Nominations come from a variety of sources – and over a full year. We receive nominations from our team of reviewers and Awards Committee experts; from consumers via various websites and from feedback postcards – and also from supporting e-mails sent via the official awards website; from hotels, chefs and hoteliers; and from other industry contacts.

Our task is to shape these nominations into the basis of the awards categories each year so that the final results are as appropriate and relevant to the particular year.

Nominations for the 2010 awards are open from now until January 31st 2010.

Judging

The Scottish Hotel Awards are thorough. Every single nominated hotel is visited and stayed at. No hotel is accepted for an award without being known well to us. Nominees are advised in writing and must accept their nominations. Every individual nominee is met or interviewed. Interviews can last up to two hours. We sometimes spend up to 24 hours on site. An award might come after several years’ input.

Where relevant, we ask for facts and figures as supporting material for nominations. We also carry out our own research and benchmarking. We receive industry intelligence and check out all the main feedback / review websites for trends.

Vitally, our team have a wide range of skills (from cheffing to design to hotel management to marketing) and we are able to be comparative – for example, if two hotels are contenders for the same award, then the same reviewer will visit each / discuss each with the chairman of the awards.

Awards Committee members also have their specialist knowledge and each member has the right, without question, to veto a nominee or proposed winner from their area of expertise. They can also, of course, nominate and guide the team in selecting final winners. Committee members can see the full list of finalists and proposed winners.

It is a thorough, up-to-the-minute and comprehensive system based on expert, critic, comparative and consumer input. It is designed to encourage and recognise the best in Scottish hospitality in all departments of the hotel industry.