Sofitel and LRA Worldwide Partner on Global Quality Assurance Initiative
MAY 11, 2009 - Sofitel Luxury Hotels has selected LRA Worldwide to partner on a program designed to ensure consistent delivery of an enhanced guest experience at more than 150 properties worldwide.
The project is employing a phased approach, both Sofitel and LRA teams have spent the first quarter of 2009 codifying and communicating a refined set of brand standards to each property, with a round of consultative quality assurance evaluations to follow.
LRA, a leader in the development and measurement of brand standards for the global hospitality industry, worked closely with Sofitel leadership on a program that would reflect the distinct Sofitel brand, which combines the tradition of the French art de recevoir with the very best of local cultures at each location. A crucial component of that process is organizing the material in a manner that still captures the art of hospitality but is easily communicated and clearly measurable. The content is being housed via LRA's proprietary web-based quality management technology, TouchPoint Manager(TM), providing Sofitel General Managers with a platform to conduct interactive self-assessments prior to the visits from LRA consultants beginning later this year.
'LRA's unique mix of brand sensibility and operational expertise has made them an ideal partner in this effort,' said Olivier Arnoux, Vice President of Guest Experience, Sofitel Worldwide. 'Together, we've ensured that our brand promise is operationally attainable. LRA's consultants and technology platform will provide a powerful tool to measure our guest experience on a global level and continuously enhance that experience locally.'
'We call it 'operationalizing the brand',' explained John Roberto, LRA's Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Quality Assurance. 'Our charge is to help Sofitel distill its brand messaging and imagery into easily-communicated and measurable line items to ensure consistent execution from Brisbane to Berlin.'
Including Sofitel, which is an independent business unit within the French Accor group, LRA provides a variety of branding, standards development and performance measurement services to seven of the top ten hotel companies in the world. In all, LRA's Quality Assurance practice conducts nearly 13,000 site visits and evaluations each year, either as a stand-alone offering or as an integrated part of an overall Customer Experience Management project. In addition to its work with other lodging clients such as Hyatt Hotels Corporation, IHG, Sol Meli'a Hotels & Resorts, Grupo Posadas, Pestana Hotels, Starwood Hotels & Resorts and Wyndham Worldwide, LRA works with industry leaders in Sports, Conference Centers, Timeshare, Gaming, Homebuilding, Retail and Travel.
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