If you’re only looking to hotel front desk staff to help with check-in and check-out, you’re missing out.
Front desk staffers are prepped and ready to help hotel guests. While not all hotels offer the exact same amenities (or level of care), there are some nearly across-the-board requests they can assist with — and you’re probably unaware of some of these offerings.
Below, hotel front desk staff from across the country share how they can help you have a relaxing or luxurious stay:
1. They can give restaurant recommendations.
Online dining guides and social media make it easy to just use your phone to find a good place for dinner, but front desk workers carry a wealth of real-life knowledge in this realm.
Jessica Kaup, the guest services supervisor for the Union Station Hotel Nashville Yards, said she’s always happy to recommend local restaurants to guests and can even give tailored advice to folks, whether they’re looking for the best eateries within walking distance, the best places to eat with kids or restaurants that are good for those with dietary restrictions.
“All of us have our spots that we recommend for all of those things,” said Kaup, who added that sometimes front desk staff can even help you get a reservation at a hard-to-get-into restaurant.
The fun part about asking for restaurant recommendations is “no matter which person you ask, you’re going to get a different answer, and you’re going to get a total different vibe,” said Ericka Nelson, the director of operations at Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants and general manager of the Kimpton EPIC in Miami.
2. They can help decorate rooms for special occasions.
“I don’t remember five years ago this request being quite as popular as it is now, and I see it all the time where a guest is coming in for some sort of a celebration, and they would like the front desk to decorate the room for their anniversary, their birthday, their graduation, whatever that is,” Nelson said.
Front desks will often have basic supplies to make a room look special, whether that’s balloons or rose petals or something of the like. If you want something more, it may cost extra, Nelson noted.
Some hotel front desk staff are also willing to use the decor you provide to bedeck a room for you.
“I really like setting up for events,” said Elena Fermin-Rivers, the rooms comptroller at Omni Boston Hotel at the Seaport. For example, “We had this group that came in and she dropped her little carry-on suitcase…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Travel…