The 17th iteration of the HM Awards, presented once again by Sealy Posturepedic, soared to new heights in front of a record crowd of nearly 1000 at Sydney’s International Convention Centre on Friday 6 September.
Under the theme ‘It’s Showtime’, guests were dazzled by spectacular entertainment emblematic of the modern Broadway standard including Boys in the Band, Hannah May, Dale Burridge and the Players Band.
The calibre of nominations in 2019 saw the highest number of joint winners set in the event’s history, with judges unable to separate the two best entries received across a host of categories.
Most awards saw over 50 nominees put their best feet forward in an effort to claim the prestigious accolade (in some cases over 80 entries were received), with the judging process more difficult than ever before.
HM editor-in-chief and chief judge of the HM Awards, James Wilkinson, said the calibre of this year’s entries were the best in the event’s history.
“The quality of entries in the HM Awards this year was unlike anything we have seen before. It was a challenge to even choose the finalists from up to 80 entries in some cases, let alone decide on a winner and highly commended.
“To even be a finalist this year was a massive effort and many of our winners have also been employee of the year or hotel of the year in their own organisations, so it was an incredibly strong field of entries in 2019.”
The full list of award winners is as follows:
PROPERTY AWARDS
Serviced Apartment Property – sponsored by Foxtel Business
JOINT WINNERS: Adina Apartment Hotel Bondi Beach, NSW and The York by Swiss Belhotel, Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Fraser Suites Sydney and SKYE Suites Parramatta
Economy Hotel – sponsored by Accommodation Association of Australia
JOINT WINNERS: Adabco Boutique Hotel, Adelaide and Brassey Hotel, Canberra
HIGHLY COMMENDED: ibis Sydney World Square and Travelodge Hobart
Midscale Hotel – sponsored by Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School
WINNER: Little National Hotel, Canberra
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Holiday Inn Express Adelaide City Centre and Jasper Hotel, Melbourne
Upscale Hotel – sponsored by Lawrence Dry Cleaners
WINNER: PARKROYAL Darling Harbour
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Ovolo Inchcolm, Brisbane and Pullman Sydney Airport
Upper-Upscale Hotel – sponsored by Swisstrade
WINNER: QT Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED: The Calile Hotel, Brisbane and MACq 01 Hotel, Hobart
Luxury Hotel – sponsored by Sealy Posturepedic
WINNER: Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley and The Darling Gold Coast
Australian Lodge – sponsored by Tourism Accommodation Australia
WINNER: Emirates One&Only Wolgan Valley
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Peppers Cradle Mountain, Cradle Mountain and Spicers Peak Lodge, Maryvale
Business Hotel – sponsored by Foxtel Business
WINNER: Sydney Harbour Marriott
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Crown Promenade Melbourne and InterContinental Perth City Centre
Resort – sponsored by Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School
WINNER: qualia, Hamilton Island
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Ayers Rock Resort, Yulara and Sofitel Noosa Pacific Resort
Hotel Interior Design – sponsored by Sealy Posturepedic
JOINT WINNERS: The Fantauzzo, Brisbane and Little Albion, a Crystalbrook Collection Boutique Hotel, Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED: W Brisbane and Zagame’s House, Melbourne
Boutique Hotel – sponsored by Streamvision
WINNER: The Langham, Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Emporium Hotel South Bank and Ovolo Inchcolm, Brisbane
New Hotel – sponsored by Sealy Posturepedic
WINNER: The Calile Hotel, Brisbane
HIGHLY COMMENDED: QT Perth and The Fantauzzo, Brisbane
Meetings and Conferencing Property – sponsored by Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School
JOINT WINNERS: Hilton Sydney and Uluru Meeting Place, Ayers Rock Resort, Yulara
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Grand Hyatt Melbourne and Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park
Regional Property – sponsored by Foxtel Business
WINNER: Fairmont Resort & Spa Blue Mountains, MGallery by Sofitel
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach and Riley, a Crystalbrook Collection Resort, Cairns
Day Spa – sponsored by Spa + Clinic
JOINT WINNERS: Alamanda Spa, Alamanda Palm Cove by Lancemore and Chi, The Spa, Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Day Spa by Chuan, The Langham, Sydney and The Waldheim Alpine Spa, Peppers Cradle Mountain Lodge
Hotel Bar – sponsored by Foxtel Business
WINNER: Jackalberry, Hyatt Regency Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Mister Percy, Ovolo 1888, Sydney and Rooftop at QT, QT Perth
Hotel Restaurant – sponsored by Perrier
JOINT WINNERS: Alibi, Ovolo Woolloomooloo, Sydney and Hardy’s Verandah Restaurant, Mount Lofty House, Adelaide Hills
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Buvette Bistro and Wine Bar, Hotel Realm, Canberra and Paper Daisy, Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach
Tech Hotel – sponsored by Assa Abloy
WINNER: SKYE Suites Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Next Hotel Brisbane and Novotel Melbourne South Wharf
New Zealand Hotel – sponsored by Lion
JOINT WINNERS: Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour and The Rees Hotel, Queenstown
HIGHLY COMMENDED: InterContinental Wellington and QT Wellington
New Zealand Regional Property – sponsored by AHICE
WINNER: Chateau Marlborough, Blenheim
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Novotel Hamilton Tainui and Peppers Parehua, Martinborough
New Zealand Lodge – sponsored by AHS Hospitality
WINNER: Wharekauhau Country Estate, Featherston
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Blanket Bay, Glenorchy and The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, Hawke’s Bay
Fijian Property – sponsored by Withers Worldwide
WINNER: VOMO Island Fiji
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Fiji Marriott Resort, Momi Bay and Kokomo Private Island
South Pacific Property – sponsored by TimeOut
WINNER: InterContinental Bora Bora Resort and Thalasso Spa, French Polynesia
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Pacific Resort Aitutaki, Cook Islands and St Regis Bora Bora Resort, French Polynesia
Marketing Campaign – sponsored by Wayfarer
JOINT WINNERS: Accor (Wintervention) and Quest Apartment Hotels (Work. Play. Sleep. Repeat.)
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Pier One Sydney Harbour (Pier One Igloo Project) and RACV Cape Schanck Resort (hotel launch)
Service to the Community – sponsored by Sealy Posturepedic
JOINT WINNERS: Accor (Race to Survive Fiji & Building Futures and Partnering for Good) and Wyndham Destinations Asia-Pacific (Wishes by Wyndham)
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Rendezvous Hotel Perth Scarborough (community service projects) and The Langham, Melbourne (community service projects)
PEOPLE AWARDS
Concierge – sponsored by Tourism Accommodation Australia
JOINT WINNERS: Desmond Taliauli, Novotel Sydney Darling Harbour and Phil Shearer, Rydges Wellington, New Zealand
HIGHLY COMMENDED: James Spielvogel, InterContinental Melbourne the Rialto and Jay de los Reyes, QT Sydney
Hotel Chef – sponsored by Nespresso Professional
JOINT WINNERS: Nic Wood, QT Perth and Raphael Szurek, Sydney Harbour Marriott
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Graham Webster, Loxley on Bellbird Hill and Rick Gore, Pullman Magenta Shores Resort
Food and Beverage Associate – sponsored by Calabria Family Wines
JOINT WINNERS: Alexandra Russell, Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley and Julian Reevell, PARKROYAL Darling Harbour
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Cas Yan, Shangri-La Hotel, Sydney and Robert Mawson, Hotel Realm, Canberra
Human Resources Associate – sponsored by AHS Hospitality
JOINT WINNERS: Kedea Atherton, Accor Australia and Megan Reid, InterContinental Sanctuary Cove Resort and InterContinental Hayman Island Resort
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Rosie McCartney, Next Story Group Australia/New Zealand and Riley Mackenzie, PARKROYAL Parramatta
Sales and Marketing Associate – sponsored by Intrust Super
JOINT WINNERS: Holly De Bijl, InterContinental Sydney Double Bay and Kristie Mancell, The Calile Hotel, Brisbane
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Rita Nassar, PARKROYAL Darling Harbour and Lachlan Harris, The Langham, Sydney
Communications Associate – sponsored by TravMedia
JOINT WINNERS: Caroline Davidson, The Rees Hotel, Queenstown, New Zealand and Caterina Spanti, QT Melbourne
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Ace Mamun, Sydney Harbour Marriott and Helen Jin, Novotel Sydney International Airport
Front Office Associate – sponsored by Accommodation Association of Australia
JOINT WINNERS: Jake Guilfoyle, QT Sydney and David Tonkin, Mount Lofty House Adelaide Hills, Crafers
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Kanina Victoria, RACV Resorts Australia and Kimbley Watkins, Sage Hotel Wollongong
Finance Associate – sponsored by Intrust Super
JOINT WINNERS: Helen Ip, Holiday Inn Sydney Airport and Howard Phung, Frasers Hospitality, Australia
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Dhruv Patel, Fairmont Resort & Spa Blue Mountains, MGallery by Sofitel and Molly Tian, The Lancemore Group, Australia
Revenue Management Associate – sponsored by ARMA
JOINT WINNERS: Brendan Smith, RACV Resorts Australia and Teddy Wijaya, West Hotel Sydney, Curio Collection by Hilton
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Felicite Danis, Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour and Kristy Edwards, Best Western Australia
Housekeeper – sponsored by AHS Hospitality
JOINT WINNERS: Agnes Kapani-Volu, Travelodge Macquarie North Ryde and Leonnie McGrath, Quest Dubbo
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Connie Thomsen, Halcyon House, Cabarita Beach and Raj Kulwant Kaur, The Blackman, Melbourne
Hotel Engineer – sponsored by Streamvision
JOINT WINNERS: Ding Yi, Pullman Sydney Airport and Ron Peel, Atura Dandenong, VIC
HIGHLY COMMENDED: James Mashman, Four Points by Sheraton Sydney, Central Park and John Harrison, Sage Ringwood
Rising Star – sponsored by Intrust Super
JOINT WINNERS: Amy van De Ven, Quest Orange and Charles Martin, Emporium Hotel South Bank, Brisbane
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Chris Tannock, Sails in the Desert, Ayers Rock Resort, Yulara and Veronique James, Sofitel Sydney Darling Harbour
MAJOR AWARDS
South Pacific General Manager – sponsored by Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School
WINNER: Neeraj Chadha, Marriott International Fiji and Samoa
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Vincent Macquet, Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa
New Zealand General Manager – sponsored by AHS Hospitality
WINNER: Paul Columbus, Novotel Auckland Airport
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Franz Mascarenhas, Cordis Auckland and Mark Rose, The Rees Hotel, Queenstown
Australian General Manager – sponsored by Intrust Super
WINNER: Jason Sabin, Holiday Inn Express Sydney Macquarie Park
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Nathan Cox, Accor Sydney Olympic Park and Shaun D’Cruz, Crown Hotels Melbourne
Environmental Program – sponsored by Sealy Posturepedic
JOINT WINNERS: Riley, a Crystalbrook Collection Resort, Cairns and Wyndham Destinations Asia-Pacific
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Crowne Plaza Hunter Valley
HM Awards Hall of Fame Award – sponsored by HM Magazine
WINNER: Richard Munro
Hotel Brand – sponsored by Foxtel Business
JOINT WINNERS: Hilton and Ovolo Hotels
HIGHLY COMMENDED: QT Hotels
Accommodation Chain – sponsored by Foxtel Business
WINNER: Accor
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Hyatt Hotels and Resorts and Marriott International
Ashley Spencer Service to the Industry Award – sponsored by HM Magazine
WINNER: Keith Barr, InterContinental Hotels Group
Australasian Hotel of the Year – sponsored by Sealy Posturepedic
WINNER: Park Hyatt Sydney
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Jackalope Hotel Mornington Peninsula and qualia, Hamilton Island
HM Magazine Australasian Hotelier of the Year – sponsored by HM Magazine
WINNER: Leanne Harwood, InterContinental Hotels Group
HIGHLY COMMENDED: Sean Hunt, Marriott International and Simon McGrath, Accor
HM Magazine Asia-Pacific Hotelier of the Year – sponsored by HM Magazine
WINNER: Craig S. Smith, Marriott International
HIGHLY COMMENDED: David Udell, Hyatt Hotels and Resorts and Michael Issenberg, Accor
