Switzerland Norway Sweden and Germany took home most of the prizes during the HSMAI European Awards at the Jumeirah Carlton Tower in London on Tuesday 4 February celebrating the winners.
Apart from naming this year’s winners the awards night contained lots of entertainment delicious meals and splendid company – all led by Stephen Twining of famous tea makers Twinings of London serving as the evening’s master of ceremony.
“The hotel and travel industry is entering a very exciting point in its history. People are travelling more than ever as the world becomes a smaller place. With more and more people crossing international borders having a residence in Paris and going to work in London is fast becoming a reality for a number of people. As a globally recognised organisation it is a fantastic time for HSMAI Europe to be entering new European markets and to be holding our first ever Top 20 Awards here in London” said chairman of HSMAI Europe Ingunn Hofseth in her opening speech continuing:
“However the industry also faces challenges from the world becoming more easy to access through the rise of social media which is forcing companies to compete on a number of platforms against a growing number of competitors. This is where we believe HSMAI Europe plays a valuable role within this industry in confronting such challenges. Through sharing knowledge and experience of the hospitality and travel sector and the ground-breaking ways in which marketing has evolved we encourage companies to learn from one another and share their skills to help the travel sector reach its true potential and overcome the new challenges it faces.”
Deeply impressed
She later went on to express her respect for the wining companies:
“I am deeply impressed by the candidates’ work and of course that of the evening’s splendid winners as we honour some of the great men and women who have achieved unbelieveable results and will stand out as role models in the hotel and travel industry for years to come” she says.
“I would also like to express my gratitude towards our experienced judges and the chairman of the jugdes Professor Dr. Bí«rd Tronvoll”.
Challenging judgment
“The European Travel Marketer of the Year is a prestigious award and to be a part of the jury gives inspiration although it is quite challenging. We were looking for a campaign that really stands out and has managed to bring the business idea of the company’s target markets as well as to the customer. The winners of the different categories have managed to do so” says chairman of the jury professor dr. Bí«rd Tronvoll with reference to this year’s winners who are:
TV Advert of the Year
Screendump from one of the commercials in Norwegian’s series of TV adverts.
Gold: Norwegian
Honourable mention: Nordic Choice Hotels
The jury says:
Using the old classics can often prove to be a good idea provided the message is delivered in a good way which this year’s winner achieves. The commercial shows a frustrated customer highly unwilling to pay the extra cost filmed on candid camera. The winner is airliner Norwegian with candid camera.
Content Marketing Project of the Year
Jarle Moen and Siri Líining Kolderup of The Thief.
Gold: The Thief
The jury says:
The award is presented to the marketing campaign that demonstrates creativity clarity and a sustainable holistic strategic rather than tactical customer-experience focus. Our winner more than fulfilled the requirements of all categories and we are delighted to congratulate The Thief as the HSMAI Europe 2013 category winner.
Best in Class Technology – Innovation Award
Moritz von Petersdorff-Campen of Suitepad with Jonathan Carter Hospitality Technology Europe.
Gold: SuitePad
The jury says:
This young company has made large steps in Europe into individual hotels and chains in a short time. The judges admired their ability to createæ a new and innovative way to meet the sales and marketing needs of a hotel through use of new technology and also meet the demand from guests to enhance their stay and retain loyalty. This company offers an insight into the hotel room of the future and a way for hotels to maintain a competitive edge. We are very pleased to recognise SuitePad withæ the award for Best in Class Technology for Innovation.
The Digital Winner
Scandic Hotels president & CEO Frank Fiskers.
Gold: Scandic Hotels
Honourable mention: Switzerland Tourism
The jury says:
This award recognizes the best digital marketing campaign in the hotel industry. We judged the entrances on the strength of their digital presence but more importantly on the impact of the campaign on their customers. We congratulate the winner Scandic Hotels for significantly improving their customers? experience through their online check-out feature.
Social Media
Fjord Norway’s CEO Kristian B. Jírgensen (right) with co-workers and representatives from ad agency MK Norway.
Gold: Fjord Norway
Honourable mention: LAAX+
The jury says:
Using social media’s most famous symbol the winner in this category have managed to make it to the central element of their campaign. This together with one of the most growing social media channels Instagram they succeeded engaging many of their potential customers to promote the region’s top attractions. By using #hashtag Fjord Norway has won the category of social media. We congratulate!
PR Campaign of the Year
Mathias Gallo and Marcelline Kuonen of Switzerland Tourism.
Gold: Switzerland Tourism
Honourable mention: Fjord Norway
The jury says:
Combining creative excellence with business impact the winner of the category PR Campaign of the Year has developed a communication toolæ which matches its premium offering. Covering different European countries the web-based ‘Wintersleep’ campaign engaged potential customers and delivered its message in a subtle and playful manner. We congratulate Switzerland Tourism.
Best in Class Technology – Revenue Management
IdeaS Revenue Solutions’ Director Strategic Accounts Guy Barnes with jury member Ally Dombey.
Gold: IdeaS
Honourable mention: Hotel Lugano Dante
The jury says:
The winner of our Best in Class Technology – Revenue management demonstrated to the judges a clear commitment to evaluating client needs and providing an innovative solution that replaced outdated methodologies and enabled the client to meet very high growth targets and maintain their competitive positioning. The team at IDeaS demonstrated a clear return for the client showing year on year growth in RevPAR and RGI and just as importantly engaged the revenue management team thereby increasing morale and creating a sustainable revenue management culture. HSMAI Europe is very pleased to announce that the award for Best in Class Revenue Management Technology 2013æ goes to – IDeaS Revenue Solutions
HSMAI European Travel Marketer of the Year
Mathias Gallo and Marcelline Kuonen of Switzerland Tourism.
Switzerland Tourism
The jury says:
HSMAI European Travel Marketer of the Year is a prestigious award to receive so therefore has the jury put high demands when they discussed the winner. The winner must set an example to the persecution of other tourism stakeholders and must be a good ambassador for European tourism. The winner is able to meet these requirements through to exciting new avenues to communicate with the market and has been able to use many different channels tailored to the individual segments. They have used their unique position as a destination and promoted what characterizes this country. We bow before the Switzerland Toursim.
HSMAI Europe and Hospitality Technology are both grateful for the work put down by this year’s jury presented in this video clip:
