Small Luxury Hotels of the World™ (SLH) has been named ‘Hotel Brand Management Company of the Year’ for the third consecutive year at the prestigious HM Awards for Hotel & Accommodation Excellence which were held on Monday in Sydney. Despite tough competition and a record number of entries submitted this year, Small Luxury Hotels of the World swept the board with many hotels from its impressive portfolio winning or making the shortlist across a range of categories.

Paul Kerr, Chief Executive Officer of Small Luxury Hotels of the World, said: “Winning the HM Award for Hotel Brand Management Company for the third year is a fantastic achievement for SLH and is a reflection of our ongoing commitment to this region. It is also wonderful to see so many SLH properties in the region receiving the recognition they deserve. This is testament to the calibre of the hotels in the SLH portfolio – and the fact that our hotels are indeed the best of the best in their area”

Alison Roberts-Brown, SLH’s newly appointed Area Director, Asia Pacific, collected the award on behalf of Small Luxury Hotels of the World.

So far 2008 has proved to be a successful year for Small Luxury Hotels of the World, having recently been voted the number one luxury hotel brand for the second consecutive year and also the luxury brand that offers the “Best Customer Experience”, by the New York-based Luxury Institute. With the recent appointments of Alison Roberts-Brown, Area Director, Asia Pacific and Anita Chan as Vice President, Regional Development, Asia Pacific, the brand is well placed to continue its success.

The HM Awards are hosted by leading industry trade publication Hotel & Accommodation Management Magazine. Over 600 properties are nominated every year and the judging panel is made up of 50 industry professionals and travel media.

Testament to the diversity of the hotels within the Small Luxury Hotels of the World brand was the number of hotels nominated across a range of categories, from ‘Best New Hotel’ to ‘Hotel Manager of the Year’. The SLH hotels that received awards included:

• Boutique Hotel - Cape Lodge, Margaret River, WA
• Resort – qualia (joint winner), Hamilton Island, QLD
• New Zealand Regional Property – Huka Lodge, Taupo, NZ

Shortlisted SLH hotels and the categories they were shortlisted in included:

• Best New Hotel - Injidup Spa Retreat, Yallingup, WA
• Regional Property - Kim’s Beach Hideaway, NSW; The Louise, SA; Cape Lodge, WA
• Boutique Hotel, Best Day Spa and Australian Hotel Manager of the Year - The Lyall Hotel and Spa, Melbourne
• New Zealand Hotel - Mollies, Auckland; Eichardt’s Private Hotel, Queenstown; The George, Christchurch
• New Zealand Regional Property - Blanket Bay, Glenorchy; Grasmere Lodge, Christchurch; Huka Lodge, Taupo; Solitaire Lodge, Rotorua; Treetops Lodge, Rotorua; Wharekauhau Country Estate, Palliser Bay
• South Pacific Property, South Pacific Hotel Manager and Environmental Hotel - Pacific Resort Aitutaki, Rarotonga, Cook Islands
• Marketing Campaign - ‘Maori Indigenous Food Trail’, Treetops Lodge, Rotorua, New Zealand
• Bar Manager of the Year - Smith’s Beach Resort, Yallingup, WA
• New Zealand Hotel Manager - Heiko Kaser, Treetops Lodge, Rotorua; Philip Jenkins, Blanket Bay, Glenorchy and Victoria Shaw, Eichardt’s Private Hotel, Queenstown
• Executive Chef – Mark Sycamore, Blanket Bay, Glenorchy, NZ
• Overall accommodation property – qualia, Hamilton Island, QLD