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TheBuzz Erika Engle |
Diamonds are a
hotelier’s best friendContrary to what deBeers would have you believe, diamonds are not forever -- at least, not in the hospitality industry.
The annual list of AAA Five Diamond hotels and restaurants for 2004 is the same as it was in 2003; the Four Seasons Resort Hualalai on the Big Island, the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Wailea, and The Ritz-Carlton Kapalua on Maui. Oahu's only five-diamond hotel is the Kahala Mandarin Oriental. It retained the fifth diamond that it had regained for 2003. It had lost the all-important No. 5 diamond for 2002, as did the Halekulani.
General Manager Fred Honda was philosophical about Halekulani's absence from the 2004 list.
STAR-BULLETIN FILE
The Kahala Mandarin Oriental is Oahu's only five-diamond hotel, regaining the distinction last year after losing a diamond in 2002.
"Different associations have different criteria by which standards and services are judged, and Halekulani is committed to not only maintaining, but also creating new benchmarks of standards," he said.
On the up side, Halekulani's La Mer is the only Hawaii restaurant awarded the five diamond accolade, an honor it has borne for 14 consecutive years.
"Of the approximately 40,000 lodgings and restaurants listed in the year 2004 AAA TourBook guides, fewer than one-half (of one) percent received the Five-Diamond Award," AAA said in a statement.
Diamonds are granted according to a lengthy and stringent list of criteria in categories such as location, newly built or renovated, high degree of cleanliness and comfort, appropriately maintained conditions and price.
"It is very tough, actually to meet their standards and requirements," said Jan Goessing, general manager of the Kahala Mandarin Oriental.
To have lost a diamond one year was a big deal, so the hotel set about getting it back.
"We actually took their standards and integrated them into our training guidelines," adding them to the already-high standards of the Mandarin Oriental chain, Goessing said.
"They're helping us to establish very high standards."
Quality of service is among the most difficult expectations to meet, so "we have a training class in the hotel on an ongoing basis," he said.
"In addition to that, we have an ongoing motivational program for the hotel because we believe very much that ... a happy employee is the best guarantor of high quality service that you can possibly get."
The product quality portion is not touchy-feely at all. It's all about the monetary investment the company makes in the property and its amenities, said Goessing.
"Our company is willing to do that and it results in customer satisfaction. It will position us in the level where we want to be."
The hospitality industry is accustomed to making special arrangements for guests, but the hotels never know they're being inspected by AAA.
"We have no way of knowing when the hotel is being evaluated until the inspector reveals his or her identity after their experience," which Goessing says adds to the integrity of the process.
The inspectors don't reveal their identities until after they have finished their market research, so word doesn't spread among the hotels and restaurants in the area.
AAA pays for everything. "They are not asking for comps or getting any comps," Goessing said. "There is nothing we can do to influence their decision-making."
After the fact, "The inspector comes to visit me, and goes through all the elements, asks questions and discusses issues. Of course they're taking notes as well, but they're just revealing their findings and giving us indications of how we are doing. That by itself doesn't guarantee you'll get the award."
Goessing returned from the awards ceremony in Florida Wednesday night and he empathized with The Breakers resort in Palm Beach, that hosted the event.
"You can imagine these people getting together in one ballroom," and the pressure they were under, he said.
"But The Breakers is also a recipient of the five-diamond award and they did an outstanding job of wowing us," Goessing said.
The four-diamond list is forthcoming, according to AAA-Hawaii District Manager Jeff Goldsmith.
In the meantime, Goessing thinks it would be wonderful if AAA would host a future five-diamond award ceremony in Hawaii. "I believe the participants wouldn't mind to come to Hawaii either."
See the Columnists section for some past articles.
Erika Engle is a reporter with the Star-Bulletin. Call 529-4302, fax 529-4750 or write to Erika Engle, Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., No. 7-210, Honolulu, HI 96813. She can also be reached at: eengle@starbulletin.com
