11th edition of the hotel Industry’s most prestigious accolades recognise leading lights of Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan
(Macau, December 16, 2024) – Greater China’s most exceptional hoteliers of the year were honoured at the 11th edition of Stelliers Greater China, the hotel industry’s most prestigious accolades for hotel professionals across Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
Professional excellence among 103 finalists was recognised at a glittering gala awards ceremony at JW Marriott Hotel Macau on December 13, with honours extending across 22 categories from top General Manager to awards for talented and hardworking professionals from all departments.
This year, the highly anticipated and hotly contested General Manager of the Year award was scooped by Kristina Snaith-Lense of The Upper House.
Acknowledging the valuable but often overlooked contributions of frontline staff, a new award honouring ‘Butler of the Year’ was won by Tony Liu of Kempinski Hotel Beijing Yansha Center.
Another accolade honouring humble roles, Unsung Hero, was wildly cheered when won by Man Ng, Tailor at W Macau – Studio City.
Other awards featured honours for chefs, F&B professionals, mixologists and sommeliers, Wellness & Spa professionals, and more recent recognition for Green hoteliers.
Honours also extended to traditional anchors of hotels including Engineering, Information Technology, Hotel Manager / Resident Manager, Owner, Finance & Revenue Management, Sales, Concierge, Front Office, Housekeeping, Marketing & Communications, Hygiene & Food Safety and Human Resources.
A full list of this year’s hoteliers of the year can be seen here:
https://stelliers.com/winners-and-finalists
Stelliers co-Founder Stephane de Montgros said: “As the year draws to a close, it is with great joy that we celebrate the incredible individuals of the hotel industry, recognising their successes and accomplishments over the past 12 months.
“At Stelliers, we firmly believe that it’s the people who truly make a difference and it is our privilege to provide a platform that lets their brilliance shine."
One of this year’s judges, Rainer Burkle, Marriott International’s former Greater China vice president for luxury, said: “The industry continues to face challenges amid a soft business environment and leadership is tasked to ensure a personalised, human touch while driving efficiency through advanced technology.
“Challenging times are often a catalyst for innovation and creativity, and China is leading the way in this. From robots delivering messages or food to guest rooms and enabling restaurant guests to pre-order from menus before arriving to recording digital preferences and streamlining travel with facial recognition technology, China showcases how technological advancements can transform the guest experience and operational efficiency."
Another judge, CITS American Express Global Business Travel vice president and general manager Kevin Tan, said two trends stood out prominently in this year’s awards. More contestants from emerging regions such as Lhasa, Kunming and Ningbo underlined growing depth of hospitality talent outside traditional hubs. Greater diversity in job roles is also apparent, such as digital transformation and wellness management.
“This shift reflects the industry’s broader focus on tech-driven solutions and the growing demands for health and wellness-focused services," he said.
“Innovative guest experiences are also evolving, driven by AI enabling personalisation; analysing guest preferences to tailor activity and dining recommendations. AI powered chatbots and virtual assistants are also managing real-time guest inquiries, allowing staff to focus on more personalised, high-touch interactions that elevate guest experience."
New to the judging panel, Jackey Yu, who leads McKinsey & Company’s Greater China travel & tourism practice, agreed the key trend is AI taking customer centricity to the next level.
“We are entering the era of creating the unobvious next best experience, instead of fixing the existing one," he said.
“The “next best product" is a common concept in e-commerce. With data and GenAI, predictive experience becomes feasible and it’s up to hoteliers to unlock this new muscle to impress guests with innovative experiences.
“It’s been a challenge for years to quantifiably justify better experience. Today it’s more possible to turn experience upgrade into dollar signs – namely higher retention, better cross-selling rate and lower acquisition costs. Experience enhancement can visibly upside financial and business performance."
This year’s distinguished judging panel also included returning judge Kitty Huang, Oracle Hospitality’s Greater China general manager and new judge May Wong, CEO of Dong Luxury Travel Collection and founder of the CONNECTION roadshow, China’s premier luxury travel event.
“Managing changes" is a phrase summarising recent times, said Ms Huang. “We are facing lots of changes, from the overall economic situation, source markets of our customers, market segmentation and different generations of the workforce.
“Our guests and their expectations are changing as well. It is critical to understand and innovate to create the best guest experience. Dealing with these changes requires hoteliers’ passion, collaborations, innovation and hard work."
As Stelliers applauds the excellence and inspiration of dedicated hospitality professionals from across Greater China who continue to raise the bar, breaking boundaries and achieving new heights, the awards also hope to inspire the younger generation to join the industry.
Partners supporting the Stelliers Greater China 2024 Awards included Silver Partner Nespresso and supporting partners JUMA by Alia Juma and Saint Bella, MHD (Moët Hennessy Diageo) as Beverage Partner, as well as hospitality specialist PR agency GHCAsia.
For more details please visit www.stelliers.com.
