The Hotelier Awards China 2015 is now accepting applications from hotels across mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau to celebrate their finest employees. The Awards, that took place for the first time in 2014 with over 300 applications from some 100 properties and 44 brands, are going from strength-to-strength with double the amount of applications expected in 2015.
The Awards are unique in the fact that they are independently run, judged by an esteemed panel of global players from the industry and celebrate the individuals that make the booming Chinese hotel industry tick rather than just the hotel properties. It is an opportunity to celebrate the outstanding achievements of individuals who are the best in their field and often fly under the radar and may shy away from the limelight.
Award categories cover the entire industry from Chef, Sales and Hotel Manager of the Year to IT, CSR and Spa Manager of the year. This year’s awards will see 19 separate categories in total with three categories added including Corporate Hotelier of the Year, Owner Representative of the Year and Engineering Hotelier of the Year.
“The Hotelier Awards China is a celebration of brilliance – the pinnacle of appreciation of the people bringing life to a hotel,” says Stephane DeMontgros, Co-Founder of The Hotelier Awards China. “A hotel’s brilliance is not just attributed to a luxury interior; peel back the lavish fixtures and fittings and a group of people stand before you. It is these individuals who breathe life into a hotel.”
“We launched the awards as China is experiencing explosive growth in the hospitality industry and this is set to continue unabated in the next few years. With the wide variety of luxury and boutique hotels, among some of the world’s finest, the Awards offer a fantastic opportunity to give something back to the people who are really making the industry boom.”
Hotels nominate their finest staff and the nominations are then put to the global judging panel of five experts from the travel and hospitality industry. This year’s panel includes Yona He from Forbes Travel Guide, Alison Gilmore who heads the International Luxury Travel Market (ILTM) worldwide portfolio, the CEO and Board member of Edipresse Media Asia – Zita Ong, Sacha Stocklin from the hospitality college Les Roches Jinjiang, Shanghai, and Jingsheng Xu – the General Secretary of National Hotel Association, China.
A shortlist of six candidates in each category will then be created by the end of September followed by phone interviews with all shortlisted nominees to help support the judges’ final decisions ahead of the big announcement in December. The final awards are announced among the glitz and the glamor of The Hotelier Awards China 2015 black tie dinner on December 10 with more than 300 of the Top Hoteliers from across the region in attendance.
2014 winners include Brian Tan from Fairmont Yangcheng Lake as Hotel Manager of the Year, Apple Wang from The Portman Ritz-Carlton, Shanghai as Concierge of the Year, Ada leng Chio de la Cruz from Mandarin Oriental, Macau as Marketing & Communications Hotelier of the Year and Bahram Sepahi from Four Seasons Guangzhou as General Manager of the year.
“I am honored to be given this award,” says Ada leng Chio de la Cruz from Mandarin Oriental, Macau. “It is great recognition to the past decade of commitment to my job… The process that I have gone through in the Hotelier Awards China application has made me even more proud as it is a very fair and detailed judgement from top professionals and influencers in tourism and hospitality industry.”
“Receiving the title of ‘The General Manager of 2014’ at The Hotelier Awards China was a distinct honor. I feel tremendous pride to be given such an award and recognition,” says Bahram Sepahi from Four Seasons Guangzhou. “I would advise all hoteliers to be involved and consider their application… I believe it is truly the right thing to do and I encourage everyone to participate in The Hotelier Awards China program.”
The application procedure is now open until August 21 2015 for all hotels across Mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau through www.hotelierawards.com/awards-2015/applications/.
