What Toby Dillas thought was a weekend getaway to Bermuda turned out to be a top-secret operation to recognise his lifetime dedication to tourism.The veteran hospitality worker had “absolutely no hint of an idea” what had been planned behind his back for the VIP Excellence Awards.Mr Dillas got the surprise of his life when his name was read out as the winner of the lifetime achievement award at the Fairmont Southampton Resort on Saturday.The 72-year-old still can’t get his head around how the “secret committee” of his family and friends pulled it off, saying: “No one ever keeps a secret in Bermuda.”Mr Dillas, who was Bermuda’s first black hotel manager, worked in tourism for 48 years from 1956 to 2004. He worked at several hotels, before being employed by Bermuda’s Department of Tourism.Mr Dillas, who now lives in Florida, flew to Bermuda on Friday after former colleague and close friend David Dodwell, the owner of The Reefs, invited him to “come on over”.Mr Dodwell had phoned him just a week earlier suggesting he visit for a long weekend “to relax, have some fun and see family and friends”.Mr Dodwell also suggested it would be a great opportunity for them to continue with their discussions about how to get more young Bermudians into the hospitality industry.Mr Dillas would have declined due to prior commitments if it wasn’t for the persistence of his wife Lauren, who repeatedly told him: “Go on, go on, go to Bermuda.”Mr Dodwell and Mrs Dillas were both in on the plan and made sure Mr Dillas packed “a tuxedo and not just a suit” for the awards ceremony.Not wanting to miss out on her husband’s big night, Mrs Dillas flew to Bermuda on Saturday. She knocked on his hotel room door saying: “I decided I needed to get away too.”Mr Dillas didn’t suspect a thing.He thought he had been invited to the VIP Excellence Awards to catch up with former colleagues, saying he was “enjoying being greeted by everyone”.His suspicions were only raised as old photos of him appeared on the big screen, then moments later Mr Dodwell took to the stage to “reveal what he had been cooking up”.Mr Dillas, a father-of-three, received a standing ovation as he collected his lifetime achievement award and gave an impressive off-the-cuff acceptance speech.He said he was “shocked and surprised” saying he had been “completely fooled”.He added: “I’m very proud to have been part of Bermuda’s tourism product throughout my career. I enjoyed every day of my work, I loved selling Bermuda, I have no regrets.”It was only when Mr Dillas got off stage that he realised his brothers, sisters, son and daughter had been “hiding at another table” to watch his crowning moment.Mr Dillas said: “I had absolutely no hint of an idea until the very moment. It was so unexpected, my wife joked that it looked like I was in a trance.“I’m still thinking about how they managed it and I have to say this is a first, the Island of Bermuda doesn’t normally keep quiet. Tongues are usually wagging and people usually drop hints to see if the person catches on, but there was nothing.”Mr Dillas, who grew up in Pembroke West, got his first hospitality job when he was 18 years old. For six months he worked as a busboy at The Empire Club at The New Windsor Hotel in Hamilton as he knew he “really wanted to work in the people business”.Mr Dillas then worked at Coral Beach Club as a busboy and waiter for a couple of years, before heading to Ariel Sands in 1958 to do a similar job. He said: “We provided guests with whatever services they wanted, there was no such thing as ‘that’s not my job’ back then.”In 1960 he started working at Elbow Beach as a waiter on the beach terrace during the day and as a waiter at The Bermudiana nightclub at night. He was happy to juggle the two jobs, saying: “This is when Bermuda was flourishing as the nightlife scene came alive.”He was later made captain at the nightclub, where The Talbot Brothers played, saying there were “limited opportunities for the upward mobility of blacks” but he had “a passion for advancing”.In 1964 Mr Dillas was made assistant manager of the newly-opened Bermudiana Beach Club on South Shore, Warwick. In 1969 he became assistant manager of the 235-room Bermudiana Hotel.In 1979 he was promoted, becoming the Bermudiana’s general manager. Three years later he became director of sales and marketing for the Bermudiana, Belmont and Harmony Hall hotels.Mr Dillas said he “felt humbled” to be Bermuda’s first black hotel manager as it felt like he had “achieved the greatest position at the top of the industry”.In 1989 he was appointed the Department Of Tourism’s regional manager for North East America in Boston. It was his job to “promote Bermuda and to inspire travel to the Island” and he was awarded a New England ASTA (American Society of Travel Agents) Award.From 1997 to 2004 he worked in New York as the Department of Tourism’s director of sales for North America, where he was in charge of about 38 staff.He counts among his career highlights when movie stars Doris Day and Cary Grant sneaked into the Bermudiana nightclub in 1962, and shaking the hand of actor John Wayne during a weekly rum swizzle night.He also fondly recalls the Newport-Bermuda Race launch parties on the lawn of the Bermudiana Hotel and feeding about 6,500 students a complimentary lunch at the Bermudiana Beach Club during College Weeks, which saw youngsters invited to Bermuda in the hope that they would be the Island’s future honeymooners.Mr Dillas added that he would always continue to fly the flag for the Island.He said: “Bermuda is still my home, I’m just in transit right now. I still do whatever I can to help Bermuda, I talk about Bermuda all the time, I continue to promote it to all my friends.”Mr Dodwell, who is a former Minister of Tourism, nominated Mr Dillas for the award saying he “could think of no-one more worthy”.He said: “Our goal was to get him here and to keep it a secret.“He and I had spoken about getting veterans in the hospitality industry to encourage young Bermudians to get on-board so I arranged a meeting with the Bermuda Hospitality Institute.“We had the meeting on Saturday and it worked completely, he fell for everything! When he got off the stage with his award, he said: ‘You fooled me.’”