World Class hospitality is the highest standard of accreditation awarded by Hospitality Assured. It signifies business excellence and denotes an outstanding level of customer service.
In the first quarter of 2023, two organisations have achieved the top accolade of World Class. These are Royal Holloway University London and Inverness Airport.
Royal Holloway, University of London
Royal Holloway, University of London (RHUL) have been at the forefront of championing quality for many years. RHUL is formed around the iconic Founder’s Building originally opened by Queen Victoria in 1886. The 135 acre campus is a beautifully maintained landscape of parkland and lakes, often referred to as one of the most beautiful campuses in the world.
Today this is a pioneering public research University steeped in history and culture for almost 12,000 students from across the world. The Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2023 places RHUL in the top 400 universities across the world and joint 41st overall in the United Kingdom. The Commercial Services Directorate is responsible for conference, catering, location filming, a portfolio of retail food and beverage outlets amongst other associated activities.
Following assessment and verification, RHUL were awarded with World Class accreditation – an outstanding achievement. Their score is in the upper echelons of the Hospitality Assured community scoring framework and makes the directorate the top scoring Commercial Services Directorate within the university sector. This achievement also moves the organisation from Hospitality Assured Premier to the much acclaimed World Class status by reaching 80%, or above for all 9 Hospitality Assured areas of assessment. This is testament to the commitment throughout the organisational structure to the founding ethos and core values of the organisation.
Inverness Airport
Inverness Airport have been members of the Hospitality Assured community for many years. This year, it was a pleasure to see the airport terminal and the outlets fully operational once again and adapting to the changes brought on in the post-pandemic world.
Inverness Airport is part of the Highlands and Islands Airports Limited (HIAL) who are responsible for the management and operation of 11 regional airports servicing some of the remotest communities in Scotland. The organisation is owned by the Scottish Ministers who are committed to supporting this essential socio-economic lifeline. Inverness Airport is the largest of the airports in the group and acts as a hub for onward travel to a wide range of United Kingdom and European destinations.
The day-to-day operation of the terminal uses a seamless co-ordinated stakeholder structure from companies such as CBRE, Dalcross Handling and HSM Host. This is a highly successful single team approach due in no small way to the senior management of the terminal and their commitment to a one-team mandate delivering service excellence.
At a time when most regional airports are struggling with falling passenger numbers, there has been a surprising amount of innovation over the past twelve months to improve customer transit through the terminal. Amongst the many improvements, floor space has been reconfigured to aid customer flow, car hire has been relocated and e-gates have been installed together with a new generation body scanner. Providing customers/passengers with a sense of place has always been the guiding principle of the retail offering and this approach provides a range of Highland artisan businesses the opportunity to promote their products. The whole customer experience from arrival to departure is world class.
We will be publishing more about their achievements and what the accreditation means to them in the very near future.
