Hotel Online  Special Report


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Warwick International Hotels and LRA Worldwide Partner on
Four Diamond Guest Experience Evaluation Program

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DENVER, Colorado / HORSHAM, Pennsylvania; January 8, 2008 �  Warwick International Hotels (WIH), a leading provider of luxury hotel accommodations in more than 40 select cities throughout the world, has partnered with LRA Worldwide, Inc. to evaluate the guest experience at its five North American properties.   The program is designed to evaluate the Warwick guest experience against Four Diamond standards, the globally-accepted threshold for luxury and service, at hotels in Dallas, Denver, New York, Seattle and San Francisco.

LRA, a leading consulting company in the rapidly-growing discipline of Customer Experience Management (CEM), will send its field hospitality consultants to each of the Warwick properties to evaluate the experience as if they were a guest.  The final consultant report for each property will map and assess the experience against Four Diamond standards, LRA�s extensive library of hospitality industry best practices and Warwick�s competitive set, and will provide an action plan of suggestions and recommendations for both the property and corporate audience.   The LRA consultant will provide a debriefing to each property General Manager, as well as to WIH leadership, prior to posting the final report on Warwick�s online reporting suite.

�It is the responsibility of any hotel seeking to deliver a Four Diamond guest experience to continuously measure the quality of the delivery,� explained G. Paul LeBlanc, Warwick�s Vice President of Marketing & Sales.  �LRA is an ideal partner given the expertise of their full-time field consultants, their insights into industry best practices and standards, and their body of work in upscale, luxury and Four Diamond properties.�

In all, LRA�s Quality Assurance practice works with seven of the top 10 hotel companies in the world,  conducting nearly 13,000 evaluations each year across all sectors of the hotel industry.  In addition to its lodging clients such as Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Choice Hotels and Hyatt Hotels Corporation, LRA provides QA services to industry leaders in sports (Troon Golf, the PGA TOUR), Conference Centers (ARAMARK), the National Park Service (Yosemite National Park, Kennedy Space Center), Gaming (Churchill Downs, Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos), Homebuilding (Toll Brothers) and Travel (The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey).

�We are always very gratified when a company selects us to provide our insights on the quality of guest experience delivery,� said John Roberto, an LRA Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the firm�s Quality Assurance practice. �It is a testament to our consultants that their observations, expertise and recommendations are valued by property management and corporate brand managers alike.�

About Warwick International Hotels:
Warwick International Hotels was founded in 1980 with the purchase of the Warwick Hotel in New York.  This landmark hotel was built by William Randolph Hearst out of love for his long standing mistress Marion Davis and her Hollywood friends.  Since then, Warwick International Hotels has expanded rapidly establishing a reputation for combining local characteristics with attentive service to its clients in elegant and luxurious settings.  There are now over 40 Warwick Hotels & Resorts on four continents.  Warwick International Hotels has recently launched new branding and a new corporate logo. This followed a record spending on refurbishment, renovations, and restoration of many of the Warwick Hotels & Resorts worldwide.  Warwick also launched a significantly enhanced hotel website (www.warwickhotels.com) with enhanced booking capabilities and special Meeting Planner and Travel Agents sections.  The Collection�s e-directory of hotels and resorts worldwide can be accessed through the website or direct on www.warwickdirectory.net. The web site is the 2005 WebAward winner for Best Hotel and Lodging Website by the Web Marketing Association. Over the past five years Warwick International Hotels has spent more than $80 Million for its worldwide renovations.

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 CEM practice areas include Customer Experience Strategy Consulting, Standards Development & Content Management, Organizational Development & Training, 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 tactical client need. 

LRA�s clients include some of the world�s leading companies and brands, including Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos, the PGA TOUR, Albertsons Supermarkets, the NBA and First Niagara Financial Group.  For more information, visit the company�s Web site at www.LRAworldwide.com.

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Contact:

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

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Also See: The Kessler Collection and LRA Worldwide Partner on Quality Assurance Initiative to measure the �WOW� in the Guest Experience / October 2007
LRA Worldwide Senior Consultant Gary Tan to Serve as Panelist at HSMAI's ASIA Connect 2007 Forum in Singapore; Hospitality Expert to discuss Guest Experience and Hotel Standards in Asia Pacific Region / September 2007
Hyatt Hotels Corporation Expands Partnership with LRA Worldwide; Philadelphia-Based Consulting Company to Design Quality Assurance Program for Hyatt Select Group / July 2007
Daniela Piacenza Joins LRA Worldwide as a Senior Research Consultant; Native Venezuelan Will Work with LRA's International Research Clients / May 2007
LRA Worldwide Announces Promotions for International Consultants Regional �Hubs� to Serve Growing Client Base outside the United States / May 2007
LRA Worldwide's John Roberto Speaks at the 2006 Quality Leaders Meeting in Toronto; Quality Assurance Expert Participates in Driving the Guest Loyalty Roadmap Panel / December 2006
Meyer Jabara Hotels and LRA Worldwide Create Themed �Destination Experience� for Guests; Accompanying Quality Assurance Audits Ensure Delivery of �Extraordinary Guest Experiences� / December 2006
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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