Hotel Online  Special Report


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LRA Worldwide and K Hotels Partner on
�K Quality� Evaluation Program 

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BEVERLY HILLS, California / HORSHAM, Pennsylvania; April 17, 2008 �  K Hotels, the exclusive collection of some of the world�s finest boutique hotels, has partnered with LRA Worldwide, Inc. to create a Quality Assurance evaluation program as a service for its membership.  Branded �K Quality,� the program was designed to help K Hotels members deliver an enhanced guest experience. 

LRA, a leading consulting company in the rapidly-growing discipline of Customer Experience Management (CEM), worked with K Hotels leadership to create the specific standards of the evaluation protocol. LRA�s Quality Assurance (QA) practice worked directly with the internal K Hotels team, focusing primarily on how best to measure and score the boutique brand-specific elements of the K program.

�This is an important step in the evolution of the K Hotels brand and in the value we supply our members,� explained Lesley Carey, President. �You only get one chance to introduce a program of this nature to your membership, so we wanted to make sure that we designed and deployed a valuable, actionable tool.  LRA has a stellar reputation in the Quality Assurance field, so they were a natural fit to guide us in this process.�

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 industry.  In addition to its large corporate lodging clients such as Starwood Hotels & Resorts, Choice Hotels and Hyatt Hotels Corporation, LRA also works with several smaller high-end boutique and resort companies such as The Kessler Collection, Destination Hotels & Resorts and the Preferred Hotel Group.  In addition, LRA provides QA services to industry leaders in sports (the PGA TOUR, Delaware North Companies), Conference Centers (ARAMARK), Gaming (Churchill Downs, Hard Rock Hotels & Casinos), Homebuilding (Toll Brothers) and Travel (The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey).

�This was a great opportunity to assist K Hotels in laying the foundation for �K Quality�,� said Shannon Pruce, the LRA Account Director who worked on the program design and training. �We look forward to expanding the program as K Hotels grows its sales and marketing membership program.�

About K Hotels: 
K Hotels is a Sales and Marketing Representation Company that is the modern source for independent boutique hotels across the globe which travelers and travel planners have relied upon for over fifteen years. With a portfolio of more than 50 member hotels, the K collection provides full service sales and marketing resources and access to loyal travelers in major markets such as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Miami, Mexico, Tokyo, Jakarta and London.  Member hotels must qualify for membership in the K Collection as measured on four- and five-star hotel standards. 

As part of a one-of-a-kind and unsurpassed hotel collection, members get the benefits of a full-time, dedicated sales team, exclusive member events and industry tradeshow presence, worldwide brand affiliation, an exclusive KH GDS booking code, comprehensive database marketing, revenue management, Quality Assurance evaluations, public relations programs and an innovative web-accessible database of corporate, leisure and group account information. K Hotels services also include consultation in design and purchasing, sustainability practices, revenue management and advanced hospitality technology solutions.   Headquartered in Beverly Hills, with representation in New York City, Chicago, Jakarta, Tokyo, Costa Rica and London, K Hotels seamlessly blends the capabilities of a global hotel company with the needs of independent hotel operators. For more information, visit www.k-hotels.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 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, Hyatt Hotels Corporation and the NBA.  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: Shell Vacations Club and LRA Worldwide Develop Partnership to Enhance the Vacation Ownership Prospect Experience / February 2008
Warwick International Hotels and LRA Worldwide Partner on Four Diamond Guest Experience Evaluation Program / January 2008
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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