Press Release: Delta Hotels & Resorts
September 27, 2000
TORONTO -- Delta Hotels is pleased to announce that the National Quality Institute has awarded Delta with the Canada
Awards for Business Excellence Trophy 2000. This is the first time a hotel company has received this award.
"We are delighted that Delta Hotels has been honoured with such a prestigious award. Not only does this award
recognize our ongoing commitment to excellence, but more importantly our commitment to our guests," said John
Johnston, President, Delta Hotels. "We are proud to be recognized in the company of past award winners such
as Amex Bank of Canada, Telus, Nortel and Xerox.
"While receiving the Canada Awards for Business Excellence Trophy is a great honour, the employees of Delta
Hotels are also mindful that this award brings with it an even greater responsibility to continue with our commitment
to excellence," commented Mr. Johnston. "Our employees from coast to coast share their sense of pride
in receiving this award, as well as a renewed commitment and enthusiasm to providing our guests with service excellence
to each and every guest with every stay."
The Canada Awards for Excellence Trophy is Canada's top recognition for organizational excellence. As part of the
selection process, NQI assessors visited six Delta hotels and the Corporate office to review examples of quality
in action. Delta Hotels met the rigorous criteria in the Excellence Framework by demonstrating outstanding continuous
achievement in: Leadership, Planning, Customer Focus, People Focus, Supplier Focus and Performance.
While Delta Hotels has always operated on many of the principles of the Canada Awards for Excellence model, in
1995 the company developed more formalized procedures to ensure that the practices would become part of the hotel
daily operations. These formalized quality procedures were based on the NQI's Business Excellence model, establishing
the Quality Business Assessment process to measure excellence.
With this process, Delta Hotels trains internal assessors to conduct individual hotel assessments and develop a
quality improvement plan. Every two- years, a hotel will undergo an initial three-day assessment and a subsequent
five-day assessment to ensure that ongoing quality measures are incorporated into Delta's culture and all aspects
of our hotel operations. External assessors are also invited to conduct assessments, ensuring that assessments
meet the professional standards of NQI.
"Our goal is to ensure a seamless approach to quality, so that it is part of our culture, " explained
William Pallett, Senior Vice President, People & Quality. "Problem Solving Teams regularly monitor processes
for improvement opportunities."
One result of these improvements is Delta's One-Minute Check In Guarantee for guests. Another improvement guarantee
affects our employees; Delta guarantees that employees will receive their review within 30 days of their anniversary
date or receive one week's vacation with pay.
"This award means a lot to me, because it means I'm working for a company that is concerned, that has goals
and objectives, and is driven to be a powerhouse in our industry," said Daniel Newberry, Corporate Sales Manager
at the Delta Toronto Airport. "Not only that, but Delta is 100 per cent committed to the employee and guest.
I feel very proud to work for an organization like that."
Delta Hotels is the largest first-class hotel company in Canada, operating over 30 hotels from Vancouver, B.C.
to St. John's, Newfoundland. Delta's diverse portfolio of city-centre, airport and resort properties cater to business
and leisure travellers. Headquartered in Toronto, Delta Hotels is a wholly owned subsidiary of Canadian Pacific
Hotels & Resorts Inc.
For further information
Catherine Mattice, Manager, Public Relations, Telephone: (416) 874-2038, Fax: (416) 874-2022, e-mail: cmattice@deltahotels.com