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Novotel Queenstown's Cultural Focus

Friday 15 November 2013, 12:59PM

By Double Black

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Queenstown's most centrally located 4 star hotel
Queenstown's most centrally located 4 star hotel Credit: Novotel Queenstown

QUEENSTOWN

As the Indian inbound tourism market continues to represent a significant opportunity for growth, Novotel Queenstown Lakeside  and the Accor hotel group focuses on Optimum Service Standards to meet the specific cultural needs of Indian guests. 

Novotel Queenstown Lakeside is the most recent Accor hotel to receive Optimum Service Standards accreditation, and recently marked the occasion by joining Indian travellers in celebrating the Diwali Hindu New Year, hosting a five-day festival of lights.

Accor Vice President New Zealand & Fiji, Garth Simmons, believes Accor’s focus on Optimum Service Standards allows Novotel Queenstown Lakeside and its sister hotels to better cater to the needs of a growing number of Indian travellers.

“Accor is the first hotel group in New Zealand and Australia to introduce these service standards, which enable accredited hotels to meet the high service expectations of Indian guests year-round.

“Last year we experienced a 43% growth in room nights from the Indian market with a number of large groups staying with us at Novotel Queenstown. We are on track to match the same number of rooms as in 2012 and expect Indian visitor numbers to increase further by the end of 2013.”

As a Optimum Service Standards accredited hotel, Novotel Queenstown Lakeside offers a variety of services to meet the needs of an increasing number of Indian guests. These are all designed to make guests from India feel at home, and include translation of hotel menus, welcome kits and business cards, Indian newspapers and television channels, Indian adaptor power plugs, and Indian meals in the restaurant.

Ongoing training and education programs also help Accor hotel staff learn basic Indian greetings and cultural practices, so they can better understand and respectfully serve guests.

“While there are currently no direct flights between New Zealand and India, we believe that numbers would increase significantly if this barrier could be removed,” said Mr Simmons.

Accor seeks to increase the number of accredited hotels in the Pacific from 12 to more than 20 by 2014.

Media contact:
Ginni Post
Accor Hotels
+61 2 9820 9874