Accommodation Australia gathers to celebrate industry superstars
Held at The Fullerton Sydney, hotels including Crown Towers Sydney, Spicers Sangoma Retreat, QT Newcastle, and Novotel Wollongong Northbeach were among the big winners
It was a night that will go down in history, as the newly formed peak industry body Accommodation Australia NSW gathered for the first time to celebrate the state’s accommodation superstars.
Welcoming former NSW members of both Tourism Accommodation Australia and the Accommodation Association of Australia, the new-look 2023 NSW Accommodation Awards for Excellence was attended by more than 700 industry and political leaders.
Our latest AccomNews print issue is available now. Read it HERE
NSW Minister for Industrial Relations and Work Health and Safety, the Hon. Sophie Cotsis, MP was the guest speaker, with a special video appearance by the Special Minister of State, Minister for Roads, Arts, Night-time Economy and Music, Jobs and Tourism the Hon. John Graham, MLC.
Held at The Fullerton Hotel in Sydney’s CBD, hotels including Crown Towers Sydney, Spicers Sangoma Retreat, QT Newcastle, and Novotel Wollongong Northbeach were among the big winners at the gala event.
Records were broken with more than 300 finalists across 37 categories – including the newly launched Disability Inclusion and Access Award.
Accommodation Australia NSW Co-Chair Richard Doyle described the event as ‘something special’, as he spoke of coming together for the first time as a new organisation.
“Accommodation Australia is a new beginning. A chance to build something new from the ground up,” he told the audience.
“We have created a single, strong and focused voice for our sector. We have combined our talent and resources to create a united and disciplined body that can represent and advocate for you, your business and your employees at all levels.”
Co-Chair Patrick Lonergan said he was proud of the new entity and overall contribution the sector makes every year to NSW. “Accommodation is an essential cog in the NSW economy, employing over 400,000 people and generating more than $17.8 billion annually,” he said.
“I am proud of the contribution NSW hotels make and our members should be too.”
Big winners included Crown Towers Sydney named winner of the prestigious Metropolitan Deluxe Hotel of the Year and Spicers Sangoma Retreat taking sister title – Regional Deluxe Hotel of the Year.
In the Superior Hotel of the Year category, The Star Sydney once again took honours for its Grand Hotel and Residences property, with relative newcomer QT Newcastle, having opened its doors just a year ago, taking the Regional title.
Overall, it was an illustrious night for The Star Sydney also taking home the silverware for Best Environmental/Sustainability Practices, Chef of the Year and Conference & Events Talent of the Year.
In the all-important ‘people awards’, Crystalbrook Byron was awarded Marketing Talent of the Year and Human Resources Talent of the Year, while Crown Towers celebrated a win for Employee Excellence in Service and shared the joint title of Food & Beverage Talent of the Year with Rydges Sydney Central.
Hotel Executive of the Year went to The Fullerton Hotel’s General Manager, Rob Weedon, with the hotel also winning awards for Outstanding Community Contribution, and Conference and Events Venue of the Year.
The prestigious Hall of Fame inductee for 2023 was EVT Director of Hotels and Resorts, Norman Arundel.
The new-look InterContinental Sydney took the top gong for Redeveloped/Refurbished Hotel of the Year, while SKYE Suites was once again the winner of Apartment/Suite Hotel of the Year for its Green Square property.
Restaurant of the Year (Deluxe Hotels) was awarded to Altitude at Shangri-La Sydney and Restaurant of the Year (Mid-Range-Superior Hotels) was won by The Wintergarden at The Hydro Majestic Hotel Blue Mountains.
The inaugural winner of the Disability Inclusion and Access Award category was Rydges Resort Hunter Valley.
Accommodation Australia NSW Manager Stacey McBride said the event is always a highlight on our industry’s calendar and a memorable night for all involved.
“The merger was a long and complex process and to finally see everyone gathered under one roof, celebrating the combined achievements of our NSW accommodation industry made all the hard work worthwhile,” she said.
“Never before has our industry been as strong, as agile, and as united as it is right now and will continue to be into the future. I congratulate all our winners, highly-commended recipients, and finalists.”
See the full list of winners HERE
AccomNews is not affiliated with any government agency, body or political party. We are an independently owned, family-operated magazine.
