All Things Travel: Boston Concierge Association Has All The Answers
BOSTON (CBS) – The Greater Boston Concierge Association celebrated their 25th anniversary with a reception at The Prudential Center Skywalk Sunday night.
These hotel people wearing the gold key hold all the answers to the questions tourists may have.
Hosting the event was The Top of The Hub Restaurant that shares the space and is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year.
More than 300 people attended the event where talk centered around the winter blizzard and the Patriots leaving for the Super Bowl.
An estimated 20 million people visited Boston in 2014. Of that number 800,000 were people attending conventions in the city. More than 300,000 people visit The Skywalk annually for a view of the city from 52 floors up.
The mission of the group is to promote the city by providing the best service to our visitors from around the world.
Betty Salemme, concierge at The Seaport Hotel for 17 years, is the president of the association. She came to the Seaport District from the Logan Hilton Hotel a year before the first Seaport Hotel opened.
The Concierge Association honored Pat Moscaritolo, president of the Greater Boston Convention and Visitors Bureau, and Jim Rooney, who heads the Convention Center Authority, as leaders of the Massachusetts tourism industry.
The two most asked questions of a Boston concierge are: Where does the Freedom Trail start and how do I get to Harvard Square?
There are concierge associations around the world, an international group dispensing information to visitors.
A young couple who travel extensively give this tip to use the service. Getting to a new city for a stay of several days in the region, they check-in at a three-or-four-star hotel that has a concierge.
The concierge gives them valuable tips, helps them rent the least expensive car and recommends local attractions.
The logo of The Greater Boston Concierge Association is a red lobster holding the gold key in its claws. There is no more important tourism group started in the past 25 years.
All Things Travel Reports with Bob Weiss can be heard on WBZ News Radio
