Shangri-La's Hong Kong Central Reservations Office rewarded for outstanding customer service

Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts' Central Reservations Office (CRO) in Hong Kong has been presented with the Silver Award in the Third Annual Call Centre Awards. Organised by the Hong Kong Call Centre Association (HKCCA), a division of the Hong Kong Productivity Council, the Call Centre Awards are open to all call centres based in Hong Kong. The awards recognise outstanding providers of customer service and the best performers in the industry.

Commenting on winning the Silver Award in the 'Contact Centre of the Year Under 50 Staff' category, Chris Knop, Shangri-La's director of central reservations, said: 'The awards showcase the best contact centres in Hong Kong, so to win this award in an event with such strong competition reflects the emphasis we place on providing the best response to our  clients through our agents' helpfulness as well as their efficient handling of bookings.'

An initial submission was made by applicants to the HKCCA detailing call centre specific objectives and performance against industry standards; customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction; technology; systems, staffing and scheduling/forecasting; company specific information; training programmes and quality assurance measures. HKCCA judges then visited the finalists for an inspection and interview whilst Asia Market Intelligence conducted phone surveys of 100 Shangri-La customers that had contacted the company's CRO during a two-week judging process.

Based at the Kowloon Shangri-La, Hong Kong, the group's CRO, with a team of 26, is responsible for the reservations functions of both the Island Shangri-La and Kowloon Shangri-La, and acts as a central booking office for all 38 properties in the chain.

With almost 20,000 rooms in Asia, Shangri-La is the largest Asia-based luxury hotel company in the region. It operates hotels in China, Hong Kong SAR, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand and will be opening new hotels in Malaysia, China and the Gulf in the next few years.