The leading hotels in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific have been recognised for accommodation excellence at the 2009 HM Awards, held in front of 440 guests in Sydney on Friday night (Aug 14).
HM’s James Wilkinson presents Accor’s Simon
McGrath with the 2009 HM Magazine Hotelier
of the Year award and trophy at the HM Awards
The 2009 HM Awards, presented by Sealy, were held at Sydney’s Doltone House and awarded people, departments, properties and chains across 40 categories in front of the industry’s leading hoteliers, staff, key suppliers and dignitaries.
“Once again, the HM Awards were a fantastic showcase of the best the industry has to offer,” said James Wilkinson, Managing Editor of HM magazine – host of the seventh annual HM Awards.
“We have some of the most amazing staff and stunning hotels the world has to offer and it has once more been a privilege to recognise excellence across the entire accommodation industry here in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.
“Once again, this year’s HM Awards have been the most successful ever held. Everything about the awards was bigger and better, from the record 450 guests, to the incredible amount of entries we received in 2009, which exceeded 1200 – more than double last year.
“The Awards have become the pinnacle for excellence in this part of the world and HM magazine is proud to recognize excellence in every corner – from front office managers to GMs and boutique hotels to accommodation chains,” Wilkinson said.
Richard Munro receives the Australian Hotel Manager
of the Year Award from ISIS’s Brett Patterson
Simon McGrath, Accor’s Vice President – Australia took home the most prestigious award on the night, the 2009 HM Magazine Hotelier of the Year. The award was voted on by the leading regional directors of hotel chains, as were the other three top awards on the night – Hotel Brand, Overall Hotel and Accommodation Chain.
“The HM magazine Hotelier of the year recognition has become one of the most sought after awards in the Australian accommodation industry – and once again like Keith Barr in 2008 and Andrew Turner in 2007, we again had one of the finest hoteliers in this country taking out the award this year,” Wilkinson said.
InterContinental Hotels Group’s Crowne Plaza was awarded Hotel Brand of the Year, while qualia on Hamilton Island was named Hotel of the Year and Mirvac Hotels & Resorts, led by CEO Andrew Turner, took out Accommodation Chain of the Year.
Sealy’s Antony Raiteri presents IHG’s Bruce McKenzie
with the Brand of the Year Award
Other major Awards saw Amanda Silk from Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa win the South Pacific Hotel Manager category, Holiday Inn Wellington’s Heather Idoine-Riley take out the New Zealand Hotel Manager award and Small Luxury Hotels win Hotel Brand Management Company.
Nominations in the HM Awards were open to hotel staff across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific. Over 20 leading travel writers and industry leaders decided on the property categories, while a special HM magazine team decided on the people awards in conjunction with Hostec. The judging results were again audited by Ernst & Young in 2009.
HM (Hotel & Accommodation Management) Magazine is the host of the annual HM Awards, which were presented by Sealy. Co-hosts of the event in 2009 included Intrust Super and ISIS Hotel Projects.
A complete list of winners can be found below.
2009 HM AWARDS PRESENTED BY SEALY – WINNERS LIST
PROPERTY AWARDS – AUSTRALIA
1. Serviced Apartment Property
Presented by: TravelZoo
Winner: Fraser Suites Sydney, NSW
Highly commended: Quay Grand Suites Sydney, NSW
2. Accommodation Property – 3- to 3.5-Star
Presented by: Intrust Super
Winner: Thredbo Alpine Hotel, NSW
Highly commended: Best Western Sanctuary Inn, Tamworth, NSW
3. Accommodation Property – 4- to 4.5-Star
Presented by: Sealy
Winner: The Byron at Byron Resort & Spa, NSW
Highly commended: Q Station Retreat, Manly, NSW
4. Accommodation Property – 5-Star
Presented by: Dyson Airblade
Winner: Crown Towers, Melbourne, VIC
Highly commended: The Observatory Hotel, Sydney, NSW
5. Business Hotel
Presented by: DoCoMo InterTouch
Winner: Hilton Sydney, NSW
Highly commended: Crown Towers, Melbourne, VIC
6. Resort
Presented by: Elite Resorts of Asia Pacific
Winner: qualia, QLD
Highly commended: The Byron at Byron Resort & Spa, NSW
7. Hotel Refurbishment
Presented by: ISIS Hotel Projects
Winner: InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto, VIC
Highly commended: Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, NSW
8. Boutique Hotel
Presented by: Sealy
Winner: Emporium Hotel, Brisbane, QLD
Highly commended: Cape Lodge, Margaret River, WA
9. Unique Accommodation
Presented by: Sealy
Winner: Bay of Fires Lodge, Mt William National Park, TAS
Highly commended: Q Station Retreat, Manly, NSW
10. New Hotel
Presented by: Intrust Super
Winner: Vibe Hotel Darwin Waterfront, NT
Highly commended: Pullman Sydney Olympic Park, NSW
11. Alpine Accommodation
Presented by: Philips
Winner: Quay West Resort & Spa Falls Creek, VIC
Highly commended: Novotel Lake Crackenback Resort, NSW
12. MICE Hotel
Presented by: SPICE Magazine
Winner: Q Station Retreat, Manly, NSW
Highly commended: Hilton Sydney, NSW
13. Regional Property
Presented by: Intrust Super
Winner: Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa, NSW
Highly commended: Kim’s Beach Hideaway, Toowoon Bay, NSW
14. Hotel Day Spa
Presented by: ISIS Hotel Projects
Winner: Villa Thalgo Day Spa, The Sebel Resort & Spa Hawkesbury Valley, NSW
Highly commended: Angsana Spa, Angsana Resort & Spa Great Barrier Reef, QLD
15. Hotel Bar
Presented by: Hoshizaki Ice Makers
Winner: Zeta Bar, Hilton Sydney, NSW
Highly commended: Astral Bar, Star City, NSW
16. Hotel Restaurant
Presented by: San Pellegrino
Winner: Bilson’s, Radisson Plaza Hotel Sydney, NSW
Highly commended: Altitude, Shangri-La Hotel Sydney, NSW
17. Hi-Tech Hotel
Presented by: Foxtel Business
Winner: The Westin Sydney, NSW
Highly commended: InterContinental Melbourne The Rialto, VIC
PROPERTY AWARDS – NEW ZEALAND & SOUTH PACIFIC
18. New Zealand Hotel
Presented by: Vingcard Elsafe
Winner: The Westin Auckland, Lighter Quay
Highly commended: Sofitel Queenstown
19. New Zealand Regional Property
Presented by: HM Magazine
Winner: Blanket Bay, Glenorchy
Highly commended: Huka Lodge, Lake Taupo
20. Fijian Property
Presented by: ISIS Hotel Projects
Winner: Likuliku Lagoon Resort, Fiji
Highly commended: Shangri-La’s Fijian Resort & Spa, Yanuka, Fiji
21. South Pacific Property
Presented by: Elite Resorts of Asia Pacific
Winner: InterContinental Bora Bora Resort & Thalasso Spa, French Polynesia
Highly commended: Bora Bora Lagoon Resort & Spa, French Polynesia
PROPERTY AWARDS – ALL COUNTRIES (AUSTRALIA, NZ & SOUTH PACIFIC)
22. Environmental Program
Presented by: AAA Tourism
Winner: Pullman Sydney Olympic Park, NSW
Highly commended: Crowne Plaza Alice Springs, NT
23. Marketing Campaign
Presented by: SPICEnews.com.au
Winner: ‘Personal mantras’, Mantra, Stella Hospitality
Highly commended: ‘100 Reasons Why’, Sofitel Luxury Hotels, Accor Hospitality
24. Service to the Community
Presented by: HM Magazine
Winner: Sydney Harbour Marriott, NSW
Highly commended: Holiday Inn Wellington, New Zealand
PEOPLE AWARDS
25. Concierge
Presented by: Time Out Sydney
Winner: Chris Traill, Park Hyatt Sydney, NSW
Highly commended: Glenn Lacey, The Langham Melbourne, VIC
26. Hotel Executive Chef
Presented by: Robert Oatley Wines
Winner: Glenn Bacon, Hayman, QLD
Highly commended: Hugh Whitehouse, Lilianfels Blue Mountains Resort & Spa, NSW
27. Hotel Bartender
Presented by: timeout.com/sydney
Winner: Lucy George, Emporium Hotel, Brisbane, QLD
Highly commended: Stuart Reeves, Park Hyatt Sydney, NSW
28. Human Resources Department Member
Presented by: Hostec
Winner: Jayne Webb, Brisbane Marriott, QLD
Highly commended: Chantal Jackson, Hilton Sydney, NSW
29. Sales & Marketing Department Member
Presented by: Intrust Super
Winner: Chriscelle Capito, The Observatory Hotel Sydney, NSW
Highly commended: Tomoko Sakurai, Four Seasons Hotel Sydney, NSW
30. PR/Communications Department Member
Presented by: Travmedia.com
Winner: Gaynor Reid, Accor Hospitality
Highly commended: Jill Collins, Hamilton Island, QLD (representation)
31. Front Office Department Member
Presented by: ISIS Hotel Projects
Winner: Simon Ruri, Peppers Clearwater Resort, Christchurch, New Zealand
Highly commended: Jamila El Allam, The Langham Melbourne, VIC
32. Rooms Division Department Member
Presented by: Sealy
Winner: Donna Gribble, Novotel Barossa Valley, SA
Highly commended: Grace Esogon, Sydney Harbour Marriott, NSW
MAJOR AWARDS
33. South Pacific Hotel Manager
Presented by: HM Magazine
Winner: Amanda Silk, Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa, Fiji
Highly commended: Greg Stanaway, Pacific Resort Rarotonga, Cook Islands
34. New Zealand Hotel Manager
Presented by: HM Magazine
Winner: Heather Idoine-Riley, Holiday Inn Wellington
Highly commended: Victoria Shaw, Eichardt’s Private Hotel Queenstown
35. Australian Hotel Manager
Presented by: ISIS Hotel Projects
Winner: Richard Munro, Star City, Sydney, NSW
Highly commended: Peter Savoff, Emporium Hotel, Brisbane, QLD
36. Hotel Brand Management Company
Presented by: Sealy
Winner: Small Luxury Hotels of the World
Highly commended: The Leading Hotels of the World
37. Hotel Brand
Presented by: Sealy
Winner: Crowne Plaza, InterContinental Hotels Group
Highly commended: Diamant, Eight Hotels Australia
38. Accommodation Chain
Presented by: Intrust Super
Winner: Mirvac Hotels & Resorts
Highly commended: InterContinental Hotels Group
39. Hotel of the Year
Presented by: Sealy
Winner: qualia, Hamilton Island, QLD
Highly commended: The Observatory Hotel, Sydney, NSW
Highly commended: Park Hyatt Melbourne, VIC
40. HM Magazine Hotelier of the Year
Presented by: HM Magazine
Winner: Simon McGrath, Accor Hospitality
Hall of Fame inaugural inductees:
David Baffsky AO, Accor Hospitality
Patrick Griffin OAM, Orient-Express Hotels
The 2009 HM Awards judging results were officially audited by Ernst & Young.
