2019 categories

In this category, we are looking to crown the best Luxury Travel Retail Business in the UK, exemplary companies, the ones that others take influence from and those who show passion, personality, profitability, innovation and creativity.

As the face of luxury travel retail continues to diversify, a range of businesses now potentially coming under this category, each growing, innovating and developing in their own way, as customers’ demands and habits evolve and technology enhances how they operate.

In this category we are looking to crown the best Luxury Travel Store in the UK. We would like to see passion, profitability, innovation, community and creativity come across in this entry.

We want to hear from the legends of the sector and the individuals who epitomise everything a Luxury Travel Designer should be in a competitive world. You will be a luxury professional through and through, demonstrating passion, expertise, excitement, connections, innovation, creativity, sales ability and all-round wow factor!

Luxury Operator of the Year is deemed to be a company that offers a wide portfolio of worldwide product for sale through agents. This category will be seeking to find the company that has demonstrated exemplary levels of service to its clients and agents and offers a consistently progressive level of luxury product, as viewed by agents.

Specialist Luxury Operator of the Year is deemed to be a company that offers a product portfolio focused only on one particular region of the world, country or product niche that is available for sale through agents. This category will be seeking to find the company that has demonstrated exemplary levels of service to its clients and agents and offers an excellent level of product particular to its specialisation, as viewed by agents.

This category is deemed to be one whose ships offer an incredibly high staff-guest ratio, leading to high levels of ship-wide guest recognition and customer service. The space per guest ratio will also be extremely generous and dining will tend to be flexible and open, with guests not confined to using particular restaurants on the ship and able to dine when they wish, instead of prescribed seatings, areas and locations. There are likely to be fewer, and larger, cabins and attention to detail in the provision of services and amenities is paramount. They will tend to focus on inclusivity (food, drink and gratuities, for example). Agents will be rating on service and support received by the trade, customer satisfaction of clients and consistently-delivered and evolving luxury product.

A premium cruise line will be deemed as one that tends to offer sophisticated options in terms of dining and design, but perhaps on a larger ship, one which also prides itself on offering a host of facilities and entertainment. It may also offer a “suite product” within the ship itself, for example. Ships tend to be four-star or above with elegant decor, a friendly informal level of service and gourmet cuisine and/or alternative restaurants. The category will be agent rated, based on the company's support of the trade, service to customers and consistent delivery of quality product and innovation.

This category is to identify the airline which offers the most consistently impressive premium (business and/or first) product (aircraft cabin, food and drink, lounge and other services) while also showing high levels of customer service, innovation and support of the trade.

This category aims to discover the large group (25 hotels and over) that offers the most consistently high levels of product innovation, guest service and support of the trade in the UK. The group's portfolio can be located anywhere in the world.

This category aims to discover the small hotel group (less than 25 properties) that offers the most consistently high levels of product innovation, guest service and support of the trade in the UK. The group's portfolio can be located anywhere in the world.

The hotel can be part of a group, or an independent hotel (of any size) and must have opened (including soft opening) before September 7, 2018.

All entries into this category will be considered by the team at ttgluxury, before being added to the shortlisting process, whereby a panel of travel and luxury hotel experts from the media will use their vast experience to carry out an assessment on the hotel.

The judges will be looking at how impactful the hotel has been in the destination, the quality of its design, level of innovation, attention to sustainability and service proposition as well as its ability to deliver an all-round luxury proposition that perfectly fits its locale.

This award is for the individual deemed to have made the most significant impact on and within the luxury travel sector and will be decided by the in-house team at ttgluxury and revealed on the day of the awards!

Email editor of ttgluxury April Hutchinson for more information - ahutchinson@ttgmedia.com