The MHA Awards Nominees 2010

This News article was posted on 14 Oct 2010 .

Manchester Hoteliers Association are looking for heroes in our hotels.

The Employee of the Year (Front of House), Employee of the Year (Back of House), New Star of the Year, and a Lifetime Achiever.

The following people have been recognised by their hotels for their outstanding contributions to the city:

Jennifer Saba: Lifetime Achiever
Radisson Blu Hotel Manchester Airport

Jennifer is an effective listener and this means she is able to reassure guests, listen to their problems and make them feel that everything within the hotel will be taken care of. It is these skills, and the in-depth knowledge of what our customers need, and when, that makes her so highly skilled in her field. This ability to anticipate has been honed over the years, and brings great value. We may be able to train someone to have her technical knowledge, but we could not replace her instinct and experience, and it is these skills which really satisfy our guests.

Gary Roberts: Lifetime Achiever
Radisson Edwardian

Gary Roberts began his career in hotels as a waiter at the Piccadilly Hotel on the 29^th September 1980. Following a restructure of the hotel and its staff he moved to a Hall Porters position in February 1981, a position he occupied for 9 years. Upon taking new ownership of the building he was promoted to Head Concierge in 1990 by Jarvis Hotels and for the next 15 years fulfilled the hotels requirements and over this time has trained, coached and truly nurtured some of the best hotel concierge talent within the city today.

Neil Butler: Lifetime Achiever
The Midland

A consummate professional, Neil Butler has an excellent reputation as a first class Guest Relations Manager. The customer service offered by Neil is excellent, he deals with situations appropriately and passionately. Neil works with all departments to improve and perfect service.

Neil’s operational contribution and attention to detail has contributed greatly towards The Midland Hotel achieving Top 10 Hotel in Manchester status according to Trip Advisor.

David Holt: Lifetime Achiever
The Palace Hotel

David joined the Palace Hotel in 2006 having served a number of years at a competitor hotel. We were very lucky to attract David and we have not regretted our persistence in convincing him to join us! David is an absolute superstar and no task, question or request is too much effort for him. He is the first face guests see on arrival and he welcomes them as though they were his friend.

Tony Blunn: Lifetime Achiever
Ramada Manchester Piccadilly Hotel

Tony Blunn has been employed at the Ramada Manchester Piccadilly Hotel as Maintenance Manager since July 1997. Whilst his job title is Maintenance Manager it does not give justice to all that Tony does here at the hotel. He is a key member of the Guest Care Management Team, providing excellent service to our guests; he manages the Health & Safety of the whole hotel as well as the security management. Tony is a senior manager who is respected by all of the team. He successfully assisted in the management of the £18million refurbishment and continues to ensure the building is in the best possible condition for guests to visit and employees to work in. Tony is on call 24hours per day, 365 days per year, day or night to support and guide the team through maintenance and Health & Safety issues. The hotel would be lost without Tony Blunn and all that he does.

Sue Hough: Lifetime Achiever
Crowne Plaza

Sue has been with the Crowne Plaza since the opening. She has over 20 years experience in the hotel industry, including well-respected: The Midland Hotel, Great John Street, Hilton and City Inn. Over the last ten years she has supported the openings of 4 new properties in the Manchester market setting always high standards of the cleanliness. Sue is in charge of the biggest department; she manages successfully over 30 people and looks after 228 bedrooms and all public areas in the hotel. The 2010 was truly successful for her as in all 8 months rolling the cleanliness of the hotel was rated over 95% by Retail Eyes mystery shopper.

Sue is the manager to whom all team members come for advice or reassurance, with their issues and problems as well as with their intention to share their successes. In Staff Satisfaction Survey conducted in February 2010, Sue scored 84% in overall satisfaction and secured the second place for happiest department in the hotel. This is the most amazing result for housekeeping department considering how hard the job is.

Stuart Duff: Lifetime Achiever
Macdonald Hotel

Stuart Duff, Executive Head Chef at the Macdonald Manchester is simply the best chef that we have ever worked with. He leads by example and almost should have a role in HR for all the training that he does with his team and apprentices.

Chef Stuart is a fantastic colleague and a truly inspirational chef that has his teams best interests at heart.

Lorraine Boswell: Lifetime Achiever
Arora

Lorraine's management style is built on genuine hospitality and a desire to ensure every member of staff and guest receives the best experience possible. Lorraine’s open door policy demonstrates real respect to all team members and managers whilst her unwavering dedication to the companies values of family, honesty, loyalty, partnership and quality, ensures that her efforts are returned in spades by them.

Lorraine is not only a worthy candidate for the ‘Lifetime Achiever Award’, but is also a fantastic role model for the industry and to those aspiring to join it.

Mandy Abrahams: Employee of the Year (Front of House)
Radisson Blu Hotel Manchester Airport

Successfully juggling being a fantastic mum of 3, with being flexible, anticipating the needs of the business and her team with motivating her staff (and her managers!).

 Mandy is the kind of person to lift your spirits, no matter what else is going on, and is inspirational to everyone. She always makes sure she finishes the job she has started and staying behind to support the team is never an issue. She is loved by everyone in the hotel, including the guests, who feel it is always a pleasure to be served by Mandy and her team.

Debby Thong: Employee of the Year (Front of House)
Radisson Edwardian

Debby Thong joined the Radisson Edwardian Manchester Hotel in October 2005, and started her career with Front of House Operations, as a Receptionist. Debby got promoted as Shift Leader in 2008. Having worked in the Front of House operations for 4 years in different capacities, currently Debby is working in the Business Support Department as Assistant Team Leader.  She has always had a positive attitude to work and due to her nature of handling guests, she has been cited for appreciation by many guests.Debby has also been nominated as Employee of the Month on more than one occasion.

Elisabete Hughes: Employee of the Year (Front of House)
The Midland

Elisabete Hughes has worked at The Midland Hotel as a Breakfast Hostess for approximately 9 years. She is usually the first member of staff on hand at the start of morning service with a smile for everyone both staff and guests.

Arguably Elisabete has received more comments on Retail Eyes than any other member of staff at the hotel. Breakfast is usually the last experience a guest has prior to checking out, The Midland Hotel is fortunate to employ a Food and Beverage Hostess who is able to create such an enduring impression on all who she serves.

Laura Pretkelyte: Employee of the Year (Front of House)
The Palace Hotel

Laura joined the hotel in 2008 as a Conference & Banqueting Assistant having recently relocated to Manchester. She is well presented at all times, and her focus is 100% on the customer.

We have recently seen Laura’s confidence grow through the excellent feedback and comment cards she has received from guests. We whole heartedly recommend Laura for this award.

Seok Kun Song: Employee of the Year (Front of House)
Renaissance Manchester City Centre Hotel

Song has made a massive impact on the Event Operations department. His attention to detail and brand standards has ensured that the department has eased through its transitional phase and is now a top performing team. To ensure that attention is paid to detail, Song carries a notebook around that his colleagues have named ‘The Bible’. This book is like an SOP manual for all things ‘Renaissance’, such as brand standard information and details of guests and previous issues they may have had so that they do not occur again. This ingenuity and resourcefulness has ensured that, in the event of a challenge, it is recovered with minimal inconvenience to the guest.

Nicola Murray: Employee of the Year (Front of House)
Abode Manchester

Nicola is one of the most passionate, hard working, professional and fun employees working at Abode Manchester. Since joining Abode as a receptionist Nicola has been a joy to work with which has led to her being promoted to reception supervisor. Nicola is also the department’s trainer and sets the bar for exceeding customer expectations. The customer feedback has improved from 85% to 92% and Nicola has played a key role in achieving this. Nicola is one of my duty managers who embraces the responsibility put upon her and she manages to turn difficult situations around with the guest leaving satisfied. Nicola is well respected within the hotel and has recently won the hotels employee of the month. I believe Nicola is a deserving winner of this category and with her continued hard work and determination she will go far in this industry.

Matthew Collard: Employee of the Year (Front of House)
Ramada Manchester Piccadilly Hotel

Matthew Collard is a Trainee Manager at the Ramada Manchester Piccadilly Hotel. Matthew is a key team player with a natural flair for customer service. Matthew started as a Food & Beverage Attendant in 2007. You can be confident that when Matthew is on shift, the shift will run smoothly. He has grown and developed here at the Piccadilly Hotel and it is a pleasure to watch him further develop in the role of Trainee Manager. Matthew holds a passion for the environment and heads up the Green Team at the Piccadilly Hotel, succeeding in helping the hotel obtain Silver in the GTSB

Juliet Larter: Employee of the Year (Front of House)
Crowne Plaza

Juliet had joined the Crowne Plaza before the hotel opened.
She has brought to the hotel not only an impressive experience but also a soothing and at the same time rational persona. On numerous occasions guests commented about Juliet’s logical analysis of the issue and her well developed listening skills. In the hotel, we often say that she is the best listener in the building!

The issues Juliet deals with always find their solutions as Juliet takes full accountability and ownership of the matter.

Juliet is also very creative and when it comes to our guests’ special occasions – Juliet is a master of ceremony –cakes, cards, champagnes, flowers, voucher-she will make sure that they are being spoiled on the day.

Sherman William: Employee of the Year (Front of House)
The Lowry Hotel

Sherman William is a Shift Leader in the River Restaurant, the restaurant within the five star Lowry Hotel. Sherman joined The River Restaurant in September 2007 as Restaurant Host and was quickly recognised by colleagues and guests for his natural charm and service. His ambition, passion and service ethic resulted in his promotion to Shift Leader in 2009.

Sherman is the colleague in the hotel that is the most nominated in our recognition scheme Every year since joining he has won employee of the month. In 2009 he won special recognition award at our annual staff dance as he had won in both the employee and supervisory category in this year due to his promotion. He won Supervisor of the Month in July 2010 with 22 nominations in total. Sherman exemplifies everything that you would wish for in a five star employee.

Stephanie Downing: Employee of the Year (Front of House)
Arora

Since joining Arora in February, Stephanie has made a real difference to guest care and standards within Obsidian. Having gained valuable experience at volume and quality driven properties in Manchester, Stephanie joined the team as Breakfast Supervisor. Her achievements with breakfast, meetings & events resulted in her subsequent promotion to Restaurant Manager.
Stephanie’s management style is built on genuine hospitality and a desire to ensure every guest receives the best experience possible. Naturally warm and out-going, Stephanie inspires her team by setting an example of commitment and professionalism, whilst retaining the friendly attitude to which Manchester is rightfully associated.
 

Chris Little: New Star Award
Radisson Edwardian

On 24th August 2009 a winning smile joined the team at the Radisson Edwardian Manchester. That winning smile belonged to Chris Little. He has a positive and warm temperament and is always enthusiastic to carry out ANY tasks asked of him, with his happy demeanour. Chris epitomises the Yes I Can service culture. He is never negative and always willing to go out of his way to help others, whether that is guests, colleagues or 3rd parties within the hotel.

Charlotte Blaxill: New Star Award
The Midland

After gaining a promotion within 5 months of her employment Charlotte has established herself as a proficient Conference & Events Co-ordinator. Her early promotion resulted from a remarkable mastering of the Events Booking System and skill in organising functions in our 11 function rooms catering up to a maximum of 600 delegates. Charlotte’s event planning has contributed to the success of The Conservative Party Conference 2009, she also played an integral role in organising a memorable party for 9000 Christmas Party goers in December 2009.

Nicola Campbell: New Star Award
The Palace Hotel

Nicola joined the Front Office team in late 2008 as a casual receptionist and is now one of our most valued, reliable and hard working team members.

She is constantly receiving feedback internally, from guests and nationally via third party review sites like Trip Advisor. She is flexible in her approach, putting the hotel and the customer above and beyond her own needs. She is an excellent asset to our team.

Alan Osbourne: New Star Award
Park Inn Manchester Victoria

Alan’s dedication and enthusiasm to his everyday work and also to tasks which are outside the scope of his job description are noticed by all in the hotel. He is always driven to take on new tasks and is eager to learn about all aspects of the hotel industry. He is a passionate individual with an excellent eye for detail. Alan was born to work in this industry holding the correct attitude and motivation to succeed. In the hotels eyes Alan is already considered one of our shinning stars.

Aleksandrs Nikolaicuk: New Star Award
Ramada Manchester Piccadilly Hotel

Aleksandrs Nikolaicuk works in the Housekeeping Department at the Ramada Manchester Piccadilly Hotel. Aleksandrs came to the UK in September 2009 unable to speak English. He had never worked in a hotel prior to starting at the Piccadilly Hotel in September 2009. Within the past year Aleksandrs has developed within the department and has become multi skilled. As his English has improved so has his confidence and performance. Aleksandrs is now regarded as a key team member within the Housekeeping Department, supporting the Head Housekeeper with Supervisory shifts, Linen Control, Public Area cleaning and Room Attendant shifts. He has a passion for the hospitality industry and wants to develop and succeed in the industry.

Allel Kedrani: New Star Award
Crowne Plaza

Allel only joined the hotel in May 2010. Despite his previous restaurant experience (Rosso, San Carlo and Don Giovanni’s), The Glasshouse is his first Hotel Restaurant on the list. Apart from the dining experience it also focuses on breakfast, room service and conferences, which as one would imagine can be pretty hectic in the city centre hotel.

Even though, Allel has only been here few months, he has managed to introduce some valid changes to the way the restaurant and bar operate. First of all, he created new menu…made a brave decision of changing restaurant’s staff uniforms…changed the table set up by adding a second glass of wine, tablecloths and a romantic flower in the middle of the table. Being very figures conscious, he implemented a mouth watering cocktail list which substantially contributed to his daily sales and consequently to the overall revenue. He also developed the up selling culture in both the restaurant and bar and very recently, he organized an advertisement in Manchester Evening News, which did not cost the hotel a penny!

Oliver Walker: New Star Award
Macdonald Hotel

Oliver Walker, is the apprentice of the year for the Macdonald Hotel group. Ollie has been a phenomenal asset to the hotel, with coaching from the Exec Head Chef, he has come on in leaps and bounds. Considering he didn’t know anything about cooking 18 months ago, Ollie is now a proficient Demi Chef de Partie. In someone that is young in years, we have all been surprised and delighted with Ollie’s progress and know that he is a Head Chef of the future. Oliver has raised the benchmark for the future apprentices.

Rebecca Rahman: Employee of the Year (Back of House)
Edwardian Radisson

Rebecca Rahman is a talented individual who inspires others with her professional, enthusiastic work ethic. Rebecca strives to achieve continued customer excellence, as demonstrated by achieving 100% on the hotel monthly test calls on 6 separate occasions.  In addition to her in depth brand knowledge and ability to train and develop other employees Rebecca is a loyal team member having served over 6 years at the hotel.

Rebecca continues to set high standards for her team and other departments whilst doing so with an approachable and professional manner, fully justifying her Employee of the Year nomination.

Natalie Catlin: Employee of the Year (Back of House)
The Midland

Natalie Catlin’s back of house work as a Pastry Chef de Partie makes a big impact front of house. Her culinary skills win over guests enjoying conference tea break cakes to refined afternoon tea or dinner in The French Restaurant. Natalie is an established chef who encourages the development of those around her. Her work is a testament to good taste and her positive attitude is the icing on the cake!

Keeley Bury: Employee of the Year (Back of House)
Park Inn Manchester Victoria

Keeley joined the Park Inn Manchester Victoria in May 2009 as part of the Hotel’s preopening team. Feedback from guest’s and clients regards Keeley is always positive, with her consistently meeting and exceeding their expectations. Keeley is an excellent team player, always happy to assist and always the first to stand up and offer assistance. Keeley personifies all the attributes the Hospitality industry expects from a Yes I Can! attitude - she is warm; welcoming; friendly; sincere; helpful; efficient; and flexible. It is clear to see that Keeley has a real passion for her job and the industry.

Maria Jorgensen: Employee of the Year (Back of House)
Marriott Victoria & Albert

As personal assistant to the General Manager, Maria’s job role is primarily to provide administrative support to the Executive Committee. However, it is Maria’s enthusiasm and eagerness to support the business which has led to her going above and beyond the realm of her role.

Last year, Maria was awarded our Associate of the Year for 2009 for her outstanding contribution to the Hotel and Company. We genuinely feel that she should step up to the next level and win the MHA Employee of the Year Award 2010!

Valerie McHale: Employee of the Year (Back of House)
Renaissane Manchester City Centre Hotel

Valerie is a highly valued member of the team here at the Renaissance Manchester City Centre Hotel and is a deserved contender for this award. She is recognised by managers and fellow associates as one of the most knowledgeable people to approach about anything to do with the hotel and she ensures that she always delivers the best possible service she can everyday.

Due to the extent of Valerie’s knowledge and experience, her manager is happy to let her make decisions if no one else is around to do so. She has proven herself to be one of the most reliable members of the Housekeeping team, even coming into work at 4.30am to prepare for linen stock takes without being asked, and her knowledge of the contents of the linen room means that she often knows more than her superiors!!

Jowita Lenska: Employee of the Year (Back of House)
Crowne Plaza

Always on time and never off sick, Jowita is the only employee with 100% attendance since day one.
Year 2010 was especially important in her career with the Crowne Plaza as she became a self checker and the trainer for the department. Her rooms, on number of occasions, were subjected to mystery shopper check and each time she scored astounding 100%.

Some of the comments about the rooms read: ‘…very clean…’; ‘…all well presented throughout the bedroom and bathroom…’; ‘…extremely clean, tidy and welcoming…’

Jowita is also unbeatable in our internal audits each time climbing up to the top of the rank. If only we had more people like Jowita!

Alex Dowson: Employee of the Year (Back of House)
Ramada Manchester Piccadilly Hotel

Alex Dowson works in the Finance Department at the Ramada Manchester Piccadilly Hotel. Alex’s employment commenced with the company in 1998 as a Bar Attendant and he has continued to develop and mature at the hotel. Alex worked has worked in the Accounts Department since 2002 and has developed from a Finance Administrator to a competent Finance Manager. Alex is willing to support and assist both his colleagues and guests and is regarded as a reliable and ambitious employee.

The Awards which are in association with World Class Service, Manchester College Fielden Campus and sponsored by The Christmas Decorators will be presented at the MHA Ball at The Ramada Manchester Piccadilly on Friday 29th October 2010.