Failte Ireland's Optimus Programme assists the industry in meeting this challenge.

The Optimus Programme structure comprises three distinct yet inter-related levels, enabling businesses to progress through the different levels, building their capabilities at each stage and gaining recognition as they make progress. The three levels are either partially or fully aligned to the EFQM Excellence Model and this is reflected in the assessment and scoring criteria.

The first level, the Service Excellence programme, leading to the Ireland's Best Award, recognises the commitment and capacity of the tourism business to provide service excellence to it's customers on a consistent basis.

The Mark of Best Practice, the second level, requires businesses to review each of its key processes and standards and to develop and implement an improvement plan across the entire operation that will deliver tangible benefits to the customer, the staff and the business.

A number of hotels that have previously been accredited to Ireland's Best Award and the Mark of Best Practice are currently working towards the Business Excellence accreditation. The Award of Excellence is based on the EFQM (European Foundation for Quality Management) Excellence Model.

This model is the primary business improvement tool used by thousands of leading edge organisations in more than 37 countries and in most sectors of industry.

"Improved competitiveness in the tourism industry can be realised from best practice innovations and need not be separate from improved profitability", said Failte Ireland's Director of Enterprise and Skills Development Aidan Pender at a recent ceremony in Dublin's Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel were a total of 20 tourism business were conferred with national Optimus Awards, in recognition of their achievements in pursuing business excellence.

Included in the number was the Maryborough House Hotel and Spa, the first hotel in the country to achieve the prestigious Optimus Award for Excellence.

Businesses accredited with the Optimus Award have shown a 27% higher gross operating profit than the Irish Hotel Benchmark, according to an independent economic impact study carried out earlier this year by independent consultants Hospitality & Leisure Manpower. The study on the impact Optimus has made on business performance during the first full year of its operation within a business also found that staff turnover is down by almost one third and overall customer satisfaction improved by 8%.

"Optimus was designed to help businesses strive for business excellence and to reap the rewards by improving competitiveness and profitability. The independent impact study has proved that by obtaining accreditation businesses can implement good business practices, retain staff as well as demonstrable improvement in their customers' perception of value for money and service quality thereby increasing customer satisfaction", says Pender.

The most recent award recipients were:

Ireland's Best Award ? Castletroy Park Hotel, Dublin Road, Limerick ? Hilton Dublin City Hotel, Charlemont Place, Dublin ? Inchydoney Island Lodge & Spa, Clonakilty, County Cork ? Kilkenny River Court, Hotel, John Street, Kilkenny ? Pery's Best Western Hotel, Glentworth Street, Limerick ? Quality Hotel & Leisure Centre, Clogheen, Clonakilty, County Cork ? The D Hotel, Scotch Hall, Drogheda, County Louth ? Wyatt Hotel, The Octagon, Westport, County Mayo ? EUREST GE Money, Shannon Free Zone, County Clare ? EUREST Genworth Financial, Shannon, County Clare ? EUREST Molex, Shannon, County Clare ? EUREST Stryker Howmedica, Shannon, County Clare Mark of Best Practice ? Castlecourt Hotel, Conference & Leisure Centre, Westport, Co Mayo ? Clarion Hotel, Lapp's Quay, Cork ? Clarion Hotel, Liffey Valley, Dublin ? Clarion Hotel, Steamboat Quay, Limerick ? Connemara Coast Hotel, Furbo, County Galway ? Landmark Hotel, Carrick on Shannon, County Leitrim ? Tower Hotel, Derry Award of Excellence Maryborough House Hotel & Spa, Maryborough Hill, Douglas, Cork All award winners were subjected to a rigorous assessment process, independently managed by Excellence Ireland Quality Association (EIQA) and the Optimus Approvals Committee, chaired by Klaus Kobjoll, owner of the famed Schindlerhof Hotel in Germany and winner of the EFQM European award for excellence.

"Small companies can survive in today's marketplace if they build learning organisations to deal with competitive forces", Klaus Kobjoll told the award winners. "They can do this by developing a total quality programme by participating in Optimus. Please keep going on this never ending road to ensure that the Irish hospitality industry stays where it belongs . . . on top."