Washington, DC, October 1, 2024 – Historic Hotels Worldwide® is pleased to announce that the Austrian Hotel Historians Andreas and Carola Augustin have been named the recipients of the 2024 Historic Hotels Worldwide® Historian of the Year Award.
Historic Hotels Worldwide is a prestigious and distinctive collection of luxury historic hotels, many established in former castles, chateaus, palaces, academies, haciendas, villas, monasteries, and other historic buildings. Each year, the Historic Hotels Worldwide® and Historic Hotels of America® Awards of Excellence winners are announced to recognize outstanding achievements in leadership, stewardship, and preservation of the finest historic hotels.
The Historic Hotels Worldwide® Historian of the Year Award is given to individuals who have made significant contributions to the research and presentation of history, encouraging a deeper discussion and broader understanding of the world’s most iconic and legendary hotels.
For over 35 years, Andreas and Carola Augustin have used their expertise as researchers and writers to record and make available the histories of the world’s most-famous hotels. The Augustins emphasize historical accuracy. Their research – always uncovering startling new evidence – aims to go beyond superficial exploration to separate fact from fiction.
Together, the Augustins have researched and written over 70 books, translated into eight languages, contribute their historical expertise to TV documentaries, manage the public website famoushotels.org as a hotel history resource, and curate hotel history exhibits. Their Path of History permanent exhibitions have become fixtures in some of the most legendary hotels around the world. Together, the couple has researched and documented the histories of over 450 hotels—representing nearly 100 countries.
“Close to our hearts is "BOOKS FOR STUDENTS" — the donation of our books to hospitality schools worldwide. Through this collaboration, students gain invaluable insights into the pivotal role of history within the hospitality sector,” Andreas said.
The non-profit organization The Most Famous Hotels in the World was founded in 1986 when Andreas realized that many historic hotels were in danger of losing valuable historical records. Leading experts such as the late Stanley Turkel—recipient of the Historic Hotels of America Historian of the Year Award in 2014, 2015, and 2020—author Adrian Mourby, and other renowned travel writers regularly contribute to their library of histories on famoushotels.org. World-renown photographers such as Michelle Chaplow and Holger Leue lend famoushotels history books the contemporary yet classic appeal.
Highlights of their work over the years include the discovery of the original building plans of Raffles Hotel in Singapore, which had been lost for over a century, the first officially endorsed history of The Peninsula Hong Kong, books about the Hotel Sacher and all other famous hotels in their home city of Vienna, writing the history of The Savoy in London, their books on the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Bangkok and the Hotel Metropole in Hanoi, which remain perennial bestsellers. At many hotels they have curated and installed permanent “Path of History” exhibitions (pathofhistory.com). They train designated "Ambassadors of History" at hotels to guide visitors.
The Augustins are currently preparing the histories of two iconic Raffles hotels—Le Royal in Phnom Penh and the Grand Hotel d’Angkor in Cambodia—as well as the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo, Sri Lanka (1864). Also coming soon is a history of Half Moon resort in Jamaica and a book about one of the oldest grand hotels of Europe, Mandarin Oriental Savoy Zurich (1838). Most recently, the Augustins visited the war-torn city of Lviv, Ukraine. Despite Russian air attacks, they conducted extensive research into the 1894-opened Grand Hotel, with the help of local historians.
“I am proud that we have raised so much awareness that today nearly every famous hotel has a 'History' button on its website,” Andreas Augustin said. “When we started, history was a marginal topic at hotels. Today, not only famoushotels.org, but also Historic Hotels Worldwide and Historic Hotels of America stand as living proof of the importance of well-researched and documented history. Leading industry-newsletters offer us a regular platform to demonstrate the impact of history on consumer behavior.”
Carola met Andreas in 1986, the year he founded The Most Famous Hotels in The World, and they bonded over their shared passions for travel and hotel histories. Andreas brings his background in journalism and hospitality to the partnership, while Carola, who has a master's degree in history, applies her trained eye to the research. They married in 1989 and have two children.
“She rallies words of encouragement when I am on the verge of despair, unable to find new material. For hours she sits in dark archives, unearthing incredible results. Often, it is the obvious details that escape a casual observer, but her sharp eye catches them,” Andreas Augustin said of his wife and partner. “It is particularly exciting how we keep uncovering new discoveries about these hotels, which we include in each new edition of our books. Therefore, initial print runs are kept low, and reprints are frequent.”
Their goal in all of this is to leave behind a reliable and comprehensive library of hospitality history, safeguarding this knowledge for future generations.
“We are honored to recognize Andreas and Carola Augustin for their numerous accomplishments over nearly four decades of academic and scholarly research of the histories of more than four hundred legendary grand hotels,” said Lawrence Horwitz, Executive Vice President Historic Hotels of America and Historic Hotels Worldwide. “They have created the finest library of the stories of hospitality and many of the most famous hotels around the world. They have curated various of the noteworthy “Path of History” permanent exhibitions at famous historic hotels. We have inducted many of the hotels into Historic Hotels Worldwide that have documented histories researched and written by Andreas and Carola Augustin. Their collective work has resulted in the increased awareness and appreciation of the historic significance of these hotels.”
The 2024 Historic Hotels Worldwide® Historian of the Year Award will be presented to the Augustins on Thursday, November 21, 2024, at the 2024 Historic Hotels Annual Awards of Excellence Ceremony & Gala, in front of an audience of owners, general managers, senior decision-makers, and guests representing many of the finest historic hotels from around the world. The 2024 Historic Hotels Annual Awards of Excellence Ceremony & Gala will take place at The Omni Homestead Resort (1766) in Hot Springs, Virginia, USA. The Omni Homestead Resort was inducted into Historic Hotels of America® as a Charter Member in 1989 and was designated a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Secretary of the Interior. It is an iconic year-round resort nestled in the scenic Allegheny Mountains that has welcomed guests for more than 250 years.
Tickets for the 2024 Historic Hotels Annual Awards of Excellence Ceremony & Gala are available. The much-anticipated event will take place at The Omni Homestead Resort (1766) in Hot Springs, Virginia, USA, on Thursday, November 21, 2024, at 7 p.m., to close out the 2024 Historic Hotels Annual Conference. Ceremony & Gala Tickets are $500. To register exclusively for the Ceremony & Gala, click here.
To learn more and register for the full 2024 Historic Hotels Annual Conference held November 18-22, 2024, where Andreas Augustin will deliver a keynote talk, and he and his wife, Carola Augustin, will present an afternoon education session, and ending with the 2024 Historic Hotels Awards of Excellence Ceremony & Gala, click here.
About Historic Hotels Worldwide®
Historic Hotels Worldwide®, an official program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation (in the USA), is a prestigious and distinctive collection of historic treasures, including luxury historic hotels built in former castles, chateaus, palaces, academies, haciendas, villas, monasteries, and other historic lodging spanning ten centuries. Historic Hotels Worldwide represents the finest and most distinctive global collection of more than 320 historic hotels in forty-nine countries. Hotels inducted into Historic Hotels Worldwide are authentic historic treasures, demonstrate historic preservation, and celebrate historic significance. Eligibility for induction into Historic Hotels Worldwide is limited to those distinctive historic hotels that adhere to the following criteria: minimum age for the building is 75 years or older; historically relevant as a significant location within a historic district, historically significant landmark, place of a historic event, former home of a famous person, or historic city center; hotel celebrates its history by showcasing memorabilia, artwork, photography, and other examples of its historic significance; recognized by national preservation or heritage buildings organization or located within UNESCO World Heritage Site; and presently used as a historic hotel. For more information, please visit HistoricHotelsWorldwide.com. Historic Hotels Worldwide is affiliated with Historic Hotels of America, a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation for increasing the recognition of the finest historic hotels in the United States.
MEDIA CONTACT
Katherine Orr
Director, Marketing Strategy & Communications
Historic Hotels of America® | Historic Hotels Worldwide®
korr@HistoricHotels.org
