CLUB NEWS
Origins: Concierge Services July 2024 Snow Removal to Hanging a 300-pound Moose Head
CONCIERGE SERVICES CONCIERGE SERVICES
The Recreation Department offers several concierge and residential services for the Members of Forest Highlands. A full list of services may be found online under Recreation or click the button to download the flyer.
By William Godfrey Forest Highlands Club Historian
The dictionary defines Concierge as: “A hotel employee whose job is to assist guests by arranging tours, making theater and restaurant reservations, etc.” At Forest Highlands, the Concierge Services Department led by Kurt Martin and Austin Vigorito, has performed many of those tasks, but have also taken it way beyond that definition. In a June 2024 interview at the new Utilities Operation building, Martin and Vigorito shared the Department’s humble beginnings to its present state. REC PROGRAMS LED TO BABY-SITTING Kurt Martin was hired by Forest Highlands in 2002 as the assistant director of recreation. He helped transform the department implementing new initiatives as recreation director, which led to his current role as assistant general manager. Martin explained the timeline. “In my early years, we changed the recreation program to go beyond just watching kids. The camps became more interactive with the help of our staff of NAU and high school students,” shared Martin. “We realized the kids got attached to certain counselors, so we decided to expand it beyond camp hours. Parents were going to dinner, with many leaving the property in the evenings. There was a need for baby-sitting.” “Initially, we had a bulletin board list with a random name of sitters and phone numbers. We had no background information on them, just a list. The members called them on their own,” Kurt recalled. “However, an incident occurred with one of the sitters that caused us to let her go. Because of that I had to re-think the program.” In 2014, a new general manager came on board and explained to me that I needed to start creating new revenue streams in the department and reach a wider range of members. I thought…let’s start with baby-sitting. That is what we know how to do.” Austin Vigorito, today’s concierge manager, hired into Recreation in 2014, picked it up from there. “It was new territory for us. Initially nobody knew about the service. We pushed advertising,” said Austin. “We sent out monthly email blasts, used ‘Voice in the Pines’ and posted information on the Forest Highlands website.
CONCIERGE SERVICES
CONCIERGE OFFICE HOURS Daily • 9am - 5pm
Please allow 24 - 48 hours to acquire availability for your request. Please note; Forest Highlands Recreation can not fill concierge requests within 24 hours. CONCIERGE SERVICES Services may be requested online at member.fhgc.com under Recreation Services. DAY OF CONCIERGE FEE All Requests should be made 24 hours in advance. For those requests that are asked and met under the 24 hour mark, will be charged a “Day of” fee of $25.
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VOICE IN THE PINES • JULY 2024
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