The travel industry isn’t short on awards. Suppliers give them to agents, consortia give them to suppliers. Everybody likes to be recognized and winning a professional award is validation that you – or your organization – have been recognized for your achievements.

Some awards are based solely on results such as top sales or highest earnings, but others are for innovation, achieving excellence, helping others, investing in education and training – and being a visionary.

Probably the most rewarding of all are those awards that are voted on by your peers, because this can be the highest compliment, and because these awards mean the most, not just to you, but to others who are watching.

Of course it’s important to understand the voting process behind some of these awards, because some are manipulated by companies getting their employees to vote for them. In these cases, the largest company can dominate. But not all awards work that way.

You may be thinking, why should I pay attention? Well, paying attention to who is winning awards can be worthwhile because it tells you something about how these companies are run, how they do business and the products and services that they offer.

Whether you are choosing a supplier, a consortium, a host agency, or an employer, it can be one of the guiding measures that you can consider.

This is especially true for companies that have won multiple awards. If you are winning multiple awards, you must be doing something right!

The other measure you want to pay attention to is the criteria for the award. This will give you a clear picture of the company or person who won it.

But while awards may end up taking their place on the office wall gathering dust, it is the daily dedication and energy that individuals invest that is the living proof of their value.

And your experience of that person, or that company, is what you will – and should – be guided by.

In a perfect world, the two will match up. The really good companies and really good individuals will be the ones winning the awards. Most of the time, that’s how it works.

When you do things right, people really do notice!