Delta Hotels in a class of its own
Canada’s leading hotel management company recognized by the
National Quality Institute as an outstanding role model

Delta Hotels has been awarded the
prestigious Order of Excellence, the highest distinction conferred by Canada’s
National Quality Institute (NQI) in its Canada Awards for Excellence program. The
award recognizes outstanding achievements in the areas of quality, customer service
and a healthy workplace.

“From our front line to the heart of the house and to our leadership teams, each and
every one of our 7,100 dedicated employees has been focused on quality since we
began our journey in 1996. Without their commitment and passion for excellence, this
award wouldn’t be possible, and for that I wish to recognize and thank them,” says
Hank Stackhouse, president of Delta Hotels.

The Order of Excellence builds upon successes previously recognized by NQI with two
“Gold” awards: the first, given in 2000, for quality, and the other, in 2004, for a
healthy workplace. The Order of Excellence underscores the company’s sustained focus
on excellence over the long term.

Delta Hotels began focusing on organizational excellence in 1996 by strategically
applying a continuous quality approach that focuses on seven key “drivers” -
leadership, planning, process management, partnerships, organizational performance,
and customer and people focus - to influence overall business performance.

It uses formalized assessments to measure all aspects of a hotel’s operations. These
comprehensive evaluations, known internally as “quality business assessments,” and
modelled on the Institute’s framework for business excellence, are conducted every
two years, and result in wide-ranging improvement plans to be implemented within the
hotel or, in some cases, across the brand.

In the category of quality, for example, the company launched Delta Meetings
Maestros in 2004, after extensive market research that included focus groups with
both internal and external stakeholders. The focus on customers continues with
post-meeting comment cards.

The company’s leading people practices have also received top honours from the
Travel Industry Association of Canada (2004), and Delta consistently ranks on The
Globe and Mail’s Report on Business magazine’s annual “Best Employers” list
(2001-2003, 2005-2007).

Delta Hotels will receive the award on Wednesday, October 24, at the 2007
Performance Excellence Summit in Toronto.
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