Accor proved that it’s the people that really make the difference in the hotel business, taking out several ‘people’ prizes at the 2009 HM Awards, including the most prestigious award of the night, Hotelier of the Year, going to Vice President Simon McGrath.

Honorary Chairman, David Baffsky was an inaugural inductee into the HM Hall of Fame, in recognition of his lifetime of service to the tourism industry.

In other ‘staff’ categories, Amanda Silk, GM of the Sofitel Fiji Resort & Spa took home the award for Best General Manager South Pacific, Donna Gribble from Novotel Barossa Valley won in the Best Rooms Division category and Media Relations Manager Gaynor Reid won the gong for Best Public Relations/Communications.

Simon McGrath stressed that he was most proud of the awards that focused on staff rather than the bricks and mortar.

“Anyone can build a hotel room, but it’s the people that really make Accor such a successful group,” he said. “I am also pleased that the Pullman at Sydney Olympic Park won the Best Environmental Program award as Accor is very much focused on its staff and on sustainability and to be recognised in those categories is a real testament to our achievements in these areas.”

Sofitel Queenstown was Highly Commended in the category of Best New Zealand Hotel; Sofitel Luxury Hotels was recognized for its 100 Reasons Why Marketing campaign; Pullman Sydney Olympic Park was Highly Commended as Best New Hotel and Novotel Lake Crackenback was Highly Commended in the Alpine Accommodation category.

With over 1200 entries, the HM Awards celebrate the best the hospitality industry has to offer and are voted on by a panel of travel writers and industry leaders.