Joie de Vivre and LRA Worldwide Partner on Comprehensive Quality Assurance Program

HORSHAM, PA, August 29, 2010 (Press-News.org) Joie de Vivre Hotels and LRA Worldwide, Inc., have launched an innovative Quality Assurance evaluation initiative across the company's portfolio of one-of-a-kind boutique hotels and spas. LRA will deploy QA consultants to visit each Joie de Vivre property in the 3rd Quarter of 2010 and will repeat the process every six months.

The diversity of the Joie de Vivre collection created a unique challenge in program design. In order to account for the range of innovative hospitality services and products that have become a hallmark of the Joie de Vivre experience, LRA built a program that balanced flexibility with the need to create a consistent measurement framework to support the growth and expansion of the portfolio. This approach allows Joie de Vivre to standardize quality measures across the enterprise while maintaining the individual personality of each unique property.

"We felt very comfortable with LRA's proposed approach to our portfolio, and, more importantly, so did our properties," explained Karlene Holloman, Senior Vice President of Operations for Joie de Vivre. "Ultimately, each of our properties will choose to bring the LRA consultant on site, so it was crucial that LRA understand the boutique offering and how to bring value to our operators."

A critical component of the Joie de Vivre program is the use of LRA's proprietary web-based quality management technology, TouchPoint Manager (TpM). The TpM platform handles scheduling, logistics and on site data entry. In addition, the TpM will provide Joie de Vivre users at the corporate and property level with one central location online to access all of the Joie de Vivre "Peak Performance" and "Brand" standards for hotels and spas, utilize interactive action plans and conduct analysis on completed QA reports.

Said Roxanna Lopez, LRA Worldwide's Operations Manager for the project, "We've taken great care in not only customizing this evaluation to match the Joie de Vivre culture, but in selecting a consultant team with an understanding of boutique hotels and the quintessential California travel experience that Joie de Vivre promises its guests."

In addition to its work with Joie de Vivre, LRA provides performance measurement services to seven of the top ten hotel companies in the world. In all, LRA's Quality Assurance & Mystery Shopping practice conducts nearly 13,000 site visits and evaluations each year, either as a stand-alone offering or as an integrated part of an overall Customer Experience Management project. In addition to its work with other lodging clients such as Hyatt Hotels Corporation, InterContinental Hotels Group, Sol Meliá Hotels & Resorts, Sofitel Luxury Hotels, Destination Hotels & Resorts and W Hotels, LRA provides QA and Mystery Shopping services to industry leaders in Sports, Conference Centers, Timeshare, Gaming, Homebuilding, Retail and Travel.

The program pilot launched in late August of 2010, with the first round of evaluations scheduled for completion this month - September of 2010.

About Joie de Vivre:
San Francisco-based Joie de Vivre (www.jdvhotels.com) manages a portfolio of creative lifestyle businesses, including hotels, restaurants, and spas. Founded in 1987 by entrepreneur Chip Conley, Joie de Vivre is recognized for creating some of the most innovative hospitality services and products and designing one-of-a-kind properties. It is the second largest independent boutique hotel company in the country and California's largest boutique hotel collection. With more than 30 properties in the state, Joie de Vivre offers a wide range of unique urban, suburban, and waterfront boutique hotels that cater to leisure and business travelers in all market segments. Joie de Vivre hotels are located in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Marin County, San Francisco East Bay, Big Sur, Sonoma County, Santa Cruz, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Huntington Beach, Long Beach, Laguna Beach, and Venice Beach.

About LRA Worldwide, Inc:
LRA Worldwide is a leading research and consulting company in the emerging discipline of Customer Experience Management (CEM). We work with our clients to help them design and deliver consistently exceptional customer experiences in order to drive customer satisfaction, loyalty and advocacy, and company growth and profitability.

In LRA's 25-year history, we have grown from a provider of customized quality assurance evaluation programs for the hospitality industry, to a leading CEM consulting company offering a variety of client solutions. The evolution has been driven by our clients asking us one question - "How do we get better?" In response, we have built a range of performance measurement, research, training and consulting solutions to help them do so. Today, we are a growing company operating in more than 120 countries throughout the world, helping clients such as Starwood Hotels & Resorts, the National Basketball Association, the PGA TOUR, InterContinental Hotels Group, Hyatt Hotels Corporation and Ritz-Carlton Clubs deliver exceptional customer experiences. Every touch. Every time. For more information, visit us at http://www.LRAworldwide.com.