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Here at ScotlandShop we love working with concierges, whether they're a hotel concierge or offer concierge services. But what exactly does that entail? In this blog we interview concierges and concierge services to find out how each of them take care of their guest or clients - read on to find out!
Interview with...
Scottish Concierge Services
We were delighted to speak to Linda McDonald-Brown from Scottish Concierge Services about her business, Christmas and tartans!
Please tell us a bit about Scottish Concierge Services, what you offer and what makes it unique?
Scottish Concierge Services are dedicated to providing luxury accommodation and exclusive concierge services across Scotland. We collaborate with industry experts who share our unwavering commitment to delivering a range of unique and personalised experiences to both local clients and those visiting Scotland.
You started your parent company The Edinburgh Concierge Co. fifteen years ago. What inspired you to set the company up?
About 30 years ago my husband and I bought a farm in Devon which had two run down cottages alongside the farm house with a tentative plan of growing our own food and running a self catering business. However, there was a drawback, we had never farmed or owned an animal other than domestic animals and we had zero knowledge of running a self catering business. Nevertheless we filled the farm with sheep, pigs, chickens, ducks and turkeys and set about renovating the cottages for self catering.
Ten years later we sold what had become a very successful business and moved to Lanarkshire in Scotland. Our new property was smaller but we still had land where we kept our lovely traditional pig breeds. The farm house was large so we set up a bed and breakfast which soon became popular with the clients of local shoots in the area, an industry we had never come across but soon learnt that guests who went game shooting were a particular kind of breed who expected nothing less than to be looked after to the highest of standards and to be fed well when they came off the moors.
We learnt a lot about high end service over the next few years, our tagline on our B&B website at the time was ‘nothing is too much trouble’ and it wasn’t, we went the extra mile to ensure we had thought of everything for the comfort of the guests and we were there for our guests no matter when they needed us. Unfortunately my marriage came to an end and I moved to East Lothian not having a clue as to where my life would go from there on. I quickly realised however that not only did I have years of experience in the luxury hospitality industry but I had a very full book of contacts, and after doing weeks of research I came to realise that there was not very much out there in the way of a company that offered a high end, bespoke and personalised service for visitors to Scotland.
I felt at the time visitors were often seen as a bit of a cash cow especially in the self catering sector where you see hundreds of keysafes left out and guests are just faceless people coming in and out paying vast sums for not a lot. I wanted to be different; my years of running a high end bed and breakfast had taught me that if you really put effort into each and every guest and treat them as someone of value rather than a commodity, they will come back and they will recommend. I was confident that I could achieve this and more and hence the The Edinburgh Concierge Co was born.
What do you enjoy most about your concierge services, if you can narrow it down?
That’s an easy one. Definitely the people I meet, the stories they often tell me really lifts my day and I enjoy doing the research and pulling their ideas and requirements together and just hearing about their experiences during their travels in Scotland. Nothing makes me happier than a lovely review.
Are your guests from the UK on a staycation or do most visit from abroad?
We get lots and lots of Americans, some of my guests who stay in properties and go on the tours outside of Edinburgh are English but I would say the majority are American who stay in the city, and also from the Middle East.
What are some of your favourite parts of Edinburgh and Scotland to recommend to guests?
Dumfries and Galloway for the beaches which are so beautiful and often very quiet and the Scottish Borders for the scenery and the cute villages.
What’s the most popular service you provide guests? What do you get the most enquiries about?
Tours and the Christmas Package which is quite unique I think. It includes a Christmas tree decorated and put up in the property where the guest is staying, a Christmas morning hamper full of local Scottish goodies, appropriate gifts under the tree for each guest, tours and a private car for the duration of their trip and if they fancy it, tickets to a Ceilidh. Last Christmas I had 16 of these to organise, all for Americans. It was quite a challenge, at one point my poor car had 8 Christmas trees in the back. I was still finding pine needles in the boot three months later.
With the increase in interest in ancestry over the last few years, have you noticed any of your guests wanting to explore their clan or Scottish heritage?
Yes, especially Americans and some Australians.
We must ask of course, what is your favourite tartan and do you feel connected to a clan?
For years I have wanted to know more about my clan. I knew my ancestry was Irish with a bit of Italian thrown in. I could never get a definitive answer as to the tartan until I attended a PR evening at ScotlandShop. One of the team was giving a talk on ancestry and I happened to be standing by the books showcasing all the clans and tartans in Scotland, Ireland and Wales. (I didn’t actually know there were tartans in Wales until that night). It must have been fate as I very casually opened up the Irish Tartan book on the very page of my maiden name McDonald. I was truly thrilled and it was then explained to me that it would likely be the County Antrim tartan that would be mine. I now feel a sense of belonging which sounds weird, I know, but it has made me very happy to have found my tartan.
To find out more about Scottish Concierge Services please visit the website here and find them on Facebook here.
Thank you, Linda!