Hotel hopes of excellence with ISO certification

Linda Hoffman, Contributor, Yogyakarta

What does ISO mean for travel business? For Darmawan P. Drajat, Hotel Santika Yogyakarta's marketing manager, it is international recognition.

"When I was in Frankfurt recently, a travel agent I visited saw the ISO logo on our brochure and was very impressed," he said proudly.

As businesses throughout the world are struggling with weak economies, many companies are searching for ways to cut costs and increase revenues, often resulting in reduced customer service.

But Hotel Santika Yogyakarta managed to earn the ISO 9001 when other hotels in both Central Java and Yogyakarta do not have these credentials.

"The key to ISO 9002 is to write down what you do and do what you write down. Every employee is responsible for his own actions," said general manager Donny Tisnantoro. Donny was given a tough job when he took over the post in May 1999 as he was assigned to attain ISO 9002 certification by the year's end.

What is ISO anyway?

The Swiss-based International Organization for Standardization adapted ISO, derived from the Greek word isos meaning "equal", to signify "standards". The value of standardization is more apparent in tangible objects -- telephone and banking cards, film speeds or automobile controls, making them interchangeable globally -- rather than procedures. But the ISO 9000 family of standards applies to quality management systems. A business bearing this certification symbol assures clients they will receive the same service they expect internationally.

ISO 9000 provides a management systems model, which experts agree is state of the art. Streamlining a company's management system improves productivity and market competitiveness. The model ensures that time, money and resources are used efficiently, as each employee knows precisely what his or her duties are through training and well-documented procedures.

Donny said: "Under ISO 9001, which we earned this year, managers are responsible for the actions of their subordinates and emphasis is placed on quality of service, customer satisfaction, employee training and teamwork."

"Employees also have better job objectives because they're clearly stated in written procedures. A sense of belonging to the team encourages them to give the best service and protect equipment. Team members will take responsibility as they know if the business fails, their daily needs cannot be met."

Attention to customer feedback is also essential. While only a small percentage of guests bother to fill out questionnaires, by reviewing each one carefully and taking action, service will improve. Additionally, costs are reduced because the ISO policies also address purchasing and receiving systems, maintenance and storage, resulting in less waste.

Why then, aren't other hotels also applying for ISO certification?

Some international chains said their systems were already streamlined through the procedures of their parent companies abroad; that additional standardization was not needed. Other hotels said the ISO process was simply too expensive and that especially nowadays they needed to be careful about their budgets.

In addition to an application fee, extensive employee training is required, costing time and money.

Edi Sasmito, Santika Yogyakarta's training manager, said: "Twice a week the hotel offers English lessons and we have play- acting sessions, conducted in English, on simulated situations, such as handling customer complaints. We use videos produced by the American Hotel & Motel Association and give demonstrations on such topics as improving sales.

"We also brought in representatives from salons to teach good grooming classes to both men and women. They taught them how to dress, apply makeup and style hair appropriate for the job."

The "front-line" staff attended classes on answering the telephone and greeting guests, and a member of the psychology department of Sanata Dharma University taught them the daunting task of taking responsibility. Practices with the fire brigade, held every six months, is not only reinforcement of the staff's training, but it instills in guests a sense of safety and security.

"Knowing the product is also a part of quality service," Donny said. "Each department holds classes taught by their managers, who have to learn to design teaching manuals and to train staff members."

In the Food and Beverage Department, for example, "knowing the product" includes not only what's on the menu but also how each dish is prepared so the staff can answer customers' questions.

It was hard work to implement, but Donny likes the new ISO 9001 system.

"If something goes wrong I can identify the department where the problem occurred because it's all written down in the manual. Then the error can be corrected."

The manager responsible has to follow up and file a report saying what action he took to make improvements and to prevent the problem from recurring.

"It's a matter of control and control is good business," Donny said.

Every six months the hotel is audited to ensure that standards are maintained. As the audits are conducted spontaneously, Santika Yogyakarta thoroughly reviews all systems and manuals, and mistakes and their solutions are reevaluated every six months so that the staff is prepared for inspection.

It is doubtful that Santika's guests are even aware of all the activity going on behind the scenes. And so far, management is not sure if the certification has improved their occupancy rate due to the downturn in tourism since they obtained the first ISO award in 1999.

However, not all guests are aware of the ISO certification.

American Kenneth Alexander of Bega Furniture, who has lived at the hotel for most of the last two years, said he wasn't aware of the ISO certification. He came to the Santika on a friend's recommendation and simply liked the friendliness.

Perhaps with more awareness domestically of the significance of ISO certification, it will be acknowledged as a standard of excellence that more businesses will strive to attain.