The 2016 ‘Learners of the Year’ for HOSPA’s hospitality focused Professional Development Programmes in Financial Management and Revenue Management were announced yesterday (25 January 2017) at the newly introduced HOSPA Annual Student Awards Ceremony – held at the Hilton on Park Lane, London.
The two recipients in question who gained the highest combined course work and examination results for 2016 in their respective Professional Development Programmes – run by HOSPA, the UK’s leading educational organisation for hospitality professionals involved in Financial Management, Revenue Management, Marketing and IT – were: Kamila Lipnicka, Accounts Assistant, Radisson Blu Hotel Belfast, Northern Ireland, for Financial Management; and Sam Jennings, Key Market Revenue Manager – South West, Whitbread – Premier Inn, for Revenue Management.
Pictured from left to right: HOSPA’s 2016 ‘Outstanding Overall Learners of the Year’: Sam Jennings, Key Market Revenue Manager – South West, Whitbread – Premier Inn, for Revenue Management, and Kamila Lipnicka, Accounts Assistant, Radisson Blu Hotel Belfast, Northern Ireland, for Financial Management. On the extreme right is ‘HOSPA Special Outstanding Achievement Award’ recipient Sam Willetts from Jury's Inn.
The two outstanding learners were each presented by HOSPA Professional Development Committee Chairman Professor Peter Jones MBE with a specially engraved glass trophy and a complimentary day delegate space for HOSPACE2017, at the very first HOSPA Annual Student Awards Ceremony – a stand-alone celebration, sponsored by MRK Associates and dedicated to the achievements of HOSPA learners.
The first ever HOSPA Student Awards Ceremony also saw a ‘Special Outstanding Achievement Award’ presented to Sam Willetts, Accounts Manager – Reporting, Jurys Inns. Head of HOSPA Professional Development Debra Adams explained: “We wanted to honour Sam for scoring the highest combined course work and examination results over a two-year period in all three stages of the HOSPA Professional Development Programme in Financial Management. Sam was the 2015 highest scorer in Stages 1 and 2: ‘Introduction to Financial Management’ and ‘Operational Management Accounting’, completed in March and September 2015 respectively, before completing the Financial Management grand slam in 2016 by gaining the highest score in Stage 3: ‘Strategic Management Accounting’, completed in February 2016.”
Sam Willetts – like the two overall highest HOSPA examination score achievers for 2016, Kamila Lipnicka and Sam Jennings – received a glass trophy and a complimentary delegate space at HOSPA’s prestigious annual HOSPACE2017 Conference and Exhibition, to be held on 2 November at the Lancaster London. These were not the only awards the three outstanding learners received, as between them they also won four out of the 12 additional awards on offer yesterday. They were amongst the 12 learners, who received certificates and cash prizes for achieving the highest HOSPA Professional Development Programmes’ scores, based on their results in each of the three HOSPA examination stages and levels for Financial Management and Revenue Management respectively – completed in February 2016 and August 2016.
The winners of the twelve 2016 HOSPA Professional Development Learner Awards, who each received a trophy and cash prize from Professor Peter Jones MBE, were as follows:
The February 2016 HOSPA Professional Development Programme in Financial Management prize winners were:
Stage 1 – Introduction to Financial Accounting: Kamila Lipnicka, Accounts Assistant, Radisson Blu Hotel Belfast, Northern Ireland
Stage 2 – Operational Management Accounting: Begona Manzanero, Accounts Payable Supervisor, Hilton Park Lane, London
Stage 3 – Strategic Management Accounting: Sam Willetts, Accounts Manager – Reporting, Jurys Inns
The August 2016 HOSPA Professional Development Programme in Financial Management prize winners were:
Stage 1 – Introduction to Financial Accounting: Ketan Bhakta, Finance Graduate Manager, Jurys Inns
Stage 2 – Operational Management Accounting: Kamila Lipnicka, Accounts Assistant, Radisson Blu Hotel Belfast, Northern Ireland
Stage 3 – Strategic Management Accounting: James Bland, Food and Beverage Stock Controller, Redworth Hall Hotel, Newton Aycliffe, County Durham
The February 2016 HOSPA Professional Development Programme in Revenue Management prize winners were:
Level 1: Introduction to Revenue Management: Bethany Parker, Cluster Revenue Data Analyst, Principal Hayley Hotels
Level 2: Operational Revenue Management: Pankaj Khanna, Value Centre General Manager, Thistle City Barbican, London
Level 3: Strategic Revenue Management: Zena Carter, Revenue Manager, Farncombe Estate Holdings Ltd.
The August 2016 HOSPA Professional Development Programme in Revenue Management prize winners were:
Level 1: Introduction to Revenue Management: Sam Jennings, Key Market Revenue Manager – South West, Whitbread – Premier Inn
Level 2: Operational Revenue Management: Diane Little, Assistant Cluster Rooms Revenue Manager, Principal Hotels, Edinburgh
Level 3: Strategic Revenue Management: Bethany Parker, Cluster Revenue Data Analyst, Principal Hayley Hotels
The final award presented at yesterday’s Ceremony was ‘The HOSPA Outstanding Company Commitment to Professional Development Award 2016’, which went to Hilton Hotels. Hilton’s Ricarda Both, Senior Manager, Operations Finance EMEA, received the HOSPA glass trophy on behalf of the company from Professor Peter Jones MBE. The award was made by the HOSPA Professional Development Committee, in recognition of Hilton’s outstanding commitment in promoting and developing education in the hospitality industry.
Commenting on the awards, HOSPA Chief Executive Jane Pendlebury said: “Huge congratulations to our three outstanding learners and all our prize winning highest achievers, who have each demonstrated outstanding commitment to their careers, combining study with demanding full-time roles in the hotel and restaurant industry. We are extremely proud of them. Big congratulations also go to Hilton Hotels for winning our award for ‘Outstanding Company Commitment to Professional Development’.
“We are delighted to have staged the very first HOSPA Annual Student Awards Ceremony, which has enabled us to centre on the professional development of the next generation of revenue managers and financial managers. Importantly, the event also has enabled our learners to network with industry leaders.”
Prior to the Awards Ceremony itself, the afternoon’s proceedings started with a Panel Debate – chaired by Professor Peter Jones MBE – involving expert participants discussing ‘Developing the hospitality Financial Management and Revenue Management professional – the next generation’. Those taking part included: Debra Adams; Simon Tarr, Chief Executive of People 1st; Paul Nisbett, Chair of HOSPA’s Financial Management Committee; and Michael Heyward, Chair of HOSPA’s Revenue Management Committee.
The deadline date for enrolment for the next intake is 1 March 2017 – for both the Financial Management and Revenue Management programmes. Both courses are available at three levels – Introductory, Operational and Strategic – each at a cost of £820 (ex VAT). For further information, visit: www.hospa.org/education; or email: education@hospa.org .