The first of its kind, a Travelodge hospitality academy, in Coventry has been set up by the National Skills Academy for Hospitality, providing a stimulating training environment with interactive technology and seminar spaces.
the skills academy aims to develop the customer service and management skills in the hospitality industry creating a more skilled workforce, Travelodge believes such training centers are key to developing standards of excellence that are needed across the hospitality sector.
In order to provide a home for the academy, the hotel’s previously vacant meeting rooms have been fully refurbished and now serve as a base for the training academy.
The academy will be open seven days a week for companies to hire and the training centre also hosts a customer service course each week.
Travelodge’s CEO, Guy Parsons, sits on the board of the National Skills Academy for Hospitality and believes that focusing on the development of people and skills is fundamental to the future success of the hospitality industry.
He said: “Our people are at the heart of our business and having a high standard of customer service is vital to our competitive advantage as a growing business. Training in customer service excellence is key for hotel operators like Travelodge as it promotes loyalty among the nine million customers we get each year. I believe the hospitality industry will benefit tremendously from skills academies, ensuring our industry is ready to serve the influx of customers the UK will see during and after the 2012 Olympic Games.”
