Blanket Bay wins the title of "New Zealand's Best Lodge" at the coveted HM Awards 2011

Blanket Bay's reputation as this region's ultimate alpine escape and New Zealand's finest luxury lodge continues to be upheld with its win last Friday night, 2 September 2011, at the hotel industry's prestigious HM Awards.

Spanning Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific Islands the HM Awards are this region's only independent benchmark for excellence in hospitality management, voted on by a panel of judges consisting of leading travel writers, hoteliers and travel industry professionals.

Philip Jenkins, Blanket Bay's General Manager, was delighted with this further accolade: "This HM Award again illustrates our staff's consistently high service standards, and the resultant guest satisfaction that comes from Blanket Bay's unique blend of luxury and location".

"New Zealand is widely acknowledged as having a collection of outstanding lodges, a concept which has also been adopted in Australia and Southern Africa. It is gratifying to see the recognition that luxury lodge accommodation is now achieving worldwide. The success of Blanket Bay is based upon this significant growth in demand for small luxury hotels that offer truly intimate hospitality and local flavor in stunning destinations", states Philip.

Blanket Bay regularly features amongst the world's best. Along with last Friday night's HM Award win, Conde Naste Traveler's 2010 Gold List ranked Blanket Bay as the second-highest scoring property in the world and the top-scoring hotel in Asia, Australia and Pacific nations. Also last year the discerning readers of the prestigious Andrew Harpers Hideaway Report voted Blanket Bay 6th in the Top 20 Hideaways in the world, and the best in New Zealand. In 2009 Blanket Bay also won the HM Award for "New Zealand's Best Regional Property".

"Even in these turbulent economic times there is strong short breaks market. Blanket Bay is just over three hours flying time from the major centres of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland and attracts more and more discerning Australian and New Zealand travellers seeking the ultimate alpine escape", comments Philip Jenkins.


About Blanket Bay

Established in 1999, Blanket Bay is an expansive lakeside property on a 65,000 - acre high country farm, combining the sophistication of the world's finest alpine lodges and the unique characteristics of New Zealand. The intimate resort consists of 12 guest rooms including spacious suites, intimate lodge rooms and elegant chalets. A member of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, accommodations offer travellers vast sitting rooms, king-sized beds, stone fireplaces, secluded balconies and spectacular views.

www.blanketbay.com


About HM Awards

Held in the form of a black tie dinner at the prestigious Sydney Town Hall this year, these 9th HM Awards for Hotel & Accommodation Excellence received over 1600 entries from across Australia, New Zealand, Fiji and selected South Pacific nations. The event attracted the who's who of Australia's, and the regions, hotel industry.

www.hmawards.com.au

Toga Hospitality Puts the Competition to Bed at the 2011 HM Awards

Nominated across eight categories, Toga Hospitality has taken out three much coveted awards and was highly commended in one category at the ninth annual HM Awards for Hotel and Accommodation Excellence, 2011.

Toga Hospitality was awarded:

Winner: Economy Hotel: Travelodge Docklands (Melbourne)
The newest addition to the Travelodge portfolio after opening its doors over a year ago, Travelodge Hotel Docklands in Melbourne was awarded winner of the Economy Hotel of the year. Travelodge Hotel Docklands is an outstanding hotel in Melbourne's emerging precinct, Docklands. Travelodge is the perfect base from which to explore all of Melbourne's key attractions including Etihad Stadium and is committed to consistently delivering great value accommodation.

Winner: Midscale Hotel: Vibe Hotel Rushcutters (Sydney)
Vibe Hotel Rushcutters boasts an exceptional city fringe location overlooking Rushcutters Bay Park. Guests feel every bit the rockstar chilling out and staying up late in the near by Kings Cross, Double Bay, Paddington, Woollahra and Potts Point or escaping the action and heading to the rooftop pool, voted in the 'Top Five' pools in Sydney.

Winner: Marketing Campaign: Vibe Towel
Vibe Hotels scored the Marketing Campaign award in recognition of the Vibe Towel campaign. The Vibe Towel campaign was delivered via an integrated marketing campaign incorporating extensive PR, promotion, online and print advertising. The result was a much loved summer accessory for our guests and increased brand recognition for Vibe Hotels.

Highly Commended: Serviced Apartment Property: Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury
Medina Grand Adelaide Treasury, which was highly commended in the Serviced Apartment Property category, is the historic jewel in Medina Apartment Hotel's crown. The Heritage Listed hotel has maintained many of the original 19th Century architectural features and has a string of awards under its belt. Situated at the true heat of Adelaide's CDB, the hotel over looks Victoria Square and is adjacent to the Town Hall. Originally the offices for the State Treasury, the hotel blends the old with the new and is well know for its historic underground tunnels.

Rachel Argaman, CEO of Toga Hospitality, said: "We are thrilled that the industry has recognised us for these awards. Our success is the result of continued commitment to our team's achievements and the strength in our brands. We look forward to another year of growth and excellent results."

The HM Awards for Accommodation and Excellence are presented annually to showcase outstanding achievements within the hospitality and tourism industry across Australia, New Zealand and some South Pacific countries. The event took place at Sydney's Town Hall on Friday 2 September, 2011.


About Toga Hospitality www.togahotels.com.au

Toga Hospitality is one of the largest accommodation providers in Australia and currently operates 52 strategically located apartment hotels and hotels in Australia, New Zealand and Europe.

· Adina Apartment Hotels in eight locations (Australia and Europe)
· Medina Apartment Hotels in 21 locations (Australia)
· Vibe Hotels in seven locations (Australia)
· Travelodge Hotels in 16 locations (Australia and New Zealand)

That equates to over 6,000 apartments and hotel rooms which vary in price, location and design in order to meet a range of different accommodation needs.

The Bed Bugs Bite - Rash of Claims Feared

 

By (bug-free) Roderick Eime

A recent compensation payout by a London hotel could lead to a rash (pun intended) of similar claims.

Kent (UK) sisters Melanie Carmen and Joy McDonagh, both in their 40s, travelled to London and stayed at the £90/night Airways Hotel in Pimlico, South West London. During the night the women were bitten dozens of times each and required hospital treatment for their painful swellings.

After contacting solicitors, they received over £1,600 in compensation based on pain and suffering.

While the women blamed the conditions of the hotel, bed bugs are easily transportable in clothing and baggage and every hotel runs the risk of an infestation. They can hide easily, go months without feeding, resist treatment and travel easily from room to room or common areas. They hide during the day and feed at night, making them all the more insidious.

While the bug bites themselves are not known to be poisonous or disease-carrying, the bites are unsightly and very irritating – to say nothing about what they can do for the guest experience.

"It's very unfortunate what happened to these two ladies, but we have no way of being able to trace exactly where these infestations came from," a hotel spokesman said. "'This incident happened 18 months ago and experts say there are 20,000 cases of bedbugs in hotels across the UK every year, five-star hotels included, so we're not immune to the problem. We have a full-time contract with a pest control company and when problems are reported they come in immediately to deal with any issues."

The SA Department of Health advises:

Bed bugs can often be difficult to eradicate because their hiding spots are hard to find or inaccessible.

Repeat application of a treatment product may be necessary, depending on the chemical used and the success of the original application.

Thoroughly vacuum the infested area including the mattress and place the contents of the vacuum cleaner bag in a sealed plastic bag for disposal.

Clothes and bedding suspected of being infested should be washed in hot water (at least 60oC) and/or heated ironing or drying.

Hotels should educate housekeeping staff in the identification of possible bed bug infestations. Clues such as blood spots on linen, dead insects or droppings should ring alarm bells and prompt action should be initiated.