Hospitality Assured, the service sector standard, owned by the Institute of Hospitality, hosted its official re-launch on Thursday 4th November at Central Hall Westminster, London.
Presented by managing director, Guoman & Thistle hotels, Heiko Figge and Professor Andrew Lockwood FIH, University of Surrey, the re-launched Hospitality Assured standard will continue to provide an effective framework that can be used by customer-facing businesses to create a service culture to delight customers and support business sustainability whilst offering a new and more flexible approach to accreditation.
The re-launch of the existing standard was based on client feedback and the recognition of their requirements and expectations.
Heiko Figge FIH, managing director of Guoman & Thistle hotels, drew the re-launch to a close, sharing his experience of how successful the Hospitality Assured programme has been for Thistle Hotels. Initially carried out in the hotel in Aberdeen, now all 31 hotels fall under the Hospitality Assured umbrella.
Heiko Figge comments: “We are 100% committed to our guests’ wellbeing with both passion and dedication. Working in close partnership with Hospitality Assured, Thistle has been able to measure its’ customer offering more effectively and efficiently than ever before; having a solid industry benchmark to evaluate quality in each of our hotels, across all of our departments.
“From these guidelines, our colleagues have achieved full Hospitality Assured status across our entire portfolio – meaning we have the up-most confidence we’re providing a consistent, high-quality Thistle experience. These industry-recognised measures give hoteliers a real stamp of approval for consumers to seek out and believe in. For Thistle, this is our candid promise to our guests; our guarantee that we are committed to going above and beyond industry standards and continually challenge ourselves to surpass guest’s expectations.”
Ann Corrigan, managing director of Hospitality Assured comments: “Seven years on from the last revision of the Hospitality Assured Standard for service and business excellence, we are pleased to announce these changes in response to clients’ feedback. We hope the new approach will be welcomed by existing and new clients and will determine a successful future for the standard.”
For further information or to discuss how Hospitality Assured could improve the operational effectiveness of your business, contact Ann Corrigan, managing director of Hospitality Assured, on 020 8661 4900.