Maybe Sammy has done it again on the awards front, this time being named as the winner of the Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award as part of The World’s 50 Best Bars 2020.
The award was established to recognise the importance of hospitality in any bar experience and is voted for by 540 members of The World’s 50 Best Bars Academy. These industry experts are asked to name the institution where they received the single best hospitality experience during the voting period.
This award is the first in that series of special awards the 50 Best organisation is announcing a series of special awards in the month leading up to the digital countdown of the annual 50 Best Bars list on 5 November.
Mark Sansom, Content Editor for The World’s 50 Best Bars, says: “The Michter’s Art of Hospitality Award was first introduced at Asia’s 50 Best Bars 2020, and we are very pleased to continue honouring the best in hospitality on The World’s 50 Best Bars stage.
“Right now, the hospitality experience is a key component of ensuring guests have the confidence to return to their favourite bars all over the world. Stefano Catino, Vince Lombardo, Martin Hudak and Andrea Gualdi are true champions of hospitality, sparing no detail in perfecting Maybe Sammy’s guest journey, from its innovative cocktail list to the of-the-moment bar design.”
This the latest in a string of awards the Maybe Sammy team have enjoyed since it opened in January 2019. It was named Best New Bar and Bar of the Year at the 2019 Australian Liquor Industry Awards and was also awarded The Best Bar in Australasia at The World’s 50 Best Bars 2019, placing at No.43.
So what is the secret to their success?
Co-owner of Maybe Sammy, Stefano Catino, told Bars and Clubs: “We want everyone who walks into Maybe Sammy to feel like they are special, that they are being taken care of and that for a small moment in time, they can let their worries disappear. When they leave, we want them to leave happier than when they came in.
“Hospitality is the word we use the most in our staff briefings as it really is central to our guest’s experience so it’s top of our minds, always. Our guests are our number one priority as without them, we have no bar.”
He added: “We have a passionate team who share the same focus towards our guest’s experience so having everyone on the same page makes a huge difference,” he said.
“The team communicates well between them and I think that spirit of comradery is obvious to people who come into the bar and is reflected in the attention to detail.”
Catino told Bars and Clubs that even in the COVID-climate the team has continued its commitment to top quality hospitality.
“For us, we knew we could continue to deliver the high standards we are known for but we had to make tweaks to the business to accommodate things like the decrease in guests and the capacity restrictions.
“With every hurdle we are faced with, we unite as a team to develop a strategy that allows us to adapt to the current environment without compromising who we are and what we deliver.
“We have made some tweaks to our food offering and obviously have followed all the rules and regulations stipulated by the government. Having less people in the venue actually gave us the chance to deliver an even more personalised experience so we saw that as a great opportunity.
“There are certainly less people in the CBD but our guests are definitely feeling more comfortable about having a break from their lives to enjoy some cocktails.”
