It’s a hat trick for Gatton Manor

On Tuesday 2nd September at the AA Centenary Awards, Gatton Manor, the hotel and golf club, based in Ockley, received nationwide recognition in winning the ‘Business Excellence through People’ award. This Award is Gatton Manor’s 3rd high profile award of 2008 following success in the Surrey Business Awards for Customer Service and West Sussex County Time Business Awards for Customer Care.

The AA Centenary Awards ceremony was held at Grosvenor House Hotel in London and was hosted by celebrity chef, James Martin. The awards celebrated not only the achievement of the award winners but also 100 years of AA Hotel Services contribution to the hospitality industry.

The ‘Business Excellence through People’ award, recognises organizations who have demonstrated innovative people management practices which have been used to address particular business challenges, and which have resulted in proven business benefits.

The judges stated in their decision, “Faced with a failing business, and the need for substantial new investment, Gatton Manor Hotel and Golf Club embarked on a journey to create memorable experiences for customers based around first class personal service. However recognizing that this would require a considerable investment over time in both facilities as well as in people, the ‘Gatton Way’ was created enabling a dedicated team of staff to consistently deliver ‘magical moments’.

“By using guest feedback, and learning from each stage of the journey, revenues are up by 45%, wedding business has more than doubled and golf members are up by 60%. The entry was an excellent example of continuous improvement and ‘Best Practice’ in action.”

Proprietors of Gatton Manor since January 2005, Patrick and Belinda Kiely, comment “We are truly delighted; winning this award is a huge achievement. More importantly, it’s a fantastic recognition of the work and attitude of our team over the past 3 years. We are a multi-faceted business with many different types of customers (golfers, conference delegates, wedding guests & hotel residents), all having varying requirements.

“Every day, our team recognise their individual requirements and respond accordingly by welcoming and ensuring that our customers enjoy their time at Gatton Manor. From feedback we know that our customers think very highly of our approach and our team.”

Set amongst 200 acres of tranquil Surrey countryside in Ockley, Gatton Manor provides a championship golf course, 18 bedroom hotel, 3 conference rooms, restaurant and bar, civil ceremony room and a large function room popular for weddings and functions. Each area has been the subject of extensive refurbishment and renovation to ensure each guest enjoys a pleasant and memorable experience while visiting Gatton.

For more information, log on to Gattonmanor.co.uk.