Quality Systems and Hotel Classification

Tourism in Greece is one of the main pillars of development, with a significant contribution to the labor market and therefore competition is real and growing. The quality is the competitive advantage of every tourist business. The implementation of Quality Systems is necessary in order to upgrade services and improve the competitiveness of the hotel industry.

Furthermore, according to the ministerial decrees and modifications with number  216 / 08.01.2015 Am. 20.10.2016 and 4276 / 07.30.2014 , the acquisition of the Certificate of Classification , issued by the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels, gives the special mark Operation of accommodation. The classification process according to the New Legislative Framework Classification Hotels & Lodging Rooms / Apartments in Stars and Keys is a result of mandatory audit criteria, set by the legislation regarding the buildings , the equipment , the services and along with a list of optional criteria , which increase the rating of each accommodation. The sum of the points rating result in the placement of the enclosure to the respective category.

ALIMENT LAB has wide experience and reliable partners and offers cooperation in the field of mandatory specifications and audit criteria. ALIMENT LAB recommends “smart” and simple actions in order to increase the points awarded to your hotel and achieve rating to higher category, regarding both keys (for rooms to let) and stars (for hotels). More specifically, it has the potential to provide the development and implementation of effective Safety Management Systems and Quality of services, such as ISO 22000: 2005, ISO 9001: 2015 and HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point). Compliance with ISO 9001 and 14001 systems (quality assurance and environmental management) convinces the customer in advance about the level of service. As expected, the installation of a Quality System to hotels increases the level of customer satisfaction and thereby the productivity and profits.

More specifically, the ISO 9001: 2015 is an internationally recognized standard for quality management and refers to all categories of companies, regardless of type, size and the supplied product or service. The implementation of the quality management system aims to:

• Strengthening the reputation of a company providing customer confidence.
• Creating opportunities for penetrating international markets as the image and credibility of the company improves.
• Reduction of production costs due to optimization of resources and time.
• Improving awareness of employees in quality management.
• Continuous improvement of processes based on the application of monitoring and measuring devices, and thereby upgrade the company’s processes to generate added value.

ISO 22000: 2005 is an international standard that specifies requirements for food safety management systems. It incorporates the requirements of HACCP, the requirements of existing legislation and the general principles of management systems, creating an integrated, globally recognized, food safety standard.

    The main business benefits of certification ISO 22000: 2005 are:

• Demonstrate compliance with the relevant national and EU legislation.
• Alignment with commonly accepted food production practices.
• Reduction of failures and detection of malpractice.
• Readiness of the enterprise to address food crises.
• Consumer sentiment of security for the company’s products.
• Continuous improvement of the company.
• Competitive advantage in the market.

The implementation of the internationally recognized standard ISO 14001: 2004 aims to the establishment of an operational and administrative model based on the following three commitments: pollution prevention, continuous improvement of their environmental performance and compliance with applicable laws.

 Some of the benefits of implementing an environmental management system ISO 14001  are:

• Reduce cost production of products and / or services, for example due to the rational management of natural resources and energy saving.
• Create confidential relationship between the Company and local authorities, helping in faster procedures of the Corporation requests approvals.
• Prevention of environmental accidents.
• Recognition by consumers.
• Compliance with environmental legislation.