Over 120 ME hospitality leaders get top recognition

DUBAI,
Hozpitality Group honoured more than 120 top industry leaders during its fifth Middle East Hospitality Excellence Awards, held at Dukes the Palm, a Royal Hideaway hotel in Dubai.

The full house event was attended by over 430 top hospitality leaders from the Middle East. The glamorous evening included a reception, a great meal and excellent entertainment, in addition to the actual awards ceremony.

Chris Newman, chief operating officer, Emaar Hospitality Group won the Hotelier of the Year Award while Riad Abi Haider, general manager, Address Boulevard and Address Dubai Mall walked away with ‘General Manager of the Year’ title.

Among the other prominent winners were:-

• Entrepreneur of the Year:- Suneel Bhambhani, managing director, Fusion Food & Entertainment Dubai

• Executive Chef of the Year:- Yoann Grillet, director of food & beverage and Culinary, FIVE Palm Jumeirah

• CSR Champion of the Year:- Eddie Ignatius, corporate director of Quality & Business Excellence, TIME Hotels

• Hotel of the Year (5 Star):- FIVE Palm Jumeirah Dubai

• Hotel of the Year (Best Weekend Getaway):- Hatta Damani Lodges Resort

• Best New Luxury Hotel of the Year:- Caesars Palace Bluewaters Dubai

• Best Hospitality Employer of the Year:- Emaar Hospitality Group

• Inspirational GM of the Year:- Iftikhar Hamdani, Cluster general manager, Ramada Hotels Ajman

• Dynamic HR Leader:- Nawaz Mahmood, senior director HR, Caesars Bluewaters Dubai

• Hotel Team of the year:- Ghaya Grand Hotel, Dubai

The list of all the award winners can be seen at http://www.hozpitalityexcellenceawards.com/award-winners/winners-2019

“We received an amazing response to online voting for the fifth Middle East Hospitality Excellence Awards 2019 with over 175,000 votes for various categories. The awards were presented to recognise top industry organisations which have shown skill, creativity, ingenuity and success in the Middle East & North Africa’s growing hospitality industry,” said Bhatt.

Hozpitality Group also announced the 3rd edition of exclusive awards for Chefs in MEA ‘Chef Excellence Awards’ on June 2, 2020, to be held at Marriott Hotel Al Jaddaf in Dubai. “We are again partnering with Emirates Culinary Guild and ICCA and are looking for a great event together,” said Bhatt.

“Our mission is to bring the hospitality industry closer. The new Hozpitality platform offers a place to connect with people interested in the sector. This empowers people to learn from each other and to better understand the world and the industry,” added Bhatt.