Aitken Spence Hotels collects 12 awards in one week
View(s):Sri Lanka’s leading hospitality chain, Aitken Spence Hotels was recognised at multiple award ceremonies held recently in Colombo, bringing home a total of 12 awards at the 54th Annual Report Awards 2018, National Business Excellence Awards and Sri Lanka Tourism Awards 2018.
The hotel chain, part of the blue-chip conglomerate Aitken Spence PLC, started its winning streak on December 4 at the 54th Annual Report Awards 2018 organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants Sri Lanka. The company took home the Silver for ‘Hotel Companies’ whilst Browns Beach Hotels PLC, also part of the group’s subsidiaries, won the ‘Hotel Companies Compliance Award’. Held under the theme of ‘epitome of brilliance’ the award ceremony celebrates commitment of corporates towards best practices in annual corporate reporting through transparency, accountability and good governance.
At the National Business Excellence Awards held on December 5, organised by the National Chamber of Commerce. Aitken Spence Hotels received eight awards in total including the ‘Silver Award in the Overall category’ along with three golds and four silvers. From the Sector Awards, the company was awarded with the Gold for ‘Hospitality and Tourism’ in recognition of the distinct trailblazing innovations in products and services in the industry, and the First Runners Up in the ‘Extra Large Category’ companies, according to a media release issued by the company.
Among the category wins were Golds in ‘Excellence in Environmental Sustainability’ and ‘Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility’ and Silver in ‘Excellence in Capacity Building’, ‘Excellence in Performance Management’ and ‘Excellence in Global Market Reach’.
The following day, on December 6, the company was rewarded yet again at the Sri Lanka Tourism Awards 2018 held after a lapse of six years. Heritance Kandalama, a Hall of Fame winner at the Presidential Awards (which was rebranded as Sri Lanka Tourism Awards this year) after three consecutive wins, was applauded as the Winner of the ‘Best Hotel-Sustainable and Green Practices’. The company’s most awarded individual with three Culinary Olympic wins under his belt (and the only chef in the world to have received the honour), Chef Dimuthu Kumarasinghe was recognised for ‘The Most Outstanding Culinary Contribution’.
Aitken Spence PLC Director, Head of Tourism and Leisure, and Chairperson of Aitken Spence Hotels Management Stasshani Jayawardena speaking on the recent wins, stated that the manifold recognition was a testament to the superior product and service offerings of the chain. “As a hospitality chain that is constantly looking at challenging the status quo and innovating our way forward, these awards further reinforce our role as a leader in the industry. Our Sri Lankan hotels have certainly carved a name for themselves both here and abroad, and we are truly privileged to be recognised in so many fields”.
Earlier this year, Aitken Spence Hotels was recognised at the South Asian Travel Awards (SATA) held in India with Sri Lankan and South Asia awards for Leading Eco Hotel/Resort; and Heritance Negombo and Heritance Ayurveda Maha Gedara securing destination-specific awards as Leading Beach Hotel/Resort and Leading Wellness and Spa Hotel/Resort respectively. Heritance Ayurveda Maha Gedara also won the Silver at the National Green Awards 2018.
The Aitken Spence Hotels portfolio consists of 21 star-class properties, with 11 owned and managed properties in Sri Lanka, four in Maldives, four in Oman and one in India. The hotel chain will introduce the ‘Heritance’ brand of hotels to Maldives early next year with the opening of premium all-inclusive all-villa property, Heritance Aarah.