Fictitious Example of a Hospitality Assured assessment Press Release:
Logo of accredited organisation
NEWS
Date Issued: 1 June 2007
First Conference Centre to Ever Achieve Prestigious Hospitality Excellence Standard in Cranshire
Cranton Conference Centre in Binton has become the first ever conference venue in Cranshire to achieve Hospitality Assured – the prestigious internationally recognised industry-specific standard for delivering service and business excellence in the hospitality industry.
Cranton gained this award for its Hospitality Services department, which gained the Investors in People (IiP) accreditation in 2005. The Hospitality Assured assessment was undertaken by a team of independent UKAS (The United Kingdom Accreditation Service) assessors from MQA on behalf of the Institute of Hospitality (formerly HCIMA) – the professional body for hospitality managers worldwide – and focused on the Centre’s conference and catering service, including the award-winning Crab Claw Restaurant which this year was awarded its first AA rosette.
The assessors praised the effectiveness of the organisation’s business processes; and the dedication of the management and staff in their continual quest to meet and exceed customer expectations.
Head of Cranton’s Hospitality Services Freda Barker was delighted to have gained the Hospitality Assured standard. “It is a tribute to the hard work and commitment of the department’s team that we have gained this prestigious award,” she commented. “We hope to do do even better when we are re-accredited in a year’s time.”
In gaining the award, Cranton joins an elite band of organisations that have achieved Hospitality Assured – these include the ……….
Linda Martin, the Institute of Hospitality’s Director of Programmes responsible for Hospitality Assured, presented the Hospitality Assured Certificate and Award to Freda Barker and her Cranton team on 29 May – at a special ceremony held at the Conference Centre’s Crab Claw Restaurant.
At the presentation, Linda Martin said: “I would like to congratulate Cranton on its fine achievement in gaining Hospitality Assured……”
A total of 36 conference, banqueting and meetings venues have now achieved Hospitality Assured and these include………
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For further information, contact:
James Cratchett
Conference Manager
Cranton Conference Centre
Crane Road
Binston
Cranshire CR21 5ZX
Tel:
Fax:
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Website:
Notes To Editors:
What it means to be Hospitality Assured
Hospitality Assured is The Standard for Service and Business Excellence in hospitality, championed by the Institute of Hospitality and supported by the British Hospitality Association (BHA).
The standard is fully endorsed by the British Quality Foundation and the Quality Scotland Foundation as meeting the criteria in the EFQM Excellence Model, which is owned by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM). It is the only standard within the Hospitality Industry that focuses on the customer experience.
The process for achieving Hospitality Assured recognition is rigorous. It takes into account customer opinion and considers all the aspects of service from the customers’ point of view. This is an accreditation, which is not achieved easily. It is an ongoing process that provides a series of performance indicators against which an organisation can continually judge and measure itself.
Hospitality Assured gives customers the opportunity to choose an organisation where high quality service is guaranteed. The hallmark of Hospitality Assured accredited organisations is a powerful desire to exceed customer expectations, within a climate of continuous improvement and business excellence. Customers can, therefore, be confident of having a memorable experience in a hospitality operation that is Hospitality Assured.
Development of Hospitality Assured Since its Launch in 1998:
- HOSPITALITY ASSURED is an industry-specific quality marque developed by the Institute of Hospitality – the worldwide professional management body for managers in the hospitality industry – to recognise and reward commitment to, and achievement of, business and service excellence.
- Launched in 1998, the Hospitality Assured standard is awarded only to organisations in the hospitality and leisure sector, which demonstrate delivery of the highest standards of service across all areas of their business. To date, over 165 corporate organisations – representing some 20,000 trading outlets and involving more than 60,000 staff in the hotel, food service, transport, leisure, local authority, healthcare, club and education sectors – have successfully gained Hospitality Assured accreditation. These include: leading leisure industry organisations that include Stena Line (Irish Sea) and Center Parcs; local authorities such as Nottinghamshire County Council; the award-winning conference centre: Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC); the flagship National Health Service (NHS) Hospital Trust: Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Hospital Trust in London; the 5-star Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, London; top contract caterers: Sodexho and Eurest; and student and residential services at universities that include Nottingham and St. Andrews.
- The Hospitality Assured standard was repositioned as ‘The Standard for Business and Service Excellence in the Hospitality Industry’, following the endorsement in August 2002 by the British Quality Foundation (BQF) and the Quality Scotland Foundation (QSF) that the requirements in the Hospitality Assured Standard met the criteria in the EFQM Excellence Model which is owned by the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) – a particularly significant and exciting development. If an organisation is now accredited to Hospitality Assured under the new criteria, it will be seen to be addressing the requirements of the EFQM Excellence Model – regarded worldwide as a model of best international practice.