It’s that time again, time to announce the winners of the Travelbug Awards for another year. If you’re new to the world of Travelbug, it’s worth me taking some time to tell you why they matter. If you’re not new, then please feel free to skip down the page to the media release that details the winners. Spoiler alert – SKYCITY Auckland won the premium award.
The Travelbug Awards are our chance to recognise the New Zealand accommodation operators who have done a great job over the previous twelve months, both in terms of the number of bookings they got, but more importantly the quality of the guest experience as measured by our verfiied user reviews.
Well done to all of the operators who won awards, and thanks to you as Travelbug users. When you place reviews you help keep other travellers informed and that makes our site a more useful place to book.
Right, on to the good stuff, here’s the press release.
SKYCITY Hotel tops Travelbug Awards
SKYCITY Auckland has topped the 2014 Travelbug Awards announced today, ranking it as the country’s number one New Zealand accommodation provider based on popularity and guest reviews.
Trade Me head of travel Daniel Bridges said SKYCITY Hotel was the highest scoring property in the Platinum Award list of 26 properties around New Zealand. “This is a spectacular result for such a large hotel. The awards factor in booking numbers but the Travelbug Platinum Award requires 100 per cent positive guest reviews. This shows they’re providing visitors to Auckland with an excellent guest experience too.”
SKYCITY Auckland general manager John Mortensen said winning the top Travelbug award was a great reflection of the experience SKYCITY Hotel consistently provides in the highly competitive accommodation sector in the City of Sails. “We’re thrilled to collect the award and we’re proud of the exceptional product we deliver. From the recently introduced unlimited WiFi and 323 refurbished rooms, through to the excellent service we’ve always provided, SKYCITY Hotel aims to exceed guests’ expectations from the moment they walk through our door.”
Another notable winner in this year’s awards is the Victoria Hotel in Dunedin, which won the coveted Best in Region award for the third year running. “Everyone loves a three-peat,” Mr Bridges said. “And this really is a ‘Dunner stunner’ and we congratulate the team at the Victoria Hotel.” Leo Pan of the Victoria Hotel attributed the great result to their “commitment to continuous renovation and upgrades to the hotel facilities.”
Wellington has most Platinum awards
In the battle of the regions, Wellington came out on top with the most Platinum award winners (7), ahead of Auckland (5) in second place. In the 100% Guest Reviews list, Canterbury had the most properties with a 100% thumbs-up rating on Travelbug (25), followed by Auckland and Wairarapa.
“We’re proud of our verified review system at Travelbug because to place a review you have to have booked and stayed through Travelbug,” Mr Bridges said. “We think it’s very important to know that reviews are from people with an opinion based on a verified personal experience.”
All accommodation types in the awards
Mr Bridges said another notable feature of this year’s awards is representation from five accommodation categories in the Platinum list. “There’s a real diversity there with hotels, motels, apartments, a holiday park and a backpacker property all winning Platinum Awards this year, which shows that you don’t have to be a plush hotel to do well and give a great guest experience.”
The 2014 Travelbug Awards: The roll of honour
Total winners in each category:
- Platinum Property (26 winners)
- Gold Property (65 winners)
- Best in Region (18 winners)
- Best in District (60 winners)
- 100% Guest Rating (232 winners)
Top 5 Platinum winners:
- SKYCITY Auckland
- The Devon Hotel and Conference Centre, New Plymouth
- West Plaza Hotel, Wellington
- Sudima Hotel Lake Rotorua
- Millennium Hotel Queenstown
Travelbug Platinum Award winners
| Property | Region |
| SKYCITY Auckland | Auckland |
| The Devon Hotel and Conference Centre | Taranaki |
| West Plaza Hotel | Wellington |
| Sudima Hotel Lake Rotorua | Rotorua |
| Millennium Hotel Queenstown | Queenstown |
| Kiwi International Hotel | Auckland |
| Mercure Wellington | Wellington |
| Kingsgate Hotel Hamilton | Waikato |
| Lakeland Resort Taupo | Lake Taupo |
| Greerton Motor Inn | Bay of Plenty |
| Novotel Queenstown Lakeside | Queenstown |
| Novotel Wellington | Wellington |
| Rydges Wellington | Wellington |
| The Cambridge Hotel | Wellington |
| CityLife Auckland | Auckland |
| Quality Hotel Parnell | Auckland |
| The Victoria Hotel | Otago |
| Travelodge Palmerston North | Manawatu-Wanganui |
| Grand Hotel Rotorua | Rotorua |
| New Castle Motor Lodge | Rotorua |
| Astelia Apartment Hotel | Wellington |
| Copthorne Hotel Wellington Oriental Bay | Wellington |
| Taupo DeBretts Spa Resort | Lake Taupo |
| Spa Lodge Motel | Canterbury |
| Martinborough Motel | Wairarapa |
Travelbug ‘Best in Region’ award winners
| Property | Name |
| Beachfront Hotel – Hokitika | West Coast |
| Casa Bella Motel | Northland |
| The Devon Hotel and Conference Centre | Taranaki |
| Sudima Hotel Lake Rotorua | Rotorua |
| Kingsgate Hotel Wellington | Wellington |
| Ibis Tainui Hamilton | Waikato |
| The Studio | Canterbury |
| Shoreline Motel | Hawke’s Bay |
| Lakeland Resort Taupo | Lake Taupo |
| Llandaff Country Residence | Wairarapa |
| Greerton Motor Inn | Bay of Plenty |
| Wyuna Bay Waterfront Studio Apartment | Coromandel |
| Turoa Chalet | Ruapehu |
| The Victoria Hotel | Otago |
| Heritage Queenstown | Queenstown |
| Alpine Motel | Marlborough |
| Travelodge Palmerston North | Manawatu-Wanganui |
| SKYCITY Auckland | Auckland |
About Travelbug: Travelbug.co.nz is Trade Me’s site focusing on commercial accommodation with over 3,000 hotels, motels and more around New Zealand. The Travelbug awards are given out at the start of each year and have been running for four years. There are five award categories and to win an award, a property needs to have met criteria for booking numbers, number of reviews placed and quality of reviews.