Fortifying the Guest Experience

JULIEN TROCHA, FRONT DESK SUPERVISOR AT THE BROADMOOR

Julien takes great pride in being at the heart of The Broadmoor’s nerve center: the Front Desk. Each shift provides endless opportunities to problem solve, fortify the overall guest experience and lead his team to the peak of brand ambassadorship.

Welcome Julien! Can you give us a little summary of what you do, what your daily responsibilities are and how long you’ve worked for the resort?

Hi there! I’ve worked for The Broadmoor in total for about three years, but at the Front Desk—for about two years. I view my role as being the liaison between all of the guests and all of the different internal departments. I also act as a communication agent between the Front Desk and different departments across campus that might need our services as well. We do the check ins and the check outs, plus we manage all of the room blocks, as well as anything to do with keying or billing for anyone in-house staying with us. 

We work very closely with our Accounting team, and with Housekeeping as well. We make sure that our guests are satisfied and get to their rooms as quickly as possible. It’s exciting...and it’s a lot! Front Desk is often viewed as the central headquarters for guests for anything they need. But The Broadmoor’s set up differently; we’re very spread out. We have Concierge, we have Dining Activities, we have Housekeeping, etc. Yet a lot of people have the mindset that Front Desk is the place I go if I need help with making reservations, or if I need to complain about something, etc. So we end up having many interactions, which is fine, because we get the opportunity to redirect accordingly, and it’s also great for training. My agents need to experience these varied examples of how to work with a guest who may be a little frustrated and learn how to diffuse situations. We want to make everyone feel heard and acknowledged here at The Broadmoor. 

You spent some time in Concierge before arriving at the Front Desk, so it sounds like that background is very helpful in managing guests, too? 

Oh, 100%. When I was in Concierge, I really enjoyed being able to connect with guests, determining what kind of the experience they’re looking for without them telling me, and then taking that subtle knowledge to the Front Desk. At Concierge, you can take as much time as the guest wants to talk and be there with you. However, at the Front Desk, your goal is to have a guest checked in within five minutes from the time they arrive at the desk. It’s a challenge to be able to connect with the guest in a meaningful way in such a short time span, so I use my Concierge experience. 

Despite streamlining the check in process, I always tell my Agents that they are not meant to do the same thing for every guest—we must personalize the experience. What is bringing said guest to The Broadmoor?.. How can you make them feel unique? The Front Desk is very process driven. There are several steps we must follow when checking someone in, but you have to go beyond that. You have to step outside of that box to really make it a Five-Star experience for each patron.  

So do you have a typical day? 

There are certainly some typical processes that I have to go through, at least on the supervisor side, each day. Whatever shift I work, there are always certain reports to run regarding in-house guests, such as billing and making sure each guest’s account is accurate—that’s a big portion of each work period. Also, answering all the calls from all of the internal departments and addressing anything pertaining to any conferences that are held here. 

I also help my agents navigate the LMS property management system, which can be complicated. They’ll call me if they need to find a room that is ready, or if a guest is requesting a very particular type of room, etc. Part of my job is knowing pretty much everything about every room—and there are a lot of them (784!)—and oftentimes the unique characteristics of the rooms aren’t listed in the system. I also make sure I’m escalating important issues as they come up to keep overall efficiency. I try to take things bite by bite, day by day, one guest at a time to give them the proper attention. We all work together and help one another, which goes a long way in maintaining a positive attitude during stressful situations.

So when a guest checks in at the hotel, what is the main focus or objective for your team? 

Obviously we talked about that physical time constraint to get them checked in swiftly, but the most important aspect of the job is to remember how you’re making the guest feel—making sure they know they’re important. I really like this quote that a Forbes trainer shared with us once: “Luxury ends when the guest has to think.” 

There’s a fine line between asking questions to get all of the pertinent information you need from a guest versus asking way more questions than needed. We don’t want to inundate or overwhelm our guests, so it’s a balancing act. It’s important we are connecting with them, having that genuine interest—a Forbes standard—and also offering anticipatory service. Basically two different sides of the same coin. We need to hit both. Another big part of the check in process involves passing information along to the rest of the staff and making sure the guest has assistance with anything they need going forward in their stay, but seamlessly.

We really try to subtly share any kind of “special” insights or details we got from a guest to the next touchpoint of the check in procedure when we hand them off. For instance, when handing a couple off to a Bellman, we could relay in a very understated way that they are at the resort to celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary. The Bellman can then offer his congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Smith upon helping them to their room, wishing them an enjoyable stay as they celebrate such a milestone, etc. Then that Bellman will share that information subtly with another staff touchpoint, so that they may offer their personal congratulations. Pretty smooth, right?! It’s just a little bit of magic, you know—it’s really cool and makes the guests feel so special and seen. 

Here at The Broadmoor, one of our goals is to never say “no” to a guest. It seems like you encounter some challenging situations at times. Can you describe a moment when you pivoted to provide a guest with an alternative solution? 

One of the most common situations we encounter is when a guest is requesting to extend their reservation, and we don’t technically have any rooms—we’re sold out. That happens all the time. Typically, the first thing we’ll do is offer an alternative. If they are looking to stay on property a bit longer, we will offer to store their luggage so they can enjoy the property as long as they’d like before departure. But one of my favorite ways to give a guest more time is to offer them a day use room. This is a room that they can use just for the day, maybe because they have meetings here and they don’t need the room for the full day into the night. They just need somewhere to leave their luggage and be able to change and so on—just a dedicated space for them. Or maybe a guest is not even staying at the hotel; they’re part of a conference being held here, but they need a room because maybe they’re nursing, etc. Another hurdle we face is when a guest requests a certain room category or building, but we are sold out at the time they are on campus. We have to be very creative at that point as we try to sell the guest on maybe a different room, highlighting all of the features it has that might entice them. And we sometimes try to give them a one level upgrade, if we can, or to at least make sure it has a nice view for them to really enjoy. I find how you word the alternative is what makes it sound very appealing. I also really try to evaluate each guest situation individually and let them know that they are being heard and have a discussion. 

Can you describe the makeup of your team and what the training to work at the Front Desk entails? 

Most of our employees come to us through the J1 Visa program. Most of the time they are with us for 6 months. Some of our agents are here for a year, depending on their country of origin—all have different rules and regulations on how long they can remain in one certain department. We do have a handful of Americans, and they’re here for a longer time because they don’t face the same constraints. As far as training, most of the time that equates to about three weeks. We start off with computer training, and the employees learn the very basics of the system. There is always a more senior staff member shadowing them and guiding them. Then we move to the actual front desk where maybe another agent is doing the talking, and then the employee being trained is working the computer; it’s a deliberate build up to more autonomy and responsibility. I work on slowly taking off the training wheels until they become independent.

Our department is also big on continuing education, and we participate in a lot of classes. Every week our team members are required to do role playing where they go through a check in and a check out scenario, and they are also required to record themselves completing a check in and check out with an actual guest. Then they receive feedback and learn how to improve. Even after two years, I’m still fine tuning what I know and continually learning things about the property! 

Is there one moment that stands out to you in your role that you found touching to you or your team, or, that made you incredibly proud? 

There was a guest during the White Lights ceremony weekend who approached one of our agents and asked them if it would be possible to get a Christmas tree in their room. While this request didn’t necessarily pertain to the Front Desk, we did pull strings to help facilitate the request. It was an older guest, and we really wanted to make this happen for them. But I didn’t know what to do...I mean, I couldn’t see myself heading out to the woods with a chainsaw...haha. So we went to Concierge to see if they could help, and then we tapped the Hotel Managers, who let us know it was possible. Of course there was a substantial cost associated with getting a tree from an outside vendor, and we ran that by the guest. Unfortunately that was a bit too much for them...they even asked if there was a Charlie Brown tree version they might be able to afford..haha. But my agent personally took the initiative to convey the importance of this request to the Hotel Managers and eventually we came up with the idea to take an extra tree from the Golf Club! So we grabbed a tree from there, decorated it, and then brought it to the room without the guest knowing—he was ecstatic when he walked in to see that! Wow, that was thinking out of the box. I mean, we could have just said, “Sorry, if you can’t afford what we offered, too bad.” But my agent really wanted to see this guest made happy and really pushed for it. It felt very important to them. Moments and memories like that, which we help create, are so special—can you imagine walking into a room and being surprised with a tree that you weren’t expecting?! 

Moving on now from something warm and fuzzy to something nerve-racking...LOL. How does it feel to know that you can be shopped by a Forbes Agent at any time? 

Oh, I’ve been inspected multiple times, both in Concierge and at the Front Desk! It is surprising to get a report back when you had no idea you were being appraised at the time.

I have to ask: do you have any idea that it’s happening in the moment? 

When it happened over in Concierge, I had no clue it was going on that time. I guess I did well, because it all worked out. But the Front Desk one, I had a pretty good idea it was happening. I mean, you never know entirely for sure, but you can make a good educated guess because we’ve been doing it for so many years. The inspectors have to rate certain things, and there are patterns we look out for, but conversely, once you check in so many guests, you can also tell if something feels off. You can kind of see what’s normal and what’s not, you know? Regardless, we tell our agents that every social guest (or guest that’s not here for a conference) is a potential inspector.

My belief is that if you’re following protocol and treating every guest like a VIP, you’re not going to have any issues when an inspector comes in. That’s what it comes down to—if you’ve had good training, you rely on that and you’ll be fine. Does it still make me anxious? Yes, 100%. But it’s what we do to keep The Broadmoor Five-Star. We’re all playing our part, and honestly, I view the whole thing as a motivator—it really is.

How do you handle learning all the information that you have to be in charge of and distribute, especially with frequent changes?

There are a lot of moving parts, and I’m used to it at this point, which helps when going from a calm day to chaos requiring all hands on deck. That’s probably one of the biggest challenges we have: going from a very serene day to a shuttle bus of 50+ passengers arriving. They all need to be checked in while we remain efficient and honor the Forbes standards with each guest. We always have to be ready and poised to deal with any issues that arise. We have a lot of channels of communication going back and forth between the Front Desk, so we rely on that in each situation, like getting conference attendees to their correct location or inform them if there’s been a venue change due to weather..things like that.

We have multiple ways of procuring and disseminating all kinds of information to our team. Daily information chronically changes, and remember, our department is open and working 24 hours a day, so we need to keep on top of things. We do our stand ups a little differently; they happen on more of an individual basis rather than a traditional group stand up. I’ll notify my agents of any changing business needs, or if there is something to watch for, etc. I like doing it that way, because then if they have any questions, I can address them directly and it’s more of a conversation. Plus, remember, the agents really are on the computer most of the time during their shift, so if a piece of information needs to relayed to them in real time, we can do instant messaging to them right on the computer. 

The Broadmoor has the beloved Pitty Pat Club. When pets arrive with their owners, do they get a special check in as well? 

We have dog treats of course, which our agents love to give out...and then they receive a little dog tag that says “Guest of The Broadmoor,” which is theirs to keep. That’s the Front Desk portion of dog check in, but there are special items in the guest room for them, too, such as bowls and dog beds, etc. They get the full Broadmoor experience just like a regular guest! We try to personalize the check in process for people and their pets, and acknowledging a pet as part of the family is a natural extension of that.  

If someone were interested in working at our Front Desk, what hard or soft skills would help them gain a position there?  

I’d say being comfortable on the computer is a big advantage for a Front Desk agent. We of course do that initial few weeks of training with the software that we use, so I believe everyone can get there. You also have to be very flexible. Each guest is different, so the interaction with each of them will be different, and you have to know how to navigate that. One guest might be coming in to celebrate a 50th Anniversary...your next client might be buried in his phone and scrolling, not looking up, because he’s part of an in-house group conference. Two very different scenarios there. The next guest might be here to attend his brother’s funeral, so being intuitive and adaptable are really good characteristics to possess in this position. Plus, it really helps to be comfortable talking to people for eight hours straight, because that is your job. 

It is also a position where you have to be able to think on your feet, and be able to add in a sprinkle of creativity. As mentioned before, I want our agents to make check in a unique experience for each guest they help–create a genuine connection. I want them to pay attention and spot those moments where we can learn something unique or beneficial about that person. Being able to relate to a patron is something that will serve you in any role here at The Broadmoor. 

Is there anything else that you want to add, or anything that you feel would be interesting or important to a fellow Broadmoor employee? 

The Front Desk is often viewed as a very stressful and challenging environment—for good reason—it can be a very demanding department. I like to look at it from this perspective: if you’re working in a position where you find yourself frequently facing opposition and obstacles, you will eventually learn how to handle all of them accordingly...and in a fairly short amount of time. Growth is going to occur in so many different ways and that is a truly beautiful thing.

I’ve seen people come to The Broadmoor to work and land at the Front Desk—this might be their very first job ever— and they are terrified. To top things off, the position requires an employee to rise to a whole different level based around learning and upholding Five-Star service standards. But it is amazing to watch them learn and flourish after a bit of time has passed. Six months goes by in a blink, and then a lot of them have to leave to go back to their home country, which is hard for me and the remaining team. But to watch that transformation from an inexperienced employee to a confident, reliable team member is so gratifying for me.

If you’d like to connect with Julien, or to learn more about the Front Desk and the amazing team responsible for it, please reach out to Julien at [email protected].