Categories Honoring Businesses
4) Environmental Stewardship/Sustainable Practices
This award recognizes a hospitality business that has developed a culture toward integrating environmentally sustainable practices within everyday operations. Examples include (but are not limited to): instituting green design and equipment, water conservation, local food and product sourcing, and waste reduction programs.
5) Customer Experience
This award recognizes a hospitality organization that offers exceptional service creating a customer centric environment, creates goodwill among guests, actively engages their customers in their business or brand, and/or elevates the visitor experience.
6) Lodging Property of the Year
This award recognizes a Sonoma County lodging property that exemplifies excellence and elevates the visitor experience.
7) Community Enrichment
This award recognizes a hospitality business that gives back to the community through philanthropy, and/or partnership with local non-profit organizations.
Categories Honoring Individuals or Businesses
8) Champion of the Industry
This award recognizes an individual or organization who has supported, championed, or advocated for the Sonoma County hospitality industry. Examples of Champions could include: business services used by hospitality businesses, public organizations, or individuals that serve the industry through their work or advocacy. While this award is designed to honor those that support the hospitality industry, nominations of champions within the hospitality industry will also be considered.
9) Innovation Award (separate form)
This award recognizes a business or individual that has made an extraordinary innovation in the way it operates. This award is based on results of solid research showing the business or individual identified a need, created a program or built an experience that met that need, and then delighted customers through this innovation as identified in social media or other testimonials. Submission must include the situation overview, data used to identify the need, program/experience created and sample testimonials.
