Hotel Online  Special Report


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Meyer Jabara Hotels and LRA Worldwide Create
Themed �Destination Experience� for Guests
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Accompanying Quality Assurance Audits Ensure
Delivery of �Extraordinary Guest Experiences�

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DANBURY, Connecticut/HORSHAM, Pennsylvania; December 12, 2006 � LRA Worldwide, Inc., a leading provider of Customer Experience Management (CEM) consulting and performance measurement services, has partnered with Meyer Jabara Hotels to create a unique guest experience program at its properties. Meyer Jabara Hotels challenged each location to develop an appropriately �themed� hotel guest experience, reflective of the unique destination, attractions and local culture and began heavily marketing those themed experiences in July of 2004.

The program has been implemented at all Meyer Jabara properties, regardless of brand affiliation. Thus, guests at a Meyer Jabara property might find themselves learning to mix the perfect margarita at the Holiday Inn El Paso, viewing the royal swan feeding as part of their �estate� experience at the Hilton Christiana (DE), or cruising the Inner Harbor on the �Lady Pintail� at any of three Baltimore boutique hotels.

�We were looking for a way to really distinguish both our branded and independent properties as �best in class,� either within their particular brand or as destinations in their own right,� explained Ken Conklin, Senior Vice President of Marketing for Meyer Jabara Hotels. �This was a creative way to de-commoditize our product and really stand out in the mind of the consumer.� 

In its role as a consultant, LRA helped both �operationalize� the themed concept at each of the properties and develop the quality assurance audit designed to ensure that each property is properly executing its theme. Currently, LRA conducts mystery shops at each of the properties three times annually on behalf of Meyer Jabara Hotels. Naturally, these inspections are above and beyond any audits mandated by the brand, as the brand program would be ill-equipped to measure the degree to which the property has exemplified the themed experience. Indeed, the program that LRA has designed for Meyer Jabara exists solely to measure how effectively the hotel has embodied the theme, from its physical attributes to its guest service delivery.

�As someone who has been involved in the design and development of countless �unique� hotel experiences and the QA programs created to measure them, this is a truly compelling program,� opined John Roberto, LRA�s Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Quality Assurance. �Meyer Jabara is on to something � they�ve turned an ordinary hotel stay into a bona fide memory for guests, the type of �guest experience engineering� that one might typically associate with a Disney or Ritz Carlton. And guests who just happen upon the experience their first time at a Meyer Jabara property are seeking it out the next time around.�

The experience begins immediately during the reservations process, as the reservations agent introduces the guest to the property�s theme and the different themed package experiences available. The following day, that guest is contacted by an �Experience Specialist� who gathers enough information about the guest and the traveling party to personalize the hotel stay around the theme. So at the Sheraton Reading (PA) � self-proclaimed as Reading�s Most Fashionable Address � an outlet-shopping spree might be the order of the day, depending on the guests� whims.

�We thought there was a real opportunity within the mid-price level of the hospitality industry to evolve from being simply reactive �reservation takers,�� Conklin continued. �A true service organization is able to anticipate needs and fulfill them, and we felt that level of service needn�t be limited to luxury properties and exotic locales. We�re creating magical, memorable experiences that are accessible to everyone.�

About Meyer Jabara Hotels:

Meyer Jabara Hotels is an award-winning hospitality company owning and operating hotels in thirteen states. Their portfolio of hotels includes Marriott, Hilton, Sheraton, Hampton Inn and Holiday Inn brands as well as several independent hotels. For over twenty-five years, Meyer Jabara Hotels has distinguished itself as an employer of choice within the hospitality industry by creating a culture where associates are encouraged to reach their fullest potential and customers receive unique offerings. To learn more, visit their Web site at http://www.meyerjabarahotels.com.
 

About LRA Worldwide, Inc.

LRA Worldwide, Inc. is a leading consulting, organizational development and research company that specializes in Customer Experience Management (CEM). LRA helps companies and brands design and deliver the optimal customer experience across all key touch points using an integrated suite of services that measure and improve service quality, customer satisfaction, employee performance, loyalty, customer advocacy and profitability. LRA specializes in �operationalizing the brand� � turning brand promise and customer strategy into operational reality. LRA�s tactical CEM practice areas include Customer Experience Strategy Design, Standards Development & Content Management, Organizational Development & Training, Customer and Employee Research and Quality Assurance & Mystery Shopping; these are either deployed together in a strategic manner to continually monitor and improve the customer experience or deployed individually to address a specific client tactical need.

LRA�s clients include some of the world�s leading companies and brands in the hospitality industry and beyond, including Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hard Rock, the PGA TOUR, Albertsons Supermarkets, the NBA and MGM MIRAGE.  For more information, visit the company�s Web site at www.LRAworldwide.com.

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Contact:

Zachary Conen
Director of Marketing
+1.215.449.0304
  [email protected]
www.lraworldwide.com
 

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Also See: LRA Worldwide CEO Rob Rush to Speak at the 2006 ESOMAR Leisure World Research Conference in Rome / October 2006
Le Méridien Partners with LRA Worldwide to Achieve a More Consistent Global Brand Experience / September 2006
Jeffrey Gurtman Joins LRA Worldwide as a Senior Consultant; Customer Experience Management Consulting Firm Hires Host of Popular Television Show Travel Spies for its Quality Assurance Practice / September 2006
LRA Worldwide to Exhibit at The American Marketing Association Marketing Research Conference in Chicago/ September 2006
LRA Worldwide Appoints John Roberto to Lead Quality Assurance Group; Hospitality Industry Veteran to Oversee Multiple Brand Teams and More Than 4,000 Annual Site Visits / June 2006
LRA Worldwide and W Hotels Featured Presenters at 18th Annual Internal Branding Conference / April 2006
LRA Worldwide Is retained by Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos to �Operationalize� the Rock �n� Roll Guest Experience / March 2006
Choice Hotels Canada Employs LRA Worldwide for Mystery Shopping Brand Assurance Program / February 2006
LRA Develops Innovative Quality Assurance/Mystery Shopping Program for Leading Canadian Hotel Company Audit to Measure Functional and Emotional Elements of �The Delta Hotels Guest Experience� / October 2005
The Beverly Hilton and LRA Worldwide Renew Quality Assurance Partnership / August 2005
Grupo Posadas Selects LRA Worldwide to Conduct Customer Satisfaction and Loyalty Research / February 2005
Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Partners with LRA Worldwide to Manage and Improve Customer Experience / September 2004
Hyatt Hotels Corp. Selects LRA for Quality Assurance Services / Aug 2004
Dover Downs Gaming & Entertainment, Inc. and Dover Motorsports, Inc. Are Not Leaving Employee Engagement to Chance; Sister Companies Partner with LRA to Measure Employee Engagement / April 2004
Pestana Hotels & Resorts Selects LRA Worldwide to Manage Guest Satisfaction Survey Program / January 2004
Interstate Hotels & Resorts and LRA Worldwide Partner on New Brand and Quality Initiative / October 2003


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