What is HTEA?
HTEA (Hospitality & Tourism Excellence Awards) is a national awards platform dedicated to recognizing and celebrating the champions of Nigeria's hospitality and tourism industry. From hotels and restaurants to travel companies and tourism innovators, we honor the businesses and individuals who set the standard for excellence.
HTEA rotates to a new state each year, creating a national movement. Each edition produces its own set of winners — and one Face of the Edition, who goes on to compete at the national final for the title of Face of NIGHATE.
The 2026 edition is hosted by Kwara State, under the banner KWASHATE 2026 — the Kwara Edition of HTEA.
✨ Our Vision
To become the leading hospitality and tourism awards platform in Nigeria, recognized for celebrating excellence, promoting cultural heritage, and driving economic growth through world-class events — rotating to a new state each year to build a national movement.
🎯 Our Mission
To create a prestigious platform that celebrates, rewards, and empowers the champions of Nigeria's hospitality and tourism industry — through recognition, networking, and business growth.
What We Do
Each HTEA edition delivers three connected programs:
🏆 The HTEA Gold Award
A black-tie awards gala recognizing 18 categories across 4 sectors — Hotels, Restaurants & Fast-Food, Transport, and Travel & Tourism. Winners are selected through a transparent nomination, verification, and judging process.
🍽️ The HTEA Food Fair
A celebration of Nigerian cuisine and local vendors. Restaurants, caterers, and food entrepreneurs exhibit, sell, and compete — while the Face Off contestant cooking challenge unfolds on stage.
👑 Face Off
A skills-based challenge for hospitality professionals, students, and independents across Front Office, Housekeeping, and Food & Beverage. One winner per edition becomes the Face of that edition — competing nationally for the title of Face of NIGHATE.
How It Works
A transparent, four-step process that ensures fairness.
Nomination
Businesses self-nominate or get nominated by peers and the public.
Verification
Our team verifies eligibility — CAC registration, operating years, and category criteria.
Public Voting & Judging
The public votes, and an independent panel of judges scores nominees against published criteria.
Awards Night
Winners are crowned at the HTEA Gala, and the Face of the Edition is announced.
Our Journey
HTEA is built on years of work in Nigeria's hospitality sector. Here is how the platform has developed.
Concept Development & Stakeholder Engagement
The KWASHATE concept was first developed in 2019. In the course of building the initiative, the founding team held consultative meetings with government stakeholders — including the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the Office of the then Deputy Governor of Kwara State — to introduce the initiative.
Building the Ecosystem
Through Drecot Consults and its divisions — including HospitalityRecruit and Drecot Printing Press — the team built operational infrastructure to support Nigeria's hospitality sector, including staffing, training, and print production.
KWASHATE 2026 — The Inaugural Edition
The HTEA platform launches its inaugural edition in Kwara State. KWASHATE 2026 will deliver the HTEA Gold Award, the Food Fair, and Face Off KWASHATE — relaunched as a fully private-sector-led event.
National Rotation
HTEA rotates to a new state each year, building toward a full national final where every edition's Face of the Edition competes for the title of Face of NIGHATE.
Our History & Government Engagement
The KWASHATE concept was first developed in 2019, when the founding team engaged with government stakeholders — including the National Orientation Agency (NOA) and the Office of the then Deputy Governor of Kwara State — to introduce the initiative.
In 2026, KWASHATE is being relaunched as a fully private-sector-led event, with renewed engagement with relevant government institutions underway.
2019 Engagement Gallery
Highlights from the 2019 stakeholder engagement with government institutions in Kwara State.
Organized by Drecot Consults
HTEA and KWASHATE are organized by Drecot Consults, a hospitality support firm working to develop the hospitality industry in Nigeria — starting from Kwara State and expanding through state-level hospitality awards.
Through its divisions — including HospitalityRecruit (staffing and training) and Drecot Printing Press (event and branding production) — Drecot Consults supports hotels, restaurants, and event centers across the state.
Our mission is to raise the standard of guest experience, increase demand for hospitality services, and contribute to the economic growth of the nation.