Switzerland Tourism has awarded the first ever PRIX BIENVENUE to the country's friendliest hotels at the 16th edition of the Schweizer Ferientag event in Bern. The award was judged by carrying out a semantic analysis of hotel reviews posted on more than 250 booking and review websites, with the focus on hospitality. As of 2013, the PRIX BIENVENU will be awarded every year to acknowledge and promote Switzerland's best hotels.

PRIX BIENVENU: the 'Oscar' of the Swiss hospitality world

'Bienvenu' is the name of the little bronze figure of a concierge. It is a fitting symbol for hospitality, as the concierge is the one who welcomes guests and fulfils their wishes. 1477 participants attended the prize-giving ceremony at the Schweizer Ferientag in Bern today, the most important event on the Switzerland Tourism calendar. The PRIX BIENVENU was based on hundreds of thousands of hotel reviews, posted on more than 250 booking and review websites between June 2012 and late March 2013. Swiss hotels with more than 30 reviews automatically qualified for the competition. The PRIX BIENVENU has been awarded to the following four hotels (one per category) on the basis of TrustYou* review analytics and scoring, as well as the decisions of judges who visited the shortlisted hotels.

• Cosy leisure hotel (fewer than 40 rooms):                  Art.Boutique.Hotel Beau-Séjour***, Champéry (Valais)
• Larger leisure hotel (more than 40 rooms):                Hotel Hof Weissbad****, Weissbad (Appenzell)
• City hotel:                                                              Hotel Lugano Dante****, Lugano (Ticino)
• Luxury hotel:                                                          Hotel Villa Honegg*****S, Ennetbürgen (Central CH)

Guest opinion is confirmed by the judging panel

Switzerland Tourism (ST), hotelleriesuisse, GastroSuisse, the Lausanne Hospitality Management School (EHL) and the University of Bern came together to judge the PRIX BIENVENU, acknowledging the best hotels in each category to find the friendliest hotels in Switzerland. The award ceremony will be held annually at the Schweizer Ferientag in Bern as of 2013. As guest expectations vary according to the kind of hotel they stay in, the award has been split into four categories: cosy leisure hotels (fewer than 40 rooms), larger leisure hotels (more than 40 rooms), city hotels and luxury hotels. These four categories ensure that participating hotels all stand equal chances of winning a BIENVENU in their target market.

TrustYou, an international online hotel reputation management company, carried out a semantic analysis of guest reviews for PRIX BIENVENU 2013. The hospitality-focused analysis took into account factors such as how kind, attentive, helpful and understanding hotel staff were towards their guests. Other criteria for assessing quality such as hotel infrastructure, location, decor, cleanliness and price-quality ratio were not taken into consideration for the PRIX BIENVENU. Panel judges visited three shortlisted hotels in each category to give their final seal of approval.

PRIX BIENVENU Judging Panel

• hotelleriesuisse: Thomas Allemann, Member Services and Hotel Classification Manager
• GastroSuisse: Daniel C. Jung, Deputy Director
• Lausanne Hospitality Management School (EHL): Prof Michel Rochat, Director
• University of Bern/CRED: Dr Monika Bandi, Tourism Research Manager
• Schweizer Illustrierte: Urs Heller, Publications Manager, Ringier Switzerland
• Kurt Aeschbacher: TV presenter and chat show host
• Switzerland Tourism: Jürg Schmid, Director

PRIX BIENVENU: one prize, many benefits for the prize winner

ST will involve the PRIX BIENVENU 2013 winners in a wide range of national and international marketing activities. In early June, the Swiss media group Ringier AG will publish a mini guide featuring the top 100 friendliest hotels. The hotels will be able to distribute this booklet to their guests and use the PRIX BIENVENU 2013 logo in their marketing. As 'presenting partner ' of the PRIX BIENVENU 2013, American Express is giving the four winning hotels the commission from bookings made with their credit cards until late 2013 and a mention in their member magazine. All online hotel reviews posted between 1 January and 31 December 2013 will count towards the PRIX BIENVENU 2014 award.

Hospitality is the deciding factor in the quest for quality

Hotel review websites are playing an increasingly important role for accommodation providers, as honest opinion gives hoteliers a benchmark for measuring guest satisfaction and their own performance. For the highest ranking hotels, such websites are invaluable, as a free and trusted form of advertising with global reach.

About TrustYou

TrustYou is an online reputation analysis and management company, which uses the TrustScore, the first independent, consumer-trusted score, to analyse reviews, aggregate online opinions and calculate them into one single score. Visit www.trustyou.com for further details.

For the full list of Switzerland's 100 friendliest hotels, see MySwitzerland.com/bienvenu

For further details, contact:

Please contact Marcelline Kuonen, Switzerland Tourism, 30 Bedford Street, London WC2E 9ED
Phone +44 (0) 20 7845 7688, mobile +44 (0) 77 8842 0842
E-mail marcelline.kuonen@switzerland.com
www.MySwitzerland.com