Accor Australia’s High Performers Awarded

Mercure Melbourne Treasury Gardens has taken home top honours at Accor Australia’s Hotel Awards for best hotel performance during 2013 and crowned Hotel of the Year.

The annual night of nights for Australia’s largest hotel operator, Accor celebrated the group’s hospitality hotshots at a glamourous French-inspired function held at Pullman Sydney Hyde Park.The awards not only recognised top performing hotels, it recognised outstanding achievements by teams and individuals.

Hotels and employees of Accor’s market-leading midscale brands, Mercure and Novotel, scooped the majority of the awards including the prestigious Chris Frost Memorial Award, Hotel of the Year, Planet 21 Hotel of the Year, Outstanding Contribution to Reconciliation and Peopleology Customer Service Awards. 

Winner of the coveted Chris Frost Memorial Award for Accor Ambassadors (in memory of late Accor employee Chris Frost) was awarded toArlene Del Rosario, Assistant Front Office Manager at Novotel Sydney Central. Throughout 2013, Arlene generated substantial business for the hotel and notably received over 100 guest commendations for her customer service excellence.

In recognition of sustainable development initiatives through commitment to Accor’s global Planet 21 program, Novotel Barossa Valley Resorttook home the gong for Planet 21 Hotel of the Year. Novotel Barossa Valley Resort is the only hotel in Australia to achieve Platinum Planet 21 status, which is based on the rigorous ISO 14001 certification and recently turned a bathroom refurbishment into a ‘green’ bathtub recycling initiative.

Accor employees play an active role in the group’s commitment to bridging the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Food & Beverage Attendant at The Menzies Hotel Sydney, Jacqueline O’Farrell, has received Accor’s Indigenous Employee Recognition Awardfor her dedication to diversity.

First class customer service has been driven throughout Accor hotels with ‘Peopleology’ - the group’s internal guest experience program. Concierge at Mercure Sydney Central, Adam Gittings, was named Peopleology Employee of the Year, while the winner of Peopleology Hotel of the Year went to Novotel Wollongong Northbeach. A special Ibis Budget Employee Customer Service Award was won by General Manager at Ibis Sydney Airport, Melanie Mowles.

Accor Chief Operating Officer Pacific, Simon McGrath, said “Our annual hotel awards go from strength to strength each year and the judging process never gets any easier. We have over 10,000 talented employees who live and breathe hospitality and customer service everyday and so it gives us great pleasure to recognise and celebrate these passionate and high performing people who help make Accor Australia’s leading hotel operator.”