CONGRATULATIONS to Matt Ward from Wolverhampton's Novotel who has become chairman of an organisation boosting tourism across the Black Country.
He accepted the post at the New Year meeting of the Black Country Hotels Association and says he wants to form close links with other organisations working for the benefit of the area.
The body, currently with 20 member hotels, acts as a forum for Black Country hoteliers to share ideas and lobby local councils on issues concerning the tourism industry.
It is also used as a valuable resource for joint marketing, crime prevention and training initiatives across the sector and as a watchdog maintaining quality of service.
Matt said: “Working in partnership has proved extremely successful for member hotels and I hope to engage more venues in the association in the coming months.
“It has helped expose criminal scams targeting the industry through a highly effective early warning system ��" alerting member hotels at the same time as police to any criminal activity in the region.
“Diverse training schemes for staff have also been invaluable, looking at issues including crime and fire prevention, current legislation and promotion of the Black Country and its attractions to guests.
“I believe collaboration is vital for regeneration, and the hotels association is already linked with other groups such as Advantage West Midlands and the Black Country Consortium who are working to build the profile of the district.
“We want to ensure hotels have a voice in any issues and re-developments that could affect the tourism sector and make managers aware of the role they can play in contributing to improvements.”
The BCHA has also initiated an awards scheme focusing on quality of service in member hotels, which they hope will continue to raise the bar in service provision.
Judging of 2008’s entrants is now under way, with an awards ceremony set to take place in March.
Secretary and founder of the association, Keith Cheetham, said: “Our former chairman Adrian Pearson, manager of Brierley Hill’s Copthorne Hotel, had a tremendous influence on the BCHA and we’d like to offer our sincere thanks for his dedication over the past three years.
“I’m looking forward to working closely with Matt to build on the foundations of Adrian’s hard work and continue to drive the organisation forward.
“Matt has demonstrated fantastic enthusiasm for the role and is already bringing new ideas to the table and I’m certain his appointment will ensure a bright future for the BCHA.”
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