How to Nominate a Hotel for an Award

Knowing how to nominate a hotel for an award is the first step toward turning a property's day-to-day excellence into public, independently verified recognition. Every year, thousands of hotels — from five-star flagships to twelve-room boutique guesthouses — submit a hotel award nomination, yet many general managers and marketing teams still aren't entirely sure where to start or what a strong entry looks like. This guide walks through the full nomination journey step by step: who is eligible, how to choose the right category, what judges look for, what a nomination costs in 2027, and the habits that separate a shortlisted entry from one that goes unnoticed.

What Does It Mean to Nominate a Hotel for an Award?

Nominating a hotel for an award means formally submitting a property for independent evaluation against published judging criteria, rather than simply asserting excellence in marketing copy. A genuine hotel award nomination is reviewed by a qualified jury — not decided by public polls — and results in a shortlist placement, a win, or absence from the winners' list, determined purely on merit. Under the Hospitality Awards umbrella, hotel nominations feed primarily into the International Travel Awards programme, which also recognises resorts, airlines and tourism boards — placing a nomination within a globally credible, cross-industry judging framework.

Why Nominate Your Hotel in 2027

The case for submitting a hotel award nomination in 2027 has only strengthened as travellers lean more heavily on independent validation before booking. Properties that go through a formal nomination and judging process, and win, gain a trust signal that generic star ratings cannot replicate. Beyond the badge itself, hotels that nominate consistently report three outcomes: greater booking confidence when the award logo appears on the property website and OTA listings, expanded press coverage most marketing budgets could not otherwise buy, and a genuine lift in staff morale. For ownership groups, a documented history of nominations and wins can also support financing conversations and franchise renewals.

Who Can Submit a Hotel Award Nomination

One of the most common questions before nominating is simply who is allowed to do it. The answer is broader than most expect. Both self-nominations and third-party nominations are accepted, and in practice a hotel award nomination is typically submitted by one of the following:

1. The hotel's general manager or director of sales & marketing
2. The ownership group or management company overseeing the property
3. A PR or marketing agency acting on the hotel's behalf
4. Industry peers, loyal guests or media who believe a property deserves recognition

There are no geographic restrictions on who can nominate a hotel for an award — properties from any of 150+ eligible countries can be put forward, and the nominator need not hold a specific job title, only supply accurate information about the property being entered.

Choosing the Right Category Before You Nominate

Before you begin the nomination form, the single highest-leverage decision you'll make is selecting the correct category. Hotel award categories are organised by property type and market segment so that a boutique guesthouse is never judged against the same benchmark as a 500-room resort. Common categories include Luxury Hotel of the Year, Boutique Hotel of the Year, Business Hotel of the Year, Beach & Resort Hotel of the Year, Wellness Hotel of the Year, Sustainable Hotel of the Year, New Hotel of the Year, and Hotel Group of the Year. Choosing a category purely because it looks "less competitive" is a mistake — judges score entries relative to their category peers, so a mismatched category almost always produces a weaker result. Review the full list on our Award Categories page, or see our companion guide to Hotel Award Categories.

How Judging Works After You Submit

Once a nomination is submitted, it doesn't disappear into a black box — it's scored against six weighted, published criteria that apply consistently across every hotel entered, anywhere in the world:

Understanding this scorecard before you nominate tells you exactly what to emphasise in your submission rather than leaving you to guess. For the complete methodology, see our Judging Process page.

How to Nominate a Hotel for an Award: Step by Step

With a category selected and the criteria in mind, the actual nomination process is straightforward and typically takes less than an hour:

1. Confirm your category. Check your chosen category against the full list on the Award Categories page.
2. Select a nomination package. Compare tiers on the Fee & Cost page based on how many categories or programmes you'd like to enter.
3. Gather your supporting materials. Assemble property information, photography and evidence for each judging criterion before opening the form.
4. Complete the official nomination form. Enter your details and upload materials through the secure nomination portal.
5. Verification. The organising team reviews your submission for eligibility.
6. Jury review and results. Judges score your entry, and winners are notified privately before being celebrated at the annual gala.

Ready to put your property forward? Head to the Award Nomination page to nominate today.

Millennium Al Rawdah Hotel

What You'll Need Before You Start Your Nomination

Nominations move fastest when the supporting material is prepared in advance. At minimum, plan to have on hand: a concise property overview covering positioning, room count and key facilities; current, professionally shot photography of the exterior, rooms and public areas; guest satisfaction data or review scores you can cite as evidence; a short summary of recent service, innovation or sustainability initiatives with measurable outcomes; and a brief GM bio if your category rewards leadership. None of this needs to be exhaustive — judges want specific, verifiable detail rather than volume.

How Much Does It Cost to Nominate a Hotel for an Award

Nomination fees for 2027 typically start around USD 299 for a single category on a single programme, scaling up to USD 1,750 for packages that allow participation across multiple programmes and categories. It's worth restating a point that's easy to overlook: a higher-priced package never increases your odds of winning — it simply broadens how many categories or programmes you can enter. The outcome is always decided purely on jury-scored merit, independent of package tier. Separate Winner Packages, from roughly USD 820 to USD 3,860, are available afterward for confirmed winners wanting expanded PR support. Full current pricing is on our Fee & Cost page.

How to Prepare a Winning Nomination

Because judging is scored against fixed criteria rather than subjective impression, the strongest nominations are the ones that make the jury's job easy. A handful of habits consistently separate winning entries from average ones:

• Lead with evidence, not adjectives. Replace claims like "exceptional service" with guest satisfaction scores or specific initiatives judges can verify.
• Match your category precisely. A resort entered in a business hotel category is judged against the wrong benchmark.
• Invest in current photography. Judges form an initial impression from your submitted images.
• Address every criterion, especially sustainability. Even modest, well-documented initiatives score better than vague claims.
• Submit early. Categories can close ahead of the published deadline once capacity is reached.

Common Mistakes to Avoid When Nominating a Hotel

Most weak nominations fail for avoidable reasons rather than genuine shortfalls in the property itself. Frequent mistakes include submitting generic, templated descriptions that could describe almost any hotel; leaving the innovation or sustainability sections blank because they feel harder to write; choosing a category to chase a "less competitive" shortlist rather than the one that truly fits the property; and assuming a higher-priced package will improve the odds of winning, which — as covered above — it never does. Hotels that treat the form with the rigour of a serious business proposal consistently outperform those that treat it as a quick formality.

Hotel Award Nominations vs. Public Voting Contests

Not every "award" you could nominate a hotel for carries equal weight, and it's worth understanding the difference before committing budget and staff time. Public-vote listicles and pay-to-play directories that guarantee a badge for a fee are common in hospitality, but they carry little credibility because there is no independent evaluation behind the result. A genuine hotel award nomination, by contrast, is scored by a named, credentialed jury against published criteria, with no public-vote component, and is transparent that fees fund participation rather than the outcome itself. Before nominating anywhere, ask: Is the jury named? Are criteria published? Is there a public-vote element that could be gamed? Programmes under Hospitality Awards answer "yes," "yes" and "no."

What Happens After You Submit Your Nomination

Once your nomination form is submitted, the organising team confirms receipt and begins eligibility verification, typically taking a few business days. Your entry then moves into independent jury review, scored against the six weighted criteria alongside every other nomination in your category. From the close of nominations to the winner announcement, this process takes six to eight weeks. Confirmed winners are notified privately ahead of the public announcement, before being celebrated at the black-tie gala on 14 November 2027 at the Westin Marina Hotel in Dubai.

Featured Programme: International Travel Awards

Hotels nominated through Hospitality Awards are judged under the International Travel Awards — the flagship travel and hospitality programme organised by Golden Tree Events LLC, now in its 10th edition, spanning 150+ countries and 200+ categories across hotels, resorts, airlines, cruise lines and tourism boards. Review the programme on our internal hub, or visit the official International Travel Awards website before submitting. If your property is in a leading destination, our guide to Hotel Awards Dubai and our companion piece on Luxury Hotel Awards offer additional detail worth reviewing alongside this guide.

Frequently Asked Questions