Butler in London

Company Description

Raffles Hotels & Resorts is a legendary brand, steeped in history and loved by generations past, present and future. Raffles, at distinguished landmark addresses around the world, is the vibrant heart of its destination, curating experiences that are culturally enriching, intellectually stimulating and always respectful of local communities, heritage and the environment.

About Raffles London: Raffles London at The OWO on London’s Whitehall unites the allure and heritage of Raffles with one of the world’s most historic addresses. This fine Grade II* listed Edwardian building has been transformed with 120 rooms and suites along with a collection of 85 exceptional branded residences. Within The OWO destination, there are a total of nine restaurants and three bars, including one by our signature chef Mauro Colagreco. The Guerlain spa and Pillar Wellness offer the latest in wellbeing, and a 600 seated-capacity grand ballroom, The Whitehall, is perfect for all kinds of special occasions and events.

Job Description

Scope Of Position: As a Butler, you will act as a Raffles London Ambassador taking pride in serving our guests, introducing the hotel’s vast offerings, and sharing vibrant stories of this magnificent Grade II listed landmark. You will play a key role looking after every aspect of our guests’ experience, always respecting their privacy and ensuring they truly do feel at home while staying at The Raffles London at The OWO.

You will become their first point of contact and with this in mind, you will arrange for all daily services to be coordinated around their itineraries and ensure that their every wish is actioned exceeding their expectations, creating a moment of delight and surprise. Building a strong, emotional, and genuine rapport and, depending on guests’ preferences, adhere your style of service. You will appreciate that every day is different and focus on delivering consistent and personable service. This role may include night cover on occasions.

Responsibilities:

• Direct point of contact for the guests staying across the Butler Suites.
• Acting as a hotel ambassador promoting hotel offerings and sharing quirks and insights of the hotel’s vibrant history.
• Create a positive environment for both colleagues and guests actively obtaining feedback and looking out for any clues that could be acted on to surprise and enhance guest experience.
• Engage in genuine non-scripted conversations creating a home away from home feel, trust and strong personal rapport with our guests.
• Responsible for every aspect of guest stay and daily operations including but not limited to room set up, amenities, warm meet & greet, room orientation, unpacking, packing, guest wardrobe, welcome drinks, organising itineraries, deliveries, gift wrapping, morning service, table setting, in-room dining experience, turndown service, preparation for the departure, stock take, Butler pantries, shoe polishing, stationary.
• Respond to guests' concerns and requests in a friendly manner and ensure that appropriate action is taken in close communication with all involved departments to guarantee best solution and highest satisfaction.
• Coordinate with the Housekeeping and Engineering teams to ensure the suites are ready for guest arrival and are kept in excellent condition.
• Ensure all respective amenities are set up according to guest profiles and packages booked.
• Proactively share insights about local events, restaurant openings, and exhibitions and give personal recommendations.
• Responsible for running pets and kids’ programme.
• Responsible for looking after long-term storage solutions.
• Discretely monitor the guests' access spaces collecting preferences and proactively use systems available to build up profile notes.
• Additional responsibilities in absence of line manager or senior employee.
• Perform other duties as required or assigned including working in a different department or restaurant than usually assigned.

Health and Safety:

• Ensure that all potential and real hazards are reported immediately and rectified.
• Be fully conversant with all departmental Fire, Emergency and Bomb procedures.
• Ensure the safety of the persons and the property of all within the premises, by strict adherence to existing laws, statutes and applicable ordinances, and by anticipating possible and probable hazards and conditions and either correcting them or pre-planning a defence against them.
• Stimulate and encourage a general awareness of Health and Safety in relation to all tasks and activities undertaken in the department.

Qualifications:

Essential:

• Great in-depth knowledge of the entire hotel operations with previous experience working as a Butler in a luxury establishment.
• Ability to exercise good judgment and understand the importance of discretion.
• Ability to read guests and adhere interactions accordingly.
• Aware of royal protocol and etiquette.
• Enthusiastic and committed to always deliver consistent and personable service even when under pressure.
• Passionate about delighting guests and enhancing their experience with non-scripted creative ways.
• Genuine interest in people with high level of emotional intelligence.
• Confident in table service and F&B operations.
• Efficient in prioritising, multitasking, and self-managing the daily workload.
• Intrigued in history and willing to explore the local area.
• Flexible in terms of working shift patterns.
• A proven track record and ability to provide high levels of service under pressure.
• Exceptional communication and customer service skills, both written and spoken.
• Strong time management skills with the ability to multi-task while maintaining an immaculate and professional appearance.
• An understanding and willingness to contribute to a 24h operational schedule when required.

Desirable:

• An understanding of the luxury sector.
• A passion for hospitality and an understanding of the UHNW customer.
• Ability to think outside the box.
• Previous experience as a butler within a luxury hotel environment working with LQA, Forbes 5* or equivalent standards.

Additional Information:

Why join our Raffles team? Not only will you be joining one of the world's best hotels, you will also receive great benefits including:

• 28 days holiday including bank holidays plus a day extra for every year of your service up to 5 years (35 Days).
• Staff meals whilst on duty.
• Free dry cleaning for uniform.
• Employer pension contribution of 3%.
• Enhanced sick pay.
• Enhanced maternity, paternity and adoption pay.
• Life Assurance 1x salary.
• Employee assistance program, including virtual GP and financial advice.
• Season ticket loans and cycle to work scheme.
• Colleague gifting to celebrate special occasions.
• Paid days off to move house or give back time to a charity of your choice.
• Internal learning and development programmes tailored to you.
• Fun-filled events, whether that’s a pub quiz, team run or festive party.
• Employee benefit card offering discounted rates of up to 30% at Accor worldwide and Raffles London F&B outlets.

What are the Raffles Values?

• Respect: We value the needs, ideas and individuality of others; we treat everyone with fairness and dignity.
• Belonging: We celebrate our differences. We support each other and we always stand together.
• Integrity: We build trust through mutual respect and being authentic.
• Empowerment: We have the authority to take initiative and anticipate moments to create unforgettable experiences.
• Excellence: We make genuine connections, and we cherish every opportunity to make the people around us feel special.

Diversity & Inclusion: Raffles is committed to creating an inclusive environment where diverse talent thrives. We welcome candidates from all backgrounds to join our team.

About the Application Process: At Raffles, we want to bring out your highest potential. Shortly after applying, you will receive an email from our partner AssessFirst prompting you to create a profile and complete a questionnaire. This is a mandatory step for your candidacy to be considered as it enables us to explore your compatibility with this role and our culture of luxury excellence. We aim to respond to every application promptly; however, if you do not hear from us within 2 weeks, please assume your application has not been successful at this time.