ASAP Quality Accreditation FAQ

The program assesses operators’ inventory against more than 250 service quality, regulatory and safety criteria. These criteria focus on guest expectations in the hospitality industry. The process delivers quantitative and qualitative information to the corporate/serviced apartment operator. This in-depth analysis may be used to enhance elements of the operator’s business with the ultimate aim of maximizing the perceived quality of the guest experience. The program also offers an accreditation opportunity for Serviced Apartment Agents.

Professional ISAAP Quality Assessors use a well-tested and successful process of assessing a sample of the operator’s inventory by mirroring the guest experience. Areas assessed include Guest Experience, Housekeeping/Maintenance, Exterior/Arrival, Living/Dining Room, Bedroom(s), Bathroom(s), Kitchen, and Additional Facilities. Assessors conduct a detailed overnight assessment by staying in one of the apartments, followed by up to 9 further apartment assessments the next day. Each day assessment typically takes 30-45 minutes to complete. Assessment scores and comments are based on the operator’s communications about their apartments, actual online reviews and guest evaluations, as well as adherence to applicable safety and operational regulations.

Housekeeping forms a major part of the assessment process and is not limited to the importance of cleanliness. The process is designed to ensure other critical factors such as television remote controls, lights bulbs and digital clocks are all operational and working effectively. Specific focus is given to the comfort of the bed, the condition of the apartment in general and that it is being advertised accurately. 

• The QA program provides the industry with a means of measuring and comparing the quality of Serviced Apartments/Corporate Housing globally.
• Being a quality accredited provider and CHPA member positively distinguishes your company from other providers within our industry.
• The QA mark indicates achievement in the areas of core industry legal, health and safety practices and requirements.
• Quality accredited members are recognized as those who drive the standards of corporate housing, demonstrating compliance to pre-set criteria and focusing upon the needs of the guest, providing assurance to corporate and private clients alike that they can stay with confidence.
• Validating the guest experience objectively informs clients and guests that their expectations will be met well. 

• The cost of this program is offset almost immediately after going through the assessment. One day of a hospitality consultant’s time is well worth the cost to get an objective, experienced critique that your company is performing well.
• Use the information as a quality improvement tool for your company’s operations, identifying areas that need attention or that are already exemplary.
• The data is critical to objectively compare your company’s performance against competitors in your market, nationally and globally.
• The QA program gives you a fresh perspective on the guest experience and provides you with hard data to use to market your company.
• The QA Program builds your credibility with clients, guests and partners that want data, metrics and assurances that their expectations for professional products and services will be met.

Assessment fees are based on number of units in a company’s inventory. In addition to the overnight stay, a minimum sample of the operator’s portfolio will also be assessed in order to ensure consistency throughout the portfolio and accuracy of any marketing collateral. 

Following the overnight assessment, the assessor convenes a feedback review with the operator to offer real-time observations, comments and recommendations (during the feedback review meeting). Within 7 days of assessment visit completion, the operator will receive a full assessment report for each apartment assessed. The assessment report contains descriptive feedback, numerical scores and a graph showing apartment quality versus competitive set performance compiled of aggregate scores from other operators in the same or similar market.

If quality criteria have been met, the operator will receive the ASAP Quality Accreditation Marque. This Marque can be displayed on the operator’s website and PR materials for 1 year.  

• This is can be an approximately one-two hour meeting with an experienced hospitality consultant most often held the morning after the assessor’s overnight stay,
• The assessor prepares an initial findings report from experiences gained from the overnight stay and goes over this in detail with whomever your company decides is part of this meeting.
• This also allows the QA assessor the chance to ask your management team specific questions regarding safety and regulation compliance and allows your team to share customer satisfaction surveys. Part of this review meeting may be convened upon the assessor checking in to the apartment which has been allocated for the overnight stay, that part being the review of the Compulsory Requirements criteria, details of which you company will have submitted to the assessor ahead of the QA visit date.

• The QA Program is geared toward guest experience and satisfaction. The assessor has their own experience and then supplements that experience with online guest/client comments which in turn supplements any guest surveys done by the company.
• The assessment will also draw on an internet review mechanism to validate guest’s satisfaction as well as any internal processes used to capture guest feedback. It is important that a cross section of data is used to ensure an accurate and true reflection of the product offered.
• This allows the assessor to spot trends and potential areas for improvement. 

Annually, the assessment criteria are reviewed to ensure continued importance and relevance, new industry legal requirements, and variations in international applications. This review allows for continued integrity and credibility of the program and ensures it continues to be delivered in the correct industry context, thus preserving the value of The ASAP Quality Accreditation Marque. Top

If your company is a CHPA member based in the United States or Canada, no. CHPA coordinates/administers the ISAAP QA program in the United States and Canada. ASAP owns and administers the ISAAP QA program in the UK and Europe. The Quality Assessment program is delivered by ISAAP, the organization that oversees the QA program globally and collaborates with organizations worldwide to implement the program.

CHPA members assessed by ISAAP will be recognised as affiliate members of ASAP. ASAP Affiliate members enjoy all the benefits of membership, including event discounts and online access to the HUB. Affiliate members are not able to vote for or hold an ASAP office. 

• The QA seal is good for one calendar year after the QA visit *.
• Your company is allowed use of the ISAAP QA seal upon successful completion of the QA visit, followed by receipt of the completed assessment reports and confirmation of the Quality Accreditation award, together with receipt of the Quality Accreditation logo.

* Each company is required to renew its accreditation annually to continue using the QA seal, though, subject to meeting certain criteria, will not necessarily be required to have a QA visit . 

• This overnight stay allows an assessor to do an in-depth review of one unit and the provider’s guest care procedures. This allows for accurate first-hand experience, which forms a key part of the assessment criteria.
• Each operator will undergo a sample site visit, overnight quality assessment and a complete review of the core requirements and business practices annually.
• Every year the assessor will experience the guest’s journey from: selection of an apartment, the booking process, arrival formalities as well as an overnight stay and experience a full departure. Mirroring an actual guest experience, each element of the assessment will be scored and compared to ensure the product meets ISAAP’s exacting standards for quality, safety and security. 

• This is entirely up to your company. In the assessors’ experiences, there is no significant difference in the guest experience between these two scenarios.
• Use the QA program to identify service gaps or areas for improvement with your teams. Then consider whether ISAAP should be engaged to conduct a program of mystery guest visits to provide your company with real time feedback of your company’s adherence to your own standards. A bespoke, customized mystery guest plan can be tailored to suit your needs. 

• Preferably, assessors review unoccupied units. That said, if, due to occupancy rates at the time, your company needs to include some occupied units as part of the assessment visit, then this can be accommodated. However, the assessor must be accompanied if assessing occupied units. Also, only an unoccupied unit can allow for a thorough and accurate assessment of the housekeeping and cleaning criteria. 

Must all units be in the same geographical location?

• Not necessarily. Once you register for the QA Program, assessors will coordinate their availability with your company’s inventory. If your company operates nationally, the assessors will visit multiple markets during your company’s assessment. In some cases it may be necessary to agree a coverage plan over 2-3 years, though, as long as the assessor is confident that a representative cross section of the inventory is assessed, successful achievement of the QA logo will not be jeopardized. 

• ISAAP Quality Assessment Consultants have relevant senior operational management experience within the hospitality and customer service industry over a significant number of years. These responsibilities have included the delivery of Audits, Inspections and Quality Assessments for both UK Public (Government) and Private entities (including the National Tourist Board of England, VisitEngland and ASAP).
• Assessors’ experience encompasses hotels, serviced apartments, self-catering properties, guest houses and the global travel industry. Involved in the above is the management of the moderation function (consistency and accuracy assurance).
• Assessors are members of the UK Institute of Hospitality. 

• All company information is kept confidential.
• Your assessment reports are known by your company only. ISAAP retains all records securely and all assessors work according to confidentiality agreements.
• Competitor Analysis Data (CAD) allows you to compare your company’s scores to your competitors without any identifying information.
• CAD can be made available on request through ISAAP, though identity of company data is protected and only shared with other companies when formal confidentiality agreements are in place to cover all interested parties.