Over the past few years, Mandolay has been fortunate enough to pick up our fair share of awards and accolades, including recognition from Condé Nast Johansens, Green Tourism and of course, the AA.
Earlier This week we received notification that we have been nominated in the Best Hotel category in the Muddy Stilettos Awards, the largest and most prestigious awards of their type in the UK. We know that the competition will be tough, there are some wonderful hotels in Surrey, and as the saying goes ‘we are just thrilled to be nominated’.
Of course, we want to win, just like we did when we entered a team in the Guildford Pancake Races on Shrove Tuesday.
But why?
We all know that awards are great for establishing the credibility of a business, then there’s the free publicity (like this I suppose), and there is even a benefit to recruitment as good candidates look to be associated with a winning brand.
Ours is a competitive industry, Mandolay is up against a great many fine hotels and conference venues, the majority of which have much larger resources than us. We are also independently owned, and not part of a group, a status that we are extremely proud of.
Every award or accreditation that we receive is thanks to a team effort and we are constantly reviewing our offering in order to compete. Recently we introduced The Residence at Mandolay, a unique ‘aparthotel’ facility that is already proving hugely popular. We also started putting packets of flavoured popcorn in every room, and offering complimentary homemade cookies at check-in.
Obviously, the level of investment is significantly different, but whether it’s a brand new accommodation facility or a sweet treat, the principle is the same, we adapt our service to suit our market. We make changes all the time, the majority of these come about as the result of a comment from a guest, or a team member. Being independently owned means that we can introduce new ideas quickly, and without fuss, if it’s a great idea, we just do it.
And, if we are entirely honest we’re pretty sure that the flavoured popcorn and homemade cookies will get us more votes that the plush new accommodation, because it’s often the little things that make all the difference.
It is great to be nominated. But we really want to win.
If you would like to help our chances, you can vote here