Destination and LRA Partner on Guest Experience Diagnostic Program

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. October 14, 2008

SEPTEMBER 16, 2008. Destination Hotels & Resorts, a leader in the management of independent high-end hotel, resort and residential properties, has partnered with LRA Worldwide, Inc. to develop a unique guest experience diagnostic program for its portfolio. LRA will send consultants to every Destination property to assess service delivery at each guest touch point and provide prescriptive measures on how to enhance the guest experience at each of these 'moments of truth.'

LRA, a leading provider of performance measurement services to the global hospitality industry, worked closely with Destination leadership to develop a completely customized program. The challenge was to create a tool that would be appropriate within Destination's unique portfolio properties, yet still create some common expectations, platforms and tools around service delivery and guest experience that were useful for property and corporate leaders alike.

'LRA's reputation within the industry for creating custom evaluation programs made them a logical choice as a prospective partner,' explained Mark Hickey, senior vice president of hospitality operations for Destination Hotels & Resorts. 'Their willingness to invest the time and energy to gain a true understanding of our company, culture, portfolio and what we hoped to accomplish with this program has left little doubt that we made the right choice.'

The Destination Hotels & Resorts portfolio runs the gamut from the modern, boutique Hotel ICON located in downtown Houston to the picturesque L'Auberge Del Mar on the California coastline, to luxury ski destinations in Vermont, Colorado, California and golf properties in South Carolina, Oregon and Washington. All are united, however, by Destination's primary mission of creating exceptional guest experiences, with the full understanding that the delivery of that experience might be different in Tarrytown, New York and Austin, Texas. Thus, the need to create a flexible program that would effectively diagnose any guest experience issues without adhering to a rigid set of requirements.

'LRA is well known for running large corporate QA programs,' said John Roberto, LRA's Senior Vice President and Managing Director of the Quality Assurance Practice. 'But we also have a team of expert, highly-skilled professionals executing programs for smaller brands, high-end independents and niche offerings. I think Destination recognized the personalized service and expert insight we could provide that will benefit all of their stakeholders - guests, employees, property management and corporate leaders.'

LRA's Quality Assurance practice works with seven of the top 10 hotel companies in the world - including Starwood Hotels & Resorts, InterContinental Hotels Group and Hyatt Hotels & Resorts - as well as with many smaller companies with an eclectic portfolio similar to Destination's. In all, LRA conducts nearly 13,000 site visits and evaluations each year. In addition to its lodging clientele, LRA provides QA services to industry leaders in sports (PGA TOUR, Delaware North Companies), Conference Centers (ARAMARK), Timeshare (Interval International, Shell Vacations Club), Gaming (Churchill Downs, Stratosphere Las Vegas), and Homebuilding (Toll Brothers), among others.