SCOTTISH HOTEL AWARDS
A NOTE TO CLARIFY THINGS

Our main team founded - in 2003 - and then led /chaired the research and judging for 20 years, independently and later subsequently under the constructive, positive management of Paragraph Publishing, of Scottish Hotel Awards, so are very closely identified with that brand. We put on record our gratitude to former owner, from 2012-2019, Damian Riley-Smith and his staff. When we refer to 21 years' continuity, it is to two decades of our core team working together on the leading annual hotel awards for Scotland. Although we're not now Scottish Hotel Awards, or working with their new owners The Daily & Sunday Telegraph Media Group, practically every judge / researcher who previously was with SHA is now with our new organisation.

* WE ARE NOT 'SCOTTISH HOTEL AWARDS'
* We have not been issuing "renewal invoices" to 2019 members
* Brand now owned by Daily & Sunday Telegraph Media Group, London

We are an all-new structure under the National Hotels of the Year & Hotel Honours brands and registered trademark, owned and based in Scotland, as part of an integrated programme with our forthcoming BestScottishHotels.com and (established in 2016) Travel + Stay Scotland Facebook magazine page. Hotels of the Year is a brand that will operate in the future in other countries as part of  World Hotels of the Year, and we - these Scottish awards - will represent Scotland.

BACKGROUND

After some 7 years in their management, in 2019 the brand Scottish Hotel Awards was bought from Paragraph Publishing by The Chelsea Publishing Company, London - which in turn was in 2023 acquired by the Daily & Sunday Telegraph Newspaper Media Group in London. At the time of writing, July 2023, Scottish Hotel Awards was dormant for 3+ years, although may be revived in some way by The Telegraph Group. 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 not in control of the SHA website, which remained stuck for several years at 2019, or social media, and were sadly disappointed in the way hotels, especially winners, were treated after the event 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 Scottish Hotel Awards 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. We are based in Scotland and have Reporters, Researchers and Judges - including Industry Peer Judges - in every part of Scotland.

Thank you.

~ ~ ~