Giles founded Penshee to help organisations understand and elevate their customer experience through emotional intelligence and service design. With a background that includes inspecting over 490 five-star hotels in 88 countries, and management roles at esteemed establishments like The Goring, Giles has a wealth of experience in luxury service delivery.
Penshee is now preparing to unveil a refreshed brand identity that reflects a decade of evolution. As Giles explains:
“Whilst our founding goal to enable meaningful experiences remains, we have honed, distilled and refined our processes over the past ten years and our rebrand needs to reflect this. Through our new brand, we want to demonstrate our commitment to realising the potential of people and places.”
Guest services go far beyond delivering polished first impressions—they have the power to create genuine human connection. As Giles reflects, when we focus less on exceeding expectations and more on creating a positive shift in someone’s day, we begin to understand the true impact of this work. These daily interactions, however small, are moments of meaningful service that can uplift, reassure, and transform.
Recognition of this work not only validates the professionalism of guest service teams, but highlights their broader contribution to the emotional wellbeing of workplaces—and to society as a whole.
“It’s without exaggeration or hyperbole that I say that our colleagues in guest services have the opportunity to change society. Our people have more daily human interactions than pretty much all other professions and if those interactions are reaching their potential, we are changing society. This quote from Amelia Earhart says it beautifully…
‘A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees.’”
Giles believes that authenticity and a genuine passion for service are key to standing out in this year’s competition. Other qualities he’ll be looking for include energy, enthusiasm, and a sense of balance and reflection. Ultimately, his advice to anyone considering entering the awards is simple:
“Drum roll, here we go, the ultimate contemporary cliché – be yourself. Seriously, because everyone else is taken!”
Find out more about how to enter the Receptionist of the Year and Leader of the Year here.