The Concierge. Tradition, Obsolescence and Innovation in Tourism

In the hotel industry the concierge is a key role placed at the customer-supplier interface, managing some of the most important service encounters in the guest’s hospitality experience. The paper discusses the impact of new technologies that challenge, but also contribute to reshape, the importance of this role. The outsourcing trend is another threat to the traditional concierge, which is made possible in the new scenario. A new balance between technological and human factors may emerge out of the complex transformation process that the hospitality industry is presently undergoing.