The Bridgeport Hotel team accept the ‘Best Overall Hotel’ award at the 2021 AHA|SA Hotel Industry Awards for Excellence.
‘Labour of Love’ to ‘Best in Class’ HOTEL SA INTERVIEWED DARREN STEELE, GENERAL MANAGER OF OPERATIONS (SA) FOR EDP HOTELS, ABOUT THE BRIDGEPORT HOTEL BEING NAMED JOINT HOTEL OF THE YEAR AT THIS YEAR’S AHA|SA HOTEL INDUSTRY AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE.
WHAT IS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WIN TO THE HOTEL GROUP? “The Bridgeport has been such a labour of love for our owners, Ian Tregoning and Graham Hobbs. To win Best Overall Hotel vindicates their early vision and their persistence. “I think the first drawings took place back in May 2012 and it's well documented that we spent six years in planning, fighting tooth and nail to get through to the point where we could even start construction.” IT REALLY WAS A VERY STRATEGIC VISIONARY MOVE. YOU ARE IN SUCH A GO-AHEAD AREA OF THE STATE.
“Of course, the timing has been great. We're coming online at a time when Monarto is about to spend significant money on their operations and The Bend Motorsport Park has been a great success for the state. “There is also a myriad of other business development investment going on in the region at the moment. I SAW THE OWNERS’ REACTION ON THE NIGHT. HOW DID STAFF IN THE HOTEL REACT TO THE NEWS? “Staff were over the moon. “It's really difficult to describe to anyone the enormity of opening a hotel of this scale from scratch.
“That’s very true. A lot of people have assumed that we were backing on to projects like The Bend etc. with this development.
“Just opening the doors with effectively 150 staff that are largely new to the industry, and the excitement that goes with that, but also the challenges staff face until your systems etc. are bedded in.
“But when you look at the chronology, and how far back it was, it really does show how visionary Ian and Graham were for the region, well before many of these other major developments were in the pipeline.
“All of our staff went through the hard yards early on. To come out the other side with the ultimate accolade of being Hotel of the Year gives them a sense of pride and achievement for all the hard work that they've put in.
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