The finalists have been announced for the 2018 New Zealand Hotel Industry Awards, with a new focus on the regions bringing out some strong competition from previously un-nominated areas.
Thirty-six finalists are competing for this year’s Hotel Industry Awards across 12 categories. They range from Administration Employee of the Year to Senior Hotel Executive of the Year.
“The 12 Award categories recognise the many key roles that are vital to operating a successful hotel,” says Horwath HTL Ltd Director Stephen Hamilton.
A new award for 2018 will recognise the Regional Employee of the Year. The award will go to the best operational employee working in a hotel not located in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch or Queenstown.
“It’s been great to see such high-calibre individuals in our growing industry,” says TIA Hotel Sector Manager Sally Attfield.
“Our judges are industry experts, and they had to make some tough decisions on which nominations should go forward to the finals.”
Ms Attfield reports a 35% increase in the number of entries on 2017.
Mr Hamilton says hotels are a very valuable part of New Zealand’s $35 billion tourism industry.
“Hotels support thousands of jobs and inject millions of dollars into regions across the country, and also give back to their local communities in many ways.”
The New Zealand Hotel Industry Awards are the hotel sector’s premier awards, and will be presented at a dinner on 5 July as part of the Hotel Industry Conference at the Cordis Hotel, Auckland.
The Hotel Industry Conference is the largest and most important annual event dedicated to New Zealand’s hotel sector.
Hotel Industry Administration Employee of the Year
Jonathon Brown, Edgewater Lake Wanaka
Chang Liu, Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport
Eugenia Marquez, Cordis Hotel, Auckland
Hotel Industry Concierge of the Year
Ingmar Becker, Bolton Hotel, Wellington
Phil Shearer, Rydges Hotel Wellington
David Tabor, Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport
Hotel Industry Environmental Initiative of the Year
Hilton Queenstown Resort & Spa & DoubleTree
SKYCITY Grand, Auckland
Sudima Auckland Airport
Hotel Industry Food and Beverage Employee of the Year
Silvy McNaughton, Rydges Hotel Auckland
Bonn Tucker, Scenic Hotel Southern Cross, Dunedin
Mick Yuan, Scenic Hotel Franz Josef Glacier
Hotel Industry Front Office Services Employee of the Year
Peti Hudson, Sudima Hotel Lake Rotorua
Neil Hemraj, CityLife Hotel Auckland
Carla Zacarelli, Ramada Remarkables Park, Queenstown
Hotel Industry General Manager of the Year
Jo Finnigan, Hotel St Moritz, Queenstown
Iftikhar Hussain, Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport
Richard Bungeroth, Te Waonui Forest Retreat
Hotel Industry Housekeeper Employee of the Year
Kailash Rana, Jet Park Airport Hotel
Annalise Stewart, InterContinental Hotel Wellington,
Yoko Schofield, Sudima Hotel Christchurch Airport
Hotel Industry Outstanding Young Hotel Executive of the Year
Jenna Abramowitz, InterContinental Hotel Wellington
Hayley Carrington, Novotel Queenstown Lakeside
Danielle Davies, SKYCITY Hotel and SKYCITY Grand Hotel, Auckland
Hotel Industry Regional Hotel Employee of the Year
Chanelle Durand, Rutherford Hotel, Nelson
Sanjesh Naidu, Scenic Hotel Southern Cross, Dunedin
Rohan Thakur, Te Waonui Forest Retreat
Hotel Industry Revenue Manager of the Year
Greg Campbell, Hotel St Moritz, Queenstown
Tracey Higgins, Rydges & QT Hotels Queenstown
Roma Patel, Sudima Hotels & Resorts
Hotel Industry Sales, Marketing & Distribution Employee of the Year
Sarwan Singh, Cordis Hotel, Auckland
Jessica Taylor, James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor
Leigh Higgens, Sudima Hotels & Resorts
Hotel Industry Senior Hotel Executive of the Year
Philip Hilton, Accor Hotels, Wellington
Les Morgan, Sudima Hotels & Resorts
Hazel Rigler, Grand Chancellor Hotels
About the co-hosts
Tourism Industry Aotearoa Hotel Sector
TIA’s hotel sector represents the interests of nearly 170 members throughout New Zealand, including international chains, large independent and privately owned hotels. TIA hotel sector members employ over 11,000 staff nationally, with annual revenues of more than $1.4 billion. TIA’s hotel members contribute to a monthly performance survey conducted by the Fresh Information Company. http://www.tia.org.nz
Horwath HTL Ltd
Horwath HTL Ltd is a consulting firm specialising in the hotel, tourism, and leisure industries, providing specialist consulting services to a wide range of private sector clients and public sector stakeholders, including developers, investors, funders, owners, and operators. Horwath HTL is affiliated with Crowe Horwath International, a network of more than 140 independent accounting and advisory services firms with 560 offices in more than 100 countries.
