People who manage rental properties for short-stay accommodation are being urged to sign up to a new accreditation program in western Australia. According to Tourism Minister Sheila McHale the new…
People who manage rental properties for short-stay accommodation are being urged to sign up to a new accreditation program in western Australia. According to Tourism Minister Sheila McHale the new voluntary National Tourism Accreditation Program would benefit holiday accommodation managers, property owners and customers by providing guidelines to avoid disputes.
The new program is good news for the tourism industry, because accredited holiday accommodation managers will benefit from their businesses enjoying a higher profile, Ms McHale said.
The Minister said the new program would require holiday accommodation managers to hold a separate client?s bank account and adhere to a code of ethics and dispute resolution scheme. Holiday managers who breached the code could be stripped of their accreditation.
Tourism Council WA is running the Holiday Accommodation Manager Accreditation Program ( WA ), which started this month.
Holiday accommodation managers act as intermediaries and charge property owners fees in return for managing and leasing the property.
Tourism Council WA State accreditation manager Sally Hollis said the tourism industry was committed to promoting professionalism in business operations and service delivery.
The new program is a step towards the industry attracting professional people to perform these roles, which in turn results in a better standard of service and fewer errors and complaints, Ms Hollis said.
Ms McHale said a working party of key Government and industry agencies came together to establish the new program.
The agencies were Tourism Western Australia; Tourism Council Western Australia; the Visitor Centre Association of WA; the Western Australian Local Government Association; and the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection.
I hope this initiative flows into others areas of the tourism industry enhancing WA?s already enviable reputation as a destination of choice, the Minister said.
It is pleasing that other States have expressed interest in the new program.
