Melbourne hotel in the know
Imagine this: you're the general manager of an Australian hotel, staying in the US, and you'd like to head out for a coffee. Like any good hotelier, you ask the concierge for a recommendation, hoping they'll suggest some out-of-the-way independent place, loved by locals and off the tourist beat.
Instead, what do you get? Directions to the nearest Starbucks. Nothing against Starbucks but you'd prefer somewhere that's not a big chain. Can they suggest somewhere local, somewhere that might give you an insight into the city where you're staying?
The concierge thinks seriously for a while . . . and then sends you to Dunkin' Donuts.
This was the experience that prompted the team at the Mercure Welcome Melbourne to launch the We Know Melbourne program, designed to ensure guests always receive the most relevant, up-to-date information about the city.
Over lunch at the Mercure Welcome's Louden Kitchen & Grill, chief concierge Chris Pappas explains the thinking behind the program, which was started by the hotel's previous general manager, the coffee hunter in question.
The program kicked off, Mr Pappas says, with the concierge team heading out to research different suburbs that guests might like to visit, including Carlton, Richmond and St Kilda. It was, he admits, a pretty enjoyable assignment.
A superior room at the Mercure Welcome Melbourne. Picture: Supplied
"We went to cafes, bars and restaurants, took notes, and marked and graded each place," he explains. The information was assembled into the We Know Melbourne suburb guides, to be handed out to guests at reception - handy, for example, if the concierge desk is unmanned.
More than three years down the track, the program has continued to expand under current general manager John Dickson, and now includes guides focused on various themes: what to do on a rainy day, for example, or Melbourne for children, late-night dining, art and design, cheap eats and so on.
It also has extended online, with a dedicated website (weknowmelbourne.com.au) and social media channels providing a sort of "virtual concierge". "It's very current, we put up information on events that are happening," Mr Pappas explains of the site, which also includes suggestions for attractions and day tours, shops, and places to eat and drink.
And, naturally, there's a list of recommended cafes in the city, topped by Captains of Industry, a hybrid cafe, barbershop and "gentlemen's outfitter" on Somerset Place. Described as a "We Know Melbourne favourite" that serves "great" coffee, it sounds like just the sort of place that a certain caffeine-starved hotel manager would have enjoyed.
Source: Yahoo News Gemma Nisbet 19th January 2015
