Australia: Quest Apartment Hotels has launched a training programme specifically tailored to franchisees.
The Quest Academy will deliver “highly engaging and interactive training, combining classroom learning, e- learning, and hands-on live working environments”. The Academy will be facilitated across three locations – Quest Abbotsford in Melbourne, Quest North Ryde in Sydney and Quest Woolloongabba in Brisbane.
The programme’s first intake will start in September 2016 – franchisees can choose to complete the entire initial training course or attend individual workshops according to their learning needs. Workshops will also be conducted across the country to ensure training is available to the entire Quest network.

Launching the program at the 2016 Quest National Franchise Conference on the Gold Coast, Quest CEO Zed Sanjana said: “Franchisees are the heart and soul of Quest, and the drivers of our continued success. An investment in their future is an investment in the future of the Quest brand. We are constantly raising the bar as we maintain focus on service innovation, consistency and staying true to the Quest ethos. The $10 million rebrand in 2015 strengthened our position among top-tier apartment hotel offerings and we are backing this by leading the industry in Learning and Development.”
“A great deal of time, research and investment went into the development of this new learning framework – an extension of our existing platform. Quest Academy will provide each and every Franchisee with the best available tools, knowledge, training and support to ensure continued growth throughout their entire Quest journey,” he added.
Quest says it has has designed the academy to be relevant to both current and future franchisees, anticipating significant interest from existing Franchisees seeking to further their expertise. 20 new Franchisees will be accepted into the network each year, after going through a rigorous seven step approval process, with six annual intakes at the academy.
The program will be led by Quest national learning and development manager Fiona Drinkwater who is an award-winning past Franchisee herself.
“A thorough, intuitive and holistic learning and development framework with a strong practical element is critical to driving network engagement and network performance. This goes beyond the initial training, as we seek to engage Quest franchisees in an inspiring environment of lifelong learning,” said Sanjana. “Quest Academy will ensure the quality of our guest experience – an experience we have built our reputation on as guests know they can rely on Quest franchisees to deliver a premium but unpretentious experience across the entire network. The academy has four primary goals – firstly to create and transform the culture of Quest to become an industry leader in Learning and Development; to use training to fulfil our purpose as a Franchisor of building and supporting the ongoing growth of successful franchise businesses underpinned by the Quest Business Format Franchise System. Thirdly to future proof the brand by focusing on service innovation, consistency and Brand Standards by raising the performance of the Franchise network. And finally to fulfil the initial and ongoing training needs of each and every franchisee. We’re very excited to welcome our franchisees into the first intake at Quest Academy this September and look forward to seeing the program grow and develop over the coming year.”
questapartments.com.au</p
