As another monumental year for SilverDoor and the serviced apartment industry draws to a close, we’re reflecting on the highlights of 2012. Since we recently marked the beginning of our financial year 13, here’s our countdown of 13 major achievements this year.
13. We welcomed 38 new employees, including 8 new placement students and 2 former placement students who returned to the company as permanent members of staff.
12. Our property portfolio has expanded rapidly and we now represent nearly 75,000 apartments worldwide in over 60 countries and 300 cities, from Brazil, Canada and the US to Nigeria, India and China.
11. Along with Dolphin Square and The Apartment Service, we hosted the first serviced apartment forum at the HBAA Annual Forum. It focused on the role of serviced apartments within the business travel industry, the progress the sector has made and the challenges it needs to overcome.
10. We restructured and expanded our Finance Department and our Online, Media, Data & Marketing Department, to create several small, specialised teams within each department.
9. Paddy Hegan, our Partner Relations and Rates Manager – International, visited over 30 cities in a year that included trips to India, Qatar, the UAE, the US, Japan, China, Germany and Switzerland.
8. We launched our monthly newsletter, The Roar.
7. We won an HBAA award for our use of social media.
6. We appointed young people’s charity Catch22 as our charity for year 13 and hosted a Christmas-themed launch event which raised £250.
5. We sponsored a fascinating lunch hosted by the editors of Buying Business Travel and Business Traveller magazines.
4. Our social calendar continued to grow with quarterly SilverDoor ‘nights in’ and parties galore: there was a Jubilee party, an Olympics party, a summer party at The Anglers in London and a Christmas party (pictured) at Chiswick’s High Road House.
3. We appointed 5 SilverDoor Lionhearts, who attend major industry events from property launches to industry association meetings.
2. Stuart Winstone was promoted to Business Partnerships Director.
1. Last but not least, we came 17th in the Sunday Times 100 Best Small Companies to Work For. The award was a huge achievement for us and vindicates what we’ve always known: that SilverDoor is a great place to work.
