Robert Aquilina, a member of the concierge team at InterContinental Malta, was recently awarded the Hotel Worker of the Year for 2010 at the STAR Awards ceremony.

The STAR Awards were introduced as a pilot project in 2005 and since then the scheme has grown significantly in popularity, with thousands of tourists participating and hundreds of tourism employees being nominated each year. The judges for these awards are the tourists themselves.

In addition to the tourist-driven awards, the MTA has also established an industry-driven award for the hospitality trade – the Hotel Worker of the Year. The idea behind this prestigious award is to recognise hotel employees considered to be exemplary workers on all fronts and who excel both in their performance and their general attitude towards work and colleagues.

Mr Aquilina has been working in the tourism industry for 11 years after completing a diploma in accommodation operations at the Institute of Tourism Studies in Malta.

He began his career at the front desk and is presently working as a concierge having also attained Les Clefs D’Or, the renowned golden keys, from the prestigious Union Internationale des Concierges d’Hotels.

“I was left speechless when I was informed that I had been nominated. Knowing that I can make a difference to a guest’s stay, sometimes even by the most simple of things, is very satisfying,” said Mr Aquilina.

The STAR Awards is a Malta Tourism Authority initiative through which recognition is given to employees in the tourism and hospitality industry for their passion and quality of service.