Travelbug Awards 2013 – and the winners are…

Travelbug Awards 2013 – and the winners are…

Trade Me's online accommodation website Travelbug today announced the winners of the 2013 Travelbug Awards with Canterbury accommodation providers and the Ibis Budget Hotel at Auckland Airport receiving accolades.

The awards recognise excellent performance by accommodation operators based on the number of bookings made at each property, the quality of guest feedback, and the overall quality of their Travelbug listing.

Trade Me’s head of travel Daniel Bridges said Travelbug had made the awards criteria more demanding than ever before, and less than one per cent of the site’s 3,000+ properties achieved the pre-eminent Platinum Award.

“We had to make the criteria even tougher this year to ensure we had the cream of Kiwi accommodation rise to the top. We upped the minimum percentage of thumbs-up reviews and number of bookings required to even be eligible, so properties that made the grade here should be very proud of what they’ve achieved.”

He said it was a “sign of the times” that the Ibis Budget Auckland Airport took the honour of being the stand-out Platinum property. “The team at Ibis Budget achieved the highest overall score and this shows the increasing popularity of small but perfectly formed hotel rooms in good locations. They’ve done a stellar job over the past year.”

Ibis Budget hotel manager Hayden Henderson said he and his team are “thrilled” to have topped the Travelbug awards list for 2012. “Our team has worked really hard to offer our guests great value for money. Ours is a typical Ibis Budget hotel, and it seems Travelbug users love being able to stay close to the airport and save money for their holiday”.

The “100% Reviews Award” is driven by traveller feedback placed by guests who have booked and stayed at a property. Mr Bridges said operators with a 100 per cent "thumbs up" rating across a minimum number of reviews earned the award.

“Travellers highly value others’ opinions, so reviews are a key part of Travelbug,” he said. “All reviews on Travelbug are verified and can only be placed by those who we know have stayed at the property, so they’re much more useful for travellers than just random, unverified comments.”

Other top performances

Canterbury beat all other regions for a second year running as the region with the most 100% Reviews Awards with 32 (11% overall), closely followed by Wairarapa and Auckland with 27 each.

Four accommodation providers received “Best in Region” awards for a second consecutive year: Victoria Hotel (Otago), Kuirau Park Motor Lodge (Rotorua), LivingSpace Invercargill (Southland), and Acorn Estate Motel (Masterton).

Mr Bridges said this showed a consistent level of all-round service. “This level of service and competition is great for the operators, but it also helps promote New Zealand as a great place for tourists to stay when visiting from around the world.”

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