Celeb Requests, Secrets, Reading Minds: All In A Day’s Work For Raffles Hotel Singapore’s Head Butler 

No, Raffles Hotel Singapore’s butlers look nothing like Alfred, nor do they have to help Batman save the world. But it doesn’t mean these folks’ jobs are any less interesting, okay?

Take it from Grace Kiong, 34, Raffles Hotel Singapore head butler, who has been with the hotel for 15 years. As Head Butler, she leads a team of 29 butlers at the 132-year-old iconic hotel, which reopened its doors in August after a two-year restoration. Each Raffles Butler oversees an average of 15 suites, and are basically the go-to person, personal assistant, guide, and even party planner (we’ll get to that in a bit), during a guest's stay at the hotel.

Of course, Grace has taken care of her fair share of the rich and famous who’ve stayed at the Raffles Hotel over the years, including Deep Purple, the Duchess of Cornwall Camilla Parker Bowles, and former British Prime Minister Sir John Major. While she cannot divulge personal details of her famous guests’ time here, we did manage to unearth some gems from her experience as a Raffles Butler.

With the reopening of Raffles Hotel Singapore (RHS), the butler’s job scope has expanded to cover every aspect of the guest journey, from the moment they step into the hotel to the second they leave. Grace explains: “Butlers are now involved in the check-in and check-out of the guest, which now happens in the comfort of their suite. It was previously handled by the lobby team. So guests don’t have to wait at the lobby or stand in line to check in and out now. We’ve also taken on the role of in-suite dining, which was previously handled by the F&B department.”

“One more aspect we do is now [post-reopening] is to provide the Singapore Sling experience, served in the suite. We have a beautiful box with the shaker, ice bucket, the whole works, for us to shake up the Singapore Sling in the comfort of your suite. We had to undergo training with our head bartenders. It’s a new skill we had to acquire. Being a bartender is not easy — you have to look cool when you shake the drink (laughs).”

All this is on top of the basic knowledge that a RHS butler has to possess, even before they can graduate from a two- to three-month training period to serve guests. This includes passing a product test and knowing anything and everything about the hotel, from opening hours and prices of afternoon tea, to information about Singapore and itinerary recommendations for guests. Butlers also have to undergo cross-department training. “They go to departments such as lobby, concierge and housekeeping to learn systems in those places,” says Grace.

“We had a guest who was seated at the verandah and was actually using a voice recorder to record his company’s quarterly report. His plan was to give [the recording] to his secretary to transcribe, but she was on leave. So he asked me for help. We had to help him transcribe it, and it took us 24 hours to do it (chuckles). His was a sustainable company and there were some [technical terms], so we had to play and replay quite a few times!”

Among the long string of interesting requests that Grace has had to handle over the years, the one that stands out is that of a famous guest who wanted to throw a party in the suite at the last minute. “In two hours we had to turn over a suite and prepare it for a party. We’re talking about bringing a DJ, a mixologist, and getting the props to decorate the suite. We also oragnised the food, drinks and plenty of other things,” she recalls.

“I can’t tell you who this guest was,” she chuckles when we ask which celeb had requested for an in-suite party. “It’s one of the secret vows of a butler! The reason why people trust butlers is because we keep [their secrets].”

“We train the team to be as anticipative and intuitive as possible, and put them through a few scenario role plays to test them. ’Cos these qualities are innate — you either have them or you don’t,” Grace says. “And it’s not enough to just be intuitive — you have to take action. For example, if you notice that the guest has brochures on the table, you’re thinking maybe he wants to go sightseeing. But there’s no point in merely thinking about it. The real benefit to the guest comes when the butler puts in an itinerary in the suite and suggests places in Singapore they might want to visit.”

When I travel, I’d love to stay in a hotel that might have an equivalent of a butler service, but only to understand what’s happening in the industry,” Grace muses. “I’d put in a few requests, like milk in the mini bar, or tell them that I don’t take sugar, and see what they do, only to see their level of attentiveness and how they try to personalise the service. But in terms of room layout and other things, I don’t fuss about it.”

Raffles Hotel Singapore is at 1 Beach Rd. More info at http://www.rafflessingapore.com/. Room rates from $836.

Photos: Alvin Teo
Hotel photos: Raffles Hotel Singapore