The 6th Ghana Hotels Association (GHA) Awards, slated to take place at the Labadi Beach Hotel on January 27, 2024, has taken a new dimension to select awardees of members of the association in good standing. In line with the digitalization agenda of the Ghana Hotels Association (GHA), the management has created an online portal for all members in good standing to do the nomination. Dr Edward Ackah-Nyamike Jnr., President of the Ghana Hotels Association, speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, said the idea of creating an online portal for the nomination was to encourage members to adhere to digitalization as it was a way to grow the hotel industry in the country. Dr Ackah-Nyamike also noted that participation in the nomination was not as massive as was expected, believing it was part of digitalization phobia. He added even though they were yet to investigate the reason behind the low nomination, it could also stem from the hectic nature of the online nomination. 'I want to believe that it i s all part of this digitalization phobia, the fear of doing online things because the online nomination was quite hectic; it involves gathering data, downloading pictures and other documents,' he opined. 'I would find out after the awards why some of the members did not apply and to give a better understanding because I know that a lot of the hotels have gone digital one way or the other and it was very surprising that they didn't take the opportunity to nominate themselves online' He, however, said members who could not do the online nominations probably were not ready for the 6th GHA Awards because the nomination process was simple and user-friendly. He reiterated that the digital approach helped the hotels do the right thing as the assessment process made them gather their scattered information in a presentable manner, providing rich information. He was somewhat convinced that the low nomination had to do with the issue of the adoption process 'where a few people attempt and when it sits well, others w ill also come on board.' 'We cannot reverse this whole digitalization process; that is the way to grow, that is the future and we need to encourage everybody to embrace it,' he noted. He was of the view that the online nomination was no excuse for the complexity of the system as some hotels were able to do it as expected. 'It wasn't a complex process. It meant that it was for those who were prepared in a way, it was for those who understood their work and knew that there is information that is available in the system and they could provide it,' he said. Going into categories for the 6th GHA Awards, Dr Ackah-Nyamike said the opportunity was given to members in good standing to assess themselves in line with the awards categories and nominate themselves if they believe they deserve to win the chosen categories. He further said that the difference in the 6th GHA Awards was that eight awards categories called the Departmentalised Award Categories had been created with the help of an Assessment Committee, com prising a consultant and a colleague to assess the nominations to see if they meet the criteria of the categories chosen and shortlisted. He added that another Awards Selection Committee was established to crosscheck and ensure that the right and deserving hotels were awarded. The Departmentalised Awards Categories include; Conference and Banqueting Team of the Year, Front of House Team of the Year, Green Hotel of the Year and Hotel Restaurant of the Year. Others are House-Keeping Team of the Year, Most Customer-Oriented Hotel of the Year, Most Digitalised Hotel of the Year and Most Secure Hotel of the Year. Apart from the Departmentalised Awards, Dr Ackah-Nyamike also disclosed the General Awards, which would crown the Budget Hotel of the Year, One-Star Hotel of the Year, Two-Star Hotel of the Year, Three-Star Hotel of the Year, Four-Star Hotel of the Year and the Five-Star Hotel of the Year. He said the General Awards would be given to the best from the Departmentalised Awards and then crown a hotel of the year. 'With the General Awards, we didn't ask the hotels to nominate themselves for that. What we did was to pick the best out of the Departmentalised Awards and then crown a hotel of the year,' he explained. He also mentioned the Specialised Awards for individuals who are managers, directors and owners of hotels and have contributed to the progress of the industry as well as the Regional Branches Awards. To make the awards credible and people-centred, Dr Ackah-Nyamike said the 10 Regional Branches were asked to nominate one hotelier in each region with reasons the nominees deserve to be crowned the hotelier of the year; thus, seven hoteliers were nominated from seven regions after a careful assessment of their profiles. He added that this category of the awards was through public voting, constituting 50 per cent and profile assessment also 50 per cent to prevent monetization from overshadowing that category. '…the one who garners more votes scores 50 per cent, the 2nd person no matter the number of votes scores 45 per cent and the 3rd gets 40 per cent and so to the last person. The assessment of the profiles is as important just as the public voting; so that the public voting is not weaponised against the profile,' he underscored. He, therefore, mentioned that the 6th GHA Awards would recognise people who have significantly contributed to the hotel industry and a lifetime achievement award, acknowledging Ghana Tourism Authority, Ashfoam Ghana Limited, Multichoice Ghana (DSTV), World Business Support, Nedict Hospitality Suppliers, Tour Mother Land, Animal Welfare League, BEL-ACQUA, Sahara Solace, Daisy Hotel Amenities, SIC and SIBL for sponsoring the 6th GHA Awards. Source: Ghana News Agency
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