Certification

Of course the purpose of earning the designation of A Place of Hospitality is not to implement processes but to deliver the experience of heart-felt caring -- hospitality -- to every patron, every time.

Once a participating restaurant demonstrates that it can perform to our minimum standards -- which are likely higher than any local competitor -- they can be certified A Place of Hospitality and they can represent themselves as such to the public. Internally, they are known as a one-star operation and we challenge them to deepen their commitment to hospitality by working their way to achieve full six-star status.

As an operation progresses toward certification as a six-star Place of Hospitality it would certainly be evolving into a great training organization, so the program includes a process to develop those skills as well. No restaurant is in this alone. So among other things, for a three-star restaurant to earn their fourth star, they would help a one-star operation reach their next level and so on.

In this way, each operation learns that success comes from giving not from taking. This fosters a community of operators who stop fighting over pieces of the pie and start working together to make the pie larger ... while making each other better.

We have developed a methodology that can actually quantify the level of hospitality provided in a restaurant. Aided by an online guest feedback system, the performance of each restaurant will be rigorously monitored and the results fed back to the owner in close to real time.

Should any participating restaurant fail to meet the standards required by its designation, they will receive coaching to get back in compliance. Operators who fail to deliver the results will not be allowed to remain in the game. The designation as A Place of Hospitality cannot be purchased and restaurants cannot pay to keep it.

Continue