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AA Travel Guides, organisers of the annual AA Travel Guides American Express Accommodation Awards programme, have reminded holidaymakers that they still have until the end of January to comment on their recent experiences at accommodation establishments in South Africa.

This programme, now in its fifteenth year, awards all kinds of accommodation establishments based on feedback received from consumers.

In 2006 close on 35 000 consumer questionnaires were received, giving information on some 1 200 establishments across the country, including different types of hotels, resorts, guesthouses, self-catering apartments and bed and breakfasts.

Convenor Vanessa Sand says consumers who collected questionnaires at the places where they stayed during the December holiday should log onto www.aatravel.co.za to comment online and click on the banner that says "Tell us about your stay and win". "Guest comments on aspects such as service levels, cleanliness, value for money, friendliness and the quality of food are truly valuable when scoring an establishment. This is how it should be - standards should be dictated by consumers."

According to Sand all consumer feedback is sent back to participating establishments. "This assists owners in managing and marketing their establishments more effectively. The secret of gaining an understanding of your strengths and weaknesses lies in guest feedback. Establishments that have participated in this programme in the past have realised that there is no better way to measure performance".

"Many establishments use the report received at the end of the programme to measure their progress, as scores highlight areas of concern and reflect improvements made during the previous year," she says.

Guest feedback is processed independently, after which semi-finalists and finalists are visited by trained and experienced assessors.

The winners will receive their awards at an awards ceremony in Durban on 11 May 2008.

The awards programme is supported by American Express Cards, Hertz, Sealy, BnB Sure and the Industrial Development Corporation.

For more information phone Vanessa Weltman on tel 011 713 2000 or visit www.aatravel.co.za.

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