More than 120 franchise hotel and corporate office staff came together at Novotel Sydney Olympic Park last week (3 Aug) to celebrate the achievements of colleagues at the Accor Pacific Franchise Awards.
In its second year running, the Accor Pacific Franchise Awards recoginses outstanding hotel performance from more than 60 hotels across Australia and New Zealand and acknowledges individuals for their services of excellence.
Hosted by Accor Pacific’s Chief Operating Officer Simon McGrath and General Manager Franchise Hotels, Neil Scanlan, the night was a resounding success according to the company and was capped off by an inspirational speech from CEO of the Impossible Institute, Dan Gregory.
In taking out the night’s major award, Novotel Sydney Rooty Hill took home Accor Pacific Franchise of the Year (chosen from each of the brand category winners) and was also crowned Novotel of the Year.
In accepting the gongs, Novotel Sydney Rooty Hill General Manager, Mark Maybury, acknowledged the journey his team had been on over the last two-and-a-half years and accepted the awards on behalf of them.
“These awards are a testament to the commitment of our team’s passion to delivering a level of service which exceeds expectations and I’m proud to accept these awards on their behalf,” he said.
“I’m humbled to be part of a group of such great Franchise operators and recognise our owner’s commitment to the program and thank them for giving us this opportunity to perform”.
The General Manager of the Year Award – which recognises a leader who adopts Accor’s values of Innovation, Respect, Trust, Spirit of Conquest and Performance – was awarded to Alex Penklis of Novotel Brisbane Airport.
Amy Evans from All Seasons Tamworth Towers took out the inaugural General Manager Rising Star Award.
“If you have energy, creativity and spirit you can achieve wonderful things,” Evans said in her acceptance speech.
Having worked in the hospitality industry for just over 10 years, Evans worked her way up through the ranks and was promoted from supervisor to Hotel General Manager in 2011.
Mercure Bairnsdale won the Franchise Loyalty Award thanks to its proven engagement with Accor’s loyalty programs, while Grand Mercure Apartments Coolangatta took out the Franchise Customer Service Award.
The Hotel of the Year Awards for individual brands were won by Grand Mercure Nelson Monaco Apartments (Grand Mercure of the Year), Mercure Horsham (Mercure of the Year), Novotel Sydney Rooty Hill (Novotel of the Year), and All Seasons Canberra Narrabundah (All Seasons of the Year).
“Over the last year, Accor has welcomed 12 hotels and resorts to its portfolio. It has been a busy year for us and it’s wonderful to be able to come together on a night such as this and recognise the achievements of our Franchise hotels,” Scanlan said.
Each award category aims to showcase the improvements, enhancements and developments of a Franchise property under the Accor umbrella, whilst at the same time recognising individual property performances and successes across Australia and New Zealand.