Nominations are now open for the 2019 HM Awards. CLICK HERE to nominate.
As the big night gets closer, HM is looking back on the successes of 2018 and is checking in with Kate Milross from Accor Pacific – one of three winners of the 2018 Rising Star Award – to see how the award changed her professional life.
How has winning HM’s Rising Star Award for 2018 changed your career?
Winning HM’s Rising Star Award has certainly accelerated my career, though more importantly, it has strengthened and reiterated my love for the hospitality industry as a whole. When you can go to work each and every day, give it your all and be rewarded for just that, it really is something incredible. My career began as a casual Food and Beverage Attendant with Accor and now I’m the Gender & Orientation Equality Champion on Accor’s Inclusion and Diversity Committee and the Guest Experience Manager at Accor’s Sydney Corporate Office overseeing more than 300 hotels and HM’s 2018 Rising Star, which really shows where this industry can take you if you approach it with a good attitude and a willingness to learn. Plus, I’ve had a lot more profile views on LinkedIn. I didn’t even know how to use it before, That’s good apparently.
What does it mean to have been recognised by your peers for the work you do?
Being nominated by colleagues whom I highly respect was rewarding enough to begin with, so then to actually win the award, that was really moving. The recognition, especially such public recognition, really makes you stop and reflect on everything that you have done and how you got to where you are. It makes you appreciate the opportunities you’ve had and opens doors to so many more. I am proud of myself and what I’ve achieved, but it couldn’t have happened without all of the people that I’ve met along the way.