Member Article

First North-West Hotelier to Win Prestigious National Hotelier of the Year Award

Thousands of people cast their votes in the UK Independent Show Hotelier of the Year Award but only one outstanding personality could win, and this year the coveted title went to Paul Bayliss MBE.

General Manager of Carden Park and Chair of Cheshire Hoteliers Association, Paul Bayliss, took home the prestigious award for being the Best Independent Hotelier across the UK this year where he represents his hotel, Carden Park Country Estate, and the North West at the awards ceremony at Olympia London.

Paul was handed the Award by Bronwyn de Cholewa of SKY TV for representing outstanding leadership and standards of service within the UK’s 4th biggest Industry, the hospitality sector recognizing his achievements of excellence, a portfolio of outstanding roles within his career and for consistently inspiring the next generation to pursue and succeed in a career that is as equally challenging as it is rewarding.

Commenting on Paul’s achievements and commitment to the industry the owner of Carden Park Steve Morgan says, “I’m so pleased for Paul; it’s fantastic to gain industry leading recognition by winning this pinnacle award. Carden Park as a leading Independent hotel continues to go from strength to strength. Paul is a highly respected leader within the luxury Hotel Industry and is especially renowned for giving people an opportunity to grow and develop whilst delivering great standards and direction to a wide audience and a big high achieving resort team.”

Paul was delighted to win and bring the award back to the region and said “On a personal level to win probably the most prestigious award in our industry is fantastic. I’ve been very lucky in my career to have been given opportunities to learn and develop and this recognises what we are doing at Carden, our ambitions about our people and our place in the Industry going forward.”

The Independent Hoteliers Award Show takes place annually during the Independent Hotel Show and is attended by 6,300 visitors over the two-day event. The awards however are sent out into the Industry months before allowing everyone to vote for their preferred hotelier and hotel of the year. The awards are designed to recognise the very best the Industry has to offer. They celebrate the passion of the independently spirited and entrepreneurial hotel sector where to be different and being able to stand out is absolutely essential if they are to succeed.

The shortlist was selected by a panel of industry experts, then passed to the public to decide the eventual winner and on this occasion, it was Paul. He was awarded alongside The No.15 Boutique Townhouse hotel in Bath who took home the prize for Best Hotel.

Paul has served as General Manager of the historic Carden Park Hotel since 2016 having previously started his hotel career with Carden Park just nine years before as the Deputy GM. This was following a highly successful career in the British Army as a Chef and Logistician before a meteoric rise within the Commercial sector of Hospitality. He puts his success down to being given the best apprenticeship anyone could ask for as a military Chef. The discipline and focus that a soldier is trained to adopt, alongside a constant ambition to give people a chance, creates a passionate interest in the art of excellence in service and ensures great sales.

He is the newly appointed Chair of Cheshire Hoteliers Association and previously led and grew Europe’s largest Hoteliers Association in Manchester. At the top of his agenda is for Carden Park to become a leading luxury hotel resort in the UK whilst providing lots of recognition and reward for a hardworking workforce across the Cheshire hospitality sector.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Jo Leah .