Entries are now open for this year’s Media Isle of Man Awards for Excellence.

It’s time to think about using this unique and prestigious occasion to showcase what your business has achieved. 

At last year’s awards, the Castletown-based holiday letting company, Island Escapes, won the Award for Excellence in Customer Service.

It was a huge accolade for a comparatively young company and one which managing director, John Keggin and his team are all immensely proud of, as he tells Working Week.

‘Winning that award meant so much in recognition of the team, for the hard work everybody does,’ he says.

And he goes on: ‘What’s satisfying is people having great holidays with us, but we also want to deliver on the expectations of our owners and help support the local community, which is important to us.

‘That was what made it such a proud achievement for us, that recognition that we are doing a good thing.’

John’s fellow director, Jamie Stott agrees, adding: ‘The whole team were key to that. It was a highlight for the team and it was probably the highlight of last year.’

Island Escapes has grown significantly, especially in the two and half years it has been based in Castletown.

They now have 130 properties under management and employ 50 staff in a variety of roles: 10 permanent members of staff and 40 housekeepers who work for the company on a part-time basis. 

John says: ‘For us Castletown is the best place for us to be based – it’s the heart of tourism really.’

A few years ago, during Covid, the company was reliant on its staycation business but, now that period is over, it is able to take advantage of what is, in effect a global market, open to them through the internet.

John says: ‘The internet is key in everything we do. We’ve just revamped our website and we’ve invested a lot in online marketing, we’re getting into AI now, as a lot of the world is, and we’re continuously keeping on top of what’s going on within the marketplace.

’He and Jamie have already been to industry events in London and Barcelona this year.

Jamie says: ‘The industry is quite collaborative and it’s nice to be in an industry where you can go and collect a group of people and you can all share ideas. Each time we go away we come back with at least three or four new things that we would like to implement here.

‘I think it’s important here for businesses to look outwards as well, at what the rest of the world is doing.’

So what do they think great customer service looks like?

John says: ‘It’s putting the customer at the heart of your business really. ‘It’s thinking how about how the service you deliver matches what you would expect as a customer.’

He and Jamie took the whole office team to the Awards Night last November.

John says: ‘I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, I hadn’t been to [the Awards] before, and it was brilliant. We all had a great night.

‘When we won, it was a special feeling, definitely, and it was nice afterwards as well in the after party when people were coming up to us and congratulating us.’

Jamie adds: ‘It is a really well put together event: everyone looks great, it’d all been planned very well, and it feels like a substantial event to go to.’

They also realised that the Awards for Excellence isn’t just about the big companies and John says: ‘I would encourage other small to medium size businesses to enter because it isn’t just a corporate takeover, there are lots of opportunities for small businesses that can showcase what they have to offer and what they’re doing.’

* The Media Isle of Man Awards for Excellence on November 21 has 16 award categories offering opportunities for business of all sizes, public sector teams, community organisations and individuals to demonstrate what they have achieved. It is free to enter and you may enter more than one category.

The closing date for all entries is Thursday, September 12. For more information and to enter go to www.afe.im.