A former Harrogate hotelier has been celebrated for 28 years of service to the industry.
Peter Banks, who led the award-winning Rudding Park Hotel for 28 years, won ‘Outstanding Contribution’ at the annual Hotel Cateys.
The awards, which are considered The Oscars of the hospitality industry, were held on Monday 25th November in London.
Peter Banks led the Rudding Park team since opening in 1997 and his extraordinary tenure saw him grow the business from 15 employees and a turnover of £1.5m to 320 employees and a turnover of £28m.
Responsible for developments including the hotel expansion, addition of the 6 Hole Repton Short Course and destination spa, Rudding Park picked up over 60 awards during Peter’s time at the helm.
This included the 2019 Independent Hotel of the Year Catey, the 2020 AA Hotel of the Year, and the 2018 Visit England Hotel of the Year.
Peter Banks said:
“I am amazed, delighted and shocked! I am so happy that a Yorkshire business has won!
“When I left London in 1996 (I was the Front Office Manager at the Hilton on Park Lane) - the general manager said to me – “this’ll be the death of your career”.
“I thought marvellous. Now I’ll show you what I can do! 28 years later and over 60 Awards later, I am so happy that I landed in Yorkshire.”
He added:
“I’m delighted to have won this award. It should really belong to me and Simon Mackaness.
“Between us we have created a property that scoffs at anyone who thought that Yorkshire couldn’t achieve greatness.”
Rudding Park owner Simon Mackaness praised Peter’s “passion, dedication and relentless drive to want to be the best”, recognising his enthusiasm for on-the-floor training and mantra of leading by example.
He said:
“Peter and I have been on a roller-coaster journey together and he has been totally responsible for creating a popular, successful and commercially viable resort.
“In April 2024 Peter retired his executive role to set up his own hospitality consultancy, which I know will be tremendously successful.
“On a personal and professional level, words cannot express my thanks for all he achieved during his 28 years with Rudding Park.
“Seeing Peter receive this award was extremely poignant for me personally.
“I was thrilled to see him receive the recognition he deserves amongst his peers and of course, in true Peter style, he gave a fantastic heartfelt, humorous and succinct thank you speech, completely ‘off the cuff’!”
Peter has also been committed to providing training avenues for those within the industry to develop their careers.
He’s supported industry organisations, including Destination Harrogate, the Harrogate Hospitality Association, the Hospitality Action Northern Committee, Hospitality’s Northern Committee and Yorkshire Fine Hotels.
He’s also supported many charities and in 2023, Rudding Park gave £103,437 to good causes as part of its Giving Something Back initiative, with an additional £726,270 raised through charity events at Rudding Park.
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