In February each year we invite our property partners, from all over the world, to London for the SilverDoor Party. It’s our opportunity to show our appreciation to all of the amazing people we work with every single day and say thank you for their continued support.
In 2017, we introduced the SilverDoor Partner Awards as a way of highlighting the outstanding achievements of our property partners. The awards operate a little differently than others in the business travel industry. There’s no submission process, no deadlines for entry and no tickets required.
Instead, we survey all 130 SilverDoor employees from all three international offices and ask them to vote for who they think should win the SilverDoor Partner Awards. After all, it’s our employees who work with our partners every day, spend their time viewing thousands of apartments every year and collaborate on exciting projects.
We think this is the fairest way of operating the awards and we hope you agree that this year’s winners are certainly deserving of recognition!
So, with that said, here is the first in a series of posts where we catch up with the SilverDoor Partner Award winners to reflect on their achievement and find out what exciting projects they have in the pipeline.
First up, Craig Barton from SACO – worthy winners of Best New Property for their dazzling design-led aparthotel Whitworth Locke.
How was it to win the SilverDoor Partner Award for Best New Property?
"So exciting and unexpected! We only opened in November and it just shows how special Whitworth Locke is that it was recognised by our lovely partners at SilverDoor despite only operating for just a few months. The property will continue to get better and better as time progresses and we hope SilverDoor will remain a key client for us."
What is it about Whitworth Locke that makes it an award-winning property?
"It is really special. It combines the history and industrial architecture of the Manchester cotton mills, with the modern design-led lifestyle branding that Locke is famous for throughout the industry. It’s completely unique in style, in its on-site facilities and its ability to cater for all people and all requirements."
There seems to be lots of exciting new Locke developments coming up, can you tell me a bit about them?
"Yes, there are lots of exciting plans underway. Locke’s portfolio includes three open aparthotels—one in London, one in Manchester and one in Edinburgh. Next year we’ll be opening two locations in Dublin, with Ormond Locke in Q1 and Beckett Locke following later in the year. We’ll also have properties in Lisbon, London (Dalston and Broken Wharf), Cambridge and Berlin in the pipeline too."
With a number of operators opening competing aparthotels, what makes the Locke brand unique?
"Locke is more than an aparthotel – it’s an experience. Locke is design-led living with a focus on style and creativity. It is also the only lifestyle brand operating in the aparthotel sector. We ensure we have regular events on-site to bring people together and we try to reach out to the community as much as possible working with local artists and businesses to promote the community."
Apart from winning the award, how was the rest of the SilverDoor Party 2019?
"We love SilverDoor and the party was great fun! I was so happy to get an invitation this year on behalf of the Locke brand and look forward to 2020!" You can find more information about Whitworth Locke or book a stay here.
