ABIH-RJ and HotéisRIO held the 20th edition of the Top Hotel RJ 2025 Awards, recognising outstanding hotel projects in social action, entrepreneurship, sustainability and hotel expansion.
On November 26, the Rio de Janeiro hotel industry gathered at the Fairmont Rio de Janeiro Copacabana to celebrate best practices in the sector.
The award ceremony took place during the industry’s year-end gathering and brought together tourism trade representatives and public authorities.
This edition reached a record number of entries, with 21 projects submitted.
Award categories and tributes
The Top Hotel RJ Awards selected the best projects in four categories.
The Social Action category pays tribute to Corintho Falcão, banker, travel agent, businessman, lawyer, sugar mill owner and hotelier.
The Entrepreneurship category honours Eduardo Tapajós, hotelier, industrial chemist and lawyer.
The programme also includes the Green Seal of Hospitality, focused on sustainability cases, and the Hotel Expansion tribute, which highlights notable expansion or retrofit projects.
Specialist jury and evaluation criteria
A panel of industry experts assessed the technical quality of the projects.
Criteria included innovation, legitimacy, cost-effectiveness and impact on the sector and society.
The jury featured Ricardo Costa, coordinator of the Afro-Brazilian Studies Laboratory at UFRRJ.
Andre Coelho, Senior Project Manager at FGV Projetos, and Juliana Carneiro, from FGV’s project area, also served as judges.
The panel further included Leana Bernardi, technical director and president of Instituto Ambientes em Redes, and Isabel Gimenes, CEO of RIOinclui.
Leticia Pires, senior commercial consultant at Nespresso, completed the team.
Winning hotels of the 20th edition
The evening’s highlights were the award-winning hotels.
In the Social Action category, Vilarejo Praia Hotel won first place, followed by Radisson Barra Rio de Janeiro in second.
In the Entrepreneurship category, the winners were Hotel Fazenda Vilarejo and Fairmont Rio de Janeiro Copacabana.
The Green Seal of Hospitality award went to Hotel Arpoador and Sheraton Grand Rio Hotel & Resort.
In the Hotel Expansion category, the winner was Hotel Boutique Minha Glória.
All winners received custom trophies designed by Sobral Design.
Public-private partnership and workforce training
For HotéisRIO president Alfredo Lopes, collaboration with public authorities has been key to many successful initiatives.
He noted that Rio de Janeiro’s promotion in strategic markets, led by the Tourism Secretariats, directly contributed to the historic figure of 1.7 million foreign tourists between January and October.
This represents a 40% increase compared to the same period in the previous year.
Lopes also highlighted ongoing efforts in workforce qualification, including technical meetings, strategic forums and training actions for hotel departments.
In partnership with the City Hall, through the Municipal Secretariat of Labour and Income, HotéisRIO organised the “Trabalha Rio Hotéis” job fairs.
These events have assisted around 2,000 people seeking employment opportunities in the hotel sector.
International tourism boosting inland destinations
ABIH-RJ president José Domingo Bouzon pointed out that many foreign visitors are taking the opportunity to explore destinations outside the capital.
This movement is boosting inns, restaurants, local producers and regional commerce.
According to Bouzon, international tourism has contributed to regional economic development, opening new opportunities across the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Throughout the year, ABIH-RJ has worked to encourage tourism in inland regions with events such as “Sabores do Vale do Café”.
The association also promoted training programmes like PROENH-RJ in the Agulhas Negras region and in Paty do Alferes, focusing on front-line hotel teams.
Tribute to Grupo Globo and acknowledgements
During the event, the presidents of HotéisRIO and ABIH-RJ paid tribute to Grupo Globo for its longstanding partnership with both entities.
“It is a genuinely carioca media group that has always stood by us in defending our state’s interests,” said Alfredo Lopes.
“Its journalism and fiction works promote Rio to Brazil and the world,” added José Domingo Bouzon.
Priscila Mizrahy, Grupo Globo’s Public Relations and Events Manager, thanked the recognition.
“It is an honour to be here today supporting such an important sector for our city, in a very special year for the group as we celebrate our centenary,” she said.
HotéisRIO and ABIH-RJ also thanked all participating hotels, members, partners and sponsors.
Supporters included Fairmont Rio de Janeiro Copacabana, CNTUR, GL Events, Concessionária Águas do Rio, CIEE-RJ, Executive One, Nutrymax, Minalba, Miolo Wine Group, Nespresso, Realgems and Campo Largo.
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