Gleneagles wins double at marketing awards

Scotland's Gleneagles hotel has scooped double honours at this year's Hotel Marketing Association (HMA) awards.

Gleneagles won the award for best hotel brochure and the best new marketing activity on a small budget category for its Friends of Gleneagles campaign. The hotel was also highly commended for its Winter Rates Promotion.

HMA chairman Pamela Carvell praised the hotel for its "highly professional" marketing campaigns. "They were highly focused and knew exactly what they were trying to achieve - and who they were trying to reach," she said.

Carvell, who had feared that the number of entries would be affected by the hardened economic conditions, said she was surprised by both the quantity and quality of the entries this year.

"It seems the hotel industry has moved on from the idea that when times are tough, marketing budgets are cut. Now they think it's time to be more innovative in their marketing, and that's very refreshing," she added.

Other HMA award-winners included Hilton in the UK & Ireland, which scooped the best leisure marketing activity award for its Hilton Family Breaks campaign, and the Savoy Group, whose online customer relationship management (CRM) system won it the best use of technology in marketing title.

Moat House Hotels won best public relations activity for its Tour de Club Moativation charity cycle ride around England, and Corus Hotels' Fantastic Summer Campaign 2003 landed the best fully integrated marketing campaign accolade.

The winners were presented with their awards at London's Savoy Hotel on 15 December.