Land O Lakes, Fla. and Phoenix – September 6, 2016 – Stark Service Solutions, a provider of customer service training and software for the hospitality industry, has been selected by IBC Hotels to automate key quality assurance processes for its members, specifically housekeeping and maintenance functions. The Stark QA Touch System will equip this independent collection of hotels with tools needed for streamlining deep clean schedules, preventative maintenance, daily room checks, work orders and more.

IBC Hotels is one of the world’s largest independent hotel companies with 6,300+ members representing 170 countries and more than 2 million rooms and suites. IBC Hotels is dedicated to providing guests with a unique, non-cookie cutter hotel experience as well as value-added amenities and resort locations.

“Working with independently owned hotels such as Best Western, Hard Rock and Yotel is not new to us, but IBC Hotels is the first global independent hotel group to select our Touch System technology for their members systemwide,” said Naomi Stark, founder and President of Stark Service Solutions. “To say that I am thrilled with this partnership is an understatement. As a female entrepreneur, I admire IBC Hotels President and COO Pamela Barnhill for establishing the industry’s largest independent hotel network and building a technology platform with distribution and brand-like benefits that enable independent hotels to compete with the big brands.

“The synergies between our companies is uncanny,” Stark said. “Our streamlined cloud-based apps work on an independent hotelier’s behalf to equip the property with the same type of quality assurance tools the brands have been using for decades, but until now were unattainable due to financial and other limitations. Through this partnership, IBC Hotels members can now implement valuable QA tools that will contribute to their quality, guest satisfaction, team member engagement and loyalty, and at rates that have been strategically negotiated for IBC Hotels members. Together, Stark Service Solutions and IBC Hotels are leveling the playing field one property and one app at a time.”

To ensure proper care of each IBC Hotel, the Stark Touch System automatically maintains the scheduling and reminding of every task that needs to be done at a property. It prevents tasks from “slipping through the cracks,” especially when turnover occurs or peak-season business volumes could get a property off track. In addition, the Stark Touch System is a tremendous tool in protecting properties’ liabilities in the event of an issue, such as bed bugs or equipment failure/disaster. It also equips a property with what it needs to be prepared for quality assurance inspections.

With the Touch System, independent hoteliers will have instant access to their data anytime and from anywhere, including up-to-the-minute status of the critical tasks that care for their product, team and guests.

By utilizing the Touch System, IBC Hotels members will experience:

  • Higher quality control of their physical asset.
  • Sustainable high guest satisfaction ratings.
  • Improved staff performance.
  • Improved productivity.
  • A reduction in their carbon footprint by going paperless.

“Today’s travelers have high standards of cleanliness and expect their rooms and public areas to be in good working order,” Barnhill said. “It can be time-consuming and difficult to verify preventative maintenance and deep cleaning with a hotel team. Staying on schedule is important. The Touch System from Stark Service Solutions provides a tool to ensure the hotel is following a schedule to hit each room or space quarterly. You can bet that if these criteria are not met, guests will provide immediate feedback online, and negative reviews can be crippling – especially when it comes to cleanliness. Touch System will enable our hotels to stay on top of preventive maintenance and deep clean tasks without having to rely on manual processes or difficult guest feedback.

“We spoke to independent hotels outside our system who use Stark Service Solutions, and the company and its technology received positive feedback across the board,” she said. “More than any other quality assurance system available on the market today, Touch System is available at a price point that is extremely attractive for the non-franchise, small and mid-market hospitality provider. We are delighted to add Stark as yet another comprehensive service being offered via the all-inclusive IBC Marketplace for hotel members, and we look forward to working with Naomi and her team.”