The Golden Tulip Hotel in Accra has unveiled a programme that will improve its services and set high standards to make the hotel more competitive in the hospitality industry.

It involves massive investment in major areas of its operation by the end of the year such as the re-designing of the buffet in the Ahengua restaurant, a facelift of the pool bar and a general renovation of the hotel's swimming pool. Every guest will have access to the Internet direct from his or her room.

Mr. Thom Sheriff, General Manager of the hotel disclosed these at a press get-together organised by the management of the hotel for the press at a beach resort at Gomoah Fetteh in the Central Region.

The media encounter, which forms part of the programme of activities to mark the 10th anniversary of the hotel, provided a platform for the senior staff of Golden Tulip to interact with the media and share ideas that is of mutual benefit to them.

The General Manager said that other areas that would be tackled under the programme would include the installation of a new message handling system, bill viewing and pay TV channels as well as the introduction of a new point of sales system in the hotel's food and breakfast outlets.

Mr. Sheriff said that the hotel would also improve upon other facilities at its food and breakfast outlets and banquet rooms to give them new look.

He said the staff would continue to provide quality service, which is its primary concern. "In a technologically-intensive era, human resources would remain our most critical asset over the next decade," he said.

Touching on the current challenges facing the hospitality industry, the General Manager said that the new technological innovation would bring real challenge for leaders in the industry to recruit a well-trained and motivated staff that would satisfy the need of customers. He spoke about the important role that labour plays in the industry saying, "Human resources will remain our most critical asset over the next decade".

Mr. Sheriff noted that because of competitive advantage, many hotel operators were focusing on guest service as a way to distinguish themselves and declared that: "the 21st century will be the century of the service revolution".