When Issam Rajab, the head butler at Rosewood Jeddah, prepares for the arrival of his guests at the hotel, he is always thinking of the “wow” factor. How can he make his guests’ stay special.
Think of Carson in Downton Abbey, always available in a split second with an extra pill or to turn down the bed. Or even Kato, the Green Hornet’s valet and sidekick who has access to a smorgasbord of all that can be had at a hotel.
“We are seeking to make our costumers feel like home,” Rajab said in a confidential tone one would expect from a butler.
Hotel butlers have been around since the first medieval family decided that housework should be delegated while they took on a more comfortable lifestyle. The role of butler has since evolved from making sure food did not spoil to high art, complete with white gloves and formal wear during the Victorian era. Much has changed since Carson ruled downstairs while the Crawley family played upstairs.
Today, hotel butlers are as common as valet parking in five-star hotels. But at Rosewood, hotel butlers are all about offering that extra special personal touch that other hotel services are unable to provide. Rosewood’s butlers operate as personal assistants who will protect the guests’ privacy and provide all the needs of their costumers.
The Rosewood Jeddah makes sure to give its guests a something different during their stay. All Rosewood’s guests are VIPs and the butlers will ensure their costumers have an experience that gives them a glimpse on how the other half lives.
Travelers are seeking perfect service in their hotel suites that only a butler can provide. Butler services now can exceed guest expectations by offering the “wow” factor or merely making their stay more fun. That means finding special ways to make their guests happy, such as a “surprise” gift in the room upon their arrival. Rosewood’s butlers familiarize themselves with the guests’ interests, like a favorite football team, movie character or music brand. The surprise can be in a form of a small celebration accompanied by a cake with Rosewood’s logo and the guest's picture or his sports team, his company’s logo, or a photograph of his family in a nice frame.
The butler is the sole person who combines the many functions of a hotel in one resourceful, around-the-clock available person, an individual whose job caters to requests both large and small while paying fine attention to detail and exceeding guest expectations at all times.
Butler service is a growing trend especially in the top five-star hotels and resorts, where they are constantly on call, either to pack or unpack suitcases, make restaurant reservations, assist with connecting to the Internet or simply help in preparing the perfect bath to make it more personalized.
“We also offer personalized wake-up to the room services with tea or coffee as per guest’s requests,” Rajab added. “As the butler service becomes a necessity at a certain class of an organization, I believe hotels will start distinguishing themselves by discovering new types of specialized butler services. At Rosewood Jeddah, we are offering our guests a truly personalized service by appointing a Fragrance Butler who can talk to them about the specific notes in each aroma and help them to match the best scent for their activities.”
What make Rosewood stand out are the little details that make a huge difference and leave a long-lasting impact on their guests.
“Our butlers also help guests with their IT needs and acting as a personal assistant ensures our business travelers are up-to-date with their emails and professional commitments,” Rajab said.
A special program offered in the Rosewood is the Rosebuds program — designed to entertain and educate children, combined with Rosewood Jeddah’s signature philosophy, “A Sense of Place,” the Rosebuds program offers a host of personalized services to younger guests including a special kids menu, minibar, bathroom amenities, and fun activities. “Our aim is to actively engage children in their learning by helping them experience sensorial and practical life applications of the world around them,” the head butler explained.
Hotels can provide fragrances as an in-room amenity as well, but honoring the time-tested methods of traditional butler services, where butlers were employed to provide personal services for nobility, royalty and estate home, Rosewood Jeddah goes a step further with this creative service for all hotel guests.
Butlers undergo intensive training on a regular basis, bringing special trainers, such as the Guild of Professional English course given by its founder Robert Watson in London, Steven Ferry of The International Institute of Modern Butlers in the United States, and Marc Van Bergen the Managing Director of Heilbron Hospitality Butler Training in South Africa.
When asked about the guests’ reaction and the way they usually receive such touches made by their butlers, Rajab said that the majority of guests are content and happy with their service. “They show great appreciation of the tiny touches we leave. On the other hand, we have some guests who don’t accept the idea of their privacy being so exposed and often show signs of rejection to any kind of intimacy from the first day of their stay, and here comes the role of our butlers to keep a proper space,” he said.
As for the charges, all butler services provided in the Rosewood Jeddah are free — “it is the hotel’s way to wish you a pleasant stay.”
According to Rajab, the butler used to deal with customers with a very shaking confidence. Therefore, the Rosewood provides training courses to develop the butler’s self-confidence to be able to deal smoothly with the hotel’s guests.
Rosewood Jeddah seeks to exceed the guests' expectations, not only meet them, by introducing their own touches and gestures.
“Once, a guest ran out of a shaving foam in the night and forgot to let his butler know to make it available. The butler came the next morning and brought brand new shaving foam after the regular checkup and placed it on the counter with a letter saying: ‘Please, accept this present from us – Your butler.’ The guest was thrilled when he returned to his room and found the message,” Rajab added.
Think of Carson in Downton Abbey, always available in a split second with an extra pill or to turn down the bed. Or even Kato, the Green Hornet’s valet and sidekick who has access to a smorgasbord of all that can be had at a hotel.
“We are seeking to make our costumers feel like home,” Rajab said in a confidential tone one would expect from a butler.
Hotel butlers have been around since the first medieval family decided that housework should be delegated while they took on a more comfortable lifestyle. The role of butler has since evolved from making sure food did not spoil to high art, complete with white gloves and formal wear during the Victorian era. Much has changed since Carson ruled downstairs while the Crawley family played upstairs.
Today, hotel butlers are as common as valet parking in five-star hotels. But at Rosewood, hotel butlers are all about offering that extra special personal touch that other hotel services are unable to provide. Rosewood’s butlers operate as personal assistants who will protect the guests’ privacy and provide all the needs of their costumers.
The Rosewood Jeddah makes sure to give its guests a something different during their stay. All Rosewood’s guests are VIPs and the butlers will ensure their costumers have an experience that gives them a glimpse on how the other half lives.
Travelers are seeking perfect service in their hotel suites that only a butler can provide. Butler services now can exceed guest expectations by offering the “wow” factor or merely making their stay more fun. That means finding special ways to make their guests happy, such as a “surprise” gift in the room upon their arrival. Rosewood’s butlers familiarize themselves with the guests’ interests, like a favorite football team, movie character or music brand. The surprise can be in a form of a small celebration accompanied by a cake with Rosewood’s logo and the guest's picture or his sports team, his company’s logo, or a photograph of his family in a nice frame.
The butler is the sole person who combines the many functions of a hotel in one resourceful, around-the-clock available person, an individual whose job caters to requests both large and small while paying fine attention to detail and exceeding guest expectations at all times.
Butler service is a growing trend especially in the top five-star hotels and resorts, where they are constantly on call, either to pack or unpack suitcases, make restaurant reservations, assist with connecting to the Internet or simply help in preparing the perfect bath to make it more personalized.
“We also offer personalized wake-up to the room services with tea or coffee as per guest’s requests,” Rajab added. “As the butler service becomes a necessity at a certain class of an organization, I believe hotels will start distinguishing themselves by discovering new types of specialized butler services. At Rosewood Jeddah, we are offering our guests a truly personalized service by appointing a Fragrance Butler who can talk to them about the specific notes in each aroma and help them to match the best scent for their activities.”
What make Rosewood stand out are the little details that make a huge difference and leave a long-lasting impact on their guests.
“Our butlers also help guests with their IT needs and acting as a personal assistant ensures our business travelers are up-to-date with their emails and professional commitments,” Rajab said.
A special program offered in the Rosewood is the Rosebuds program — designed to entertain and educate children, combined with Rosewood Jeddah’s signature philosophy, “A Sense of Place,” the Rosebuds program offers a host of personalized services to younger guests including a special kids menu, minibar, bathroom amenities, and fun activities. “Our aim is to actively engage children in their learning by helping them experience sensorial and practical life applications of the world around them,” the head butler explained.
Hotels can provide fragrances as an in-room amenity as well, but honoring the time-tested methods of traditional butler services, where butlers were employed to provide personal services for nobility, royalty and estate home, Rosewood Jeddah goes a step further with this creative service for all hotel guests.
Butlers undergo intensive training on a regular basis, bringing special trainers, such as the Guild of Professional English course given by its founder Robert Watson in London, Steven Ferry of The International Institute of Modern Butlers in the United States, and Marc Van Bergen the Managing Director of Heilbron Hospitality Butler Training in South Africa.
When asked about the guests’ reaction and the way they usually receive such touches made by their butlers, Rajab said that the majority of guests are content and happy with their service. “They show great appreciation of the tiny touches we leave. On the other hand, we have some guests who don’t accept the idea of their privacy being so exposed and often show signs of rejection to any kind of intimacy from the first day of their stay, and here comes the role of our butlers to keep a proper space,” he said.
As for the charges, all butler services provided in the Rosewood Jeddah are free — “it is the hotel’s way to wish you a pleasant stay.”
According to Rajab, the butler used to deal with customers with a very shaking confidence. Therefore, the Rosewood provides training courses to develop the butler’s self-confidence to be able to deal smoothly with the hotel’s guests.
Rosewood Jeddah seeks to exceed the guests' expectations, not only meet them, by introducing their own touches and gestures.
“Once, a guest ran out of a shaving foam in the night and forgot to let his butler know to make it available. The butler came the next morning and brought brand new shaving foam after the regular checkup and placed it on the counter with a letter saying: ‘Please, accept this present from us – Your butler.’ The guest was thrilled when he returned to his room and found the message,” Rajab added.
