Guest Relations Executive Overview

Can you handle fragile egos? Are you good at people skills? Is your command over written and spoken language good? Well then we have some good news for you. You could become a Guest Relations Executive. 

 

Guest Relations as a career has been lately in the news as the hospitality industry is witnessing a boom. Professionals in this field are largely employed in the hospitality industry and media companies but one can find opportunities in the travel and tourism industry and even corporate houses as well. 

 

Guest Relations Executives (GREs) in hotels greet guests, provide information, and give directions, handle complaints, assists disabled guests and answers phones. They make sure that the guests are well looked after. In case of any displeasure or unhappiness GREs look in to the matter and make sure that the matter is solved as peacefully and as earliest as possible.

 

Guest Relations Executives at most times also function as the public relations executives of the company. They are the face of the company. 

 

Guest Relations Executives are increasingly being employed by the television industry, which needs a lot of high profile guests for talk shows, interviews, debates, etc. Who brings all these celebrities to the show? Guest Relations Executives of course! They not only coordinate dates and bring these people on various shows they also make sure that the person who is likely to interview the guest knows the basic facts on the person. 

 

Research is an integral part of this profession. Guest Relations Executives have to have their ears to the ground. If you are getting a particular person on the show you have to know everything there is to know about that person. The research has to be so thorough that the interviewer should be able to ask questions which brings about a "who told you that," reaction from the guest. 

 

"When I got Pullela Gopichand on the show I met his mom and she told me that the reason she sent her son into badminton was because he used to play a lot of cricket and break most window panes in the colony. In fact his uncle would come home everyday and ask his mom, "so how many casualties today." So she was fed up of that and sent him into badminton. Of course Pullela Gopichand didn't expect us to know that and he was pleasantly surprised when we mentioned it to him," Says Malasri Roy, Guest Coordinator at Sony Television. 

 

In the television industry a typical day could see you as the Guest Relations Executive relaxing, reading magazines and newspapers and generally making loads of telephone calls to find out who's in town, who can be roped into the show. Or it can be a day of frenetic activity. Production houses generally shoot five days a week and need at least 10 guests a week to appear on the show. 

 

Sometimes as a Guest Relations Executive you might have all the 10 guests ready in the first few days of the week. In such cases you can relax and spend the rest of the week researching on the background of the guests and general information about them through magazines and the Internet.

 

But at times when you have guests dropping out of the show then you might have to start all over again - making calls, etc. So having a back up is very important, someone who always has the time to come on the show. 

 

Guest Relations is a blend of coordination, customer relations, marketing and PR. It is where your people skills are put to use. Guest Coordinators just don't coordinate with guests. Guest Relations Executives also talk to music companies to find out who the latest talent is. They are also in constant touch with PR companies, event management companies, etc. If you need more information on this profile please feel free to contact us Now.