De Palma Hotel wins HJ Awards for Tourism & Hospitality

The pioneer Shariah-compliant hotel chain in Malaysia, De Palma Hotel, was chosen as the winner of The Halal Journal Awards for Travel & Hospitality in a ceremony held tonight to the honor and celebrate the success within the global Halal industry.

Former Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi presented the award to its Chairman Roslan Bin Baharuddin in the 6th Halal Journal Awards Gala Dinner held in conjunction with the ongoing 6th World Halal Forum from April 4 – 6 2011 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

In accepting the award, En Roslan, who is also the Deputy General Manager of Corporate Affairs at the Selangor State Development Corporation or PKNS, owners of De Palma Hotels said, the recognition has given them more reasons to actively continue branding it as a Shariah-compliant hotel, despite the perceived setbacks by the industry.

An Imam is provided to recite du'as before your meetings or other official functions held in De Palma Hotel.

“Sure there was an initial loss in revenue of about 20% since we did not serve any alcohol in our premise, as indicated in an earlier studies by the hotel industry, but we have proven that this is only a temporary setback as we are now earning more than 40% our original sales,” he said in an interview with Halal Media.

Not only that, staff turnover has also been on a historical low since they decided to make the switch to be fully Shariah-compliant for all of its three hotel outlets in Ampang, Shah Alam and Kuala Selangor.

Datuk Haji Mohd Ilyas, the Group General Manager for De Palma Hotel Ampang said, “When new staff first join us, we give them a three-days Islamic refresher course in fardhu ain, motivation talk and ends with a qiam’ullail.”

“We also inculcate them about the value of Halal earnings by working wholeheartedly everyday to promote Islamic hospitality and the resulting pay and barakah they bring home every month for their family. Alhamdulillah, this has resulted in almost zero staff turnaround for all our hotels,” he said.

A total of eight companies and individuals were honored with the Halal Journal Award. The recipients of other categories included:

Best Product – Saffron Road of the USA
Saffron Road has brought in a spiritual dimension to food with a mission to make food sacred again. The brand embodies Halal in its true meaning infusing eco-ethical values and quality from farm to fork.

Most Creative Marketing Campaign – HSBC Amanah
HSBC Amanah was the first company to link Islamic Finance and the Halal sector, a bold and strategic move that illustrates their deep understanding of future trends, and leadership in moulding thought patterns.

Best Islamic Financial Service or Product – Thomson Reuters (Islamic Finance Gateway) of the USA
A widely profiled thought leader, Thomson Reuters initiated a new way of thinking in Islamic Finance by converging finance information and analytics.

Community & Environmental Development – Ecologico Packaging of Malaysia
The EcoPak range of packaging materials are made by converting natural oil palm biomass into eco-friendly, biodegradable, non-toxic packaging for both hot and cold foods and non food items.

Travel & Hospitality – De Palma Hotel of Malaysia
Not content with just serving Halal food to their guess, the De Palma Hotel is sensitive towards the requirements of the Muslim traveler. It has an Islamic floor with the cal to prayer, live telecast of Friday prayers in the restaurant, as well as their own in-house prayer hall with a capacity for 1,000 people.

Best Service Provider – Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry of New Zealand
New Zealand is the first non-Muslim country to develop a Halal regulatory framework passed on by the Food Safety Authority, to ensure that the integrity of their Halal supply chain in maintained.

Best Innovation in Halal Industry – Saracen, UK
Saracen’s Halal System has provided an innovative solution in the area of unstunned poultry slaughter. By devising a system that holds the bird’ wings gently but firmly in place, it reduces wing damage and product downgrades and at the same time causes no distress to the birds.

Outstanding Personal Achievement – Dr Temple Grandin of the USA
Dr Grandin’s groundbreaking work over the past 30 years in the field of animal behavior has led to widespread changes in the way that animals are handled and slaughtered. Her studies on ritual slaughter have deepened the overall understanding of the importance of treating animals with due respect, and are consistent with the Sunnah of animal handling and welfare, helping to bring Islamic methods into greater harmony with mainstream animal welfare practices. ~ Halal Media.

Watch out for a full interview with En Roslan and Datuk Hj Mohd Ilyas from De Palma Hotel on HalalMedia.TV.