Guests
The guest services travellers commonly request before arrival
What guests ask for, roughly when they ask for it, and which requests are most often lost because nobody was ready to answer them.
- Written by
- Florencia Mazzoni
- Published
- min read
- 3 min read
Pre-arrival requests are not random. They follow a recognisable order driven by anxiety, scarcity and group logistics — and knowing that order is what allows a property to be ready rather than reactive.
The sequence below reflects observed patterns in premium hospitality operations, not survey data. It is offered as a planning aid, not as a statistic.
First: the arrival itself
Transfers are almost always the first request, and they arrive earliest because they resolve the trip’s most immediate anxiety: what happens in the first hour, in an unfamiliar place, with luggage and possibly tired children.
Commercially, this is the most important request the property will receive — not for its value, but because it opens the conversation. A guest who has accepted one recommendation is materially more receptive to the second.
Second: food, in two distinct waves
Provisioning comes first and quietly. Nobody wants to land, drive to an unfamiliar supermarket and arrive at the property at ten at night with bags. A stocked kitchen is the request guests most often wish they had made.
The private chef comes second and is deliberated longer, because it involves a date, a headcount and a budget the group has to agree on. It is also the request most frequently lost to hesitation — the guest intends to arrange it, delays, and by the time they decide the chef is booked.
Third: the one memorable day
Most groups have exactly one high-value experience in mind for the week — a boat day, a private tour, a significant dinner. They rarely have three. Understanding which one it is matters more than presenting a full catalogue, and presenting a catalogue often prevents the decision entirely.
Fourth: the occasion, if there is one
A significant share of premium stays exist because something is being celebrated. These guests arrive with intent and a deadline, and they are the least likely to have arranged the details from abroad — a cake, flowers, a photographer, a table in the right place.
They are also the group most damaged by a property that cannot help, because the disappointment attaches to the occasion rather than to the service.
Fifth: everything requested mid-stay
These arrive without warning and are the most operationally disruptive: a babysitter for tonight, a doctor, a restaurant this evening, a pharmacy, a last-minute transfer to the airport for one person leaving early.
- They are urgent, so there is no time to source a supplier properly
- They fall outside whatever list exists
- They are handled by whoever is nearest, at whatever quality is available
- They are the requests most likely to be answered with an unverified phone number
Where requests are most often lost
| Request | Why it is lost |
|---|---|
| Private chef | Deliberated too long by the group; the good chefs are gone by then |
| Childcare | Rarely offered proactively, because vetting is demanding — so guests stop asking |
| Boat day | Requires several confirmations; if any one goes quiet, the whole plan collapses |
| Celebration details | Guests assume it is not possible and never raise it |
| Wellness | Almost never requested unprompted; converts well when presented once, discreetly |
The last row is the clearest example of a service that only exists if it is offered. Very few guests will ask an unfamiliar property whether a massage can be arranged in the villa. Most will accept when told it can.
What this implies for a property
- 01Contact early. The high-value decisions are made weeks before arrival, not on the first evening
- 02Lead with the arrival. It is the request that opens every other conversation
- 03Present two or three relevant options, not a catalogue — choice paralysis prevents booking
- 04Ask about the occasion. Many groups will not volunteer it and will regret the silence
- 05Prepare for the mid-stay requests in advance, because there is no time to prepare during them
- 06Record what was asked and could not be delivered. That list is your next supplier brief
We present the two or three that fit the group.
Not a catalogue — which is why the conversation ends in a booking rather than in politeness.
Request an assessmentRelated reading
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- Should a property use its existing providers or build a new concierge network?Existing suppliers carry knowledge worth protecting. They also carry blind spots. A practical framework for auditing what you have before replacing any of it.
- The hidden operational cost of unmanaged guest requestsAd hoc guest requests look free because nobody bills for them. The cost shows up as fragmented attention, uncontrolled liability and decisions made without evidence.