31/08/2007

First star ratings in the bag

Re:locate has been following the emergence of the Quality in Tourism’s new serviced apartment grading system with great interested. This is a landmark development, not only for the UK but for Europe and worldwide. Now all the industry’s hard work is paying off, with members of the Association of Serviced Apartment Providers (ASAP), the organisation that has been a driving the rating system, celebrating their successes. Clarendon Apartments, is one of the first in the UK to be assessed and rated four star, at its Central and South West London locations. Peter Morgan, Head of Marketing comments, “until now, the serviced apartment industry has been self regulating, with some providers choosing to use their own system of classification to rank their serviced apartments. This creates inconsistencies in standards as opinions differ greatly as do peoples’ expectations. The quality grading system increases transparency across the sector and facilitates guests, bookers and those responsible for managing or procuring the services of serviced apartment suppliers, by allowing more informed decisions to be made.”

The Atrium is the first in the BridgeStreet portfolio to undergo the quality assessment and they were delighted to have been accredited a four star rating. Jo Layton, VP Sales and Marketing explained why BridgeStreet were keen to pioneer the new grading system, “The new system is less about achieving the highest number of stars for our apartments,” she comments, “but more about offering travellers an independent, reliable and objective rating against which to judge each serviced apartment provider. We at BridgeStreet believe that over time corporate buyers will only entertain working with serviced apartment providers who have submitted their inventory to scrutiny in this way, especially as each grade also affords an instant indication of the property’s quality and price ratio.”

SACO, who also supported the initiative from the start, has achieved a four star rating for properties in five major UK cities – Bath, Bristol (West India House), Birmingham (Livingbase), Derby and Nottingham. ”The new national grading scheme means business and leisure travellers now have the reassurance of knowing that an apartment has been independently assessed” said SACO sales director Jo Redman.

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