The awards process

For those of you who may not be familiar with the process of how Tourism Awards are won, here is a brief overview of what we, as property owners, must go through to earn such an award.

The preparation

Tourism Awards are awarded by way of a written submission by a business owner, who is required to complete an extensive questionnaire. Submissions can extend up to 40 pages with an additional 40-page appendix of supporting documentation. They take a lengthy period of time to prepare and are an excellent way of analysing one's business performance against industry peers in the marketplace.

A basic submission may include questions relating to our:

• Business history - showing a solid background as a successful operator
• Business Plan - ensuring we have a solid plan for the future
• Marketing Plan - detailing how we go about marketing our product and facilities
• Continuous Business Improvement Plan - ensuring a sustainable future
• Customer Care - whether we have a customer care charter and privacy policy, procedures for handling customer complaints, etc.
• Insurance and Current Licenses - validity to operate our business
• Compliance with Food Safety regulations - and how we monitor our food safety plan
• Compliance with Occupational Health and Safety regulations - including risk minimization procedures
• Staff training and development - courses undertaken to optimise staff performance and customer satisfaction
• Contribution to the Tourism Industry - on a local, regional and national level
• Business Procedures Manuals - for staff training, accident reporting, fire safety and evacuation, machinery and property maintenance schedules, just to name a few ...
• Accreditation -  whether your business has undertaken the accreditation process and is accredited with the Tourism Accreditation Board of Victoria
• Environmental Procedures - how we handle waste minimization, recycling, ensuring we are an environmentally friendly establishment actively involved in the conservation of our precious resources

The judging process

The judging panel reviews all submissions with each submission being read and scored independently by every judge on the panel. This is usually followed with a site inspection of the property. Once all submissions have been reviewed by each member of the judging panel, the panel meets and compares points achieved by each participating business and a winner is chosen.

As you can see, the process is rigorous and specific. Braeview is proud to have made it and to have been the recipient of several very prestigious awards, recognising our most coveted of qualities ... a warm hospitality and comfortable accommodation. We hope you will agree with our judges !