It was a night to remember at the 21st HM Awards for Hotel and Accommodation Excellence, presented by Sealy Posturepedic, with a 1000-strong crowd gathered to celebrate outstanding properties and industry legends.
A whopping 52 categories were presented at the 2023 Awards, which took place at The Star Event Centre in Sydney on November 24, with deserving winners across people, departments, properties and chains.
“On behalf of the HM magazine team, I’m proud we have been able to recognise the leading people, departments, properties, chains and brands across Australasia in front of our largest ever audience,” said HM Awards Founder and Chief Judge, and HM magazine Editor-In-Chief, James Wilkinson.
“There is some incredible talent in the accommodation industry in Australasia and so many received the recognition they most definitely deserved. Well done to everyone.”
Marriott International was a big winner on the night, taking home wins across 11 categories including Hotel Brand of the Year for luxury lifestyle brand W Hotels, as well as best New Hotel and Luxury Hotel for The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne.
Marriott International Area Vice President – Australia, New Zealand and Pacific, Sean Hunt, was named HM Magazine’s Australasian Hotelier of the Year.
“We’re delighted to be establishing a foothold as a leading operator in the region’s accommodation sector,” Hunt said of the wins.
“Our family of strong global brands, our pipeline of hotels to come, and our powerful loyalty programme Marriott Bonvoy, make us a strong choice for hotel owners and hospitality associates to want to be a part of our company. The recognition received from HM Magazine is a testament to this.”
Accor was awarded Accommodation Chain of the Year for the second consecutive year, with people and properties under the group recognised across several categories.
Sofitel Queenstown was named the top New Zealand Luxury Hotel as well as Australasian Hotel of the Year, with Crown Towers Sydney also successful in that category.
Kenneth Macpherson of IHG Hotels & Resorts was awarded HM Magazine’s Asia-Pacific Hotelier, while the Global Hotelier of the Year award went to Hilton CEO Christopher J. Nassetta, marking another major win for Hilton following its recent win as World’s Best Workplace.
Langham Hospitality Group celebrated several wins including Hotel Day Spa and the Ashley Spencer Service to the Industry award, which was awarded to Cordis Auckland Managing Director, Franz Mascarenhas.
After more than 35 years in the industry, Mascarenhas intends to retire next year.
“I am absolutely humbled with this award,” Mascarenhas told the crowd.
“At the end of the day, whatever you achieve has to be because of the people you work with – you can’t do things yourself.”
He dedicated the award to his colleagues at Cordis Auckland and paid tribute to his wife for supporting him throughout his career.
“I have to talk about my wife,” he said.
“We both passed out of hotel management school together. She gave up her career to let me focus and she looked after the family – she has done such an amazing job and she has constantly been the rock in our family.”
The late Antony ‘Rat’ Raiteri, Sealy of Australia was inducted into the Hall of Fame with a heartfelt tribute from Intermedia Group’s James Wells.
“We lost a dear friend this year,” Wells said.
“Antony was a long serving employee of Sealy and was always the life of the party at the annual HM Awards
“You could say that the HM Awards was Rat’s annual dinner party; he got to see all his friends, he got to see his customers, and he sold a few beds on the side. I’m sure Rat is with us tonight.”
The 2023 HM Awards for Hotel and Accommodation Excellence was presented by Sealy Posturepedic; co-hosted by the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School (BMIHMS) at Torrens University Australia and Hostplus; sponsored by Foxtel for Business, ahs Hospitality, De Beaurepaire Wines, FutureLog, Encore, Silant, Assa Abloy Global Solution and Vittoria Coffee; and supported by Accommodation Australia (AA), Hotel Council Aotearoa, Beer Republic, TravMedia, Watson Farley & Williams and WAYFARER.
Congratulations to all the winners and highly commended. Here is the full list:
| CATEGORY | HIGHLY COMMENDED | WINNER(S) |
| PROPERTY AWARDS – AUSTRALIA | ||
| 01 APARTMENT HOTEL | Quest North Sydney The Star Residences Gold Coast | Adina Apartment Hotel Melbourne on Flinders Avani Broadbeach Residences |
| 02 ECONOMY HOTEL | Adabco Boutique Hotel Adelaide ibis Styles Hobart | Brassey Hotel, Canberra Outback Hotel & Lodge |
| 03 MIDSCALE HOTEL | Moxy Sydney Airport Mantra Melbourne Epping | Novotel Wollongong Northbeach |
| 04 UPSCALE HOTEL | Quincy Hotel Melbourne Rydges Melbourne | Mövenpick Hotel Hobart |
| 05 UPPER – UPSCALE HOTEL | Hotel X Fortitude Valley Manly Pacific, Sydney | Hilton Melbourne Little Queen Street |
| 06 LUXURY HOTEL | Eos by SkyCity Park Hyatt Sydney | Crown Towers Sydney The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne |
| 07 AUSTRALIAN LODGE | Spicers Peak Lodge Spicers Sangoma Retreat | Sequoia Lodge |
| 08 BUSINESS HOTEL | PARKROYAL Monash Melbourne Shangri-La Sydney | Hilton Sydney |
| 09 RESORT | Crystalbrook Byron Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Port Douglas | JW Marriott Gold Coast Resort & Spa The Langham, Gold Coast |
| 10 HOTEL INTERIOR DESIGN | Moxy Sydney Airport The Interlude | Lancemore Milawa |
| 11 BOUTIQUE HOTEL | Aiden Darling Harbour The Playford Adelaide – MGallery | Kimpton Margot Sydney QT Sydney |
| 12 NEW HOTEL | The Interlude Motel Molly | The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne |
| 13 MEETINGS AND CONFERENCING PROPERTY | Hilton Sydney Shangri-La Sydney | Hotel Realm, Canberra Hyatt Regency Sydney |
| 14 REGIONAL PROPERTY | Crystalbrook Flynn, Cairns Lancemore Milawa | QT Newcastle Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Port Douglas |
| 15 HOTEL DAY SPA | Eléme Day Spa, Crystalbrook Riley The Ritz-Carlton Spa, Melbourne | Chuan Spa, The Langham Gold Coast |
| 16 HOTEL BAR | Cameo, The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne Zephyr Sky Bar, Hyatt Regency Sydney | Dean & Nancy on 22, A by Adina Sydney Sol Rooftop, Eos by SkyCity |
| 17 HOTEL RESTAURANT | Gowings, QT Sydney Tesoro, Mövenpick Hotel Hobart | Alibi Bar and Dining, Ovolo Woolloomooloo Peppina, The Tasman, Hobart |
| 18 TECH HOTEL | Dorsett Gold Coast Little National Hotel Sydney | Crown Towers Sydney |
| PROPERTY AWARDS – NEW ZEALAND & SOUTH PACIFIC | HIGHLY COMMENDED | WINNER(S) |
| 19 NEW ZEALAND BOUTIQUE HOTEL | Hotel Fitzroy curated by Fable, Auckland Swiss-Belboutique Napier | The Carlin, Queenstown |
| 20 NEW ZEALAND MIDSCALE HOTEL | Oaks Wellington Hotel Ramada Resort by Wyndham Rotorua Marama | Holiday Inn Express & Suites Queenstown |
| 21 NEW ZEALAND UPSCALE HOTEL | TRYP by Wyndham Wellington voco Auckland City Centre | Hilton Auckland Rydges Latimer Christchurch |
| 22 NEW ZEALAND LUXURY HOTEL | Cordis Auckland QT Auckland | Park Hyatt Auckland Sofitel Queenstown |
| 23 NEW ZEALAND LODGE | Grand Mercure Puka Park Resort Wharekauhau Country Estate | The Landing |
| 24 FIJIAN PROPERTY | Castaway Island Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa | InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa Sheraton Fiji Golf & Beach Resort |
| 25 SOUTH PACIFIC PROPERTY | Ramada Resort by Wyndham Port Vila, Vanuatu The Stanley Hotel & Suites, Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea | InterContinental Bora Bora Resort Thalasso Spa, French Polynesia |
| GENERAL AWARDS | HIGHLY COMMENDED | WINNER(S) |
| 26 MARKETING CAMPAIGN | Holiday in Full Colour, Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific Marriott Bonvoy Summer of Tennis | ALL FOR LOVE, Accor Hygge, Ovolo Group |
| 27 INNOVATIVE COLLABORATION | Laneways by Ovolo x Neale Whitaker QT x Four Pillars: Gilded Chaos Gin | Marriott Bonvoy x Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix Quest Apartment Hotels x Accessible Accommodation |
| 28 ENVIRONMENTAL PROGRAM | Crystalbrook Byron Sudima Hotels | Accor Pacific The Landing, Kerikeri, New Zealand |
| PEOPLE AWARDS | HIGHLY COMMENDED | WINNER(S) |
| 29 CONCIERGE | Amir Ayoub, Accor Hotels Sydney Olympic Park | Joseph Zuniga, The Fullerton Hotel Sydney |
| NZ/SP | Salote Naisua, Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort | Martin Dunlop, Cordis Auckland |
| 30 HOTEL CHEF | Shaon Sen, The Star Sydney | Alessandro Pizzolato, The Westin Brisbane |
| NZ/SP | Ashish Dhar, Sarin Hotels, Wellington | James Laird, QT Auckland |
| 31 FOOD AND BEVERAGE ASSOCIATE | Josephine Torrejon, Sofitel Sydney Wentworth | Liinaa Berry, TFE Hotels, Coburg |
| NZ/SP | Nicolas Simonucci, Wharekauhau Country Estate | Emmanuel Fumanu, Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort |
| 32 HUMAN RESOURCES ASSOCIATE | Raylene Paleologos, IHG Hotels & Resorts | Nicole Downs, Ovolo Hotels |
| NZ/SP | Ravineel Kumar, Sheraton Fiji Golf and Beach Resort, Sheraton Denarau Villas and Sheraton Resort & Spa, Tokoriki Island, Fiji | Joanne Craughwell, Accor Hotels New Zealand |
| 33 SALES ASSOCIATE | Mark Newey, InterContinental Sydney | Daniel Csortan, Minor Hotels Australia and New Zealand |
| NZ/SP | Michael Bell, Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa | Sarwan Singh, Cordis Auckland |
| 34 MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS ASSOCIATE | Victoria Peterson, The Langham, Gold Coast | Deb McDiarmid, Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort Port Douglas |
| NZ/SP | Ravesi Konrote, Marriott International Fiji Hotels | Ginni Post, GP Communications, New Zealand |
| 35 FRONT OFFICE ASSOCIATE | Irlanda Garcia, SKYE Suites Parramatta | Alan Mayorga Leyva, The Star Sydney |
| NZ/SP | Vaughn D’Souza, Novotel New Plymouth Taranaki | Gerald Sharma, Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort |
| 36 FINANCE ASSOCIATE | Shehan Vilathgamuwa, Crowne Plaza Hawkesbury Valley | Curtis Harris, Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific |
| NZ/SP | Obnesh Reddy, InterContinental Fiji Golf Resort & Spa | Chathura Kandamby, Swiss-Belhotel International, New Zealand |
| 37 REVENUE MANAGEMENT ASSOCIATE | Joyce Mann, Hilton, Western Australia | Ainsley Baldwin, Wyndham Destinations Asia Pacific |
| NZ/SP | Raknesh Ravneel Chand, Accor New Zealand | Kirshan Kant Singh, Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa |
| 38 HOUSEKEEPER | Suranga Hewagamage, RACV Torquay Resort | Grace Esogon, Crowne Plaza Terrigal Pacific |
| NZ/SP | Aman Sidhu, Swiss-Belboutique Napier | Jesse Lawakeli, Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort |
| 39 HOTEL ENGINEER | Anton Van Den Brink, Sheraton Grand Sydney Hyde Park | Angelique Le Signor, The Star Gold Coast |
| NZ/SP | David Slight, Hilton Auckland | Rory Breslin, Mercure Queenstown Resort |
| 40 RISING STAR | Scott Bear, Mercure Sydney Manly Warringah | Skye Barling, The Star Gold Coast |
| NZ/SP | Noelle Mah, Park Hyatt Auckland | Jacqui Paurini, Accor New Zealand |
| 41 ASHLEY SPENCER SERVICE TO THE INDUSTRY AWARD | Franz Mascarenhas, Cordis Auckland | |
| MAJOR AWARDS | ||
| 42 SOUTH PACIFIC GENERAL MANAGER | Steven Andrews, Castaway Island, Fiji Carey Osborne, Hilton Fiji Beach Resort and Spa and DoubleTree Resort by Hilton | Darren Shaw, Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort |
| 43 NEW ZEALAND GENERAL MANAGER | Ali Appelman, Sudima Queenstown Five Mile Craig Wood, Rydges Latimer Christchurch | Chris Ehmann, Hilton Queenstown Resort & Spa Doron Whaite, QT Auckland & Rydges Formosa |
| 44 AUSTRALIAN GENERAL MANAGER | Jeroen Meijer, PARKROYAL Darling Harbour Saraid Carey, Hyatt Regency Brisbane | Jane Lyons, Hyatt Regency Sydney Atsuko Asano, Hotel Morris |
| 45 SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY | Coogee Bay Hotel, Sydney Sudima Hotels and Hind Management | Quest Apartment Hotels Wishes by Wyndham, Wyndham Destinations |
| MAJOR AWARDS | HIGHLY COMMENDED | WINNER(S) |
| 46 HALL OF FAME | The Late Antony ‘Rat’ Raiteri, Sealy of Australia | |
| 47 HOTEL BRAND OF THE YEAR | Hilton QT Hotels & Resorts | W Hotels |
| 48 ACCOMMODATION CHAIN OF THE YEAR | IHG Hotels & Resorts The Ascott Limited | Accor |
| 49 AUSTRALASIAN HOTEL | Cordis Auckland The Ritz-Carlton, Melbourne | Crown Towers Sydney Sofitel Queenstown |
| 50 HM MAGAZINE AUSTRALASIAN HOTELIER OF THE YEAR | Robert Dawson, Hyatt Sarah Derry, Accor | Sean Hunt, Marriott International |
| 51 HM MAGAZINE ASIA-PACIFIC HOTELIER OF THE YEAR | Rajeev Menon, Marriott International Alan Watts, Hilton | Kenneth Macpherson, IHG Hotels & Resorts |
| 52 HM MAGAZINE GLOBAL HOTELIER OF THE YEAR | Sébastien Bazin, Accor Anthony Capuano, Marriott International | Christopher J. Nassetta, Hilton |