As someone who's generally pretty hands on with most things, the thought of a butler or assistant (virtual or otherwise) is kind of an alien concept to me. So when
GoButler got in touch to offer me credit for their new online concierge service that was recently launched in the UK I was a bit stumped. What could they do for me that I couldn't do myself?
I thought carefully - I didn't want to waste it or fritter it away on meals out or clothes or something, I wanted to do something exciting and that's when it hit me...travel! Opportunity knocked again and I kindly got some swanky hotel vouchers from work as a wedding present. I worked out that Paris would get us the most for our vouchers for a few days away so, off I set finding out from GoButler if they could book me some flights!
The premise is really simple, you register with them and then text in your request and they'll try and sort it out for you. Whether you want something delivered, a table booked, a price checked or anything you can think of - you just text them. I've seen examples of them being asked to break up with someone on someone elses behalf, someone who split their pants on the way to an interview - GoButler got some new trousers couriered to them before they had to do the walk of shame into the office - and an
order of pizza with scantily clad men on the side. The best part is they don't charge for doing this AND they're available 24/7
First of all I decided to try using them to source flights - I told them the date options I could travel, the preferred times for us to go and airports involved. I also specified I wanted cheap flights - I'm not too worried about luxury when I'm only in the air for about an hour.
When the flights came back they were a little more expensive than I wanted to pay so I decided my budget probably wasn't realistic for us to squeeze the maximum amount of time out of Paris as planned. I did a tiny bit of research on flights and came up with something much more budget friendly that compromised slightly on times (and took us to an airport further out - Beauvais).
I then texted again asking to book said flights and after a few messages being exchanged to get information (probably less than trying to arrange a drink with a friend) our flights were booked - it would have been even less if the airline's booking system didn't decide to stop mid-booking.
Thanks GoButler, we'll always have Paris! As soon as I got GoButler's confirmation I went on and booked our hotel room. I haven't been to Paris since I was a kid so I can't wait for our little Euro break!
So, would I use GoButler again? Yeah I would but probably for something a bit less specific than sorting out flights from start to finish. I feel like there's so much planning and decision making with travel plans like that, I wouldn't trust my husband to do it without supervision so maybe it's quite a big ask for a stranger. If you're really time-poor or you just like someone else to sort stuff out for you, this is 100% the service for you!
For more information or to register
visit the GoButler website or follow them on Twitter
@GoButlerUK.