Travel & Hospitality Awards | Africa 2020 | www.thawards.com

FACILITIES
MARKETING
DIVERSITY
CUSTOMER REVIEWS
INDUSTRY KNOWLEDGE
LOCATION
Award-winning guest rooms come in all
shapes and sizes, but they all have one thing
in common – a home-away-from-home feel.
The comfort of the facilities on offer are of vital
importance; we look for luxurious linens, stylish
bathrooms and a coordinated colour scheme
that work together to create a cohesive sense
of relaxation. Additional touches, such as
complimentary toiletries, free wi-fi or tea and
coffee making facilities are always a bonus
in making us feel welcome. We’re always
impressed to find hotel rooms that embrace
technology and offer amenities like tablets
or smart thermostat systems, but this does
not always necessarily trump the traditional –
four poster beds, ornate fireplaces or antique
furniture can add a touch of decadence to a
hotel stay.
In today’s modern age, a hotel or tour operator
cannot rely on word of mouth to get their
message out into the world. As social media
has become a vital part of everyday life, we
like to see companies that go the extra mile
to engage with their guests, both past and
future. Attractive and informative websites and
engaging and honest content are what we look
for when judging a company’s use of marketing;
how well they display their services, how up-todate
their content is, how well they get their
brand message across, and, most importantly,
how well their marketing can tempt us to go
and see what they have to offer for ourselves.
Diversity is one important aspect that needs to
be taken into consideration when in the travel
and hospitality industry. It is essential to have
staff that has varying diversity to ensure that
the organization can properly connect with their
guests. Diversity is taken into account in terms
of gender, nationality as well as languages
spoken among other factors. Not only do we
take the diversity of the staff into account but
even that of the facilities and services offered;
a hotel or tour operator providing a better range
of services is preferred over those that do not.
What better way is there to know about an
organization than by getting first hand reviews?
Customers are the best judges of any service
as they are the ones who experience them and
can assess whether they were up to the mark
or not. Considering reviews from hundreds
of customers gives us a fair idea about the
general pros and cons of any organization
and also gives us valuable inputs for the other
criteria as well.
It is of prime importance that an organization
has thorough industry knowledge. Without
knowing the nit-bits of the industry, it is difficult
to flourish and provide services which are a
class apart. Before any organization ventures
into the industry, it is essential that they know
how the industry is moving and how they
should make changes to their methodologies
in order to remain relevant and also be a topperforming
organization.
Location is one of the most important factors,
but also one of the most subjective, as the ‘ideal’
is very much determined by the type of visitor
and the type of hotel itself. However, there are
a few factors we take into consideration when
determining the winners of location-based
awards. The first is convenience; that is, hotels
that are easy to travel to. Many of our winners
in this category are in convenient locations,
such as adjacent to airports, close to beaches or
found in the heart of easy-to-navigate cities. We
are always impressed when hotels go the extra
mile to take the hassle out of traveling and offer
such additional services as airport shuttles or
car hire services. However, we’re always excited
to come across a hotel that is, to use a familiar
phrase, off-the-beaten-track. A hotel that can
offer something a little different, in terms of
natural surroundings, can make the difference
between a good holiday and an incredible one.