“I have worked with the AA for a number of years now in London, Jersey and Heathrow. This has been in both AA star accreditation and the Rosette award as well as with their training and consultancy division. In the various 5-star hotels where I have worked alongside them I have always found their help, input and ideas to be extremely professional and a good investment for the business. The training sessions they conduct are vibrant, fun and really useful for the teams. Their delivery is pitched appropriately to the target audience and all the team members get a real buzz from sharing their real life experiences and anecdotal stories and then applying their learning to delivering a consistent 5-star service experience.”
Anna-Marie Dowling MI, General Manager
Sofitel London Heathrow
"All the team members get a real buzz from sharing their real life experiences and then applying their learning to delivering a consistent 5-star service experience."
“The cycle of continuous improvement based on customer feedback is an essential ingredient to a successful business model. For several years the AA’s mystery guest programme has been an important contributor to the Royal Garden’s on-going development. Providing a comprehensive and bespoke dashboard covering all aspects of our business, it helps to identify trends from which training needs can easily be identified.”
“Having successfully gained the accreditation of 1 AA Rosette for our Bistro at Stanwell House, prompted by the kitchen brigade, the team strived for a second one and we needed to plan how we could achieve this. So utilizing the AA service of ‘tasting’ the existing menu, with constructive feedback at the end, this service was invaluable to the chef and his team. There are no guarantees but the feedback and support was so concise, I would recommend it to any establishments seeking greater professional recognition for their food and hospitality from the AA.”
Robert Milton, Proprietor
Stanwell House Hotel
“We engaged the AA to complete a comprehensive ‘Mystery Guest’ programme for our 6 4-star hotels and more recently for our 7 Thwaites Inns of Character, following a thorough review of other service providers. I am impressed by the commitment provided by the AA who offer helpful, constructive and objective feedback on the performance of our properties and by their willingness to incorporate our brand-specific standards. Their wide knowledge of the hospitality industry as professional inspectors brings undoubted benefits to our company and helps us to evolve the product and service offering.”
Tony Spencer, Managing Director
Shire Hotels & Spas
Thwaites Inns of Character
"I am impressed by the commitment provided by the AA, and by their willingness to incorporate our brand-specific standards."
“I had worked with the AA for a number of years with large organisations, but when I started working for a small independent company, Ideal Collection, 6 years ago with only 3 sites we had no relationship in place. I was keen to find an affordable model that provided guidance to our General Manager and Head Chefs and the structure we needed to gain the consistency within our service delivery. I worked with the AA to develop a dashboard which focused on our delivery but incorporated our ‘ideal philosophy’ which is an important part of our delivery. Within a year of working with them we progressed in service level to 5 stars and in food quality to 2 Rosettes, which provided a springboard to us having the most successful trading period in our 10-year history despite tough economic times and has allowed us to double the size of our estate. More importantly, the model now prevents me from having to micro-manage the process, as all General Managers and Head Chefs have clear guidelines of what we want to achieve. Regular feedback from professionals direct to our General Managers and Head Chefs is also excellent for their development within their roles.”
Oliver Weeks, Managing Director
Ideal Leisure
“We continue to use AA Hotel Services for Mystery Guest visits and telephone audits. The AA’s team of professional hotel inspectors provides very useful and objective information to the team. They help us grow the business in terms of improved operational standards, increased levels of service and hospitality, and ideas for up-selling.”
Nadine Linington, Sales and Marketing Director
Cotswold Inns & Hotels Ltd
“At New Forest Hotels we have used the AA for training for many years now. They have provided a number of courses including the Rosette Academy, Hospitality, Service and Reservation trainings. Our account manager has always listened to our requirements, is always happy to work with us on any areas that require bespoke training, and has highlighted areas where we may need particular attention. The courses are always upbeat and informative and always engage the staff throughout the day. Our chefs particularly look forward to the food tasting that we organise on a regular basis.”
Christine Turner, Group Operations Manager
New Forest Hotels
"The courses are always upbeat and informative and always engage the staff throughout the day."
“The AA Mystery Guest programme continues to provide very useful feedback and detail to the hotel teams. General Managers use this as a tool to better the guest experience and in turn it will engender greater guest loyalty and increased spends as well as that all-important emphasis on service and hospitality.”
De Vere Hotels & Village Urban Resorts
“We are a learning organisation, and seek to build on our knowledge and success. Key to our growth is continuous monitoring and feedback, and as a valued partner of The Landmark London, the AA enables us to measure our customer journey through the eyes of our guests. By conducting regular, interactive feedback sessions with our teams, the AA inspectors share their experiences first hand and as a result our team engages with and is able to develop through their learning, and we are able to grow our business.”
Nicola Forshaw, Director of Human Resources
Landmark London
“We have worked closely with the AA for the past 5 years and through their excellent guidance and training, in 2013 we achieved the ultimate accolade in the hospitality industry, 5 AA Red Stars. The AA rating scheme is the most trusted and recognised by guests, and in order to achieve high ratings, every aspect of the guest experience at your hotel needs to be exquisite. The training provided to us by the AA is invaluable. The courses are fun and enjoyed by all the staff, and cover all areas of the guest journey, training the staff how to exceed guests’ expectations through the eyes of a guest. We are very proud to be a part of the AA – they offer a true judgement of what world-class hospitality should be!”
Priscilla Keller, Hotel Manager
Stoke Park
"We are very proud to be part of the AA – they offer a true judgement of what world-class hospitality should be!"
“The training day touched every member of my team. I was so proud of my team and the way in which they embraced the training and clearly revelled in their time with the AA facilitators. Both the inspectors’ time and passion came across to the team and the feedback and direction to the team was unquestionable”.
Eamonn Elliott, General Manager
Grand Jersey Hotel & Spa
“We used AA Hotel Services in our journey to attain a 4-star status for the hotel. What was an old Quality Hotel was completely refurbished by the new owners. We consulted with the AA in regard to what was needed to achieve such a rating. After an initial on-site consultation visit we arranged a mystery 4 Star Gap report and visit. From this really useful report and discussions we worked up an internal action plan for the official AA inspection. The discussion and ideas from the inspector after the gap visit helped cement the foundation stones for a successful inaugural visit and we achieved 4 stars on the first attempt.”
Mads Nielsen, General Manager
Mercure Milton Keynes Abbey Hill
“We handed our AA trainers an acorn phrase, which was ‘customer shoes’ to represent our ethos of service. The AA built us an oak tree of bespoke customer service training, mystery guest programmes and intensive training days. Arkell’s managed house staff have enjoyed and benefited from excellent, effective and engaged training, whilst gaining a sense of pride in their roles and the empathy to step in to those ‘customer shoes’. An expectation exceeded and an on-going working relationship for Arkell’s and the AA.”
Julie Moss, Managed House Controller
Arkell’s Brewery
"Our staff have enjoyed and benefited from excellent, effective and engaged training, whilst gaining a sense of pride in their roles and the empathy to step in to the customer's shoes."