5 Tips For Acing Your Next QA Inspection

5/25/22, 9:54 AM 5 tips for acing your next QA inspection | Hotel Management
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5 tips for acing your next QA inspection
By John Chisman, Greg Dietl Dec 12, 2019 09:34pm
Brand Standards Franchising Operations Residence Inn
The Residence Inn by Marriott Washington Capitol Hill/Navy Yard achieved a 100 percent rating on the brand standards section of its recent quality-
assurance inspection. Photo credit: Marriott International
A variety of factors can impact hotel guests and their decision about where to book hotel reservations, none
more so than their experience while staying at a hotel. Cost, brand loyalty, location and amenities all
influence a guest’s choice, but a poor experience or encounter can quickly send a guest looking elsewhere
for his or her hotel needs.
Hoteliers can see their property from the guest’s perspective through the annual quality-assurance
inspection of the hotel, a benchmark for assessing guest satisfaction. Despite the stress or anxiety the
process may cause hotel proprietors, an audit of a hotel’s service, standards, cleanliness and conditions
highlights what the brand is supposed to provide to guests—there’s a direct correlation between a hotel’s
audit score and its guest satisfaction score.
It’s important to perform well on a QA inspection audit. Not only is it proof of a staff’s commitment to the high
https://www.hotelmanagement.net/operate/5-tips-for-acing-your-next-quality-assurance-inspection 1/9
standards put in place by a hotel and its brand, but it also translates to positive guest experiences. Those
positive experiences ultimately justify a higher rate than competing area hotels and lead to a better bottom
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line for owners. For example, touting high QA inspection scores can make an impact when the sales team is
working to close deals with large organizations.
Because a property receives no indication or advance notice of when an inspection will occur, there’s no
immediate preparation involved. But there are some simple strategies a hotel and its staff can implement to
be equipped for when the eventual audit does take place.
Read on for some tips to employ in an effort to ace your hotel’s next QA inspection.
Know and Maintain Brand Standards Year-Round

Operating to and maintaining brand standards year-round and never deviating from the hotel brand’s
specifications are the keys to scoring well on your property’s next QA audit.
All brands have standards and criteria for everything inside their hotels, down to where to place certain items
within the hotel room, and those standards are outlined and published in a manual or booklet that should be
referenced frequently. Don’t lose easy points during an audit because of an incorrect uniform or missing
name tag.
Keep the audit top-of-mind and reference it frequently throughout the year to ensure standards are being
met. If a hotel’s entire team operates as if every day is QA, attention to detail will naturally follow suit and will
become the rule rather than the exception.
And if by chance your hotel has already undergone its QA inspection, don’t allow that to invite a relaxed
standard the remainder of the year. It’s much easier to maintain a high standard than to reintroduce one.
Train and Inform Team Members and Candidates

Properly training team members and informing them of standards and expectations will help them to know
what is required and will ensure consistency from department to department.
The same can be said when interviewing candidates and choosing new hires. During the interview process,
it’s important to communicate as to what standards you run your hotel. Top-operating hotels with high guest
satisfaction scores attract strong candidates. At a time when unemployment is low and it’s difficult to find
high-quality applicants, your hotel’s turnover rate will decrease and remain low because the property is well-
run.
Create a Service Culture

Creating a service culture is something a hotel should do regardless of whether a QA inspection is expected.
In the same way that brand standards should be maintained year-round, so too should a hotel and its staff
provide excellent customer service.
To avoid and limit opportunities for unsatisfactory experiences, rooms should be regularly inspected. Overall
cleanliness, dead batteries in TV remote controls and burnt-out light bulbs are examples of items that should
be routinely checked.
Simple things like training associates, regardless of role or position, to make eye contact in the hallways or
to give a guest the same answer to a question also go a long way. Role playing with team members is a
good way to ensure standards are put into practice.
Hotel guest interactions are thoroughly evaluated during a QA inspection. These interactions can include the
check-in process, housekeeping requests and a call to the front desk. Points are easily lost if team members
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aren’t attentive and responsive in a timely manner.
Respect the Audit Process

A hotel’s leadership knows in advance which paperwork the auditor will want to review, so prove a
commitment to standards by regularly updating the paperwork to be ready at a moment’s notice. This
practice helps the auditor to see that you respect the audit process by being as prepared as you can be.
Further, having the known variables prepared in advance supports the team should the audit fall during a
less-than-ideal time, such as when the general manager is out of the office.
Celebrate and Recognize Success

Performing well on a QA inspection isn’t the result of the work of one person, but rather a hotel’s entire team.
And that achievement is something that should be celebrated, whether commended at a team meeting,
during an appreciation lunch or through incentives.
The recognition and results help associates to understand the audit process and its importance and reiterate
the need for training and attention to detail when upholding a brand’s standards.
Your next QA inspection doesn’t have to be the nerve-racking and trying experience it might have been in
years past. Instead, apply these best practices and operate as if every day is QA, and your hotel will pass
with ease.
John Chisman is the GM of the Residence Inn by Marriott Washington Capitol Hill/Navy Yard and Greg Dietl
is the GM of the Residence Inn by Marriott New York Manhattan/Midtown East. Both hotels are owned by
Stonebridge Companies, a privately owned hotel owner, operator and developer headquartered in Denver.
Franchising Operate Stonebridge Companies
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Hay Creek Hotels to manage New

Hampshire resort and spa
By Esther Hertzfeld May 24, 2022 05:35pm
Hay Creek Hotels New Hampshire Historic Hotels of America
A member of the Historic Hotels of America, the Mountain View Grand is situated on more than 1,600 acres of land. (Hay Creek Hotels)
Hay Creek Hotels has taken over the management of the Mountain View Grand Resort. The property is one
of the few remaining “Grand Resort Hotels” in New Hampshire’s White National Forest.
A member of Historic Hotels of America, the Mountain View Grand Resort is situated on more than 1,600
acres of land. The property has 141 guestrooms and suites, more than 20,000 square feet of meeting and
event space, multiple restaurants (including a private sub-terranean wine cellar), the Tower spa with 360-
degree views of the White Mountains, a nine-hole golf course and indoor and outdoor pools. The lodge also
has a working farm.
The resort is set to get a renovation of its employee housing as well as the lobby and clubhouse. Further
upgrades will improve the IT systems, add more meeting and event space and enhance the F&B offerings.
(A new dining outlet is reportedly in the works.)
“With 156 years of history becoming a part of our portfolio, Hay Creek Hotels is committed to giving back to
this community by supporting local workers, leading fundraiser events, and operating with a strong green
initiative,” Hay Creek Hotels President and CEO Norman MacLeod said in a statement. “As a management
company, we pride ourselves on our focus on community, one of our core pillars, and we are proud to
company, we pride ourselves on our focus on community, one of our core pillars, and we are proud to
celebrate the rich history of this resort while offering classic New Hampshire hospitality with the modern
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upgrades our guests have come to expect.”
The hotel is within driving distance to Boston (157 miles), New York City (340 miles) and Montreal (180
miles) and close to skiing at Cannon Mountain, Attitash Mountain and Bretton Woods.
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5/25/22, 9:54 AM 5 tips for acing your next QA inspection | Hotel Management

By John Chisman, Greg Dietl Dec 12, 2019 09:34pm

Brand Standards Franchising Operations Residence Inn

Know and Maintain Brand Standards Year-Round

Train and Inform Team Members and Candidates

Create a Service Culture

aren’t attentive and responsive in a timely manner.

Respect the Audit Process

Celebrate and Recognize Success

Franchising Operate Stonebridge Companies

I acknowledge that I may

Hay Creek Hotels to manage New

Hay Creek Hotels New Hampshire Historic Hotels of America

See more articles

Connect Join Us Our Brands Our Events

The Team Newsletters Hotel Management Hotec EMEA

Advertise Resources Hospitality Insights Hotec NA

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