- ProgrammeWorld GM Awards
- Who is nominatedIndividual leaders
- ScopeInternational — Hong Kong eligible
- Track recordsix editions held
- Nomination feeFrom USD 299 · packages
- 2026 close15 September 2026
- Winners announcedSaturday, 14 November 2026, Dubai
Who it is for. General Managers, Hotel Managers, Cluster GMs and Resident Managers with GM responsibility at properties in Hong Kong. What it judges. The property's results under the nominee's leadership — guest satisfaction, revenue, operations, people, brand — in one of 20 categories. Cost and dates. From USD 299; entries close on 15 September 2026.
Golden Tree Events LLC founded the World GM Awards in Dubai in 2021; six editions have been held and the official site is worldgmawards.com. The programme exists because hotel performance has a person behind it, and its 20 categories are written around what that person achieved.
Hong Kong's General Managers have run one of the hardest hospitality cycles anywhere — closure, quarantine hotels, reopening, a workforce that had partly left the industry, then a recovery driven by mainland visitors, MICE and events. A GM who took a harbour-front property through that and came out with rate, satisfaction and a team intact has a tenure story the categories were written for.
Who should participate
Eligible nominees run a property, whatever the title:
- Hotel and resort General Managers
- Cluster and area General Managers
- General Managers of serviced apartments, holiday-home companies and hospitality groups
- General Managers of restaurants, spas and destination businesses
Hong Kong sectors whose leaders qualify
For property General Managers; these are the sectors where Hong Kong's GMs are found.
Hotels & Resorts
Harbour-view luxury, Central business hotels, boutique properties, Lantau and theme-park resorts — 131 property categories plus a GM programme.
Awards for this industryTravel & Tourism
Licensed agencies and GBA tour specialists, attractions, cruise and MICE organisers, online travel — 75 travel categories plus hotels.
Awards for this industryRestaurant / F & B
Michelin rooms, dim sum houses, cha chaan tengs, private kitchens, world-list bars, cafés and caterers — 130 categories.
Awards for this industrySpa & Wellness
Harbour-view hotel spas, registered TCM practices, reflexology chains, wellness studios, aesthetic clinics — 150 spa and beauty categories.
Awards for this industryAviation / Cruises / Yachts
HKIA airlines and ground services, world-leading air cargo, MRO and aerospace, Kai Tak cruise operations, marinas and yacht services.
Awards for this industryEntertainment & Sports
Kai Tak Sports Park events, concert and festival promoters, film and content production, clubs and federations, esports, attractions, media.
Awards for this industry
Nominate a Hong Kong General Manager
Twenty GM categories, six editions, independent jury; owners, brands, colleagues and the GM may nominate.
What to send: a GM nomination from Hong Kong
The property in one line — brand, segment, keys, district — and the GM's start date. Then the tenure in numbers: occupancy, ADR and RevPAR movement (indexed if the owner prefers), guest-satisfaction and review scores, brand or owner audits, F&B and spa contribution, team engagement and retention, and dated milestones — a reopening, a renovation, a repositioning, a sustainability certification. Explain the Hong Kong cycle in a sentence for a jury reading against GMs from other markets.
The property enters the International Travel Awards, its restaurants the International Restaurant Awards and its spa the International Spa Awards; Diamond covers the GM and the property together.
World GM Awards categories
20 official categories are mapped to this programme in the supplied category list.
All industries 20 categories
- Best General Manager
- Best Hospitality General Manager
- Best Hotel Leadership General Manager
- Best Business Performance General Manager
- Best Operations Excellence General Manager
- Best Customer Experience General Manager
- Best Team Leadership General Manager
- Best Service Excellence General Manager
- Best Strategic Leadership General Manager
- Best High-Performance General Manager
- Best Revenue Growth General Manager
- Best Organizational Excellence General Manager
- Best Brand Leadership General Manager
- Best Guest Satisfaction General Manager
- Best Innovation Leadership General Manager
- Best People Management General Manager
- Best Operational Efficiency General Manager
- Best Corporate Leadership General Manager
- Best Emerging General Manager
- Best Global Leadership General Manager
Category names are shown exactly as published. The awards team confirms final category fit during profile completion.
Nomination requirements & evidence
Nominations are assessed on the information and evidence submitted. Useful material includes:
- Property performance under the GM: occupancy, ADR/RevPAR trends, guest scores
- Guest-experience improvements and service standards
- Team engagement, retention and development programmes
- Openings, renovations, repositioning or turnaround projects
- Owner/brand relationship outcomes and commercial results
- Guest reviews, brand audits, awards and media mentions
Judging & selection process
Every nomination moves through the same published stages. Public voting is not used and commercial purchases carry no weight.
- New nomination
The nomination is received and registered against the relevant award programme.
- Profile completion
The nominee profile and required information are completed.
- Team approval
Eligibility and profile suitability are reviewed.
- Final jury data
Additional information required for evaluation is collected.
- Jury / management review
The nomination is evaluated against the applicable criteria.
- Finalist
Eligible strong nominations may progress to the finalist stage.
- Winner or closed
A finalist may be assigned an appropriate winning category, or the nomination is closed with a reason.
Fees & costs
Nomination packages are identical across the network's programmes and priced in USD. Winner packages are optional and available only to confirmed winners.
Silver
- 1 award · 1 category
- Competition level: Country
- Standard nominee listing
- Support: Email
Gold
- 1 award · 2 in 1 award categories
- Competition level: Country
- Featured in nominees section
- Support: Email, WhatsApp, Call
Diamond
- 2 awards · 2 across awards categories
- Competition level: Country
- Featured in nominees section
- Support: Email, WhatsApp, Call
Platinum
- 2 awards · 3 per award categories
- Competition level: Country & Regional
- Featured in nominees section
- Support: Email, WhatsApp, Call
Titanium
- 3 awards · 3 per award categories
- Competition level: Country, Regional & World
- Featured in nominees section
- Support: Email, WhatsApp, Call
Paying any fee never guarantees winning. Award credits are valid for the same-year programme only. Full fee details.
2026 dates
Published timeline for the 2026 cycle:
- May 2026Nominations open
The 2026 nomination window opens to eligible companies and leaders worldwide.
- 30 July 2026Early window closes
Last date for early-entry submissions.
- 15 September 2026Nominations close
Final published deadline for all 2026 entries.
- 3rd–4th week of September 2026Jury review
Independent jury / management evaluation of every eligible nomination.
- October 2026Shortlist (internal)
Finalists are confirmed and winners notified privately.
- 14 November 2026Gala ceremony — winners announced
Winners revealed and celebrated at the annual gala in Dubai.
Winners are announced live at the gala in Dubai. Nominees in Hong Kong are notified privately in October.
GM and property together
Diamond (USD 980) covers the General Manager here and the hotel in the International Travel Awards — one evidence pack, two juries.
- Guest satisfaction, revenue, operations, people and brand categories
- Country level by default; Asia or world by package
- Announced in Dubai on 14 November 2026
Related awards to consider
Programmes paired with a GM nomination:
International Restaurant Awards
For the hotel's restaurants and bars.
World GM Awards — FAQs for Hong Kong nominees
Who qualifies as a GM?
General Managers, Hotel Managers, Cluster GMs, Resident Managers with GM responsibility and equivalent property leaders in Hong Kong.
The categories?
Twenty — hotel leadership, guest satisfaction, revenue growth, operations excellence, people management, brand leadership, emerging GM and others; the full list is on this page.
Can the owner nominate?
Yes; owners, brands and colleagues may nominate on the same criteria.
Must the hotel enter too?
No, but most do; Diamond covers both.
Serviced-residence managers?
Yes, with GM responsibility.
Cost?
USD 299 for one category; USD 980 for GM plus property; up to USD 1,750.
Deadline?
15 September 2026; results in Dubai on 14 November 2026.
Public vote?
None.
Last reviewed: 12 September 2026 · Award facts sourced from the official programme publications.