Archives

The Kandalama Hotel, Dambulla, an Aitken Spence Group hotel is the recipient of the Ultimate Service Award in the Indian Sub-Continent and Ocean region. It was voted by business and leisure travellers around the world who were invited to nominate the hotel that they believe offers exceptional levels of service and is willing to go that extra mile.

Analysis of the nominations shows that 'staff attitude and customer service' were the main reasons for nominating a hotel with two-thirds (65 per cent) of travellers stating that this was their primary reason for voting.

Prema Cooray, Chairman, Aitken Spence Hotel Holdings Ltd., said "This is indeed a proud moment for Sri Lanka's tourism and for Kandalama, in particular. After having received PATA Gold in 1990, we are back on board to receive this honour from CNN Partner Hotels, American Express, and Taylor Nelson Sofres.

Stuart Scher, Chairman, Taylor Nelson Sofres Leisure and Hospitality said: "It is clear that in order to meet and exceed customer expectations hotels must put time and effort into employing, developing and retaining good, service-focused staff. This means ensuring employees are given a sense of security in tough economic times. We've always known that it's not enough just to provide excellent facilities or a comfortable atmosphere, but now we have thousands of consumers confirming this," he said.

Grace Wong, Vice President of Corporate Communications and Marketing, CNN Asia Pacific said: "Service is a vital element of a hotel's commercial success regardless of its size, standing or location."The Ultimate Service Award is the first global award to recognise and reward outstanding service in the hotel industry and received over 2,500 nominations from 128 countries.

The ten recipients of the Ultimate Service Award in each of the eight regions are Indian sub-continent - Kandalama Hotel, Sri Lanka; Africa: Sheraton Hotel, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; Asia: Ritz-Carlton, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Australia, New Zealand and Pacific Isles: Sheraton Four Points, Sydney, Australia; Central America and Caribbean: Joint winners were Hotel Cariblue, Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica and JW Marriott, Mexico City, Mexico; Europe: Marriott Courtyard, Kassel, Germany; Middle East: Ritz Carlton, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt;

North America: Double Tree, Minneapolis, USA and South America: Hotel Sofitel, Bogota, Columbia.'

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager