In front of almost 600 hoteliers, industry leaders and major suppliers, the winners of the 2012 HM Awards presented by Sealy have been awarded to some of the Australasian accommodation industry’s brightest stars.
Held at the prestigious Sydney Town Hall last Friday night (Sep 7) and hosted by television personality Larry Emdur, the HM Awards have, for the 10th time, recognised the accommodation industry’s finest staff, properties, brands and chains across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.
Major winners on the night were Accor Asia-Pacific’s Michael Issenberg (Asia-Pacific Hotelier of the Year), Quest Serviced Apartments’ Paul Constantinou (Australasian Hotelier of the Year), Park Hyatt Sydney (Hotel of the Year), The Langham (Hotel Brand), Accor Hotels (Accommodation Chain) and Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa (Environmental Program).
Park Hyatt Sydney capped off a big year following the property’s major refurbishment, also winning the Luxury Hotel and Interior Design gongs alongside Hotel of the Year, while Hamilton Island’s qualia took out Resort, Day Spa and Hotel Chef (Alastair Waddell).
Hilton Surfers Paradise was awarded for best New Hotel and Communications Associate (Chelsea Steber), while the chain also took out Hotel Bar (Zeta at Hilton Sydney) and New Zealand Regional Property (Hilton Lake Taupo).
New Zealand Lodge went to Huka Lodge in Taupo, while Fijian Property was won by InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort and Spa, a hotel that also took out the Service to the Community Award for 2012.
InterContinental Hotels Group also celebrated with awards for Concierge (Jason Eade, InterContinental Wellington) and Housekeeper (Eric MacDonald, Crowne Plaza Melbourne).
Alongside Asia-Pacific Hotelier of the Year and Hotel Chain, Accor won awards for Australian General Manager (Geoffrey York, Fairmont Resort Blue Mountains), Rising Star (Tara Crisafi, The Sebel Residence Chatswood), Food and Beverage Associate (Claude Stein, Sofitel Sydney Wentworth), South Pacific Property (Sofitel Bora Bora Marara Beach Resort, French Polynesia), New Zealand Property (Sofitel Queenstown Hotel and Spa) and Australian Upscale Property (The Sebel Pier One, Sydney).
Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa also collected awards for Regional Property, Australian Lodge and Hotel Engineer (Mario Castillo), while fellow regional star Lake House in Daylesford won the gong for best Hotel Restaurant.
Brisbane’s Emporium Hotel was named Boutique Hotel of the Year for the fourth time in a row, while Mantra Group, based on the Gold Coast, won Marketing Campaign (for their Pat Rafter advertisements), along with New Zealand General Manager (Alistair Munro, Peppers Bluewater Resort) and Budget Property (BreakFree Aanuka Beach Resort, Coffs Harbour).
Toga Hotels won awards for Midscale Property (Vibe Hotel Darwin Waterfront) and Communications Associate (Tessa Anderssen), while Starwood was recognised for Meetings and Conference Property (Sheraton on the Park, Sydney) and Finance Associate (Pierre Marechal, Four Points by Sheraton Sydney Darling Harbour).
The Langham Sydney’s Emil Beshay was named Housekeeper of the Year alongside The Langham’s Hotel Brand of the Year win.
Other key Awards on the night went to Pacific Resort Aitutaki in the Cook Islands (South Pacific General Manager was won by Julian Moore), Crown Metropol Melbourne (Upper-upscale Property), Sydney Harbour Marriott (Maria Macri Nosari for Front Office Associate), Pan Pacific Perth (Virginia Chong for Sales and Marketing Associate), 8Hotels (Rowena Carter for Human Resources Associate), The Darling hotel in Sydney (Tech Hotel), Shangri-La Hotel Sydney (Business Hotel), Scone Motor Inn (Economy Property) and Fraser Suites Sydney (Serviced Apartment Property).
The 2012 HM Awards were hosted by HM magazine, presented by Sealy, and co-hosted by AHS, the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School, Intrust Super and ISIS.
“Once more we were thrilled to recognise the industry’s finest hotels, chains and, particularly staff, that have been doing an amazing job over the last 12 months,” said HM magazine Editor, James Wilkinson.
“Sure it’s fantastic when a hotel can be rewarded for its aesthetics, style, design and comfort, but it is the people who work in hotels that give the accommodation industry in Australasia its soul.
“This year, our people categories generated the most interest and in the case of Rising Star, the category once more attracted the most nominations out of the 47 categories.
“On behalf of the team at HM magazine and all of our fantastic sponsors this year, congratulations to all of the winners, highly commended recipients and finalists in 2012,” Wilkinson said.
The 2012 HM Awards also saw a special editor’s award for Service to the Industry presented to Tim Dearsley from Ibis Christchurch for his hard work and dedication to the hotel industry in the wake of the February 2011 earthquake, alongside three Hall of Fame inductions.
This year inducted into the Hall of Fame were Koos Klein (Voyages Indigenous Tourism) and Grant Hunt (Anthology) – who were recognised for their careers in the Australasian hotel industry – along with The Oatley Family, recognised for their significant contribution to the industry through the ongoing development of Hamilton Island.
On the night, almost $30,000 was raised for the Sala Bai Hotel School in Siem Reap, Cambodia in yet another strong show of charitable support from the industry.
“We are incredibly proud to be helping young people from poor and disadvantaged families realise their dream of working in the hotel industry through training at Sala Bai,” Wilkinson said.
“This donation will help ensure 30 more young Cambodians will receive the training they need to not just get jobs, but great careers in the hotel industry.”
The 2012 HM Awards saw not just a huge crowd, but also a record number of entries with 2300 this year.
More information on the nomination and judging process is available at www.hmawards.com.au
2012 HM AWARDS
Winners and Highly Commended recipients
Australian Property Awards
1. Serviced Apartment Property
Presented by: AHS
WINNER: Fraser Suites Sydney
H/C: Quay Grand Suites, Sydney
2. Budget Property
Presented by: Intrust Super
WINNER: BreakFree Aanuka Resort, Coffs Harbour
H/C: Country Comfort Ipswich
3. Economy Property
Presented by: AHS
WINNER: Scone Motor Inn and Serviced Apartments
H/C: Travelodge Docklands
4. Midscale Property
Presented by: Accommodation Association of Australia
WINNER: Vibe Hotel Darwin Waterfront
H/C: Diamant Hotel Sydney
5. Upscale Property
Presented by: Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School
WINNER: The Sebel Pier One, Sydney
H/C: Q Station Retreat, Manly
6. Upper-upscale Property
Presented by: Tourism Accommodation Australia
WINNER: Crown Metropol Melbourne
H/C: The Byron at Byron Resort and Spa
7. Luxury Property
Presented by: HotelHome Australia
WINNER: Park Hyatt Sydney
H/C: qualia, Hamilton Island
8. Australian Lodge
Presented by: Sealy
WINNER: Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa
H/C: qualia
9. Business Hotel
Presented by: ISIS
WINNER: Shangri-La Hotel Sydney
H/C: Sofitel Melbourne On Collins
10. Resort
Presented by: Dallen Design
WINNER: qualia, Hamilton Island
H/C: Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa
11. Hotel Interior Design
Presented by: ISIS
WINNER: Park Hyatt Sydney
H/C: The Darling, Sydney
12. Boutique Hotel
Presented by: Intrust Super
WINNER: Emporium Hotel, Brisbane
H/C: The Langham, Sydney
13. New Hotel
Presented by: New Creation Print
WINNER: Hilton Surfers Paradise
H/C: The Darling Sydney
14. Meetings and Conference Property
Presented by: Spice magazine and SpiceNews.com.au
WINNER: Sheraton on the Park, Sydney
H/C: Crown Metropol Melbourne
15. Regional Property
Presented by: Sealy
WINNER: Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa
H/C: Lake House, Daylesford
16. Day Spa
Presented by: ISIS
WINNER: Spa qualia, Hamilton Island
H/C: ISIKA, Crown Metropol Melbourne
17. Hotel Bar
Presented by: Southtrade
WINNER: Zeta Bar, Hilton Sydney
H/C: The Waiting Room, Crown Towers Melbourne
18. Hotel Restaurant
Presented by: San Pellegrino
WINNER: Lake House Restaurant, Daylesford
H/C: Long Pavillon, qualia, Hamilton Island
19. Tech Hotel
Presented by: iBahn
WINNER: The Darling Hotel, Sydney
H/C: Crown Metropol Melbourne
New Zealand & South Pacific Property Awards
20. New Zealand Hotel
Presented by: Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School
WINNER: Sofitel Queenstown Hotel and Spa
H/C: Hilton Queenstown
21. New Zealand Regional Property
Presented by: Sealy
WINNER: Hilton Lake Taupo
H/C: Millbrook, Central Otago
22. New Zealand Lodge
Presented by: Sealy
WINNER: Huka Lodge, Taupo
H/C: Otahuna Lodge, Christchurch
23. Fijian Property
Presented by: ISIS
WINNER: InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort and Spa
H/C: Sofitel Fiji Resort and Spa
24. South Pacific Property
Presented by: Ernst&Young
WINNER: Sofitel Bora Bora Marara Beach Resort, French Polynesia
H/C: InterContinental Bora Bora Resort and Thalasso Spa, French Polynesia
Property Awards – All countries (Australia, NZ & Sth Pacific)
25. Marketing Campaign
Presented by: Time Out Sydney & Time Out Melbourne
WINNER: Mantra Group
H/C: Hilton Surfers Paradise
H/C: Toga Hotels
26. Service to the Community
Presented by: AHS
WINNER: InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort and Spa
H/C: Accor Hotels Australia
H/C: The York by Swiss-Belhotel
People Awards – All countries (Australia, NZ & Sth Pacific)
27. Concierge
Presented by: AHICE
WINNER: Jason Eade, InterContinental Wellington
H/C: Peter Brown, Four Points by Sheraton Sydney Darling Harbour
H/C: David Whittaker, Fairmont Resort Blue Mountains
28. Hotel Chef
Presented by: Nespresso
WINNER: Alastair Waddell, qualia
H/C: Dan Hunter, Royal Mail Hotel
H/C: Ben Batterbury, The Rees Hotel and Luxury Apartments
29. Food and Beverage Associate
Presented by: Coca-Cola Amatil
WINNER: Claude Stein, Sofitel Sydney Wentworth
H/C: Devrim Erkan, Pan Pacific Perth
H/C: Jesse Kornoff, Citigate Central Sydney
30. Human Resources Associate
Presented by: Franklyn Scholar
WINNER: Rowena Carter, 8Hotels
H/C: Nicolle Machuca, Four Points by Sheraton Sydney Darling Harbour
H/C: Che Lewer, Swiss Grand Resort and Spa Bondi Beach
31. Sales and Marketing Associate
Presented by: Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School
WINNER: Virginia Chong, Pan Pacific Perth
H/C: Nora Fakhouri, Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia-Pacific
H/C: Gwendolyne Parker, Fraser Suites Sydney
32. Communications Associate
Presented by: Travmedia.com
WINNER: Chelsea Steber, Hilton Surfers Paradise
WINNER: Tessa Anderssen, Toga Hotels
H/C: Joanne Wilkinson, Hamilton Island
33. Front Office Associate
Presented by: Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School
WINNER: Maria Macri Nosari, Sydney Harbour Marriott, NSW
H/C: Benjamin Nesbitt, Stamford Plaza Sydney Airport
H/C: Rebecca Davis, Novotel Canberra
34. Finance Associate
Presented by: Intrust Super
WINNER: Pierre Marechal, Four Points by Sheraton Sydney Darling Harbour
H/C: Olivia Ch’ng, Wyndham Vacation Resorts Asia-Pacific
H/C: Ben Baillie, Radisson Resort Gold Coast
35. Housekeeper
Presented by: AHS
WINNER: Emil Beshay, The Langham Sydney
WINNER: Eric MacDonald, Crowne Plaza Melbourne
H/C: Susan Grumley, Mantra On Salt Beach
36. Hotel Engineer
Presented by: Miele
WINNER: Mario Castillo, Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa
H/C: Cyrus Tolentino, Sydney Harbour Marriott
H/C: Alan Wallbanks, Sofitel Gold Coast Broadbeach
37. Rising Star
Presented by: Intrust Super
WINNER: Tara Crisafi, The Sebel Residence Chatswood
H/C: Ashneel Chand, Tanoa Hotel Group
H/C: Harvinder (Harry) Kumar, Mantra on Murray
38. HM Editor’s Award for Service to the Industry
Presented by: HM magazine
WINNER: Tim Dearsley, Ibis Christchurch
Major Awards – All countries (Australia, NZ & Sth Pacific)
39. South Pacific General Manager
Presented by: Sealy
WINNER: Julian Moore, Pacific Resort Aitutaki
H/C: Bob Speed, WorldMark by Wyndham Resort Denarau Island
H/C: Peter Hopgood, Outrigger on the Lagoon, Fiji
40. New Zealand General Manager
Presented by: Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School
WINNER: Alistair Munro, Peppers Bluewater Resort
H/C: Paul Columbus, Novotel Auckland Airport
H/C: Wouter de Graaf, Sofitel Auckland Viaduct Harbour
41. Australian General Manager
Presented by: Intrust Super
WINNER: Geoffrey York, Fairmont Resort Blue Mountains
H/C: Grant Raubenheimer, Pan Pacific Perth
H/C: Leah Feldmann, Mantra South Bank Brisbane
42. Environmental Program
Presented by: ISIS
WINNER: Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort and Spa
H/C: Accor Hotels
H/C: Fiordland Lodge, Te Anau
43. Hotel Brand
Presented by: AHS
WINNER: The Langham
H/C: Hilton
H/C: Pullman
44. Accommodation Chain
Presented by: Sealy
WINNER: Accor Hotels
H/C: Mantra Group
H/C: Toga Hotels
45. Hotel of the Year
Presented by: Sealy
WINNER: Park Hyatt Sydney
H/C: Emirates Wolgan Valley Resort
H/C: qualia, Hamilton Island
46. HM Magazine Australasian Hotelier of the Year
Presented by: HM magazine
WINNER: Paul Constantinou, Quest Serviced Apartments
H/C: Bob East, Mantra Group
H/C: Simon McGrath, Accor Hotels
47. HM Magazine Asia-Pacific Hotelier of the Year
Presented by: HM magazine
WINNER: Michael Issenberg, Accor Hotels
H/C: A. Patrick Imbardelli, Pan Pacific Hotels Group
H/C: Stephen Ho, Starwood Hotels and Resorts
Hall of Fame inductees
Grant Hunt, Anthology
Koos Klein, Voyages Indigenous Tourism
The Oatley Family, Hamilton Island