Rugby Travel and Hospitality wins the International Sports Event Management Award for best Hospitality

Rugby Travel and Hospitality [RTH], a joint venture between Sodexo and the Mike Burton Group, has won the International Sports Event Management [ISEM] Award for best hospitality. The award was presented to RTH for its hospitality operation at IRB Rugby World Cup 2011 in New Zealand.

RTH picked up their award at a glittering gala ceremony at the Cumberland Hotel in London and they received the prize for demonstrating an innovative and enterprising approach to hospitality that made a significant contribution to the event's revenues and spectator experience.

RTH is a business consortium comprised of the foodservice provider, Sodexo, and sports hospitality and event
management experts, the Mike Burton Group. Sodexo and the Mike Burton Group, as a separate joint venture, Prestige Ticketing, also won the runners-up hospitality prize at the ISEM Awards for their operation at London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Prior to conducting the hospitality and travel programme for IRB Rugby World Cup 2011, RTH successfully managed the hospitality at IRB Rugby World Cup 2007 in France. They have also been awarded the hospitality and travel programme rights for IRB Rugby World Cup 2015 [England] and IRB Rugby World Cup 2019 [Japan].

Kit McConnell, Head of Rugby World Cup at the International Rugby Board [IRB], said: "I'm delighted that RTH's outstanding contribution to a successful IRB Rugby World Cup in New Zealand has been recognised by this prestigious award. Their programmes were highly creative and ensured that fans enjoyed a world class hospitality experience. The ISEM hospitality award symbolises the excellent relationship we have with the team at RTH and we now look forward to continuing our successful partnership with them for IRB Rugby World Cup 2015 in England and 2019 in Japan."

Andrew Burton, Chief Executive Officer of RTH and Prestige Ticketing, said: “It is an honour for everyone connected to both RTH and Prestige Ticketing to be presented with these awards. IRB Rugby World Cup and the Olympic and Paralympic Games are two of the biggest sporting events in the world so to receive this special recognition from our peers in the sport events industry makes us very proud. Through a combination of innovative thinking, skilled event execution and excellent teamwork with our rights holder partners, we're delighted to have helped deliver a truly memorable hospitality experience for global sports fans.”