Membership organisation comprising more than 70 of Greater Manchester’s key hotels, the MHA, has announced plans for a bigger and better than ever 20th anniversary annual ball. MHA’s annual ball is hosted every year to raise money for local charities and celebrate the hospitality industry.
Taking place on 31st October, the ball, which has historically been held at Vermillion restaurant, will be hosted at Emirates Old Trafford, increasing its capacity to 900.
Since the organisation’s inception, one of its key pillars has been charitable donations, raising hundreds of thousands of pounds from the annual celebration over two decades. This year’s chosen charities are MIND Manchester, Wood Street Mission, Mustard Tree, and national charity, Hospitality Action. MHA chair, Matt Townley, has set lofty aims to beat last year’s £36,000 raised.
The event, which will take a ‘Carnival of Horrors’ theme to honour its fortuitous date, will also play host to the MHA’s annual awards, voted for by members. With a total of 10 trophies being presented on the night, including Unsung Hero, Rising Star, and Outstanding Contribution to Hospitality, high performing individuals will receive their deserving applauds.
Matt, who is also Group Operations Director at Dakota Hotels, said:
“Year on year, the MHA strives to put on the event of the year in the hospitality industry and this year is no exception. Not only are we celebrating 20 years of the MHA Ball, we’re marking the occasion with a brand new venue that is set to raise the bar for our partners, sponsors and incredible staff who work in our Manchester Hotels.
“Whilst the night will celebrate the successes of our unsung heroes, it’s also most crucially about raising money for the incredible work that our appointed charities are doing in the community. Without these efforts, the hospitality industry in Manchester simply would not thrive in the way that is historically has. We want to send a special thank you to our new industry partners for their support in pulling this together.”
The event has also amassed support from key local and national sponsors such as, Expedia, Percipient, Mint People, Manchester Metropolitan University, Elix-Air, Percipient, and WGC.
Recently, MHA also announced the onboarding of four key industry partners; Nespresso, Silentnight, Howden, and Purple Story, to bolster the organisations outputs and bridge the gap between talent and industry.
Chris Stock, Managing Director, at Percipient, said:
“Percipient is delighted to sponsor the MHA ball once again as we continue to work more closely with the association. Hospitality is our key industry, the ball is a fantastic opportunity to spend time with our customers and to celebrate the fantastic people who work across the sector in the North West.”
The ball will be taking place on Friday 31st October at Emirates Old Trafford, with more than 800 people expected to turn out. Tickets are available here and nominations for the MHA Awards are now open here.
