31 January 2014
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:
1. SKYCITY Auckland
2. The Devon Hotel and Conference Centre, New Plymouth
3. West Plaza Hotel, Wellington
4. Sudima Hotel Lake Rotorua
5. Millennium Hotel Queenstown
Travelbug Platinum Award winners
PropertyRegionSKYCITY AucklandAucklandThe Devon Hotel and Conference CentreTaranakiWest Plaza HotelWellingtonSudima Hotel Lake RotoruaRotoruaMillennium Hotel QueenstownQueenstownKiwi International HotelAucklandMercure WellingtonWellingtonKingsgate Hotel HamiltonWaikatoLakeland Resort TaupoLake TaupoGreerton Motor InnBay of PlentyNovotel Queenstown LakesideQueenstownNovotel WellingtonWellingtonRydges WellingtonWellingtonThe Cambridge HotelWellingtonCityLife AucklandAucklandQuality Hotel ParnellAucklandThe Victoria HotelOtagoTravelodge Palmerston NorthManawatu-WanganuiGrand Hotel RotoruaRotoruaNew Castle Motor LodgeRotoruaAstelia Apartment HotelWellingtonCopthorne Hotel Wellington Oriental BayWellingtonTaupo DeBretts Spa ResortLake TaupoSpa Lodge MotelCanterburyMartinborough MotelWairarapa
Travelbug ‘Best in Region’ award winners
PropertyNameBeachfront Hotel - HokitikaWest CoastCasa Bella MotelNorthlandThe Devon Hotel and Conference CentreTaranakiSudima Hotel Lake RotoruaRotoruaKingsgate Hotel WellingtonWellingtonIbis Tainui HamiltonWaikatoThe StudioCanterburyShoreline MotelHawke's BayLakeland Resort TaupoLake TaupoLlandaff Country ResidenceWairarapaGreerton Motor InnBay of PlentyWyuna Bay Waterfront Studio ApartmentCoromandelTuroa ChaletRuapehuThe Victoria HotelOtagoHeritage QueenstownQueenstownAlpine MotelMarlboroughTravelodge Palmerston NorthManawatu-WanganuiSKYCITY AucklandAuckland
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.
ENDS