M O R E   N A T I O N A L
M O R E   L O C A L

J u l y   1 s t   2 0 2 6

Firstly, I must apologise for the changes to the schedule this year as we worked through developments. Just as hotels and hospitality have faced the huge challenges with which the industry is all too familiar, so has our operation - not least the events side. We hope you'll understand.

Costs in many areas have essentially doubled and we certainly can't do that with ticket prices! And wouldn't. Our whole project is not about making money from dinners - but holding high-calibre, quality occasions where we can honour and celebrate with magical moments a properly researched and wise array of hotels, people and businesses.

ONWARDS!

In every moment of challenge, they say, perhaps somewhat idealistically, there is opportunity - and we've taken that impetus to rethink what our awards scheme is about; what we can do best for the industry; and what we can improve and innovate this season and in the years ahead.

We decided to take advantage of this moment to present the awards over three seasonal occasions with one Season Finale climax. It means we can bring the awards to slightly smaller, very fine-quality venues. Say, 200-250 rather than 350-500 capacity. And there are so many! And we can do certain presentations better.

We can share the opportunity of hosting the National Hotels of the Year more nationally - and with smaller businesses. In the two years ahead we'll be in Glasgow and Edinburgh again, of course, but also in Dundee, Aberdeen, Dunblane, Inverness - plus Regional Presentations in other parts of the country - some quite remote.

Dates are now firmly set for season 2026/27 - and we're just about to sign off all dates and venues for 2027/28.

By 2027 the awards will have been separated into these 'seasonal collections', to be presented at three separate events: Spring Awards & Presentations (next year as part of a big new industry dinner at the biannual ScotHot expo) in late February; Summer Awards & Presentations Lunch in late June; and the 24th Season Finale Awards Night Gala in late October.

This will be the annual sequence - and this year, 2026, is the transition year from it all being 'one big event'.

FULL DETAILS at the EVENTS PAGE
*Events page & Ticket booking live by 7th July 2026

Summer 2026

> We'll be on the road to host a series of friendly Regional Presentation Gatherings (we've done this before) where we will present a range of things including Regional Winners of the National Hotel of the Year 2026 title; other National Award Winners for 2026 not included in the October Awards Night; Gold Welcome Plaques, and more. During this phase we'll have the reveal of the exciting new online Scottish Hotels of the Year Guide. These occasions will generally be by invitation just this one year, although they will be detailed in advance online. They will be ticketed at cost price - so, nicely inexpensive!

October 18th 2026
> This year it's the 23rd time our team has been involved with organising the Scottish Hotels of the Year and it's the very first time we've held the Awards Night Season Finale Gala Dinner outwith Glasgow or Edinburgh! What better than to go to the hotel we honoured last year as Banqeting Hotel of the Year? So we're off to the elevated and elegant ballroom of the independently-owned Invercarse Hotel overlooking gardens and the river Tay on the edge of Dundee. We know it will be a superb venue for a very special night of celebrations. As we've restructured which categories are presented at each event, this will be a fabulous and efficiently-presented evening, backed by our award-winning events company partner. It will raise funds for both Hospitality Apprenticeship Scotland and HIT Scotland.

February 24th 2027
> We're just finalising exact branding with partners the Scottish Tourism Alliance, ScotHot and The Events Collective, but the date is booked - it's the night between the two days of ScotHot 2027 at the SEC, Glasgow and immediately leading on from the STA's Signature Events Programme at the venue hotel the Crowne Plaza Glasgow. We are together launching a new start-of-season event designed to be a fabulously entertaining dinner and get-together where, as part of the programme, we will present all of our 2027 Chef and F&B Awards and Honours. It will raise funds for Hospitality Apprenticeship Scotland.

A WEE BIT OF HISTORY...

Back in summer 2003 my travel writer colleague Vivien Devlin and I sat down for coffee in the Apex hotel in Edinburgh. We had a very, very busy hotel review website on our hands, one I'd started in Wigtown in Galloway in 2001 - imaginatively called HotelReview - and sought a way to highlight the places and people we really wanted to appreciate and encourage.

And now, these years later, we're still here! From a packed, first event at the Apex International (where we spent about £100 on staging) by year two we were a full house at The Balmoral - and the next in a posh (sponsored, thankfully) marquee at Prestonfield House as things grew... and our stress levels rose accordingly!

... AND BACK TO THE FUTURE!

Through ups and downs, change and challenge, our events this year mark the start of a transition as we also return to having what we did 25 years ago - a dynamic, innovative, independent, well-written and fully researched guide as a year-round hub to underwrite the annual awards. Vivien and I are both still involved and we've been joined by many other experts. So, during this summer, we'll put online first in a demo phase, then a beta phase, the new Scottish Hotels of the Year Guide at the snappy domain best.scot - and, apart from good writing and design, the guide will actively promote and work with individual hotels to incentivise direct booking at Scotland's hotels with no commission involved.

The new Hotel Gold Plaques are the result of many conversations over the past year or so and are a nice option for hotels who'd like to find a way to accurately endorse, describe and support the nature of their business.

AHEAD & APPRECIATION

We’ve strengthened the Advisory Panel impressively and look forward to building on that. New Vice-Presidents will lift our skills further. I am immensely grateful to our Team, who often contribute huge amounts of experience and time without any remuneration beyond the love of the industry and what we are striving to achieve.

My hope and plan is that the whole project becomes either a Trust or a Social Enterprise so it can continue long into the future once I'm either emeritus or expired!

Thank you to all hotels and hotel people who have supported us through the years - joined in memorable Awards Nights of fun and emotion - and for bearing with us through the challenging regrouping phase post-Covid.

Thank you to our loyal sponsors triSaaS.

We can’t wait to present the enlarged programme in 2026/27, listening to your feedback as we get back to the business of guiding guests to the best, honouring great contributions and services rendered, and celebrating the finest aspects and facets in every good Scottish hotel.

T H A N K   Y O U

Gary