Swiss-Belhotel International recognised at Family Business Excellence Awards
New Zealand family business Swiss-Belhotel International took home the Legacy Family Business Award
The Family Business Excellence Awards recognise and celebrate the achievements of families and individuals in respected and successful family businesses of all sizes and at all stages, acknowledging the significant contribution they make to the Australian and New Zealand social fabric and economy.
The winners of the 2024 awards were announced at the recent Family Business Conference 2024: Asia Pacific in Cairns.
New Zealand multi-generational family business Swiss-Belhotel International took home the honours for the 2024 Legacy Family Business Award.
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From humble beginnings at their dairy farm in Taranaki, the Faull family, alongside their Hong Kong partners, have grown Swiss-Belhotel International from three hotels in two countries in 2000 to 135 hotels in 20 countries.
Swiss-Belhotel International chairman and president Gavin Faull said the win was a huge compliment for his family and particularly for his three sons who each work within the business.
“A family business is so rewarding,” Mr Faull said.
“We are creating an intergenerational history, however, for my sons, there is a pressure to perform; the pressure from executive colleagues – and trying to develop independently under the shadow of the boss.”
Mr Faull added that the award was particularly significant as the winners are determined by industry peers who also operate successful family businesses.
Mr Faull said he credited the success of Swiss-Belhotel International to the model of the family business.
“I believe our business has been successful because it because we work as a family. My wife and three sons all work within the company – all developing their own skills and expertise.
“We each have different educational backgrounds, from IT to finance, accounting and civil engineering.
“This diversity in skillsets has allowed us to grow our business and we are continuing to set ourselves new challenges.
“Our current goal is to grow our portfolio to include 500 hotels by 2030.”
Sarah is a freelance journalist with experience across print, digital and audio. After working for Multimedia Publishing as a contributing writer, she has recently joined the team in a part-time capacity for School News AU and AccomNews.