Dale MacPhee, General Manager of the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh – The Caledonian, has won the prestigious Hotelier of the Year award at the Business Women Scotland (BWS) Women in Hospitality and Tourism Awards.
MacPhee has a passion for people and has a reputation for empowering hotel staff, as well as managing various mentoring programmes including Hilton’s Global Week of Service programme and Queen Margaret University’s International Tourism placements.
On top of her demanding day to day role, MacPhee is actively involved in the local community. MacPhee co-founded the All About Boobs annual charity ladies lunch, which has raised over £100k for Breast Cancer Now and other charity partners to date.
In recent years, MacPhee has overseen a refurbishment programme across the five star hotel, including the design of historic carriage rooms styled on train carriages to pay homage to the building’s past life as a railway station. She has also driven the remodelling of most suites and the hotel’s fine dining restaurant, The Pompadour by Galvin.
Leading on a number of sustainable business initiatives across the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh, MacPhee has achieved a 30% reduction in water bills and an increase in recycled waste from just over half to around 72%. Thanks to MacPhee’s efforts, the hotel was awarded the Trip Advisor Green Leaders Silver Award this year.
Franck Bruyere, Director of Operations at the Waldorf Astoria Edinburgh, said, “Full of energy and enthusiasm, Dale is an amazing leader. This award is extremely well-deserved and we are all very proud of her achievement.
“A true visionary, Dale leads our team to drive forward the hotel’s luxury positioning to achieve international awareness, as well as significant commercial value.”
The BWS Women in Hospitality and Tourism Awards aim to recognise women working in the industry across Scotland. The winners were announced last month at a glamorous awards ceremony hosted by STV’s Rachel MacTavish at the Doubletree by Hilton Hotel Glasgow Central.