More than 800 participants have united in the Opéra Room of the InterContinental Paris Le Grand for the 14th Worldwide Hospitality Awards Ceremony, this year presided over by Stephen P. Joyce, President & CEO of Choice Hotels, and Puneet Chhatwal, CEO of Steigenberger Group.
For the 14th consecutive year, MKG Group has put under the spotlights the initiatives undertaken by groups, brands, and independents to develop the international hotel industry, by organizing the now-essential Worldwide Hospitality Awards. From more than a hundred projects in 14 categories, only 38 finalists and honorees remained after an online vote at Hospitality ON and the deliberation of two expert juries, of hoteliers and non-hoteliers. The ceremony's participants also contributed to the choice of winners in four categories (Best Communication Operation, Best Marketing Campaign, Best Innovation in the Room and Best Innovation in the Public Spaces), via a live electronic vote. This year, innovation and excellence were favored and international groups as well as more modest enterprises were highlighted.
Deliberation among the juries, monitored by a bailiff, has awarded the following trophies:
Furthermore, the Hospitality-On publication has awarded three trophies for Best General Manager:
The ceremony took on a more personal note when Stewart Bainum, Founder of Choice Hotels International, received the trophy for Lifetime Achievement, Professional Recognition. Puneet Chhatwal, CEO of Steigenberger Group awarded it to his representative and daughter, Barbara Bainum.
B&B Hotels was awarded the 2013 Grand Prix. Georges Sampeur, Chairman at B&B Hotels, received the trophy from Georges Panayotis, President of MKG Group, and Sylvia Pinel, Minister of Craftsmanship, Commerce & Tourism.
During the ceremony, the professionals were also keen to dedicate a good part to future generations by giving them a series of trophies through the 4th edition of Hospitality Schools Awards:
Deliberation among the juries, monitored by a bailiff, has awarded the following trophies:
- Ibis Hotels for the Best Communication Campaign
- Le St Sulpice Hotel for the Best Marketing Campaign
- Sofitel So Bangkok for the Best Innovation in the Room
- Costa Navarino Starwood Hotels Greece for the Best Innovation in Public Spaces
- InterContinental Hotels Group for the Best Social Responsibility Initiative
- Mövenpick Hotels & Resorts for the Best Human Resources Initiative
Furthermore, the Hospitality-On publication has awarded three trophies for Best General Manager:
- Miroslav Forejtek, General Manager of the Park Inn by Radisson Prague, in the economy and midscale category
- Steffi Wisotzky, General Manager of the InterCityHotel Berlin Hauptbahnhof, in the upscale category
- Sebastien Mariette, General Manager of the Kempinski Hotel Wuxi & Kempinski Hotel Yixing, in the luxury category
The ceremony took on a more personal note when Stewart Bainum, Founder of Choice Hotels International, received the trophy for Lifetime Achievement, Professional Recognition. Puneet Chhatwal, CEO of Steigenberger Group awarded it to his representative and daughter, Barbara Bainum.
B&B Hotels was awarded the 2013 Grand Prix. Georges Sampeur, Chairman at B&B Hotels, received the trophy from Georges Panayotis, President of MKG Group, and Sylvia Pinel, Minister of Craftsmanship, Commerce & Tourism.
During the ceremony, the professionals were also keen to dedicate a good part to future generations by giving them a series of trophies through the 4th edition of Hospitality Schools Awards:
- Daniels College of Business - University of Denver, for the Best Educational Innovation
- L'Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne, for the Best Hotel Management School ·
- Frédéric Schaub, E-commerce manager at Marriott France - Glion, for the Best Professional Success
