Considerate hoteliers 2012 awards

UK hotel bests in environmental, sustainable and socially responsible performance sought  – sustainable food high up on the menu

UK hotel bests in environmental, sustainable and socially responsible performance sought
2011/12 Award Categories launched by the Considerate Hoteliers Association for prestigious annual ‘Considerate Hotel of the Year’ Accolades

The awards celebrate the best in environmental, sustainable and socially responsible performance  and are open to all hotels and small accommodation operations in the UK

The closing date for entries will be midnight on Friday, 6 April 2012.

The 2011/12 CHA award categories are as follows:

• The Considerate Hotel of the Year,’ again to be sponsored for 2011/12 by Gilchrist & Soames Ltd, for the best all-round responsible performance – with a special emphasis this year, in conjunction with WRAP, on food waste. Currently, the title is held by Battlesteads Hotel and Restaurant at Wark-on-Tyne, near Hexham in Northumberland.
• The Considerate Sustainable Food Award’, supported for 20011/12 by Sustain (the alliance for better food and farming) and Fairtrade, and presently held by Strattons Hotel and Restaurant in Swaffham, Suffolk;
• The Considerate Green Team of the Year’, sponsored for 2011/12 by Beacon Purchasing and currently held by the team from Firmdale Hotels who look after the group’s London establishments:  Haymarket Hotel, The Soho Hotel; Covent Garden Hotel; Charlotte Street Hotel; Knightsbridge Hotel and Number Sixteen;
• The Considerate Green Champion of the Year’, supported for 2011/12 by GRAM UK (Commercial) and presently held by Debra Patterson, the Green Ambassador for The Savoy, London;
• The Considerate Small Accommodation Provider of the Year Award’, sponsored for 2011/12 by Gilchrist & Soames Ltd. and currently held by Lasswade Country House and Restaurant at Llanwrtyd Wells, Powys in Wales;
•  ‘National Considerate Supplier of the Year’, supported for 2011/12 by Beacon Purchasing and presently held by Suma – the UK’s largest independent wholefood wholesaler/distributor, specialising in vegetarian, fairly traded, organic, ethical and natural products;
•  ‘Local Considerate Supplier of the Year’, sponsored by Beacon Purchasing and currently held by Mrs Temple’s Cheese, based at Wighton, Wells-Next-The Sea, in Norfolk.
•  ‘Best Green Marketing Initiative Award 2011/12’ will be presented to the hotel/accommodation operator whose award category entry, for the above categories, includes the most outstanding green marketing initiative. Last year, the CHA award judges gave the award to Combe House hotel and restaurant at Gittisham, near Honiton, Devon for its newly restored Victorian Kitchen Gardens which proved to be the driver of the hotel’s best marketing initiatives – both planned and unexpected – in 2010.

Commenting on the 2011/12 CHA awards at the launch, Considerate Hoteliers Association Director John Firrell said:

"Each year, we make what we believe are sensible adjustments to both the category criteria and rules of engagement. In order to make a more level playing field with regard to the length of entries, we are asking entrants to restrict their material to eight A4 pages. Those on the short-list will then be asked to make a presentation to the judges. We trust this will ensure that everyone gets the same bite of the ‘organically grown’ cherry, and indeed encourages even more hotels and accommodation providers to participate."

The 2011/12 Considerate Hotel of the Year Awards will be presented on Thursday, 31 May 2012, at a special Gala Lunch at the 5-star luxury Four Seasons Hotel London at Park Lane.

Full details of the ‘Considerate Hotel of the Year Awards 2011/12’, including entry forms and timing details, can be found on the CHA website:http://www.consideratehoteliers.com  . A condition of entry will be the provision of each establishment’s Environmental/ Corporate Social Responsibility policy.

Valere Tjolle
Valere is editor of the Sustainable Tourism Report Suite 2012 Special Offers HERE