- The Customer Experience Awards recognised winners across the hospitality and travel sector
- Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail won Best Customer Experience in Transport
- Woodford Dolmen Hotel won Best Customer Experience in Tourism and Hospitality
- Cassidy Travel won Best Customer Experience in Online Retailer
- loveholidays won Best Use of Technology in Customer Experience
- More than 3m Irish customers served since 2016
- Platinum VIP Dublin Airport was a finalist in Best B2B Customer Experience
The Customer Experience Awards, organised by CMG Events, has recognised winners across the hospitality and travel sector. Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail won Best Customer Experience in Transport. Woodford Dolmen Hotel won Best Customer Experience in Tourism and Hospitality. loveholidays won Best use of Technology in Customer Experience. Ballykealey House won Customer Experience Team of the Year for Small and Best Events Venue. Cassidy Travel won Best Customer Experience in Online Retailer. Platinum VIP Dublin Airport was a finalist in Best B2B Customer Experience for Large Business.
The selection process for the Customer Experience Awards relies on a structured evaluation conducted by a panel of expert judges. Organisations and individuals submit evidence-based applications to demonstrate excellence in customer-centric strategies. The process begins with an online application or email entry portal. Applicants select specific categories and submit written entries adhering to exact word counts and formatting rules. Independent industry judges assess the entries, looking for clear, fact-backed narratives that focus on the challenge and objectives, innovation and operational strategy, and customer and business impact.
After checking for conflicts of interest, the expert judging panel evaluates and scores the manifestos to establish a category shortlist. The final winners are determined based on the highest aggregated, authenticated judge scores. All finalists receive a Benchmark Feedback Report containing detailed comments and constructive scoring suggestions directly from the judging panel.
Loveholidays has won Best Use of Technology in Customer Experience at the 2026 Irish Customer Experience Awards as the company celebrates 10 years in Ireland. The award reflects investment in people and technology to simplify holiday booking and management.
The company introduced Sandy, an AI-powered virtual assistant providing 24/7 support. Agent Aura, an AI-powered support tool, helps customer service teams manage complex bookings and queries. Two-thirds of Irish customers this year have travelled with loveholidays before. The company has a 4.6 out of 5 Trustpilot score in Ireland based on more than 50,000 reviews. The loveholidays app is rated at 4.9.
Since launching in Ireland in 2016, loveholidays has taken more than 3m Irish customers on holiday. Over 700,000 passengers travelled with the company in 2025 alone. The company combines investment in people with technology to make customer support faster and easier. Customers can access support through the app or by phone.
The hospitality and travel category award winners were:
- Best Customer Experience in Transport: Iarnród Éireann Irish Rail
- Best Customer Experience in Tourism & Hospitality: Woodford Dolmen Hotel
- Best use of Technology in Customer Experience: Loveholidays
- Customer Experience Team of the Year (Small) Ballykealey House
- Best Customer Experience in Online Retail: Cassidy Travel
- Best Events Venue: Ballykealey House
