The Hotel Motel & Accommodation Association (HMAA) Victoria Awards for Excellence, sponsored by Hostplus and Holmesglen Institute of TAFE, have been announced in Melbourne on Wednesday with nearly twenty venues and industry personalities taking out the top honours.
More than 200 prominent figures in the Australian tourism and hospitality industry were present - including the Hon Tim Holding MP, Victoria's Minister for Tourism and Major Events - for the ninth annual awards night, held at the Park Hyatt in Melbourne.
"The Awards recognise the outstanding contribution made to industry by businesses and individuals who work so hard to achieve a standard of excellence within the accommodation sector", says HMAA Victoria Chair, Mr Ricardo Krauskopf.
"Participating in the Awards is a challenging activity requiring time effort and courage. It takes a brave operator to place their business on show, to be assessed and benchmarked against their peers. This years participants have clearly demonstrated their properties are in the top of their category in Victoria in a tough field of competitors.
THE 2008 HMAA AWARD WINNERS ARE:
|
Luxury Boutique Accommodation |
Baroka Downs |
|
Hosted Accommodation |
Monreale Estate Cottages |
|
Serviced Apartments |
Alto on Bourke |
|
Backpacker Accommodation |
Melbourne Metro YHA |
|
Education and Training |
The Radisson |
|
New Tourism Development Accommodation |
Ascott International Somerset Gordon Heights |
|
Excellence in Sustainable Tourism |
Alto on Bourke |
|
Standard Accommodation |
Travelodge |
|
Standard Accommodation |
Hotel UniLodge on Flinders |
|
Deluxe Accommodation |
Crystal Inn |
|
Outstanding Contribution by an Industry Newcomer |
Virginia Le (Somerset on Elizabeth) |
|
Outstanding Contribution to Back of House |
Tak Lo (The Ascott Group) |
|
Outstanding Contribution to Front of House |
Diane Fisher (Quest Apartments Frankston and Quest Narre Warren) |
|
Outstanding Contribution to Sales and Marketing |
Deb Bartholomew (Quest Mont Albert) |
|
Outstanding Contribution to Housekeeping |
Julie Terrington (Mantra Deep Blue) |
|
Outstanding Contribution by a Manager |
Nick Suriano (Quest Serviced Apartments, South Melbourne) |
|
Minister's Award |
Best Western Brooklands of Mornington |
|
AAA Tourism Most Improved |
Comfort on Campbell |
|
Outstanding Contribution to the Industry by an Individual |
Georgiana Dyson (City Central Motor Inn) |
| ACES Awards |
Julie Mann (Best Western Crystal Inn) |
| ACES Awards |
Walter Hamera (Quest Apartments Fitzroy) |
| ACES Awards |
Gul Kurtoglu (Birches Serviced Apartments) |
| ACES Awards |
Shaun Murphy (Crown Towers and Crown Promenade Melbourne) |
| ACES Awards |
Darren Little (Comfort Inn Suites and Blazing Stump) |
"For those of us at the coal face, the industry is facing uncertain and challenging times with high petrol prices and gloomy tourism forecasts.
"However, these challenges also present opportunities for the accommodation industry in Victoria to continue to aspire to a level of excellence to attract new and return customers in a competitive, Australia-wide sector. With the standard of properties on show tonight, I believe that the Victorian accommodation industry can rise to the challenge.
"On behalf of the HMAA Board, I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate not only this year's winners and finalists but all of our entrants who have worked hard to nominate their businesses", says Mr Krauskopf. |
