'SCOTTISH HOTEL AWARDS'

A NOTE TO CLARIFY THINGS

BACKGROUND

Our main team, led by the current Chairman plus the Founder Vice President, created the review guide project that became the former Scottish Hotel Awards, in 2003, and chaired the research & judging for 20 years - independently and later subsequently under the positive management of Paragraph Publishing, so are identified with 'Scottish Hotel Awards'.

We put on record our gratitude to our former Paragraph Publishing colleagues 2012-2019 Damian Riley-Smith and his staff.

Paragraph subsequently sold the brand, which has since changed ownership a few times. When we refer to 22 years' continuity, it is to two decades of our core team working together as Hospitality Research Organisation (Estd. 2002) on professionally organised annual hotel awards for Scotland organised by us. Although we're not now branded 'Scottish Hotel Awards'  nor working with new owners of the brand name, The Daily & Sunday Telegraph Media Group, practically every judge / researcher previously with SHA has moved forward under the rebooted National Hotels of the Year - Scotland.

WE ARE NOT 'SCOTTISH HOTEL AWARDS'
* Brand owned by Telegraph Media Group, London
* We are also not the 'Prestige - Scottish Hotel Awards'
* Our Member rates are c.50% less than the previous scheme

We are a new scheme developed to be international / country specific under National Hotels of the Year & National Hotel Honours brands and our registered trademark, owned and based in Scotland, is an integrated program with our forthcoming consumer guide. Hotels of the Year is a brand that will operate in the future in other countries.

NEW OWNERS - COVID - DORMANT AWARDS - OUR REBOOT

After some 7 years in their excellent management, in 2019 the brand Scottish Hotel Awards was bought alongside Scotland Magazine from Paragraph Publishing by The Chelsea Publishing Company, London - which in turn was acquired by the Daily & Sunday Telegraph Newspaper Media Group in London. The 'Scottish Hotel Awards'  brand has now been dormant for some 5 years, as far as we can tell. We did seek to acquire the brand from Chelsea Publishing but, sadly, were unable to agree terms.

Our team hasn't been involved with Scottish Hotel Awards  since the 2019-20 season, when we organised all the judging - and that season's virtual presentation due to Covid. We were let go. We were not in control of the SHA website, which remained frozen for several years, nor the social media, and were sadly extremely disappointed in the way hotels, especially winners, were treated after the event's cancellation.

None of our team has been involved with business management of 'Scottish Hotel Awards' for a decade. We appreciate Covid made things extremely difficult for all involved, and regret that we were unable to move the old brand forward.

However we look forward to using our long experience to make National Hotels of the Year an innovative and lasting success - and to it becoming a Social Enterprise in Scotland. We are based in Scotland and have Researchers and Judges - including Industry-leading Peer Judges - in every part of the country.

Thank you.

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