MAGGIE WEAVER
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SERVICE
WITH A SMILE For Concierge Darrel Smith, Serving Others is as ‘Effortless as Breathing’
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BY ZANDRA WOLFGRAM
f you feel at home at Hilton Sandestin Beach Golf Resort & Spa, it just may be because Darrel Smith is at home here, too — quite literally. Turns out, this lead concierge lives in a condominium on the resort property. So, to say he is familiar with all the area offers is something you can count on. “Yes, this is my backyard,” Smith boasts flashing a mega-watt smile. You can count on Smith’s warm smile, which accompanies the exceptional service he ably delivers to guests and
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co-workers. But, he admits, he shares his smile with everyone he engages with and even cracks a smile before making telephone calls. “It’s just effortless for me,” Smith says with yet another smile. “If you find something you have a passion for, you are just lucky.” Hilton Sandestin Beach guests are lucky as well, because no one is more delighted to do what they do than Smith. “I’m a natural people person and enjoy getting people to smile — that puts me in a happy place.”
TRIED & TRUE A seasoned 35-year veteran of the hospitality industry, Smith was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and raised in Northern California. His passion for service has taken him to Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, the Ritz Carlton in Atlanta, a private boutique hotel in San Francisco, plus Hawaii and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, among others. As a self-professed globetrotter and foodie, Smith doesn’t make any suggestions lightly, because he knows guests rely on him to provide the best options. “I don’t recommend a company I don’t know or a restaurant I have not visited,” he says. His word is his bond, so Smith does his research and keeps up with the market. It’s a point of pride for Smith to personally know the people who are delivering the goods and services he recommends. “If I am recommending a fishing charter, I want to get to know not only the fisherman, but his wife, too, so I can fully understand who they are and the experience our guests will have.”
