YHAs Newly Accredited HI-Q Hostels
The Perth, Cairns and Brisbane YHAs will be celebrating the end of year after having received HI-Q certification, a global quality system, which recognises excellence in accommodation and customer service.
The HI quality accreditation program aims to enhance hostel standards and customer experiences. The three new accredited hostels brings the total of HI-Q qualified hostels in the Australian YHA network to 15, with Melbourne Metro and Sydney Railway Square also achieving re-certification in December.
To qualify, a hostel must complete the HI Quality Management system which takes ‘best practice’ from quality systems around the world and tailors them to the specific needs of hostels.
Kate Fox, the Manager of Cairns YHA, took her time preparing the hostel and staff for HI-Q accreditation. The hostel which recently clocked an impressive 91% rating on hihostels.com has taken advantage of the scheme.
“HI-Q helped to raise our ratings. For us, especially in Housekeeping, it gave us excellent instruments to improve. We also learned that we need to keep on improving and changing things all the time. To handle the ‘work in progress’ better, that’s what helped us the most,” explained Fox.
Jurgen Gross, HI-Q Project Manager, who travelled from Europe to scrutinize the hostels, said "Being HI-Q certified is not a purpose in itself. It’s about the benefits that come with improving the quality of the hostel and serving the customer in the best way possible that count.”
HI-Q enables hostels to consistently improve and deliver high standards to ensure guests have an exceptional experience. The scheme is being implemented in HI hostels around the world and only those hostels which successfully complete the program will be certified and able to display the distinctive HI-Q logo.
“I believe that an ongoing quality management system is a crucial component in improving business and staff morale”, said Domenic Pimpinella, CEO of YHA Western Australia.
“Businesses that continually strive to improve standards of quality and customer service obtain a competitive edge in the industry.”
For the Australian network the next steps will involve developing and training additional hostels in the network, with a focus on the smaller hostels, to complete the accreditation process.
