The first Southampton & Region Hoteliers Association 2018 Hospitality Awards (sponsored by Cab My Ride) took place on Friday 8th February 2019 at Doubletree by Hilton Southampton Hotel and what a success they were!

Attended by over 120 hotel managers, staff, hospitality ambassadors and tourism companies, the event raised over £1500 for FareShare (FareShare is the UK’s largest charity fighting hunger and food waste. It saves good food from going to waste and redistributes it to frontline charities).

Our 10 winners and the reasons why the judges felt they deserved special recognition are as follows:

• Mentor of The Year (sponsored by The Marketing Collective) – Claus Christensen from Hilton at The Ageas Bowl Hotel. Claus plays an integral part in the career and personal development of his staff. Claus shares his experience and knowledge to help his team find the right path and move forward with their own careers. He has an ‘open door policy’ which makes him easily approachable, offering a safe space for staff to voice any concerns. He is trusted by the team, shares in their challenges, and is a positive role model.
• Rising Star of The Year (sponsored by Fire Hospitality) – Abigail Russell from Leonardo Royal Hotel Southampton Grand Harbour. Abigail has shown exceptional promise and made a significant impact to the growth in sales team at Leonardo Royal Hotel Southampton Grand Harbour. She has stood out from the crowd during the last 12 months and has made a real difference and impact to the department through customer and fellow colleagues’ feedback.
• Business in the Community Award (sponsored by Town or Country Serviced Apartments) – Doubletree by Hilton Southampton Hotel. The hotel engages with a wide audience from all different parts of the community, focusing on important topics such as individual empowerment, enterprise and community benefit. They also offer training to the younger generation, delivering unique skills and therefore broadening opportunities. Doubletree by Hilton Southampton Hotel has raised considerable amounts of money for charities through various team building and fundraising events. They also engage with the local colleges to promote the Hotel industry.
• Sales and Revenue Person of the Year Award (sponsored by ibookedonline) – Amy Ayers from Holiday Inn Winchester. Amy is a valued member of the team and she has shown a real aptitude for sales and has been able to achieve consistently high results for the hotel year on year. Amy has proven that she is a team player and has adopted a structured yet fun approach to leadership, building a strong dedicated sales team and leading by example.
• Front of House Award – Viv Stockwell from Best Western Chilworth Manor Hotel. Viv is an inspiring team member, with 18 years experience at the hotel. Viv’s best part of her job is the people, both the customers and colleagues. She started as a trainee and is now Front of House Manager, going to extra lengths on a regular basis to ensure all hotel guests have a great experience. 
• Heart of House Award – Angela Stutchbury from Leonardo Royal Hotel Southampton Grand Harbour. Angela puts every guest and staff member before herself and nothing is too much for her to do. She is always on hand and puts 110% effort into everything she does.
• Young Chef of The Year Award (sponsored by City College Southampton) Steven Cross from Best Western Chilworth Manor Hotel. Steven stood out as someone with a strong passion for the hospitality industry. Being supportive of his colleagues and helping to train new members of staff, Steven has a fantastic understanding and approach to teamwork. His enthusiasm and dedication to develop his own skills and to progress his career also shines through. With a strong, positive attitude to behaviour in the workplace, Steven has all the right ingredients for a long and successful career in hospitality.
• Top Team of The Year Award (sponsored by West Quay Cars) – The Concierge Team from Leonardo Royal Hotel Southampton Grand Harbour. The concierge team never fail to deliver the most impressive customer service, the belief they have in their ability to improve the guest experience day after day is inspiring! There is positive leadership and clear communication within the team and the other departments with whom they work. By pooling their individual skills they have become a considerable force and are exceptional asset to their organisation.
• Lifetime Achievement Award (sponsored by ElemenTel) – Denise Blastock from Best Western Chilworth Manor Hotel. Denise has dedicated a big part of her life to delivering impeccable customer service to the breakfasting public and is very humble about the dedication they deliver daily.
• The Mayor’s Award (sponsored by The Southampton & Region Hoteliers Association) – Lorna Chatterley from DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Southampton. The Mayors award aims to recognise true commitment by those finalists from tonight’s awards who did not get the winning spot! So a second chance golden ticket.

Nathan Chart, Chair of the Hoteliers Association and General Manager at Best Western Chilworth Manor Hotel said: “The first ever Southampton Hospitality Awards have been a great success and we’ve had a wonderful night of celebration. The hospitality industry is key to our region and I’m thrilled with how positively these awards have been received, it’s been wonderful celebrating the success of so many great individuals and teams from across our industry and I am already looking forward to next year’s awards which promise to be even bigger.”

Richard Groome, Vice Chair of the Hoteliers Association, founder of the Hoteliers Awards and General Manager at Doubletree by Hilton Southampton Hotel: “What an amazing night to showcase the enormous amount of top talent the hospitality industry has in and around Southampton. It was a wonderful way to recognise so many great achievements with so many passionate and worthy individuals to all the teams that work in the hotel industry in and around the city. It has made everyone feel so very proud for all those who have been specially nominated in 2018 and of course a massive well done to all those worthy finalists & 2018 winners. These awards have re-confirmed that Southampton and the surrounding areas are a great place to visit both for work and leisure, knowing that all our teams will give our guests a very warm welcome to the city and a memorable experience during their stays. A special thank you to all those sponsors who supported the event and especially to our main sponsor CabMyRide. Thank you to everyone who supported this year’s event which has raised so much money for our charity partner FareShare who will use the donation to help support their food bank service to underprivileged families, communities and schools in Southampton and the local communities. Such a fabulous showcase of what hospitality truly is all about and a great way to set the stage for our awards in 2019!”

Jo Andrews, MD of The Marketing Collective who helped to organise the awards said: “It’s been an honour to organise this event, which recognises such great achievements of those within the hotel industry. We work closely with the Southampton Hoteliers Association and were delighted they chose to work with us for the first year of the awards. Marketing Collective team member Louise Collins has worked tirelessly to ensure the smooth running of the event and the team have all helped to deliver an outstanding results. As a destination marketing company we love to see recognition and celebrations within the tourism industry.”