The leading hotels in Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific have been recognised for accommodation excellence at the 2010 HM Awards, held in front of a record 520 guests in Sydney on Friday night (Sep 3).

The 2010 HM Awards, presented by Sealy Posturepedic, awarded people, departments, properties and chains across 42 categories in front of the industry’s leading hoteliers, staff, key suppliers and dignitaries.

“Once again, the HM Awards were a magnificent showcase of the best the industry has to offer,” said James Wilkinson, Managing Editor of HM magazine – host of the eighth annual HM Awards.

“We have some of the most amazing staff and 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.

“This year’s HM Awards have been the most successful ever held. Everything about the awards was bigger and better, from the record 520 guests, to the incredible amount of entries we received in 2010, which exceeded 1300.

“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 General Managers and boutique hotels to accommodation chains,” Wilkinson said.

Rachel Argaman, CEO of Toga Hospitality, took home the most prestigious award on the night, the 2010 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 Simon McGrath in 2009, 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.

In the other top awards, Accor’s Sofitel Luxury Hotels was named Hotel Brand of the Year, InterContinental Hotels Group was named Accommodation Chain of the Year and The Observatory Hotel in Sydney was named Hotel of the Year.

Other major Awards saw Craig Bond from The Sebel Albert Park Melbourne named Australian General Manager of the Year, Lynne McVicar from Queenstown’s Hotel St Moritz named New Zealand General Manager and Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa win Environmental Program of the Year.

It was a stellar night for Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa, with the Emirates-owned property winning a total of five awards, including Environmental Program, Best New Hotel, Regional Property, Unique Accommodation and Hotel Chef.

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 2010.

HM (Hotel & Accommodation Management) Magazine is the host of the annual HM Awards, which were presented by Sealy Posturepedic. Co-hosts of the event in 2010 included AHS, Intrust Super, ISIS Hotel Projects and Philips.

2010 HM AWARDS
WINNERS & HIGHLY COMMENDED RECIPIENTS

PROPERTY AWARDS: AUSTRALIA
1. Serviced Apartment Property
Presented by: AHS
Winner: Quay Grand Suites Sydney
Highly Commended: Adina Apartment Hotel Sydney
   
2. Accommodation under 3.5 stars
Presented by: AHS
Winner: Thredbo Alpine Hotel
Highly Commended: Travelodge Docklands
  
3. Accommodation 4- to 4.5-stars
Presented by: Sealy Posturepedic
Winner: The Byron at Byron Resort and Spa
Highly Commended: Peppers Salt Resort and Spa
Highly Commended: Q Station Retreat
 
4. Accommodation 5 star
Presented by: Philips in association with Yardley
Winner: Crown Towers Melbourne
Highly Commended: qualia
 
5. Business Hotel
Presented by: Docomo Inter-touch
Winner: Sheraton Perth
Highly Commended: Hilton Sydney
  
6. Resort
Presented by: Philips in association with JB Hi-Fi
Winner: qualia
Highly Commended: Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa
   
7. Hotel Refurbishment
Presented by: ISIS
Winner: Grand Hyatt Melbourne
Highly Commended: Peppers Manor House
  
8. Boutique Hotel
Presented by: Micros-Fidelio
Winner: Emporium Hotel, Brisbane
Highly Commended: The Olsen
 
9. Unique Accommodation
Presented by: Sealy Posturepedic
Winner: Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa
Highly Commended: Longitude 131
   
10. Best New Hotel
Presented by: Intrust Super
Winner: Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa
Highly Commended: Crown Metropol
  
11. Alpine Accommodation
Presented by: ISIS
Winner: Quay West Resort & Spa Falls Creek
Highly Commended: Thredbo Alpine Hotel
   
12. Meetings & Conference Property
Presented by: SPICE magazine
Winner: Quay West Resort & Spa Bunker Bay
Highly Commended: Q Station Retreat
  
13. Regional Property
Presented by: Intrust Super
Winner: Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa
Highly Commended: The Byron at Byron Resort & Spa
  
14. Hotel Day Spa
Presented by: ISIS
Winner: Angsana Spa, Angsana Resort & Spa Great Barrier Reef
Highly Commended: Spa qualia, qualia
  
15. Hotel Bar
Presented by: Hoshizaki Ice Makers
Winner: Zeta Bar, Hilton Sydney
Highly Commended: Blu Bar on 36, Shangri-La Hotel Sydney
  
16. Hotel Restaurant
Presented by: San Pellegrino
Winner: Bilson’s, Radisson Plaza Sydney
Highly Commended: Astral, Star City
  
17. Hi-Tech Hotel
Presented by: Philips in association with JB Hi-Fi
Winner: Hilton Sydney
Highly Commended: Crown Towers
  
PROPERTY AWARDS – NEW ZEALAND, FIJI & SOUTH PACIFIC

18. New Zealand Hotel
Presented by: Vingcard Elsafe
Winner: Sofitel Queenstown Hotel & Spa
Highly Commended: The Langham, Auckland
  
19. New Zealand Regional Property
Presented by: Sealy Posturepedic
Winner: Peppers Clearwater Resort
Highly Commended: Millbrook Resort
   
20. New Zealand Lodge
Presented by: HM Magazine
Winner: The Farm at Cape Kidnappers
Highly Commended: Huka Lodge
   
21. Fijian Property
Presented by: ISIS
Winner: Likuliku Lagoon Resort
Highly Commended: Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa
   
22. South Pacific Property
Presented by: Ernst & Young
Winner: InterContinental Bora Bora Resort and Thalasso Spa
Highly Commended: Sofitel Moorea Resort & Spa
   
PROPERTY AWARDS – ALL COUNTRIES

23. Hotel Brand Management Company
Presented by: Intrust Super
Winner: Preferred Hotel Group
Highly Commended: Small Luxury Hotels of the World
  
24. Marketing Campaign
Presented by: SpiceNews.com.au
Winner: Holiday Inn hotels (Australasia)
Highly Commended: Travelodge Hotels (Australia)
  
25. Service to the Community
Presented by: Intrust Super
Winner: Accor Hospitality (Australia)
Highly Commended: James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor
  
PEOPLE AWARDS

26. Concierge
Winner: Ben Davies, The Langham, Melbourne
Highly Commended:  Elvis Soiza, Sofitel Brisbane
  
27. Hotel Chef
Presented by: Robert Oatley Wines
Winner: Dwane Goodman, Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa
Highly Commended: Glenn Bacon, Hayman
  
28. Hotel Bartender
Presented by: Time Out Sydney
Winner: Stuart Reeves, harbourbar, Park Hyatt Sydney
Highly Commended: Chewie Choo, Emporium Hotel, Brisbane
  
29. Human Resources department member
Presented by: Hostec
Winner: Nicole Downs, The Sebel Surry Hills
Highly Commended: Nykkie Gibson, Accor Hospitality (New Zealand)
Highly Commended: David Wain, Hilton Sydney
   
30. Sales & Marketing department member
Presented by: Vacations & Travel magazine
Winner: Rupert Hallam, Hilton Melbourne South Wharf
Highly Commended: Morag Ritchie, Angsana Resort and Spa Great Barrier Reef
   
31. Public Relations department member
Presented by: Travmedia.com
Winner: Peter Hook, Accor Hospitality
Highly Commended: Sarah Vickery, Four Seasons Hotel Sydney
   
32. Front Office department member
Presented by: AHS Hospitality
Winner: Sofie Di Donato, Diamant Hotel Sydney
Highly Commended: Cameron Griffiths, Park Hyatt Sydney
   
33. Housekeeper
Presented by: AHS Hospitality
Winner: Tony Smith, Mantra 2 Bond Street
Highly Commended: Imran Asif, Chifley Eastern Creek
Highly Commended: Lalini De Silva, Star City

34. Hotel Engineer
Presented by: Philips in association with Yardley
Winner: Alan Wallbanks, Sofitel Gold Coast Broadbeach
Highly Commended: Robin Power, Crowne Plaza Melbourne

MAJOR AWARDS

35. South Pacific General Manager
Presented by: Sealy Posturepedic
Winner: Michael Shah, Pacific Resort Aitutaki
Highly Commended: Mike Wilson, Holiday Inn Suva
   
36. New Zealand General Manager
Presented by: Sealy Posturepedic
Winner: Lynne McVicar, Hotel St Moritz
Highly Commended: Jeffrey van Vorsselen, The Langham Auckland
Highly Commended: Jim Moore, Novotel Queenstown Lakeside
   
37. Australian General Manager
Presented by: Intrust Super
Winner: Craig Bond, The Sebel & Citigate Albert Park Melbourne
Highly Commended: Paul Hutton, Hilton Sydney
   
38. Environmental Program
Presented by: ISIS
Winner: Wolgan Valley Resort & Spa
Highly Commended: Mercure hotels (Australasia)
Highly Commended: Pacific Resort Rarotonga 

39. Hotel Brand
Presented by: Philips
Winner: Sofitel Luxury Hotels
Highly Commended: Quest Serviced Apartments
   
40. Accommodation Chain
Presented by: AHS
Winner: InterContinental Hotels Group
Highly Commended: Accor Hospitality

41. Hotel of the Year
Presented by: Sealy Posturepedic
Winner: The Observatory Hotel, Sydney
Highly Commended: qualia

42. HM Magazine Hotelier of the Year
Presented by: HM Magazine
Winner: Rachel Argaman, Toga Hospitality

Plus the HALL OF FAME inductee:
Stephen Lewis, Four Seasons Hotel Sydney