Cobblestone Hotels Selects LRA Worldwide to Provide Brand Assurance Audits - Program to be Introduced at Upcoming Cobblestone Hotels 2013 Conference

NEEHAH, WI, April 16, 2013 (Press-News.org) Cobblestone Hotels, the fastest growing new build hotel brand in the United States, has selected LRA Worldwide, Inc. (LRA) as its partner to conduct its brand assurance program. The program will be officially introduced and launched next week at the annual Cobblestone Hotels Conference, to be held April 22-23 at the Cobblestone Inn & Suites in Marquette, Iowa.

With 22 properties operating and another 40-plus under construction or development, Cobblestone leadership felt the timing was right to partner with LRA to help manage brand and quality assurance during a period of intensive growth. LRA, the leading provider of quality assurance and brand assurance audits for the global hotel industry, will train a core group of consultants on the standards for both the flagship brand and the Boarders Inn & Suites brand, and conduct the audits in the second half of 2013.

"It was a natural time in the growth of our company to consider outsourcing our brand assurance," explained Brian Wogernese, President & Co-Founder of Cobblestone Hotels. "LRA was the first company we looked at. They are the leader in the field and their 'brand team' approach gave us comfort that our corporate team and our properties would receive the time, attention and data we need to continue to elevate and grow the brand."

Each property will receive an individual audit report containing sections on product standards, service, cleanliness and conditions; all of the reports and associated data will be housed in LRA's online reporting tool. The full details of the program will be introduced at the Conference by Jillian Iacovelli, LRA's Operations Manager for the account.

"It is always a good sign when a client chooses to introduce a new brand assurance program at their annual conference, as it indicates a real commitment to quality, said Keith Bliss, LRA's Vice President of Quality Assurance for the Americas. "There is a very real momentum around this brand and we are looking forward to rolling up our sleeves and working with them to get the program launched."

LRA provides quality assurance and guest experience measurement services to many of the leading global hotel companies, as well as many smaller lodging companies. In all, LRA's Quality Assurance & Mystery Shopping group will conduct nearly 19,000 audits in 2013, along with another 7,000 conventional "mystery shopping" evaluations. LRA's clients in the lodging industry represent brands at each level of the Smith Travel Research Chain Scale, with a particular density in the upscale and midscale tiers, which is where Cobblestone operates. In addition to its work with other lodging clients, LRA provides QA and customer experience research services to industry leaders in Hospitality, Gaming, Sports & Entertainment, Senior Living, Homebuilding, Retail and Travel & Transportation.

About LRA Worldwide: 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. 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, servicing our clients from offices and resources in the Americas, EMEA and Asia Pacific regions and helping clients such as Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Choice Hotels International, the Red Roof Inn, Avis Budget Group, Madison Square Garden, the Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and Mandarin Oriental Hotels Group deliver exceptional customer experiences. Every touch. Every time. For more information, visit us at http://www.LRAworldwide.com.