Job Description
Guest Relations Executive (Flexible) , Guest Relations – London
About the role:
The Guest Relations Executives roles are key to contributing to the relationship Veeve has with the guests staying with us, and their overall customer experience. The role has one key goal; to meet and exceed the expectations the guest has for their stay by delivering exceptional customer service at every point on the customer journey. A great Guest Relations Executive requires strong emotional intelligence, organization, and a genuine desire to put the customer at the heart of everything they do.
The role is responsible for understanding guest needs and proactively helping to manage their stay, this includes arranging their check-ins, suggesting, and processing additional services and dealing with any issues that may arise during their stay in an empathetic and timely way. Our goal is for all guests who stay with us to become repeat customers and actively promote Veeve after they check- out. As a team we are the main point of contact the guest has with Veeve, so how they feel about the company will be based largely on their interactions with us.
The Guest Relations Executives work together as a team to manage the guest relationship for all stays.
We are looking for another Executive to join our team on a part time zero hours contract. The ideal candidate will be looking for some evening, weekend and weekday work, although we will fit around your other commitments. You will be offered between 10-20 hours a week in low season and should be available for 30 plus hours a week over high season (mid-December to mid-January, April and June to September. For this reason this role works well for those who have holiday over these times.
Key responsibilities:
Customer service
- The team monitor a shared phone number and inbox as well as managing communications on other platforms; all calls should be answered quickly, and a rapid response to messages and emails
- Helping with queries ranging from specific advice or information about the area, to transport and experiences in London, as well as property-related questions or requests
- Advising guests about the additional services we offer; booking services; processing payment
- Handle any concerns: either reported by a guest directly, or follow-up on feedback from our guest surveys
- First-line response to complaints: from time to time, things can go wrong and, if a complaint is made – either formally or informally – the Guest Relations Executives will manage it in the first instance, making sure all relevant information is noted and passed to senior team members.
- Help arranging gifts, surprises and experiences for return guests, special occasions or guests a high-value bookings
- Carry out in-person meet and greets for high-value bookings and corporate stays, or to cover if we do not have a Greeter available; meet the guest at the property; carry out final property and vetting checks
Administration
- Processing booking requests, shortenings, extensions, and relocations; checking pricing; sending out guest and host booking confirmations
- Keeping records updated with all guest communication and notes
- Run daily reports for upcoming arrivals and follow up on any outstanding paperwork, ID checks, or other guest-vetting
- Carry out guest vetting checks; reviews; information provided from the guest; our vetting partner flagging any bookings which have a higher risk-score based on our vetting matrix
- Managing the check-in schedule: confirm guest time of arrival – as far in advance as possible
- Scheduling one of our Greeters to meet them at the property; during busier periods it takes organisation to manage several check-ins and greeters each day
Problem-solving
- Issue qualification: when a problem is reported, the team is responsible for qualifying it thoroughly by asking questions to fully comprehend what the problem is, so that the correct next steps can be taken (i.e.., not simply taking a message); it’s important that our Guest Relations Executives have the curiosity and desire to get to the bottom of problems so that they can be solved most efficiently
- We have an in-house Property Management & Maintenance team, but the Guest Relations team are responsible for ‘first-line resolutions’; this means that the team will walk the guest through troubleshooting; actions the guest can take themselves to resolve the issue - our Guest Relations Executives do not need to be property maintenance experts, but will need to learn to understand and communicate to a competent level on these issues
- Where a problem cannot be resolved by first-line troubleshooting, the Guest Relations Executive will raise a ticket with all the details they have obtained during qualification, together with the details of troubleshooting already attempted / completed
- Once the issue is passed over, the Property Management team will usually be in direct communication with the guest, the Guest Relations team will also continue to check-in with the guest and make sure they are happy with how the issue is being handled; most problems are solved within hours / 1-2 days, but some problems can take longer
- As well as maintenance issues, sometimes there can be other issues during a stay: a breach of contract or other complaint, either from the guest or about the guest, and the Guest Relations Executives are also responsible for handing these and helping the Senior Manager decide on a resolution for the guests, including if compensation is due and how much
General
- As standard, we need to be incredibly responsive; speedy return of calls, response to emails, and always addressing tricky issues head-on
- Although you will have your own duties and will be expected to work autonomously much of the time, you will also need to pick up issues for colleagues and help other teams when needed; we are a growing business and sometimes this means wearing different ‘hats’
What we’re looking for:
- This role is a zero hours contract and would be ideally suited to a someone who has the flexibility to increase their hours over our high seasons.
- This role will suit someone who is keen to learn more about Customer Relations, the Hospitality industry or the Property industry. You must be customer-centric; customers are at the heart of what you do, and you are motivated by delivering exceptional service
- Confident communicator; good written and oral communication; fluent English - other languages a bonus
- Good emotional intelligence: when things go wrong, conversations can be emotionally charged, and we’ll need you to be handle this effectively
- Administration whizz: we need a strong administrator who will pay attention to detail, be very organised, and keep records up to date without being asked
- Someone happy to work shift patterns including evenings, weekends, and Bank Holidays
- Ability to navigate various systems and adjust to evolving and changing processes; as we grow and adapt, so do the tools we use and the way we use them; this does not suit everyone, so it’s worth considering if you feel you would thrive in this environment
What we’re offering:
- London living wage £11.95 per hour up to 7pm, and £13.45 per hour after 7pm.
- Flexible working. This role will be home working, however should you wish to work from the office you are welcome to. You may be required to do some office shifts during peak seasons.
- Company laptop and option of a second screen for use at home (if you are choosing to work from home for part of the week)
- Progression opportunities: from this role, many of our previous seasonal staff have gone on to do numerous seasons with or be offered full time roles
- Varied and fast-paced role: this role has a lot of different elements to it; it is also a busy role, so it’s unlikely you’ll be ‘clock- watching’ - a plus if you don’t like being bored
All London roles
- Serviced office at Grosvenor Gardens in Victoria, Central London: we are just a couple of minutes from Victoria Station which has National Rail services as well as being on the Victoria, District and Circle tube lines - there are also a multitude of shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, gyms, and open spaces nearby
- Great team: we don’t pretend to get everything right, but we do care about our employee experience, and are proud to have a high employee net-promoter-score (eNPS) – our team often cite the relationship with their colleagues as a strength for the business
- Be part of a growing business: we have exciting goals for our future and now is a great time to join and be part of the journey as we enter our next phase
About Veeve
Veeve is a full-management short-and-medium term accommodation provider, specializing in letting out great quality primary and second homes, with a comprehensive high-touch service offering for both guests and hosts. Our mission is to make homestays so rewarding and reliable, that everyone will want to do it; both as a guest, gaining the benefits of a home-from-home with the consistency of a trusted brand, and as a homeowner, unlocking value in your home by sharing it when you’re not there, with the effort and risk managed by a trusted partner. We have garnered hundreds of 5-star reviews and are rated ‘Excellent’ on Trustpilot, and consider the longevity of our host-relationships, and the number of return guests we attract, to be a testament to our ability to follow through and deliver on this mission.
We’re backed by private equity firm Smedvig Capital and are now working hard to re-build following the initial impact of the pandemic and are excited by the opportunities the future holds; both in further growing our portfolio in London and Paris and establishing ourselves as leaders in our niche of the market and expanding into new territories.
As a growing business, working at Veeve can sometimes feel chaotic and there are ‘growing pains’, familiar to anyone who has experience working in a start-up or scale-up environment; as well as being challenging, this can also be exciting and incredibly rewarding, but it’s not for everyone. As we mature as a business, our systems and processes have evolved and continue to be fine-tuned, and there is plenty of opportunity for input in how we shape ourselves going forward. Hard work is rewarded and there are numerous examples of internal promotions and significant career growth.
The team is currently around 50 employees across both cities, and over half of the team have been with the business since 2019 or before – so there are plenty of long-term employees to learn from
(in fact, our longest-standing employee started in 2014!), as well as newer employees regularly joining as we grow – so it’s unlikely you’ll be the ‘newbie’ for long!
Our London office is currently in Victoria, Central London, and has capacity for around 30% of the
London ‘office’ roles (i.e., excluding our ‘field’ based roles, such as maintenance and home-quality assessors) to work from at any one time, and there are additional tables available in shared working spaces. Most of our ‘office’ team choose to work remotely / from home some of the time. Team meetings and communication vary by role / team, but there is a company-wide video ‘morning call’ each weekday, usually lasting 5 – 15 minutes, and attended by colleagues from across the business including our CEO, to give a quick update on the current activities in each team so that we are able to stay in touch with each other and have a pulse on what is going on, even when we are not sharing the same physical space. Other company-wide communication is either via email, Microsoft Teams
(there are too many ‘channels’ and ‘chats’ to count!), or via our HR platform, HiBob, and we aim to hold a company ‘stand-up’ every few months, in person (or virtually), to check-in on the wider business developments and direction.
About the team
The Guest Relations team consists of three full-time employees: two executives working 4-days a week on opposite days - with one day ‘overlap’ - and the Head of for Guest Relations, working
Monday – Friday, heading up the team. You will be part of our year-round part-time staff who help cover annual leave and busier days. There is a lot of experience in the team – so you’ll have colleagues who know what they are doing to help you settle in!
The Guest Relations team have a very close working relationship with most other teams in the business, specifically the Operations and Property Management teams, and the Guest Sales and Host
Relations teams. Because of this, although the team itself is quite small, it very much feels like you are part of a wider, much larger, team, with no shortage of people to discuss any tricky situations with or get a second (or third, or fourth...!) opinion from.
Job Types: Full-time, Part-time, Temp to perm, Zero hours contract
Contract length: 4 months
Part-time hours: 20-40 per week
Salary: £11.95-£13.45 per hour
Benefits:
Schedule:
- Flexitime
- Monday to Friday
- Overtime
- Weekend availability
Supplemental pay types:
Work Location: Hybrid remote in London, SW1W
Application deadline: 14/05/2023
Reference ID: Guest Relations Executive Veeve
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