It’s awards time at Travelbug! Today we are proud to announce the winners of our second annual Travelbug Awards. The awards recognise excellent performance by accommodation operators who are bookable with us and the winners were selected based on the number of bookings made at each property, the quality of guest feedback, and the overall quality of their Travelbug listing.

As you’ll know, we have the widest range of bookable accommodation in New Zealand and all properties – from holiday parks and backpackers to luxury lodges – are automatically eligible for the awards. So what are the awards? There are five categories:

One percent go platinum, Copthorne Bay of Islands tops list

After the 2011 awards, we decided that we had made it too easy to win, so this year we made the criteria more demanding, and as a result only 1% of properties achieved the highest accolade – the Platinum Award – making it even more prestigious than last year. To make this award as meaningful as possible we had to raise the bar on the % of thumbs-up reviews and the number of bookings required to even be eligible for an award. This means that these properties can be justifiably proud of receiving Platinum status (Platinum winners shown below).

Deserving of special mention is Copthorne Hotel and Resort Bay of Islands, who was the Platinum property with the highest overall score.

The Best in Region and Best in District awards were also hotly contested, but again the criteria were tightened up to bring the very best properties to the top (Best in Region winners shown below).

Canterbury & Wanaka star in “100% Reviews”

The award that most factors in traveller feedback is the 100% Reviews award, which is effectively judged by guests who have stayed in the properties. Operators with a 100% “thumbs up” result across a minimum number of reviews received the award. We love helping travellers keep each other informed so this year we added the rule that all winners of the 100% reviews award must have a minimum number of bookings and 100% verified reviews.

Canterbury came up trumps as the region with the most 100% Reviews awards (37, or 15%), but Lake Wanaka was the clear winner as the region with the highest average review percentage, with 98.9% of all travellers giving their Wanaka accommodation a thumbs-up. Of accommodation types, bed and breakfasts win as the highest-rated with 98.7% receiving thumbs-up reviews.

There are a huge range of properties across the country with staff and owners slaving away to provide top-class traveller experiences. We’re pleased to be able to give them a pat on the back for a job well done, not only in promoting their property, but promoting New Zealand to the rest of the world.

So who won? Here are the winners of the Best in Region and Platinum awards, plus the breakdown of the numbers of winners for each award.

Well done to all the winners, and happy travels!

Travelbug ‘Best in Region’ award winners 2012

Total winners in each category:

1. Platinum Property (30 winners) 
2. Gold Property (233 winners)
3. Best in Region (22 winners)
4. Best in District (56 winners)
5. 100% Guest Rating (250 winners)

Travelbug ‘Platinum’  award winners 2012

Hey folks,

We gave subscribers to our Travelbug newsletter a chance to win a night’s stay at the wonderful Amora Hotel in Auckland. To be in the draw to win one of three bed & breakfast vouchers, we needed you to answer this question correctly:

“How many polka-dot cushions are in photo #11?”

Here’s photo #11:

Now aside from the controversy I caused with the definition of ‘polka-dot’, the answer we were looking for was three. Congratulations to Nicki, Mark and Vanessa who each win one of those great B&B vouchers!

Thanks again to everyone who entered, and don’t forget to keep an eye out for this week’s Easter Trev easter hunt clue and another chance to win $1,000 travel credit. Adios!

Great Lake Taupo has long been a family favorite for weekend excursions. Not only is the Great Lake Taupo region bursting with activities to keep every member of the family active and busy, it also satisfies everyone’s hunger by offering some of the best regional and international cuisine available anywhere in New Zealand. There’s no need to feel guilty about eating heartily at one of Great Lake Taupo’s world-famous restaurants, or indulging in a few at the convivial sports bars and pubs here because you can work off the calories enjoying a wide variety of fun family activities.

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Kia ora,

In last month’s Travelbug newsletter we ran a contest to find the best Summer-themed photo taken by subscribers, Facebook and Twitter followers.

Firstly, thank you to everyone who entered – we had a great time going through each one, reading the stories and recounting your best summer memories. It was a privilege for us to share in your New Zealand summer!

It certainly was hard going, but of the entries we received we picked out 3 photos that jumped out at us and of these 3, we had to pick one winner. Here are the results!

Buddy having a good shake after a swim

We loved this action shot of Buddy doing what dogs do best. It oozes a certain charm that captures that good ol’ family summer holiday spirit. Thanks to Lynley from Paeroa, a Travelbug t-shirt is on its way to you!

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