Hotelier Maldives Awards 2025 Honours Top Professionals in Maldivian Hospitality

Last night, Hotelier Maldives hosted the second edition of the Hotelier Maldives Awards 2025, recognising individual and team contributions to the country’s tourism and hospitality sector.

The awards ceremony, presented by Bestbuy Maldives (BBM), was held at Barceló Nasandhura Malé and acknowledged both individual and team contributions across the tourism and hospitality sector. Compared to the event’s first edition in 2024 which received over 300 nominations and 100,000 public votes this year saw greater engagement, with more than 450 nominations submitted and 600,000 votes cast by the public.

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Winners were selected using a combined scoring system: 60 percent of the score came from an expert judging panel, while the remaining 40 percent was determined by public voting. Four new categories were introduced in 2025 to reflect a broader range of roles in the industry: Watersports Personality, Diving Personality, Airport Representative, and Resort Manager of the Year.

In total, 27 awards were presented 23 recognising individuals across various operational, technical, and leadership roles, and four recognising team efforts. Ahmed Jameel of One&Only Reethi Rah received both the Chef of the Year award and the BBM Chairman’s Special Award.

Among other individual award winners were Fathuhulla Naseer (Young Hotelier of the Year – Barceló Whale Lagoon and Barceló Nasandhura Maldives), I Gusti Ayu Ariani (Wellness Personality of the Year – Cora Cora Resort Maldives), Ausy Waseem (Resort Manager of the Year – Siyam World), and Mohamed Ashraf (General Manager of the Year – Jumeirah Olhahali Island Maldives).

Team awards were given to Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa (Hotel Team of the Year), The Marriott Kurimagu Leadership Programme (Training and Development Programme of the Year), OZEN Life Maadhoo (Sustainability Champion of the Year), and Six Senses Laamu (CSR Programme of the Year).

A separate segment of the evening recognised four long-serving hospitality professionals for their contributions to the industry. The Hotelier Maldives Awards for Dedicated Service were presented by Minister of Finance and Planning Moosa Zameer.

The recipients were Mohamed Hashim, Housekeeping Manager at Holiday Inn Resort Kandooma Maldives; Mohamed Fuad, Engineering Manager at Bandos Maldives; Ali Rasheed Adam, Director of Sales & Marketing at Villa Resorts; and Hussain Manikfaan, who retired this year after a 50-year career, most recently serving as Restaurant Manager at Coco Bodu Hithi.

Mohamed Hashim has spent 38 years at Kandooma, working across various departments including gardening, F&B, and marine operations before moving into housekeeping. Mohamed Fuad joined Bandos in 1979 as a powerhouse driver and later became Engineering Manager in 2001. Ali Rasheed Adam began his career as a software developer for Villa Group and later moved into sales and marketing, helping to establish markets such as China and India. Hussain Manikfaan started in launch operations in the 1970s and held multiple F&B positions across several resorts before retiring.

The event was supported by a number of partners and sponsors, including Dhiraagu (Digital Partner), Bank of Maldives (Banking Partner), Maldives Airports Company Limited (Gold Sponsor), and MAWC (Beverage Partner). Other contributors included Alia Investments, Metalsigns, Storm Events, 2ofus (Entertainment Partner), and Maldives TV (Media Partner).

Now in its second year, the Hotelier Maldives Awards is currently the only national platform recognising professionals working across the Maldivian tourism and hospitality industry.