Best Website

Sponsored by Clockwork Marketing

Overall Comments:

This category saw a high number of entries, both from individual hotels and also groups. Many of the entrants ensured that their new websites and web developments met the demands of today’s hotel marketplace – including Generative Engine Optimisation for AI, accessibility and sustainability, local community partnerships and a higher focus on storytelling and the marketing and packaging of experiences.  Whilst some had expanded the content on their website, others had reduced the number of pages on their website considerably to meet the perceived needs of the customer and their user experience. 

The Belfry Hotel & Resort

The Belfry demanded a digital presence that would match the scale of the resort’s ambition, and integral to that was a new website which would play a core part of repositioning The Belfry for its future.  Meeting the needs of a very large and diverse audience, the new website involved a total re-imagining of the customer journey, using high-definition video, immersive photography and a streamlined user experience.  The judges congratulated the resort on its experience-led approach, its visible calls to action, impressive seasonal product coverage, strong storytelling, and – more than anything – going a long way to satisfy multi-target audiences.  Commercial results also showed strong growth, including rises in online revenue and online gift voucher sales, and a healthy growth in repeat users. 

The Newman

The website for The Newman was designed not simply to promote a new hotel, but to position Fitzrovia itself as a destination and cultural neighbourhood worth discovering. To accomplish this, the team created a digital storytelling platform that celebrates the people, businesses, architecture, and characters of Fitzrovia and truly reflected the hotel’s ethos of community, creativity, and local connection. The website launched a year before the hotel opened, and members of the local community were photographed and interviewed on the streets of Fitzrovia, sharing their personal perspectives on the neighbourhood and what makes it unique.  These portraits were then transformed into custom illustrations for the website, created in the same style as the Fitzrovia-inspired artwork featured in the hotel’s bedrooms.  The website has enjoyed commercial success, leading to high levels of direct bookings, e-mail subscribers, and hitting or surpassing other kpi’s, and the judges felt that the hotel’s community-first approach, together with this commercial success, demonstrated best practice for a new hotel opening in the highly competitive London marketplace. 

The Savoy

The Savoy is one of the most iconic hotels in Britain, with a history dating back to 1889, and when it was decided that the hotel would undergo a refurbishment, the decision was taken to embrace a new brand positioning focusing on its storied past, its glamorous present and its innovative future. The aim of the new website was to underpin these pillars of the hotel, across a digital journey. Delicately balancing functional User Experience with brand storytelling, The Savoy website had to perform a complex balancing act, serving diverse micro-audiences whose needs range from rapid conversion to high level storytelling. The development of the website included deep-dive “immersion workshops”, SEO-led journey mapping, the employment of an expert AI GEO copywriter, and rigorous User Acceptance Testing.  The judges felt that the end result is a website which offers the user exceptional storytelling, well curated and positioned content and really creative animations – and all superbly aligned with the iconic brand, personality and standards the The Savoy has demonstrated for over a century. 

 

Best Partnership Marketing

Sponsored by HBD Partners

Overall Comments:

The judges enjoyed the variety of entries, particularly long-established properties who are still embracing innovative partnerships as part of their Marketing strategy.  There was great creativity coupled with comprehensive executions. Also, entries reflected the importance of involving the whole hotel team in any partnership activity, to ensure they are totally on board. Some used tried and tested formulas, while others initiated first-time-ever partnerships. While the judges were disappointed with the lack of KPI’s and minimal ROI of some entries, they commented that in this ever-AI-generated world it was great to see successful partnerships based on human relationships and interactions. 

The Grove, Hawksmoor in the Woods

This is textbook partnership marketing, but which embraced a totally unique partnership and experience, which the judges felt was particularly special as an F&B promotion. They 100% considered their target demographic and then used an innovative approach to secure the partnership. They used this F&B promotion as an opportunity to also upsell bedrooms and significantly exceeded their target revenue. The promotion was in no small part successful because of collaboration across the entire hotel team. 

The Newman, Gambit Bar & Gibson Garage

This entry was, in the judges’ view, light on commercial detail and substance and didn’t fully explore the mutual benefits. However, it was a well thought out promotion which made a lot of sense, and a creative and innovative use of a local business partnership. They loved the collaboration between hospitality and music and considered it a clever way to get recognition for a new hotel in its local market. There was good synergy between the brands and a great message for both parties to shout about. It is also admirable that both businesses care about nurturing talent. The promotion increased bar traffic to the Newman, which would have helped to ‘put it on the map’ and no doubt also increased brand awareness of Gibson guitars and their first-ever flagship store outside of the USA. 

Waldorf Hilton London, Elf Afternoon Tea

Although the judges felt that this approach of a Christmas Afternoon Tea has been done many times before the outstanding revenue performance contributed to its place on the shortlist. The hotel created an immersive, fun experience, while maintaining the sophistication expected of such an iconic brand as the Waldorf.  The theming coincided with the launch of Elf the musical in London and serving times were adjusted to accommodate theatre goers, facilitating a seamless experience for guests. This was a fun partnership which generated strong revenue. It was well executed across a broad number of channels.  

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Social Media Campaign of the Year

Sponsored by GuestRevu

Overall Comments:

The judges enjoyed a broad variety of campaigns which really reflect the great work and variety in the sector. There were strong creative concepts that play well into the social channels & genuinely captured interest. The judges were slightly critical of too many vanity metrics and suggest that hotels establish meaningful metrics incorporating evidence-based results that go beyond likes and followers. 

Barons Eden, The Perfect Blackout

This campaign showed a clear return on spend. Its theme was a very clever and creative play on Black Friday. The judges complimented the juxtaposition of chaos and calm, during the chaotic, competitive Black Friday period online. The hotel used calm as a breakpoint in the chaos. Using calm as a differentiator was considered brave, disruptive and unique. 

Bespoke Hotels, Gotham Newcastle Launch Campaign

This campaign showed imagination and a level of boldness to create a story that defined intrigue. It created a feeling without being literal, with one judge saying “I’m now curious and want to go and stay there because of the feeling they have created, rather than showing me a bedroom as new hotels typically do”. They showcased more than just a hotel opening. The judges also liked their use of the physical renovation to generate some stunning social content. 

Imperial London Hotels, Don't Just Bookmark It. Book It.

This is the kind of content people go on social media to consume. It demonstrated authenticity through a nice creative execution. It also created a genuine ‘Sense of Place’ and did an excellent job of making you want to explore that corner of London. 

 

Innovative Use of AI in Marketing

Sponsored by Screenpilot

Overall Comments:

Although it was disappointing to see so few entries in this new category, this very much reflects that it is the early days of AI and that Marketers are still trying to figure out how best to use and embrace it. The judges hope that this award shows that it is possible to leverage AI as a Marketer, for any property and for far more than to write copy or process data. AI has the capacity to be something of a leveller, because it is a resource for all hotels as well as having the capability to redress the balance re direct bookings.  The judges hope that this category and the shortlist will pique interest and help Marketers appreciate that they can learn and experiment with AI themselves, and that it can be an incredible resource for a small marketing team. 

It is also encouraging that both hotels shortlisted operate in the luxury up-scale sector i.e. the one probably most cynical about AI, because of their concern that technology could damage the high levels of personal service on which their brands are built. 

Corinthia Hotels

Corinthia solved a fundamental problem i.e. the production of great content at scale, across continents, cleverly coupled with the ability to swap the content, based on the different personas they identified, & even using unique tones of voice. They built their own agents: 7 different ones in fact! 

Very innovative and ahead of the curve!  They went so far beyond just using a language model to write copy. 

Red Carnation Hotels

Red Carnation demonstrated great experimentation of various AI tools, beyond the basics, and used them to augment the creative process, rather than replace it. They used it to analyse trends and identify emerging themes and managed to maintain authenticity in story-telling. AI tools were used across the entire Marketing Mix. They were very conscious of staying true to their brand, the spirit of hospitality and the importance of the human touch. 

The judges described it as ‘AI with Heart’. 

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HMA Creative Excellence Award

Sponsored by Net Affinity

Overall Comments:

This category saw a high entry with a wide selection of creative marketing campaigns executed, including hotel rebrands, long-term brand building campaigns, creative event marketing and shorter-term tactical marketing activations. Whilst some of the entries demonstrated exceedingly high levels of creativity and innovation, and others brought a new twist to dealing with specific market challenges, a few were weak on stand-out creativity, and many fell short on measurable objectives and strong, attributable return on investment.  Overall, though, marketing is of course an art as well as a science, and It’s nice to see that creativity is alive and well in our hotel groups and leading independent hotels. 

Horwood House Hotel, The Butterfly Resort

Working with PR agency Pic, the marketing team at Horwood wanted to significantly increase brand awareness across the UK by highlighting the 38-acre estate and their deep-rooted commitment to environmental and wider ESG principles.  In a creative marketing campaign, they cleverly aligned the hotel’s ethos with a timely national conservation initiative launched by the Butterfly Conservation charity.   

Having built 20 new structures on the estate, the original concept of a “Butterfly Hotel” quickly became “The Butterfly Resort”, and, for a very small budget, the team achieved national publicity, including television coverage, whilst cementing their environmental credentials within national and local market segments, including the corporate market.  The judges felt that the campaign was beautifully executed, and would have longevity in all key market segments, including strong community engagement. 

Small Luxury Hotels of the World, Hotels as Characterful as You

With a global portfolio of over 600 luxury and boutique hotels, Small Luxury already has wide awareness amongst international travellers and travel planners.  Their marketing campaign - “Hotels as characterful as you” – was created to invite travellers to discover SLH and their hotels’ characterful charm, to raise awareness and to encourage bookings.  Based around a “casting call” search for unique individuals from SLH’s community of independently-minded guests,  thousands of applicants were whittled down to just a handful who starred in videos produced in London, the USA and the Far East and who could be the faces of the campaign and appear not only on the SLH website and in socials, but even on digital billboards in London and in Times Square, New York. 

Results included a substantial growth in transactions on the SLH website, and the campaign turned out to be one of the most successful in the history of SLH.  The judges felt that it took hotel marketing out of its traditional comfort zone, and whilst a simple concept, had high production values and real creativity in its storytelling. 

The Torridon, Epic Arrivals

Despite The Torridon being one of Scotland’s better known leading independent hotels, the team faced a twin challenge of building wider awareness of the hotel, and increasing bookings conversion.  With five key objectives, an “Epic Arrivals” campaign was conceived and launched, which would also reduce seasonality and at the same time protect premium pricing.  As part of the wider “Your Great Escape” initiative, the Epic Arrivals campaign addressed what the team and their agency, 80 DAYS, felt was the most distinctive truth about The Torridon, namely that the journey, and the moment of arrival, is an important part of the escape. 

Based around a highly creative video with strong production values, the campaign involved successful execution in paid digital, organic social, PR, web and email marketing, and in six months achieved excellent results.  The judges said that the campaign was successful in “selling the sizzle, not the sausage” and was authentic in its storytelling and building the reasons to visit the property.

 

Best Hotel Marketing Team

Sponsored by Agilysys

Overall Comments:

There were some outstanding entries representing great marketing teams, of all sizes, across both large brands and small independent groups. The overall standard of this category has reached a new height, making the judging process particularly challenging. There has been a clear investment in Marketing teams and it delighted the judges to see this. Evidence of ROI on Marketing activities was pretty good, but there is still room for improvement and the judges would like to see absolute numbers, in addition to the percentages typically supplied. It delighted the judges that people from other functions are being recognised, and then nurtured and developed to become members of the Marketing team. 

The biggest positive to take from this year’s entries is that Marketing culture has become important again. 

Although not shortlisted, the judges wanted to give a special mention to GuestHouse Hotels, as an entry that they particularly enjoyed reading. They demonstrated strong leadership and teamwork and a very commendable in-house transformation. 

London Hilton on Park Lane

This was a very polished entry in support of a team which has a very clear and strategic focus & strong leadership. The judges love the Manifestation Board used by the team to ensure that they stay aligned, energetic and motivated. There were some excellent outcomes from marketing activities, such as their partnership with Disney, and strong social media results throughout. 

Luxury Family Hotels

This team was commended by the judges for implementing most things on an evidence-based basis and for conducting lots of testing. They ran impressive campaigns with great ROI and excel at driving an emotional connection with guests. There is a positive culture and leadership in the team. The judges particularly commended this entrant for identifying individuals across their hotels who have an interest in marketing and then assisting them with the development necessary to become marketers. 

Sutton Hotel Collection

The judges praised this entry for stretching the remit of the team beyond marketing and into the heart of their hotels’ business strategy. There is evidence of strategic clarity and direction, and strong leadership. The team implemented some wonderfully creative initiatives. Not only did the judges love this entry, but they praised it for some great elements that supported the professional development of the team. 

 

Rising Star In Hotel Marketing

Sponsored by For-Sight

Overall Comments:

There were more entries than ever before in this category and the judges liked the diversity, not just of candidates, but of their roles, their backgrounds, the size of the Marketing team, their budget responsibility and of the establishments they represent. This made the judging process very challenging, but also interesting. The judges admired candidates’ willingness to be creative, to think outside the box, embrace new channel opportunities and use new initiatives. Some entries struggled to understand & submit evidence of the Marketing ROI, which was disappointing. Judges would like to have seen clear commercial attribution, with regard to the impact of the candidate.  In future candidates would do well to provide stronger evidence of their leadership skills, even though they are at an early stage of their hotel marketing career. All entrants demonstrated a great passion both for Marketing and Hospitality and while some showed clarity as to their commitment to ongoing growth and learning, it would be wonderful to see even more using their initiative to reach future generations of hotel marketers. Overall the judges felt that every entrant was a Rising Star and were delighted that the shortlist comprises 3 people from different backgrounds, representing very different brands, products and businesses & with a variety of budgets! They also felt that the 3 candidates are not just performing well in their current roles, but have the potential to become Group Marketing Directors in the future. 

Jack Bumstead, GuestHouse Hotels

Jack has embraced this relatively new brand, GuestHouse Hotels, in a very creative way, using innovative ways to tell the brand story and spread brand awareness. He is commercially-minded giving consideration not just to the Marketing metrics, but to the revenue generation. He is a very well-rounded Marketer and passionate about what he does. 

Rebecca Downey, Robinsons Brewery

Rebecca has demonstrated strong strategic thinking and created a new direction for their Marketing, rather than just following what has gone before. She has done an excellent job of re-positioning the company’s accommodation offering, and used powerful branding to grow revenue. Re-segmentation of their pub estate, coupled with re-positioning each pub, consideration of the wider business strategy and a well-rounded use of Marketing channels, has produced an uplift in all rooms revenue metrics. Rebecca is committed to her personal development in hospitality, marketing and revenue management. 

May Facey, Marriott International

​The Judges love Macy’s bravery in using channels not traditionally used in hotel marketing, developing creative propositions and innovative approaches. She has very much made the role hers and in so-doing is helping to shape the future of the hotel and have a significant impact on the Moxy brand. She provided excellent supporting evidence and demonstrated commitment to her on-going development. 

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With thanks to our Judges​​

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Josh Abbott

Justine Abola

Rob Baldry

Yvonne Brennan

Sarah Came

Pamela Carvell

Petra Clayton

Nicola Cook

Matthew Costin

Julian Ebbutt

Martin Evans

Christiane Foller

Mark Hulton

Simon Jones

Sam Manning

Hollie McHugh

Molly Peel

Matthew Prosser

Yogesh Ram

Pete Stevens

Paul West

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