10   Corporate Social Responsibility 58 NH HOTELES IS THE FAVOURITE PLACE TO WORK IN THE SECTOR According to a survey carried out in 2005 by Universum among students from the 22 most prestigious Spanish universities, NH Hoteles is the favourite company to work for in the hotel and catering sector. Thanks to the effort made by everyone who forms part of NH Hoteles, it has climbed five places in the ranking of all the most desirable companies to work for, from position 17 in 2004 to number 12 in 2005. The Satisfaction Survey shows that four out of five employees (82.7% of those surveyed) “would recommend working at NH Hoteles”. THE COMPANY IS KEEN TO KNOW THE OPINION OF ALL ITS EMPLOYEES Aware that a high degree of satisfaction among our employees translates as a high quality in the service provided, the company held the 2nd Edition of the bi-annual Satisfaction Survey this year. PARTICIPATION IN THE SURVEY The most notable aspects of the survey this year were: •  The high degree of participation by almost 10,000 employees. •  The greater degree of satisfaction among employees, compared with the results two years ago. •  The points best rated by the employees were the new measures brought in after the survey carried out in 2003 (the creation of an employee card, the employee rate, new international communication tools, etc.), as well as overall satisfaction with the company. On the basis of the results of the 2nd Edition of the Satisfaction Survey, action plans have been drawn up at work centre, country and corporate level, aimed at ongoing improvement and the consolidation of leadership. Corporate Social Responsibility HUMAN RESOURCES
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Spain 6.1% Sotogrande 2.3% Switzerland-Austria-Hungary 39.2% Germany 10.5% Benelux 18.2% United Kingdom 72.8% Mexico 0.5% Mercosur 1.0% 60 Corporate Social Responsibility A DIVERSITY OF NATIONALITIES AND CULTURES: 108 DIFFERENT NATIONALITIES NH Hoteles is now present in 19 countries and has a workforce of over 14,000 employees, but the most striking figure is the number of different nationalities encompassed in the company: 108. Managing this huge diversity of cultures is only possible if guidelines are established to promote integration, foster tolerance, acceptance and the search for ongoing equilibriums.   The number of foreigners in each Business Unit has spiralled. In 1997, the percentage of employees at NH Hoteles of nationalities other than that of the country where they were rendering their services was under 0.01%; today that percentage stands at around 10%. NATIONALITY DISTRIBUTION IN NH HOTELES The policy of respect for diversity, its management and equal opportunities in all NH Hoteles processes are firmly entrenched principles in the company’s culture.   PERCENTAGE OF FOREIGN EMPLOYEES PER BUSINESS UNIT - NH WORLD – 9.7%
61 We are convinced that in this new stage of development we will be capable of continuing to design and organise training projects with the maximum commitment, innovation and quality, as befits NH Hoteles. NH HOTELES CLASS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF GLION IN SWITZERLAND One of the things that goes to show that NH Hoteles is a successful business model in the hotel industry is the fact that, in 2005, the prestigious University of Glion in Switzerland, one of the world’s top universities, has created the “NH Hoteles classroom” for its students to learn how to run a hotel chain. The University of Glion has also appointed Francisco Zinser, Chief Operating Officer at NH Hoteles, as a member of its board. NH UNIVERSITY: MORE HOURS OF TRAINING FOR MORE EMPLOYEES NH University excelled itself again in 2005. During the year, more than 240,000 hours of classes were given, 9% more than in 2004. The objectives followed when designing the training were: • To integrate all employees in a single NH culture. • Back to basics. • To place the focus of attention on the customer. • To try to make training available to all employees. A large number of training projects were put into practice in 2005, in particular the following: • Internal Development Programmes (PDI). • Specific Talent Management Programmes, for staff from Operations, F&B, Sales and Resorts. • Train the Trainer programmes to increase the number of internal trainers in view of the good results they have achieved to date. • 100%-personalised online training courses. • Tailor-made training scheme for a “hotel opening team”. • Periodical launching of new “Principles of Service” programmes to the hotels, to strengthen the chain’s business strategy. Finally, and in line with the continuous search for quality that characterises NH University, training management has been internalised in countries in Northern and Central Europe. 2005 Internal Development Programme
SAFETY, HEALTH AND HYGIENE The Health and Safety Area aims to foster the culture of prevention by putting in place actions laid down by law (risk assessment, training, information…) and providing the different areas, departments, work centres and workers at NH Hoteles with advice on the subject of the Prevention of Labour Risks. The most noteworthy features are the report on bed raisers to minimise and prevent the risk of accidents in the workplace among chambermaids; active participation by the Area in the Product Circle, where consultancy is provided and specific reports are drawn up on health and safety risks for employees; the DVD in six languages on Training in Prevention of Labour Risks, to improve Health and Safety Standards among the local employees and foreign staff working in Spain; the Stop Smoking Programme, 80% subsidised, available for all workers wanting to give up smoking; the “Pre-opening of work centres” reports, etc. In the field of Food Safety and Hygiene, NH Hoteles abides by all the laws in force by putting in place the ADCCP programme (Analysis of Dangers and Critical Control Points) in the field of Food and Beverages which ensures the attention to and prevention of any risk. In addition, monthly audits of large kitchens are conducted, and three-monthly audits of smaller-sized kitchens. During 2005, a Food Handler training programme was run for more than 1,800 people. 62 Corporate Social Responsibility Administrative staff convention at the NH Príncipe de la Paz hotel - Aranjuez - Madrid (Spain)
63 SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY Social responsibility forms part of the culture of NH Hoteles.   For that reason, the company renews its commitment with the most underprivileged sectors every year. This year, the company has taken part in 28 different projects, engaging in social activities to help a very wide variety of spheres of society. Volunteers from the Menudos Corazones Foundation SOCIAL ACTION
The following actions warrant special mention: “STREET CHILDREN” PROJECT IN MEXICO NH Hoteles and the Codespa Foundation have completed their third year working together on the “Street Children” programme in Mexico. The project aims to give young people who lack resources an opportunity, promoting their career development and social reintegration through training in the hotel and catering business. The programme aims to help the youth get jobs and to do so it gives them technical training at secondary-school level in the speciality of tourism in private institutions, which is then rounded off with job experience in NH Hoteles. The “Street Children” programme is a pioneering initiative in the hotel industry and the only project of its kind carried out by a Spanish company in Mexico. The street-children phenomenon is a symptom of the poverty and social disintegration that exists in Mexico. For that reason, since 2003, NH Hoteles has had the collaboration of several Mexican shelter homes, institutions with ample experience and understanding of these children such as El Caracol, Ama la Vida, Casa Alianza and Reintegra. CAROLINA FOUNDATION For the third year running, NH Hoteles is collaborating with the Leader Scholarships awarded by the Carolina Foundation, an institution run by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In 2005, the best 60 new graduates from Latin America, Spain and Portugal (48 from Latin America, 10 from Spain and two from Portugal) were selected. During the 3-week course, the participants took part in a programme of lectures, visits and meetings with key figures from the political, social, cultural and economic arena in Spain. In July 2005, an encounter with NH Hoteles was held at the NH Eurobuilding when Gabriele Burgio, the Executive Chairman of NH Hoteles, and Andrés Pastrana, former President of Colombia and the Director of the Programme, met the 60 Leader Scholarship participants. The Leader Scholarship programme sets out to give budding leaders in Spain and Latin America a deep insight of Spain, encouraging them to take the country into account as an alternative option for pursuing their personal, entrepreneurial and training trajectories, as well as creating links between the participants which may lead to greater rapprochement between the countries in the future. During the programme, which lasted for about a fortnight, the students stayed in NH hoteles while they were in Spain and during their tour of Europe. As from 2006, NH Hoteles is going to participate with the Carolina Foundation in the new European programme. 64 Corporate Social Responsibility “Street children” project - Mexico
65 YOUNG HEARTS Since 2003, NH Hoteles has collaborated with “Menudos Corazones”, providing rooms in hotels in Madrid for children being treated abroad for congential heart diseases and their relatives in need of accommodation while the children were in hospital. In 2005, NH Hoteles provided accommodation for periods of one to two months for approximately 50 families while the children underwent treatment and surgery. VALORA FOUNDATION The Valora Foundation collects products that the hotels are going to replace and distributes them to different shelters, centres for immigrants, NGOs, parishes and foundations. In 2005, NH Hoteles worked in close collaboration with the Foundation, which collected a large range of products such as furniture, bedclothes, crockery and glass, etc… By engaging in these projects, NH Hoteles aims to create a culture of solidarity and social responsibility vis-à-vis its employees, clients and shareholders. OTHER AREAS OF COLLABORATION During 2005, NH Hoteles collaborated with the following institutions: ABRE SUS OJOS ACCIÓN CONTRA EL HAMBRE AKTION UMWELT FÜR KINDER E.V (Germany) ASOCIACIÓN ACOGER Y COMPARTIR ASOCIACIÓN CATALANA PARA EL PARKINSON ASOCIACIÓN VÍCTIMAS DEL TERRORISMO 11M CARITAS ZIELONA GORA (Germany) FEDERACIÓN ESPAÑOLA DEL SÍNDROME DE DOWN FORO ECUMÉNICO SOCIAL FUNDACIÓN ACTIVA FUNDACIÓN HISPANO-NEERLANDESA DE FOMENTO EMPRESARIAL FUNDACIÓN LETICIA CASTILLEJO FUNDACIÓN MADRINA FUNDACIÓN PEQUEÑO DESEO FUNSIDA IGLESIA EVANGÉLICA DE HABLA ALEMANA INTERMÓN OXFAM HERMANAS DE LA MADRE TERESA DE CALCUTA MENSAJEROS DE LA PAZ MUNICH ORPHANAGES (Germany) NUEVO FUTURO SOCIETÁ ITALIANA DI BENEFICENZA (Italy) SOLIDARIOS Our employees can take an active part in social projects as volunteers or by making financial contributions or contributions in kind (donating their Christmas hamper, their children’s toys at Christmas, etc.).    Gabriele Burgio meets students taking part in the Leader Scholarship programme
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67 Likewise, a major effort is being made to identify, from within the workforce at NH Hoteles, actions aimed at helping our own employees or their relatives financially and, in some cases, arranging training courses for employees’ offspring or relatives who are looking for their first job, etc. The Human Resources Area works with foundations, NGOs and organisations that help us identify people to join the company, who then take part in the selection processes with equal opportunities. These are some of the key organisations: - The Randstad Foundation: The aim of the Randstad Foundation is to promote access to the job market by underprivileged groups of people: the disabled and women at risk of social exclusion (shouldering the burden of providing for their family on their own, victims of domestic violence, women aged over-45 who have been unemployed for a long period of time). The main aim of the Randstad Foundation is to help eliminate all kinds of barriers and obstacles to enable those persons to gain access to the job market under the same conditions as anyone else. - The Semilla Association: The Semilla Foundation for the Social Integration of Young People came into being in 1974, and was legally founded in February 1982 under the name “Asociación Juvenil Semilla”. It defines itself as an association of people committed to social transformation, promoting a society without inequalities, focusing its action on the social integration of the most underprivileged children and young people. - The Integra Foundation: Founded in May 2001, the Integra Foundation is a non-profit- making organisation that aims to provide a nexus between companies and institutions that work with marginal groups of people (drug addicts, prostitutes, prison inmates, battered women, youth experiencing difficulties in getting a job). At the same time it collaborates with a wide range of NGOs, such as: Proyecto Hombre, Fundación San Martín de Porres, Horizontes Abiertos, Eslabón, Acope, Dirección General de la Mujer, Meaux Fundación Social, Fundación Diagrama, Acogem, Caritas, and Sociedad San Vicente de Paul, among others. - The Adecco Foundation: The Adecco Foundation for integration in the Workplace, founded in 1999 and classed as a Social Work Charity by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, is a non-profit-making body pledged to helping people who, for various reasons, find it very hard to get a job. The Foundation collaborates with the following groups of people: - The over-45 age group. - Women with family responsibilities. - Persons with disabilities. - Former sportspersons. - Pueblos Unidos A social entity that works with financially underprivileged families from the Ventilla district (Madrid-Spain). - D Parajes de Jarama The aim of this association is to help people who find it particular hard to gain access to or get back into the job market. It is intended for persons at particular risk of exclusion: persons with disabilities, women and immigrants, among others. The association backs the principle of equal opportunities in gaining entry to the job market and promotes the global management of job opportunities in the East of Madrid. - Norte Joven: Norte Joven is a non-profit-making cultural association which, since it was founded in 1985, works to help underprivileged young people or youth at risk of social exclusion. Its aims are to ward off social exclusion by giving young people the professional and cultural training they need to build their future in society, to raise social awareness, to involve society in this problem and to support and encourage volunteer social work as a key element in society today. - The Tomillo Foundation: The aim of the Tomillo Foundation is to make a contribution to society by fostering the spirit of solidarity. For that purpose, it carries out activities in the following fields: - Support for school-age education. - Training and socio-labour insertion for underprivileged groups of people. - The creation of direct employment through insertion entities. - Courses and lectures for developing human potential. - Economic and social research.
68 Corporate Social Responsibility •  Environmental auditing and certification of the hotels in Catalonia (Spain) commenced. •  As part of the improvements made in functioning hotels, special attention was placed on selecting equipment and new systems to help reduce atmosphere-contaminating emissions. By using more efficient equipment, less contaminating fuels and by taking direct energy-saving measures, emissions of CO2 will be reduced by around 400 tonnes a year. •  Specific energy-saving programmes have been put in practice in each of our hotels, such as the integration of intelligent air-conditioning control systems with the “front office” of NH; improvements in lighting efficiency, the rational use of equipment, etc. Despite higher occupancy levels, they have THE ENVIRONMENT Pursuing the policy embarked on years ago to reduce the environmental impact of our hotels, in 2005 the actions continued in an effort to minimise that impact in a number of ways.
69 made it possible to avoid higher consumption levels and have even lowered them. For comparable hotels, in Mexico electricity consumption has dropped by 2.5% despite a rise in occupancy of 3.1%; in Austria consumption has dropped by 4.3% while occupancy has increased 8%; in Germany electricity consumption has dropped 5% and in Spain, by 2%, despite an increase in occupancy of 5.7%. •  In 2005, two plants generating thermal energy with solar panels have started operating in two of our hotels and another two are planned for 2006 in the programme bolstering energy saving and environmental protection measures. •  Our new hotels use materials and systems causing the least possible environmental impact, standardise energy control systems, apply efficient lighting sources, incorporate water-saving elements, use materials free from fluorocarbons, vinyl paper in rooms and optimise the use of materials such as wood, among many other actions. The programmes specifically aimed at energy saving have made it possible, despite higher occupation levels, to prevent consumption from rising and even reduce it.
70 Corporate Social Responsibility NH Hoteles, through the Purchases Department, approves its providers, abiding by ethical, social and environmental criteria and the criteria of objectivity and transparency. During the financial year, a major effort was made to work with providers whose workforces included underprivileged or disabled groups of people.   CUSTOMER RELATIONS SUPPLIER RELATIONS SHAREHOLDERS RELATIONS There is a centralised Customer Service Department and a customer service at each hotel.   Any incident in the NH Customer programmes (NH World and Frequent Travellers Programme) is dealt with on a personal basis. During 2005, meetings were held with 170 investment funds in the form of road-shows, sectorial conferences and meetings at head offices. The aim was to maintain a direct relationship with current and potential investors and so make the company’s strategy more transparent. NH Hoteles shareholders can ask for their shareholder card, which gives them even more advantages than the NH World card, (exclusive booking, special prices, etc.). An Information Office for shareholders has been set up. On the NH Hoteles web site (www.nh-hotels.com), shareholders have a direct and transparent channel of information about NH Hoteles where they can ask questions. The “link” contains full information about Corporate Governance. NH Hoteles, official sponsor of the Madrid Masters Series (Spain)
71 NH Obradoiro - Santiago de Compostela (Spain)
Throughout 2005, NH Hoteles has made a strong bid for in-house training in the area of Food and Beverages, as a means of enhancing corporate spirit among members of staff working in this field. For that purpose, exchanges between our kitchen managers in different countries have been encouraged, they have been invited to take part in international projects, the inauguration of hotels and opening of “nhube” spaces and, thanks to company sponsorship, they attended two of the top gastronomy congresses in Spain: “Madrid Fusión” and “Lo Mejor de la Gastronomía”: two events which, apart from attending them as congress members, enabled them to pass on information to other colleagues, who did not attend, about the latest gastronomic breakthroughs. Added to that, training courses have been held for the Maîtres, work has continued on projects focused on standardising services that convey company image, such as breakfast, room service and the minibar, and the first services handbook was produced. In short, all the energy of the Food and Beverages team has been focused on raising customer satisfaction levels and maintaining their loyalty to our services. At the same time, and not overlooking the local gastronomy component, each country held its own events, such as the start up in The Netherlands and Belgium of the so-called “Culinary year calendar”, or the gastronomy conference held each year at the NH Gran Hotel de Zaragoza (Spain). All with a view to showing the importance that NH Hoteles continues to place on gastronomy. GASTRONOMY AWARDS In recognition of the work done by NH Hoteles in the field of gastronomy, mention should be made of the wide array of prizes awarded to our chefs and advisors in 2005: - “Chef L´Avenir (Chef of the future) prize awarded by the International Academy of Gastronomy to Paco Roncero, Executive Chef at El Casino de Madrid (Spain). - “Best Somillier of the year” prize, awarded by the International Academy of Gastronomy to María José Huertas, Somillier at El Casino de Madrid (Spain). - “Prize for innovation” awarded by Servihostel at the 8th edition of the “La Cazuela” prizes to Paco Roncero, Executive Chef at El Casino de Madrid (Spain). - “Best Entrepreneur of Navarre Prize” awarded by the magazine Actualidad Económica and the financial daily Expansión to Enrique Martínez, the chain’s gastronomy consultant. -“Tourism Merit Award” won by Enrique Martínez for the restaurant, La Ontina, that he runs in the NH Gran Hotel - Zaragoza (Spain). - “Sánchez Cotán Prize 2005” to the best restaurant menu design awarded to La Terraza of El Casino de Madrid by the Spanish Academy of Gastronomy. 72 Corporate Social Responsibility FOOD AND BEVERAGES
73 Restaurant at the NH Palacio del Duero hotel - Zamora (Spain)
10th EDITION OF THE NH MARIO VARGAS LLOSA SHORT-STORY AWARDS The award ceremony for the 10th Edition of the NH Mario Vargas Llosa Short-Story Awards will be held at the Casino de Madrid again in 2006. NH Hoteles is once again honoured by the collaboration of the prestigious writer, Mario Vargas Llosa, in the pledge to culture. This competition is the most important award in the Spanish- language short-story category. As a result, participation in each competition is high and almost 4,000 short stories are entered for each of them. The support of the prestigious author Mario Vargas Llosa is due not only to the prestige that the prize has won among both newcomers and the most veteran writers, but also the writer’s commitment to encouraging and supporting young people who engage in literary creation.   The NH Mario Vargas Llosa Short-Story Awards, with a prize money of 60,000 euros, aims to foster reading and literary creation, to prove support for contemporary writers and contribute to the promotion of cultural leisure offerings. The prize-winning stories are published in English, Spanish and German and distributed in all the rooms of the chain’s hotels, as a free service for customers. Since 1996, NH Hoteles has had some three million books printed and distributed in Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Belgium, Argentina, Portugal, Chile, Cuba, Uruguay and Mexico. More than 10,000 writers from all over Spain and from 28 other countries on different continents have taken part in previous competitions. 74 Corporate Social Responsibility SPREADING CULTURE 9th Edition of the NH Mario Vargas Llosa Short-Story Awards
NH STOCK ART NH Hoteles continues to support contemporary art. All the new hotel openings that took place in 2005 reflect that sensitivity, adding new generations of artists to its art collection. Specifically, the establishments in The Hague, Nuremberg, Dusseldorf, Leeuwenhorst, Timisoara, Santiago de Compostela, León, Seville, Valladolid, Mexico City, Alicante, Sotogrande, Lisbon... All of them have works by local and international artists, who contribute to the image of modernity and commitment to culture that defines NH to the interior decoration of the public areas of the hotels. This pioneering initiative in the hotel industry, which showcased the trends of the 1980s and ’90s in Spain, is gathering pace, enlarging the number of artists at international level and presenting latest- generation artistic support media: from photography to sculpture, and including digital image processing. After presenting its travelling collection, “NH Stock Art”, from 2000 to 2004 in Spain, Netherlands and Germany, which included 50 works by 50 artists, the Company is preparing a new travelling show which will reflect the company’s new acquisitions in the field of international painting. In a pioneering initiative in the hotel industry, in 1998 NH Hoteles created “NH Stock Art”, a travelling collection made up of 50 original pieces selected from among the works that make up the chain’s collection. “NH Stock Art” supports the art of young painters, reflecting the creative trends of the 1980s and ’90s. During 2003, the collection was presented in The Netherlands for the first time and from then on it began its internationalisation, with exhibitions in Amsterdam, Maastricht and Rotterdam. In 2004, “NH Stock Art” was presented in Germany, visiting the cities of Berlin, Frankfurt and Hamburg. The collection currently has 3,500 original works by 170 artists from Europe and America. Artists included in the collection in 2005: BADO, Claudio (Montevideo, 1960) BASSOLÉ, Dominique (Mali, 1965) CASAÑÉ, Albert (Barcelona, 1961) FONTANET, Rosanna (Terrassa, 1954) GONZALEZ-ADALID, Luis (Cartagena,1958) JIMENEZ, Elena (Alicante, 1965) MACZACSSEK, Waltraud (Frankfurt am Main) OUATTARA, Hamed (Burkina Faso, 1971) RAIGORODSKY, Santiago (Buenos Aires, 1944) SANTOS, Jesús (Segovia, 1961) 75