Hospitality is made by people guests never forget.
The chef who remembers how you like it. The host who finds a table on a full night. The housekeeper, the barista, the publican, the events team working while everyone else celebrates.
The Hospitality Excellence Awards exist to recognise them: the people and venues that make hospitality feel personal, in an industry that asks more of its people than almost any other.
Early starts.
Late finishes.
Finally, recognised.
Hospitality looks after everyone. Who looks after hospitality?
A kitchen that kept cooking for the community when the dining room had to close.
A family hotel that guests have returned to for three generations.
A pub that became the village's living room.
A young chef who went from washing up to running the pass.
An events team that made someone's once-in-a-lifetime night perfect.
Hospitality spends every day making other people's moments special.
This is its moment.
“We noticed.”
“Thank you.”
Front of house, back of house, and everyone between.
Restaurants, hotels, pubs, bars, cafés, venues and caterers, and the people who work in them.
The Chef
Whose food brings people back.
The Host
Who makes every guest feel expected.
The Hotelier
Running a home away from home.
The Publican
Keeping the local alive.
The Rising Star
Just starting out, already outstanding.
The Team
Who hold it all together on the busiest night.
Which one sounds like you, or someone you work with?
The heart of great hospitality.
Warmth
The welcome that makes a guest feel at home.
Craft
The skill in the kitchen, behind the bar and at the table.
Consistency
Getting it right on the quiet Tuesday and the packed Saturday.
Resilience
Surviving the hardest years the industry has known.
People
Training and keeping great staff in a tough industry.
Community
Venues that are the heart of their neighbourhood.
Recognition can fill more than one day.
Bookings
Independent recognition can give guests one more reason to choose you.
Team morale
A rare moment of thanks for people who give everything.
Recruitment
It can help attract staff who want to work somewhere excellent.
Visibility
Something to share with guests, suppliers and local press.
Connections
An evening among the people who make hospitality work.
Legacy
A milestone for a venue with a long story.
Excellence is not measured in stars or covers.
Some of the best hospitality in the country happens in small cafés and village pubs.
Perhaps you have twelve tables, not two hundred.
Perhaps your guests are regulars you know by name.
Perhaps you kept your team together through closures.
Perhaps you trained someone who is now a head chef.
Perhaps your reviews say what you would never say about yourself.
Perhaps it is time to be recognised.
The question isn't:
“Are we fancy enough for an award?”
A better question might be:
“Do our guests leave happier than they arrived?”
Recognition only matters when it is earned.
The value of an award depends on the integrity behind it, so the way entries are judged should be clear before anyone enters.
Free to enter
Nominating and entering cost nothing. No category depends on buying a ticket, a table or a package.
Independent judging
Entries are scored by an independent panel, not by the organisers, working under a confidentiality agreement.
Read moreClear criteria
Every category publishes what the judges look for, so you can read it before you enter.
Read moreConflicts managed
Judges declare any conflict of interest and stand aside from the entries it touches.
Read moreSponsors support the awards. They never decide the results.
The person who made your day will never nominate themselves.
They may say:
“It's just my job.”
“The kitchen deserves the credit.”
“We were busy, that is all.”
And sometimes that is exactly why somebody else needs to say:
“You made the day.”
“Guests noticed.”
“You deserve to be recognised.”
If a chef, host, venue or team came to mind, their nomination could start with you.
From a name to the night itself.
Discover
Find the award category that fits the achievement best.
Nominate
Nominate your own venue or team, or someone who made your visit special.
Tell the story
Share what was achieved, and the difference it made.
Judging
Eligible entries are judged against the published criteria.
Recognition
Finalists and winners are celebrated at the awards.
Hospitality makes the moments. Let this be one of theirs.
Maybe it is the chef you rave about.
Maybe it is the pub at the heart of the village.
Maybe it is the team that never stops.
Or maybe it is you.
You spend every day looking after others.
Let someone recognise you.