GHU: Blaž, I have to admit, I don’t exactly know what a ‘concierge’ does. Can you tell us a little bit about your work?

Blaž: What I like most about my work is the time I can devote to the guests. Before I became a concierge, I had been working at Grand Hotel Union for about four years as a porter, and then as a receptionist, and now I’m a concierge. As a receptionist you only have a limited time for each guest, while here you can take a bit more time. This makes it easier to charm a guest and fulfil all of his or her wishes, and this is what gives me most pleasure in my work.

GHU: So you have quite a long history under Grand Hotel Union’s roof?

Blaž: I am a dental technician (laughter). When I started working here, I was nineteen and I like mentioning that I kind of grew up in this hotel.

GHU: What were your beginnings like?

Blaž: When you start working here you are naturally a bit scared. It’s a large building, a hotel, it’s Grand Hotel Union… of course you’re a slightly reserved. But when you get to know the system, when you manage to relax a bit, you realize that this is it. I love going to work, which I think is very important. But over the years, I’ve noticed that I can be better, which the guests have shown me as well. Their smiles, the energy you get from a satisfied guests. That’s why I wanted to continue my career in this sense…

GHU: So it was your idea to become a Grand Hotel Union’s concierge?

Blaž: That’s right. The hotel’s been here since 1905 and I am its first concierge. I started mentioning to our Managing Director that I’d like to be a concierge, I read a lot about concierges’ duties on the internet… and I realized it was the best job I could wish for.

GHU: You said you were the first concierge…

Blaž: I hadn’t met any concierges before that, but I had read a lot about it, and I talked to some of them, I called a few in England and in some other countries… and from what others told me I knew I had it in me. So the first half of the year, I was breaking new ground in this field, but we really accomplished a lot during that time. It’s a big goal of mine to bring the world’s largest concierge association to Slovenia. At the moment, Slovenia is still far from it and I think no one else but me is really thinking about it. That’s my next big goal in life.

GHU: Wow. So, you’re a concierge that puts his whole heart and soul in it?

Blaž: That’s right (laughter).

So, the wishes of Grand Hotel Unions’ guests are a challenge for you and satisfaction at the same time?

Blaž: Absolutely. Each wish is a bit of a challenge. Even if it’s about calling a taxi for a guest.

GHU: Do you remember anything specific that a guest wanted and that presented quite a challenge?

Blaž: I think I’ll never forget how we worked on getting a guest of ours a Slovenian national costume. This particular guest brings a national costume to his two children from each country he visits and he wanted a Slovenian one too. It was the first time I had to deal with such a wish, so it was a bit of a bigger challenge. I immediately set about the task; I found a lady that makes national costumes, arranged with her to have one made, and then had it sent to Switzerland after the guest had already left Slovenia.

GHU: Interesting. Do you have any other stories to tell?

Blaž: It was also interesting when I was first contacted by some guests who travelled to Slovenia in their own plane. We had to arrange a special room for them, they asked for specific fruit, some specific drinks, transportation at the highest possible level… and then, of course, there’s guests asking me to make appointments with a hairdresser or a masseur, buy a special piece of clothing…

GHU: Are there any limits when it comes to fulfilling guests’ wishes?

Blaž: I always say that every wish has to be moral, legal and within the guests’ financial capabilities. So far all of our experiences have been good. The guests leave our hotel satisfied and thanks to the top-quality services a few times the guests wouldn’t believe me it’s a four-star and not a five-star hotel.

GHU: They probably often ask you about your recommendations for trips?

Blaž: That’s right. One of the guests contacted me to organise a picnic in Bled, where he was planning to ask his girlfriend to marry him. If I asked someone to do something like this for me, I would want everything to be perfect and that’s how we went about this project. Generally speaking, trips are what guests ask for most often. And this is something I like dealing with. I’d actually like it best if I could take the guests around myself, but that’s not possible. But I do make it up to them by organising every single detail of the entire day. First, I find good transportation and then the best possible guide … it all starts with this. I tell guests about the basic itinerary, but not all the details. And because I like surprises myself, I love organising surprises for our guests.

GHU: They are probably especially grateful for something like this. I should imagine a special bond is formed between them and you…

Blaž: That’s true. When guests get back home, they often let me know they made it home safely, that they are already thinking about coming back, they ask me when I will visit them… all of this motivates and inspires me. All the praise I get on TripAdvisor and elsewhere. I make sure I collect it all for future reference.

GHU: And then guests become your friends…

Blaž: Quite often you start with referring to a guest as ‘sir’ and then end up being on first name terms with him.

GHU: Since the services can be quite high-end, I should imagine such wishes are quite expensive. Do you remember any such figures?

Blaž: Of course, there are differences. Traditional costumes were quite expensive, but I’ve also had guests who wanted a whole week of special trips around Slovenia, which also amounted to quite a hefty sum. There was also this guest for whom I made arrangements to buy a piece of land in Slovenia and in terms of the amount of money this was perhaps the most expensive wish. When the entire process was pulled off, the guest got in touch with me, sent me some photos of the piece of land he had bought and thanked me.

GHU: What’s your motto when it comes to fulfilling such demanding wishes?

Blaž: ‘Impossible just takes a few extra phone calls.’

Liked this blog? Read also our 5 reasons for visiting Ljubljana in February.