The week in brief – 25 July 2005
Julia Hands wins top honour in First Women Awards Hotelier Julia Hands has been awarded the highest honour at this year's First Women Awards, organised to recognise women who have broken new ground in British business.
The former lawyer bought 14 faded country hotels in 2001 and spent 35m transforming them into Hand Picked Hotels. The group was awarded the title AA Group of the Year 2004-05.
The awards are organised by the Confederation of British Industry in conjunction with Real Business magazine.
Yell.com warns hoteliers over underhand business strategies Hoteliers should watch out for underhand business strategies when advertising on www.yell.com, an operator has warned.
Norman Springford, chairman of Apex Hotels, discovered that customers logging on to Yellow Pages' online site were being automatically redirected to booking agent Active Hotels rather than Apex's own website.
After attempting to take legal action he was told by trading standards that, while the action was underhand, it was not a crime.
Active Hotels pays Yell.com for this service, while hospitality operators also pay to be listed.
Yell.com has since changed the link back to Apex Hotels' website.
Dorchester chef wins William Heptinstall Award Dorchester-based commis chef Mark Machin has won the William Heptinstall Award 2005.
The award of 3,000 is granted by the International Wine & Food Society and the Worshipful Company of Cooks. The money is given to a young chef so that he or she can work abroad and gain experience of different cuisines.
Ascot goers complain about inflated hotel prices
Race-goers at this year's Ascot races in York have complained of wildly inflated hotel rates.
A spokesman for the event said it was a matter of supply and demand. "Most hotels put their prices up for the week," he said. "That is standard practice. One or two high-profile hotels in the city have overinflated their room rates, which has resulted in a few grumbles."