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What percentage of US hotels employ concierges? How many hotel concierges are there in the United States? How many people staying in hotels utilize hotel concierge services (when they are offered)?
Hello, and thank you for your request for data on US hotel concierges. The most useful sources were the BLS, STR Market Research, and Les Clefs d'Or. In short, we found that an estimated 1.9% of luxury hotels in the US employ concierges. As of 2015, there were 12,110 hotel concierges in the US. As of 2013, 50% of guests used the concierge service provided by their hotel. I have provided a deep dive of the research below.
NUMBER OF US HOTEL CONCIERGES
Les Clefs d'Or USA is the national organization of Hotel Lobby Concierges. It reports that is has nearly "650 members in 32 states." However, BLS statistics would indicate that not all concierges are a member of Les Clefs d'Or. As of May 2015, BLS reports 12,110 people employed in the US as concierges in the traveler accommodation sector.
PERCENTAGE OF US HOTELS WITH CONCIERGES
After a thorough search of market research reports, industry trade publications and news reports, we have found that the percentage of US hotels employing a concierge is not publicly available. However, we can calculate an estimate by triangulating the data.
IBISWorld reports that there are 77,525 hotels and motels in the US. Narrowing that number down even further, market research firm STR identified 52,000 hotels in the US as of the end of 2015. Clearly not all of them provide their guests with concierge services. To get to a better starting point, we need to refine the number of hotels to the types of lodgings that would most likely employ a concierge.
Les Clefs d'Or reports that its approximately 650 members serve "over 300,000 hotel rooms nightly at more than 300 primarily four- and five-star properties. Based on the research presented in the previous section, we know that not all concierges are members of Les Clefs d'Or. However, this data informs us as to the types of hotels that provide these services. While we could not find specific data on the number of four and five star hotels in the US, we were able to determine the number of luxury hotels in the US. If we consider that as of 2014 the number of luxury hotels in the US was 1,017, and we assume that each of these hotels employees at least one concierge, we have the necessary data points to calculate our estimates.
1,017 luxury hotels / 52,000 hotels = 1.95%
These calculations show that an estimated 1.95% of US luxury hotels employ a concierge.
CUSTOMERS USING HOTEL CONCIERGE SERVICES
The increased use of apps and online services is having an impact on the concierge industry. Even as early as 2009, surveys were showing that 67% of travelers used their phones or online services to make reservations or find local services. A 2013 white paper indicated that 64% of hotel guests use social media to plan their dining and activities while traveling. In 2014, a Gallup poll indicated that many hotel customers would be willing to do away with concierge services, among other services, in favor of a reduced room rate.
Hotels.com recently conducted a global survey and found that "almost half (46%) of travelers would happily use a mobile concierge service, with requests such as restaurant reservations (62%), directions (51%) and tickets to tourist attractions (48%) topping the list of what they’d ask for." To meet this growing demand, in January of 2017, the company launched a new concierge feature to its Hotels.com app. According to a press release, the app offers "fast access to services such as transportation through Uber; on-demand food delivery through delivery.com; restaurant reservations through OpenTable; and activities through Groupon."
Even with a world of information at their fingertips however, it seems travelers still look to concierges for key local information. A 2013 survey of International Les Clef d'Or members showed that 50% of hotel guests used the concierge service. Another 2013 survey of concierges showed that guests are still requesting information on trendy places to go and personal recommendations from the concierge. The survey showed that many guests had done independent research prior to the interaction with the concierge.
CONCLUSION
To sum it up, an estimated 1.9% of luxury hotels in the US employ concierges. As of 2015, there were 12,110 hotel concierges in the US. As of 2013, 50% of guests used the concierge in their hotel, despite a surge in usage of online or app-based concierge services.
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