Hamilton gaming venue chosen as New Zealand's best

Hamilton gaming venue chosen as New Zealand's best in the 2012 Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence

The Yardhouse has taken out top honour at this year’s Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence – winning the Excellence in Gaming category.

It was a clean sweep for Hamilton gaming venues at the awards – with The Yardhouse finishing ahead of other finalists Smith and McKenzie Chophouse and The Quadrant Pub and Kitchen from the city.

Hospitality New Zealand chief executive Bruce Robertson said the win by The Yardhouse reflected that while many businesses in the industry sector were finding it hard to continue trading profitably, many other operations were in fact prospering and taking advantage of the discerning consumer dollar to build their customer bases.

“There was no one real region which dominated the results – and in fact several smaller cities throughout New Zealand, such as Hamilton, can be particularly proud of what their local dining and drinking establishments achieved against stiff competition from the big cities,” Mr Robertson said.

“The judges noted that a repeated theme in many of this year’s winning entries was a determination of their businesses not to be stymied by a slower economy, and daring to be different in what some customers are seeing as a ‘vanilla’ or homogenous marketplace.

“Those points of differences showcased by many of the winners, such as The Yardhouse, included service offerings, delivering customers a totally unexpected yet far superior experience to what they were anticipating, providing an ambience or atmosphere far removed from the local competition, and embracing new technology.”

Mr Robertson said the judges also noted that many of the winning entries, including The Yardhouse, were increasingly reviving ‘old school’ hospitality practices – such as founding marketing strategies around strong local customer networks, engendering staff loyalty, and offering amenities and ambience from throughout the generations of New Zealand’s heritage.

“The result is that the public are now seeing businesses with a balanced blend of old and new in an environment where the two styles blend seamlessly to deliver an outstanding customer experience – whether that’s a night out for dinner, a Sunday morning brunch, a few beers with the boys, or as a corporate guest in an upmarket hotel,” said Mr Robertson.

“The catalogue of winners across this year’s awards categories shows that New Zealand’s hospitality industry is well positioned in all its niches to take full advantage of the wider economic recovery over the coming years.”

Entrants into the Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence are judged over a six week period by a panel of independent industry professionals who assess every competitor on a range of commercial and operational criteria – including staff training and human resources, customer service, marketing and promotional activities, and the demonstration of business growth.

Winners in the Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence were announced at the organisation’s national conference held in Wellington on September 26.

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