Accor sweeps HM Awards for Hotel and Accommodation Excellence……..

Accor was the biggest winner at the prestigious HM Awards for Hotel and Accommodation Excellence, winning six of the 39 categories.

Confirming their place as the leading accommodation group, Accor took the major award for Best Hotel Chain, beating out competition from the likes of Hilton, Intercontinental, Marriott, Mirvac, and Starwood Hotels & Resorts, amongst a group of 10 finalists.

Grand Mercure Mt Buller was voted Best Alpine Property, beating out the Novotel Lake Crackenback Resort in Jindabyne, Attunga Lodge in Falls Creek and the Denman in Thredo amongst others.

Novotel Twin Waters Resort on the Sunshine Coast took the award for Best Meetings and Conference Property, just months after Novotel introduced its innovative meet@novotel program. The resort has unparalleled facilities and a spectacular beachside location and has long been a favourite for major events.

Mark Wilkinson, GM of Sofitel Queenstown took top honours as Best General Manager for New Zealand, making it to the presentation just moments before his award was announced, after snowfalls in Queenstown threatened to keep him across the Tasman.

Sofitel Bora Bora Beach Resort was also delighted with their win, taking out the gong for Best South Pacific Property against stiff competition including the St Regis Bora Bora, Intercontinental Bora Bora and Le Meridien Ile Des Pins in New Caledonia.

Accor’s Fiji Hotels were also thrilled to take the award for Services to the Community, after raising more than FJ $280,000 for medical care for the children of Fiji in the past two years.

The funds raised by Accor have contributed to assisting sick and underprivileged children in the Fiji islands and have been used to purchase new incubators for premature babies, new pediatric probes and vaccinations to treat children with kidney disease, as well as sponsoring teaching and consulting visits from NZ doctors.

“I am delighted that Accor has once again won the award for Best Hotel Chain and also very pleased to see such a wide selection of different Accor brands across different regions taking out awards,” said Michael Issenberg, Managing Director of Accor Asia Pacific.

“This is our largest number of HM Awards and they highlight not only the commitment we have made to providing guests with the highest levels of accommodation and service, but also the support we provide to local communities.”  “The Fiji team deserves particular commendation for their community spirit.”

A record number of entries were received in the 2007 HM Awards and voting was decided by a panel of 20 judges including leading travel writers and industry representatives.

Accor is the largest hotel operator in the Pacific, with 160 hotel in Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and French Polynesia.

Accor, the European leader in hotels and tourism, and a global leader in corporate services, operates in nearly 100 countries with 166,000 employees. It offers to its individual and corporate clients 40 years of expertise in its two core businesses:

Hotels, with the Sofitel, Novotel,§ Mercure, Suitehotel, Ibis, All Seasons, Etap Hotel, Formule 1 and Motel 6 brands: 3,800 hotels and 450,000 rooms in 90 countries, as well as strategically related activities, such as Lenôtre;

Services to corporate clients and public institutions: 23 million people in 35 countries benefit from Accor Services products – meal and food vouchers, people care, incentive and loyalty programs.

Report by The Mole