Leading light

Last December can only be described as frantic for Nicholas Rettie. In the week that he came to the end of his role as general manager of London's Metropolitan hotel, he was awarded the 1998 Hotelier of the Year title at an awards luncheon at the House of Lords. The following week, he assumed his new position as general manager of the ambitious Great Eastern Hotel in the City of London.

Privilege

But despite arriving at a somewhat demanding time for Rettie, the award still came as a great thrill. "I felt tremendously privileged and flattered to discover that I had been selected for the award," says Rettie, eight months into his reign. "I have to admit that I had had a few nudges from people to say that I had been nominated, but I didn't really give it much thought. It's such a well-closeted selection process, I was totally unaware that I had won until I received the call, which came as such a surprise."

As has been the case for many of his predecessors, Rettie returned from the celebratory lunch (held in his honour by 1997 winner Peter Lederer) to discover that his hotel had been notified of his success. "I came back to the Metropolitan to find the staff had been tipped off and had organised a small Champagne reception for me," says Rettie.

And according to Rettie, the attention from his staff illustrates one of the benefits of becoming Hotelier of the Year. "The staff were so proud," explains Rettie, "which is a great advantage. People who want to get on in the industry want to work with recognised hoteliers."

This comes in handy when you have just moved to a new role and you are in the market for recruiting staff. At the Great Eastern, which is currently undergoing a £30m face-lift as a joint project with Conran Holdings and Arcadian Hotels, good staff are essential if the hotel is to meet its anticipated opening date of January.

However, Rettie has no doubt that the project will sell itself. "It's a very exciting development, large and complex, with the restoration of an old building but in a modern idiom," he explains, adding that the 163-bedroom hotel will have four restaurants and three bars. "This area of London will be an exciting place to work. It's undergoing a tremendous revival."

As is the tradition with the Hotelier of the Year award, Rettie will be invited to judge the successive award, for 1999, and is already clear in his mind what he will be looking for.

"It should be someone who displays the height of professionalism. He or she should demonstrate high personal standards and work ethics and they should be strong on training and developing staff. It is not enough to be a good manager running a good hotel," he warns. "You have to do things for other people, for the common good."

• Nominations for the 1999 Hotelier of the Year award can be received from any Caterer reader, as well as employees, rival hoteliers or guests. The closing date is 20 September.