President and Michelle Obama enjoy a truly unique Irish experience on their recent trip to Ireland
Ollie Hayes Pub is leading the way for quality and standards as it became one the first premises to be assessed, and approved, under Fáilte Ireland’s new national standards scheme for pubs, Raising the Bar. Recently visited by President of the United States, Barack Obama, Ollie Hayes Pub proudly boasts a certificate of recognition which was presented to them by Fáilte Ireland before the visit after proving it delivers the customer journey.
The scheme, Raising the Bar, which was developed by Fáilte Ireland in association with the Vintners Federation of Ireland, is an approval system based on pubs meeting a set of national minimum requirements.
The Irish pub has long been recognised as one of the most popular tourist attractions and it is the vision of Fáilte Ireland to meet and exceed the expectations of consumers through the introduction of the Pub Accreditation scheme.
Speaking about the scheme and President Obama’s recent visit to Ireland Jennifer Churchward, Quality and Standards, Fáilte Ireland emphasised what this scheme means for Irish pubs and licensed premises –
“Quality is key when it comes to encouraging visitors to come, and return to Ireland. President Obama himself stressed that the quality and warmth of the welcome he received in Ireland was second to none. These standards strive to ensure that all visitors feel equally welcome when they come to Ireland and experience Ireland and its pubs for themselves”.
“The standards are based around the typical customer journey and will help ensure continued high standards in the pub industry, as well as raise standards across the board. The scheme will increase the consistency and quality of service provided in Irish pubs to visitors, both domestic and international.”
The approval process is easy:
- Register your interest
- Facilitate a scheduled visit by an independent assessor
- Assessors report is evaluated by an independent approvals board
- Approval is granted
- Certificate of approval is awarded
Premises who achieve accreditation gain a number of benefits including a certificate of recognition and approval which they can display onsite as well as promotional listings on both discoverireland.ie and discoverireland.com and access to business supports and marketing supports through Fáilte Ireland.
Failte Ireland is operating the scheme through its established national standards and quality framework. All Irish publicans are encouraged to participate and those interested in applying can register their interest on the dedicated website www.onlinelistingtool.failteireland.ie or email us directly at approvedpubs@failteireland.ie.