改变

　　酒店门房一直是商务旅客与酒店接触的一个关键点，现在依然如此。但他们的作用和衣着正在变化，而变化幅度之大，以至于现代门房与20年前的门房前辈之间几乎没有多少共同点。

　　首先，这项工作不再是男人的天下。越来越多的女性占据了这个位置，尤其是在欧洲大陆和美国。

　　有趣的是，在那些曾经负责培训酒店门房的学校中，极受尊崇的洛桑酒店管理学院(Ecoleh?telièredeLausanne)已经不再从事这种培训了。这所学院为很多世界顶级酒店培养了服务人才，但他表示，在很多酒店，“顾客关系”员工正在取代门房。

　　这是职业定义的巨大变化。但造成门房职业发生根本性变化的原因却是科技的发展。

　　作为一个酒店门房，仅仅能够帮助客人预订一个餐厅座位或购买一张演出门票，已经远远不够了。如今，他们必须了解旅客可能使用的所有现代技术——从苹果()的系列产品到黑莓(BlackBerry)手机，而且，当技术出现小故障时，他们要知道如何迅速让这些设备联上网络。

　　多技能门房成为必须

　　Halkin是位于伦敦贝尔塔莱维亚区的一个高档小酒店。对于门房，该酒店总经理肯尼思·斯皮尔斯(KennethSpeirs)使用了“多技能”一词。“我们的门房员工与前台员工接受同样的培训。他们需要知道如何迅速将客人登记入住，如何预订演出票、预订餐厅座位等。他们必须跟上变化的步伐。”

　　“我们需要的是很灵活的人。他们必须能够应付各类宾客，并且依然提供服务。门房岗位应该是一站式服务。你有什么事情，应该都可以找他们。”

　　该酒店的门房领班特罗沃证实了这一点。他回忆到，在一个情人节(ValentineDay)，有个商务宾客订了6束红玫瑰，分别送给6个不同的女性。还有一次，有位客人希望在下午7点得到一条金鱼，作为礼物送为未婚妻。

　　在伦敦皮卡迪利区的丽思酒店(TheRitz)，50岁的门房领班迈克尔·德科尔萨(MichaeldeKosar)有一次甚至把自己的鞋带解下来，给了一位宾客。这位宾客是一个著名的银行家，就在他即将召开一个晨会时，自己的鞋带却断了。

　　德科尔萨完全就是一个传统的、穿制服的酒店门房，而且拥有这个职业的典型传统背景——他毕业后就来到丽思酒店当了一个小跑堂。

　　然而，他指出，科技的发展大大改变了他的角色，而他对此颇感欣然。“科技大大提高了我的效率。我可以为我自己和我的顾客节约大量时间。”（这个酒店的客人通常都是王室成员或行业巨头。）

　　“节约时间很重要。这段时间，我们的很多老顾客甚至在结账离开时把他们的衣服和盥洗包留在房间里（部分原因是机场的安检越来越严格），而我们就要确保，当他们回来时，一切都井井有条。”

　　人际交往更为重要

　　有一项技能，依然是酒店门房的重中之重——与人打交道的能力，最好能用客人的母语。

　　赛恩·戴维斯(SionDavies)是一个说德语的威尔士人，目前在罗克·福特爵士(SirRoccoForte)位于柏林的HoteldeRome酒店门房部工作。他的门房领班安娜·拉贝尔(AnnaRaber)今年29岁，能说英语、法语、德语和西班牙语。他们两个都非常熟悉这个城市，并认为自己的工作是满足宾客需求团队的一部分。

　　RF Hotels称，作为一个一般规则，它只雇用具有五星级酒店丰富工作经验、拥有强大关系网的门房。

　　在该集团位于伦敦的Brownshotel，35岁的瓦妮莎·比热(VanessaBugi)是伦敦不多的几个女性门房之一。这位曾就读于巴黎InternationalConciergeInstitute的法国人，还能讲英语、西班牙语，并能讲一些意大利语和葡萄牙语，还曾在5家伦敦顶级酒店工作过。

　　她表示：“我喜欢酒店业务。但我在学校时，我并不满足于仅仅做营销和接待工作。我喜欢交流，喜欢帮助别人，所以我想，‘为什么不做个女门房呢？”

　　“起初非常难，但我认为，客户喜欢我们（女性）。我们比男人更加柔美、更加耐心，也更加任劳任怨。”

　　她是金钥匙协会(The Society oftheGoldenKeys)仅有的几个女会员之一。这是一个门房职工组织，其成员的领口都别着一个由相互交叉的金钥匙组成的徽章。

　　仕达屋酒店及度假村集团(Starwood HotelsandResorts)旗下拥有一些全球最知名的酒店品牌，其中包括WHotels、威斯汀(Westin)、StRegis、喜来登(Sheraton)和LeMéridien。该公司表示，目前，它在全球有一大批女性门房。

　　仕达屋负责西北欧业务的高级副总裁迈克尔·瓦勒(MichaelWale)补充道：“我们的门房员工通常很年轻的时候就加入我们公司，并且有经验丰富的门房领班对他们进行辅导。在我们的很多酒店，尤其是在欧洲的酒店，这就像一个家族业务。”

　　“我想，酒店培训学校无法教育学生们如何成为门房——这是一项技能，需要天赋和经验的完美协调。”

　　Dressed

　　in his Giorgio Armani suit, Stefano Trovo, 38, ofLondonsHalkinhotel is as far removed from the traditional image ofahotelconcierge – top-hat, uniform and palm at the ready – asitispossible to be.

　　Concierges have always been, and still are, a key pointofcontactfor the business traveller but their role andappearanceischanging. So much so, that modern conciergesarealmostunrecognisable from their predecessors of, say, 20yearsago.

　　For a start, the job is no longer simply a malepreserve.Morewomen are occupying the post, particularly in mainlandEuropeandthe US.

　　Interestingly, one of the schools which used to beresponsiblefortraining hotel concierges, the highly regarded Ecoleh?telièredeLausanne (EHL), no longer does so. The school, famousforgroomingsome of the worlds top hoteliers, says that inmanyhotels “guestrelations” staff are now taking the place oftheconcierge.

　　This is a sea change in job definition. But thefundamentalchangeto the concierge desk has come about becauseoftechnology.

　　It is no longer simply enough for a concierge to be able tobookarestaurant table or a show. Today they must have anunderstandingofall the modern technology that travellers may use –from stoBlackBerrys – and know how to get them connected quicklywhenthetechnology suffers a glitch.

　　“Multi-skilling” is the phrase used by Kenneth Speirs,managerofthe Halkin, an upmarket boutique hotel in Belgravia.“Ourconciergestaff get the same training as ourfront-of-housepeople,” he says.“They need to know how to check insomeonequickly, as well as booktheatre tickets, restaurants and soforth.They have to keep abreastof change.

　　“We look for individuals with flexibility. They musthavetheability to mix with guests at all levels and stilldeliverservice.The concierge should be a one-stop shop. You shouldbe ableto goto them for almost everything.”

　　Mr Trovo, his head concierge, bears that out. Herecallsabusinessmans Valentine Day request for six bunches of redroses–all to be sent to different women. Another demand was fromaguestwho wanted him to obtain a goldfish at 7pm, agift,apparently, forthe mans fiancée.

　　Michael de Kosar, 50, head concierge at The RitzinLondonsPiccadilly, even gave his shoelace to one guest, atopbanker, whobroke his own lace shortly before an earlymorningmeeting.

　　Mr de Kosar is every inch the traditional,uniformedhotelconcierge with a typical old-style background in thejob –hejoined The Ritz as a pageboy straight from school.

　　However, he notes how significantly technology has changedhisrole– a welcome change, he says. “It has improvedmyefficiencysubstantially. I can save myself and my guests thehotelregularlyhosts royalty and captains of industry so muchtime.

　　“Time-saving is so important. These days a lot ofourregularclients even leave their clothes and washbags in theirroomswhenthey check out particularly since airport securityhasbecometighter and we make sure everything is in good order forthemwhenthey return.”

　　One skill that will always be a top priority for ahotelconciergeis the ability to deal with people, preferably intheirownlanguage.

　　Sion Davies is a German-speaking Welshman who is ontheconciergedesk of Sir Rocco Fortes Hotel de Rome in Berlin.Hisheadconcierge, Anna Raber, 29, speaks English, French,GermanandSpanish. Both know the city by heart and see their work aspartofa team facilitating guest requests.

　　RF Hotels says that, as a general rule, it onlyemploysconciergeswith extensive experience in the five-star hotelsectorwho haveexceptionally strong contacts.

　　At the groups Browns hotel in London, Vanessa Bugi, 35, isoneofonly a handful of women who have become concierges inthecapital.The French former student of the InternationalConciergeInstitute inParis also speaks English, Spanish and someItalianand Portugueseand has worked in five of Londons tophotels.

　　She says: “I love the hotel business. When I did mystudiesIwasnt satisfied with just marketing and reception work.Ilovetalking and helping people so I thought ‘why notawomanconcierge?

　　“It was quite tough initially but I think clients like uswomen.Weare more mellow, patient and industrious than men.”

　　She is one of very few women who have been made mrs ofTheSocietyof the Golden Keys, an organisation representingconciergestaff,its mrs recognisable by their lapel pins of crossedgoldenkeys.

　　Starwood Hotels and Resorts, which owns some of theworldsbestknown hotel brands, including W Hotels, Westin, StRegis,Sheratonand Le Méridien, says it now has a good number offemaleconciergesworldwide.

　　Michael Wale, Starwoods senior vice-presidentofoperationsnorth-west Europe, adds: “Our concierges tend to joinusat a youngage and are trained on the job under the tutelage ofanexperiencedhead concierge. In many of our hotels, particularlyinEurope, itis something of a family business.

　　“I dont believe that hotel schools can teach students howtobeconcierges – this is a skill that natural talentandexperiencefine tune.”

　　（实习编辑：顾萍）