DECEMBER 18, 2006. John Roberto, Senior Vice President of LRA Worldwide, Inc. was an invited speaker at the exclusive Quality Leaders meeting held earlier this month in Toronto, Ontario. The event was by invitation only and was held at the Delta Chelsea Hotel, December 4-6. Roberto, who runs LRA's Quality Assurance practice, participated in the 'Driving the Guest Loyalty Roadmap' panel discussion with other hospitality industry thought leaders on December 5th.

The Quality Leaders meeting is in its eighth year; what started as an informal sharing of best practices between colleagues has grown into a 'must-attend' event for executives in the hospitality and lodging industries who are charged with driving quality initiatives within their respective organizations. Most of the major names within the North American lodging industry were represented, including Intercontinental Hotel Group, Best Western International, Hilton, Accor, Loews Hotels and Wyndham Worldwide, among others.

'It was an amazing opportunity to share thoughts and insights into the future of hotel quality and service with a group of industry leaders who are focused on this topic 24/7,' Roberto said. 'I'm honored to have been invited to share LRA's point of view and approach to driving quality guest experiences.'

LRA offers Quality Assurance services either as a stand-alone offering or as an integrated part of an overall Customer Experience Management consulting project, where LRA might be facilitating several different activities simultaneously in order to help a client assess, design, implement and sustain their vision of the optimal customer experience. LRA customizes its QA programs to specific client needs, designing innovative quality assurance, brand compliance, site inspection, audit and mystery shopping programs for industry leaders in lodging, such as W Hotels, Choice Hotels, Hyatt Hotels and Westin Hotels & Resorts, to giants in sports (Troon Golf, the PGA TOUR), Conference Centers (ARAMARK Harrison Lodging), the National Park Service (Yosemite National Park, Kennedy Space Center), Gaming (Churchill Downs, Delaware North Gaming & Entertainment) and Travel (The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey).

The panel discussion, which was moderated by Dr. David Martin, Chairman of the Ryerson University School of Hospitality & Tourism Management, opened up a 'crystal ball' around the subject of guest loyalty in the hospitality industry, examining the topic from the point of view of all of the key industry stakeholders - guests, owners and employees. LRA Worldwide was one of only four solutions providers to the hospitality industry invited to participate, joining representatives from J.D. Power and Associates, Maritz Research and Medallia on the panel.