The Role of Guest Service Agents

Written By: James Hart

To compete for tenants, more commercial properties are adding a new type of role to their security presence: the guest service agent.

Like traditional security officers, these agents are trained to spot and manage threats, but that’s only part of their job. They can also give restaurant recommendations, tell you about upcoming concerts in the area, or host client appreciation events. Need transportation to the airport? They can help you line up car service.

“A guest service agent is a hybrid between a concierge-type person and a security officer,” said Bryan Taylor, vice president for eastern operations at Chesley Brown, the security consulting and management firm, said. “The goal is to take your traditional front-desk security officer and level them up.”

With the growth of hybrid and work-from-home work arrangements, office buildings are facing increased competition for tenants, so property managers are constantly looking for new, cost-effective amenities that make their buildings stand out. Guest service agents do just that.

“They’re not just a friendly security officer that knows how to say hello and smile,” Taylor said. “They can do so much more. They’re going to have some admin skills. They’re going to have some management, or leadership skills. They might have some marketing skills where they can assist you in other ways besides just being that super-friendly security officer at the front desk.”

What guest service agents bring to the table

Chesley Brown had helped source concierges for their clients for years, but it only started placing guest service agents in commercial properties about five years ago. 

One of their tenants, a major steel manufacturer in the northeast, wanted to create a more welcoming environment for the building’s guests, Taylor said. The property had installed turnstiles in its lobby and had multiple security officers, and it just didn’t feel inviting. 

So Chesley Brown added guest security agents (GSAs) to its detail. Unlike traditional security officers, GSAs don’t wear a uniform. And their name tags don’t say “Agent” or “Officer” — they use the person’s first name. 

As a result, the guest service agents often feel more approachable. They also have the flexibility to help tenants and guests with any problems they might have, like a lost badge. They quickly become popular fixtures at the properties where they serve. 

Taylor remembers another client got started with guest service agents by adding a single agent at one office tower on its six-building campus. 

The agent was so popular and so successful — she was on a first-name basis with practically everyone who used the property — that tenants in other buildings started asking why they didn’t have a guest service agent of their own. 

Differences between guest service agents and security officers

Like traditional security, guest service agents receive much of the same training that security officers do, but there are usually a few differences. 

They know how to respond if there’s an emergency, for example, but they might not know how to secure a building’s loading docks, simply because that’s not an area where they will ever work. They usually don’t patrol the building the way a security officer would.

Instead, guest service agents are trained in providing high-level customer service. Many of them have previously worked in hospitality, not security. And generally speaking, you can’t just take a security officer and simply label them a guest service agent — they’ll need special training or preexisting experience.  

There is another difference, as noted above: Guest service agents don’t wear traditional uniforms. 

Chesley Brown gives its guest service officers a budget of $500 for work clothing. They’re also told to make sure those clothes fit a certain color palette. But otherwise, they work with the client to make sure guest service agents’ clothing fits the workplace. 

In a Class A building filled with professional services firms, the agents might still need to wear a blazer, but other properties might be OK with business casual. Taylor has a tech company as a client, and the security team there wears jeans, T-shirts and baseball caps, because that’s what fits that workplace.

“It’s very casual, but that’s by design, because that is what everybody else in the facility looks like,” Taylor said. 

Can you replace traditional security officers with guest service agents? It depends. 

Taylor has clients who have replaced their front-desk security officer with a guest service agent, though the GSA will have to spend time manning the front desk. Others will bring in a GSA to complement the existing security team, especially during peak times.

“It just depends on how you want to apply them,” Taylor said.  

What kinds of properties need guest service agents? 

Guest service agents might seem like a natural fit for larger Class A properties.

“But I wouldn’t say that it has to be that way,” Taylor said. “Really, it’s anybody that wants to level up their security with a more customer-focused team.”

For example, a GSA might work well in a medical services building, helping visitors get to the right office — especially if they’re using a wheelchair or walker. Or a GSA could be a great fit for a country club that needs security, but also wants to offer a concierge experience.

Guest service agents might be good for smaller properties because they’re the ones that tend to have smaller budgets. With a GSA, smaller properties can derive a ton of value from a single individual. 

The Swiss army knife of staffing

Property managers love guest service agents because they’re the Swiss army knife of staffing — they can do anything. If someone calls in sick at the property office or the building’s fitness center, a guest service agent can jump in and staff those desks for a day or two.

Or maybe the property is hosting a beer garden or some other appreciation event for tenants. Many property offices are staffed by just one or two employees, so they don’t always have enough people to run those events. Guest service agents can easily help pick up the slack. 

“They are just fine with our people doing all the events because they do such a good job,” Taylor said. 

He remembers one time when a Chesley Brown guest service agent served as a substitute in the client’s property management office. She was so successful that she ended up getting hired permanently by the client.

“We lost her, but ultimately, it’s a win-win for us because they thought highly enough of her to make her part of their team,” Taylor said. 

Advice for property managers looking to add guest service agents

There are a few things that property managers should keep in mind when adding guest service agents to their security presence. 

Guest service agents need to have serious customer service skills

It’s not enough to be a friendly person, though that is a part of it. More importantly, guest service agents should have formal experience in customer service and guest relations. It’s why some of Chesley Brown’s best hires have come from the hotel industry. Others were previously hosts at high-end restaurants. 

“We’ve been to restaurants or events where we meet somebody and they’re a perfect fit,” Taylor said. “So, we ask them, ‘Would you be interested in doing this?’ And we’ve gotten a really good response.”

Understand that guest service agents will probably cost more

In many cases, guest service agents are coming from places where they were paid above-average wages because they delivered above-average service for customers. It’s not enough to take the standard security officer’s salary and pay them an extra dime per hour. 

“The idea here again is not just to put the friendliest security officer at the front desk and call them a guest service agent,” Taylor said. 

“It’s to target higher-quality individuals with customer service backgrounds, and with that comes a higher wage. We’ve had clients who said, ‘I’ll give them a quarter more,’ and potential hires are not going to jump for that. Think about what they could make as a shift manager at a hotel.”

The bottom line on guest service agents

Guest service agents can help commercial properties deliver high-quality security and top-notch customer service in a single person. As a result, those properties may look more attractive to tenants.

“It goes back to the race to bring people back to work,” Taylor said. 

But property operators need to understand that guest service officers must have customer-service skills that are above and beyond what most security officers provide. They can’t change a security officer’s title, give them a quarter-per-hour pay bump and expect the kind of experience that guest service agents deliver. 

Finding the right people will take smart recruiting — with an emphasis on people who previously served in higher-end hospitality roles — and a willingness to pay more than you would for a traditional security officer. 

The good news is that Chesley Brown has years of experience building security teams and can recruit, train and manage people who provide exceptional service. Learn how our team can help — reach out today.