Awards for Excellence 2019 - Awards categories and entry forms

Entries to the Lion Awards for Excellence are now closed

View the awards finalists here

Purchase tickets to the Awards for Excellence

GUIDELINES FOR ENTERING THE AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE 2019

Principal sponsor:

You must be a current financial member of Hospitality New Zealand to enter the Awards for Excellence 2019.
Entry to the Awards is by self-nomination.
By submitting your application to enter the Awards for Excellence 2019, you agree to allowing Hospitality New Zealand to use the information and images you provide for judging and marketing purposes, including but not limited to, at the Awards dinner itself.
If the judges believe you have entered the wrong category, they reserve the right to move you to a more appropriate category. You will be notified if this occurs.
You must answer all of the questions on the entry form.
Your answer to each question should be no more than 200 words.
With your entry form, insert a selection of photos (no more than 10) that you believe best represent and showcase your venue.
You can submit your entry by using the entry form. If you wish to use a different format to submit your entry, you must still make sure that your entry answers all of the questions listed on the entry form, and meets all of the entry criteria.
Email your completed entry form to awards@hospitality.org.nz. Hospitality New Zealand cannot accept entries via post or fax.
Entry to the Awards closes on 28 June 2019. Hospitality New Zealand cannot accept entries after this date.

Entries are now closed!

Day

Hour

Minute

Second

Best Bar

This category recognises excellence in bars and pubs. Our judges are looking for a venue that successfully creates memorable experiences for their guests. somewhere that is either the most iconic bar in town, or the area's best kept secret. The ambience and decor are just right, the food and beverage are excellent and the staff are familiar and friendly but at all times professional.

Best Cafe

This category recognises excellence in cafés, and rewards venues that have successfully carved a niche out for themselves in New Zealand’s popular and competitive café scene. We are looking for a café that guests want to return to time and time again, whether it’s an inner CBD hotspot, or a neighbourhood favourite. Our judges are looking for a cafe that offers excellent and consistent coffee and food, alongside quick, efficient and friendly service.

Best Hotel

This category recognises excellence in mid to large scale hotel accommodation. We are looking for hotels that not only do a fantastic job of looking after their guests - leading with customer service at all touch points bringing to life the joy to travel - but the hotel team are also an integral part of their local business community.

Best Motel

This category recognises excellence in motel accommodation. We are looking for motels that not only do a fantastic job of looking after their guests but are also an integral part of their local business community.

Best Country Hotel

This category recognises excellence in country hotels. A country hotel is a rurally located property with 2 – 20 commercial accommodation rooms. The winner in this category should be a venue that guests will willingly drive out of their way to visit. The winning country hotel should offer great food and beverage, a good night’s accommodation and also be the heart of its local community.

Best Destination Venue

To be the winning "Best Destination Venue", your business should be an excellent dining venue, offering a high standard of food and beverage and service, and also a venue that customers are willing to make a special trip off the beaten track to visit.

Excellence in Gaming

This category recognises members that run a successful gaming venue, that also meets (or even better exceeds) all host responsibility and harm minimisation criteria.
This category is limited to venues operating 18 machines or less.

Best Neighbourhood Bar & Eatery

In this category, our judges are looking for a local bar and eatery that succeeds in being a genuine community hub, where everyone feels welcome and well catered for. This is a venue where customers should feel comfortable taking the kids in for a quick mid-week dinner, meeting friends for a drink after work, hosting a fundraising quiz night or celebrating a Saturday afternoon sports win.

Best Neighbourhood Bar and Eatery - Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence

Best New Business - Food and Beverage - Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence

Best New Business - Food & Beverage

This award represents the best new food and beverage business that has been in operation for less than 12 months (opened in/after June 2018). In this category, our judges will consider a café, pub, country hotel or restaurant, provided it has only opened in the last 12 months. This includes a new build or re-purposed building (that was not previously operating as a F&B business). This new F&B venue should demonstrate excellence in its service and food offering, and already be the talk of the town.

Best Restaurant

This category recognises excellence in restaurants. Our judges are looking for an iconic eatery, somewhere that guests aspire to go to. Our winning restaurant must demonstrate excellence in service, food and beverage, while also offering a winning setting and ambience.

Best Environmentally Sustainable Business - Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence

Best Environmental / Sustainable Business

Our Best Environmental/Sustainable Business must demonstrate an ongoing commitment to being a sustainably run business, through initiatives such as (but not limited to) recycling, sustainable sourcing and getting rid of single-use plastic items. Our judges are looking for venues that have not only successfully implemented new initiatives but also succeeded in making their staff and customers an enthusiastic part of that journey.

Best Redeveloped - Hotel

The Best Redeveloped Hotel is a hotel that has been refurbished, renovated and/or rebranded. To be considered for this category, the project has to have been completed after 1 June 2018.

Best Redeveloped Food and Beverage - Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence

Best Redeveloped - Food & Beverage

The Best Redeveloped F&B award recognises that best bar, restaurant or cafe that has been refurbished, renovated and/or rebranded. To be considered for this category, the project has to have been completed after 1 June 2018.

Excellence in Host Responsibility

This category recognises members that run a successful licensed bar and have shown a commitment to meeting (and exceeding) their host responsibility requirements. In this category, we want to reward venues that have worked hard to create a top-down culture of harm minimisation among their team, and to ensure their employees fully understand, and are fully engaged with their responsibilities and duty of care to customers.

Excellence in Marketing

The winner in this category (which can be an accommodation or F&B member), must show the judges through both analytics and revenue that they have come up with and implemented unique, creative, well-thought out, and above-all, successful marketing for their business.

Excellence in Training & Development

In this category our judges are looking for venues that have shown a commitment to providing excellent training and development opportunities to their staff. This category is open to both accommodation and F&B members.

Excellence in Training and Development - Hospitality New Zealand Awards for Excellence

Best Luxury Accommodation

This category recognises excellence in authentic luxury accommodation in hotels, boutique hotels, lodges and villas. Our judges are looking for luxury properties that offer an excellent quality and experience to their guests, demonstrating luxury touch-points across all services and facilities. In this category, applicants should demonstrate an understanding of the standards and services that are valued by guests in today’s luxury market, and provide a unique, experience-driven stay

Lion Awards for Excellence Categories & Applications