by Richard Buckley, Editor, Business Eye

The winners of the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation’s (NIHF) ‘Housekeeping Team of the Year’ competition, which is in its tenth year, were announced at a glamorous awards evening hosted by the BBC’s Jo Scott in the Clayton Hotel Belfast on the 28th of March 2019. To take account of the recent hotel expansion and influx of larger properties within the hospitality sector there were four categories in this year’s competition.


The top four winning premises that scored ten out of ten for housekeeping were: Tara Lodge, which won the under 50 rooms category; Belmore Court & Motel, which scooped the 50-99 room category; Ibis Belfast City Centre which claimed the 100-149 room category and Holiday Inn, Belfast, which won the over 150 rooms category.

Congratulating all of this year’s winners and thanking all of the entrants Gavin Carroll, President of the NIHF, said:

“2019 marks the 10th Housekeeping Team of the Year competition and the awards have come a long way since 2010 when we had under 20 entrants.

“One of the main reasons the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation created this competition was to recognise the important role housekeepers play and to highlight how housekeeping can be a defining factor in a successful hotel. We were delighted to receive an exceptional number of entries this year. This reflects the realisation of the importance of housekeeping in the hotel industry. I want to thank all of our entrants.”

Gavin added: “The judges commented on the exceptionally high levels of professionalism, adding that standards seem to rise year on year. They also noted the real pride that the housekeepers take in their role and the passion that they have for the industry.

“Hotel numbers have grown over the last year and we have revised the categories to reflect this. In fact, the hotel sector has created over 1,000 jobs in the last year alone. During such times of growth, it is even more important to recognise our people, as they are the lifeblood of the industry.”

Thanking sponsors and judges, Janice Gault, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Hotels Federation said:

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all the judges who gave up their valuable time to participate in the various stages of the competition. Also, I want to recognise the support we received from a number of sponsors. As an organisation, the NIHF realises the importance of collaboration and we are indebted to Tourism Northern Ireland, Bunzl Rafferty Hospitality, Ecolab, King Koil and Linencare for their generous support. Without them the awards ceremony wouldn’t be possible.”

Business Eye logo

NIHF President Gavin Carroll; Gary Moore and Emma Gallagher, Da Vinci’s Hotel, Derry-Londonderry and Compere Jo Scott.

Advertisement

HOLD MPU 2

Receive Monthly Magazine

Choose Printed or Online Edition

Subscribe to Business Eye Magazine Subscribe Today