AA Quality Assured Accommodation Awards

How do I enter the AA Quality Assured Accommodation Awards Programme?

If you are not yet a member of the AA Quality Assured Accommodation Programme you need to join the programme. (See www.aatravel.co.za/index.php?p=aaqa2 for more information).  Once you are a member fill in the Awards form on www.accommodationawards.co.za/entry-form

How does it work?

It is a consumer based programme whereby your guests submit reviews about your establishment to AA Travel Guides.

How do they submit reviews about my establishment?

Your Guests can submit reviews in four different ways:

• By completing the Guest Review on your complimentary webpage on  www.aatravel.co.za AND / OR
• By completing the printed Guest Review forms (which they post back directly or you can collect and post to us monthly via registered post, details on the guest review form) AND / OR
• By entering Guest Reviews on our customised aPad (Digital Guest Book device) AND / OR
• By entering guest reviews electronically via eGuestSurv

What is an aPad (Digital Guest Book device)?

Similar to an Apple iPad, this wonderful little device has been customised to turn it into a Digital Guest Book. It can be fixed in one location or unplugged and carried around. Guests use this device to enter their Guest Reviews via a touch screen, and easy to use interface. These reviews are then transmitted to our Awards server as soon as the device is connected to the internet.

How does the device connect to the internet?

Using the Wi-Fi facility in your establishment or with a 3G card (not all networks).

What other functionality does this device have?

It acts as a digital photo frame as well. Many establishments find it extremely useful to place a photo frame at reception which displays photos of their establishment and surrounds. This is very useful when exhibiting at shows or doing Meet and Greet at airports.

What if I don’t have Wi-Fi?

We recommend you purchase a Wi-Fi router – available from Cell C, MTN or Vodacom and place it near to where you will be using your aPad. You can then connect to this little device very quickly on your aPad. Guests wanting to use Wi-Fi internet will also be able to use it and this will definitely add to the appeal of your establishment. This device is useful for general internet access for your establishment too.

We have entered in to an arrangement with Cell C to make their product available to you packaged with the aPad.

Alternatively you can ask guests to enter reviews in off line mode and take your aPad to a nearby facility where you can get an internet connection or you can plug in a Vodacom 3G card.

What does it cost to enter the Awards Programme?

Your cost depends directly on the Guest Review option you choose to employ:

• Using the Online Guest Review facility on your web page on www.aatravel.co.za is FREE. This option costs you nothing except the effort of asking your guests to fill in the review. You may do this when they are staying with you if you know they have their own computer with them linking to the internet or offering the opportunity to use your computer. Alternatively you could email your guests when they are likely to have reached home thanking them for their stay and providing them with the link and asking them to fill in the review. You are also encouraged to place a link on your website which links directly to the Guest Review for your establishment on the www.aatravel.co.za website (contact us for more details on how this can be done). French and German Guest Reviews are available in this format.
• Printed Guest Review forms - Encourage guests to complete the printed Guest Review forms (which they post back directly or you can collect and post to us monthly). Such printed paper forms may be ordered from us in batches of 250 forms. Cost is R650 + VAT for 250 forms and R1200 + VAT for 500 forms. These are available in English and Afrikaans.
• aPad Digital Guest Book device - Encourage guests to enter their Guest Reviews on our customised aPad (Digital Guest Book device). Cost is a once off fee of R2600 + VAT. For orders exceeding 10 units additional discounts apply. These may be paid for in cash or by credit card.
• eGuestSurv  - Enter reviews electronically via eGuestSurv.  You authorise eGuestSurv (contract as applicable between establishment and eGuestSurv) to supply our electronic reviews to AA Travel Guides for use in the Accommodation Awards programme.  eGuestSurv is offering a special discount of 10% off their normal rates for any entries received up to 30 November 2011.

What is the Verification Process?

There has been a complete change in the Awards structure and the audit trail and verification processes are necessary as follows:

Printed Guest Review Forms:

• Guest Contact information is compulsory
• Forms with incomplete or unverifiable Guest Contact information will not be processed
• Supplied Guest Review forms have the establishment code printed on them.
• Only new Guest Review forms will be accepted (none from 2011)
• Handwriting comparisons
• The feedback is programmed in and the scores are evaluated by the awards committee.  The committee carries out random spot checks to verify the responses for the qualifying establishments. The committee’s decisions are final.

Guest Reviews on your complimentary webpage on www.aatravel.co.za and via the aPad:

• Section 1 Questions and all Contact information is compulsory
• Reviews with incomplete guest contact information will not be taken in to account.
• According to pre-determined requirements, spot checks will be carried out by the committee on those which qualify. Based on these spot checks, compliant establishments will be eligible for continued participation in the awards process.
• Kindly urge your guests to complete all the questions and full personal information  on the questionnaire as comments only will not be scored. However, all comments will be captured.
• Verification visits may be undertaken on an unannounced basis, during the year, at the discretion of the committee. The committee’s decisions are final.

Electronic Reviews via eGuestSurv:

• Establishments will be issued with a user account and password to access the eGuestSurv system online.
• Once logged into eGuestSurv the user enters/uploads the guest data (usually all of the guests that checked out that day) for processing.
• The eGuestSurv system processes the guest data and then sends a survey invitation email with your hotel logo and name to the guest to complete.
• Once the guest completes the online survey, the results are immediately included in the establishment’s overall results for reporting.
• Each survey consists of survey questions and a comments area and email notifications are sent to the establishment should a guest rate the establishment low or leave a comment.
• Users can also access the guest data, advanced trend analysis reports and even reply to a guest comment by logging into the eGuestSurv System.
• eGuestSurv can also be automated to automatically process the guest data from the establishment PMS (Opera, Amadeus, Apex, Protel, ResRequest).
• Feedback submitted via eGuestSurv is available to be published live on www.aatravel.co.za on your page but will be subject to the 30 day rule as below. The committee’s decisions are final.

What happens to the reviews sent in?

This depends on the format we receive it in.

All reviews submitted via the AA website, guest review forms, eGuestSurv and the A-Pad is taken into account in making decisions with regard to the Awards Programme.

Reviews received via the aatravel website and the A-Pad will be published on your page on www.aatravel.co.za shortly after being received. However there may be a delay of up to 5 working days due to a manual filtering process to ensure the following: Reviews which receive an overall score of 80% or more are automatically published on your complimentary webpage on www.aatravel.co.za. All reviews will be processed for the awards.

Reviews sent on forms will be captured internally at AA Travel Guides head office and then treated as above.

What about unfavourable feedback?

The policy of the Company with regard to feedback is to take all feedback into account when evaluating your establishment for Awards purposes. Any feedback which is negative is regarded as a complaint and will be passed to you to deal with in private with the person who has submitted the feedback. Only if the negative feedback has not been handled adequately and the matter not resolved within 30 days, will it be published (The 30 day rule).

• If we receive negative feedback it will not automatically disqualify you from being an Awards achiever. We know that some complaints are spurious and, on occasion, even malicious. Hence how you handle the complaint is of the utmost importance and will be taken in to account.
• Positive feedback scoring over 80% will be made live, regardless of the comments made by the guest.

When does the next awards programme start?

The new AA Quality Assured Accommodation Awards Programme launches on 30th August 2011.  The awards cycle in future will start on15 September each year until the 30th April each year.

Where and when will the 2012 Awards evening be held?

The 2012 AA Quality Assured Accommodation Awards evening takes place the night before the start of the Getaway show in Johannesburg which will either be the last week end of August or the first weekend of September coinciding with and supporting National Tourism Month.

Reviews may be submitted at any time but for awards purposes will only be taken into account up until 30th  April 2012.

What is the new structure of the Programme?

The new structure of the programme is as follows:

Awards have been restructured to include a Regional and National level.

The first round will be categories per Region as per your AA Quality Assurance category.  At Regional level there will be finalists and a winner in all contested categories. Regional winners will be announced during July each year. All  regional achievers will receive a certificate and a logo to use on all marketing material while the Winner becomes a finalist in the National Awards programme..

In the second round, the Regional Winners become the Finalists at the National level.  At this level, category inclusion may require substantial participation.

At the grand awards evening held in Johannesburg just before the Getaway show, 1 winner in each category will be selected from the Regional winners.

Will South Africa’s Best still be published?

Yes indeed, this is a very popular booklet as it provides a guide to high quality accommodation experiences across the entire range of accommodation types and price ranges – something that travellers and the travel trade really want. All achievers will be offered the opportunity to profile their establishments in this publication at market-related costs.

What happens if I do not go further than Regional level?

To have reached Regional level is already a major achievement and you will have a certificate to display, a logo for all your marketing material and can certainly brag about your achievements.  If you are serious about your product, use the Awards programme, what better way to find out what your guests really think of you.

What happens after the Winners are announced at National Level?

Once the awards cycle ends with Winners being announced at National Level, your own personal scores and comments are calculated and sent to you together with the overall scores for your category.

Click here for a list of categories for the 2012 Awards Programme

My establishment is AA Quality Assured but outside South Africa. Can I participate in the awards programme?

At present we do not have a great number of member properties outside South Africa. However if we receive sufficient reviews then we will be delighted to consider SADC countries outside South Africa as an additional region in the Awards Programme.

What happens to the Hall of Fame?

This continues as before i.e. if you are a winner 3 years in a row you move to the Hall of Fame. While in the Hall of Fame you are welcome to ask your guests to submit guest reviews however you remain in the Hall of Fame and are not eligible to be an achiever  in one of the normal categories.  After 2 years you may elect to remain in the Hall of Fame – subject to guest reviews of a high enough standard being submitted by your guests or to compete in a regular category.

However with the change in structure and categories all current members of the Hall of Fame are eligible and encouraged to participate in regular categories in 2012, 2013 and 2014.