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It was a night of pride and celebration for the Whangaparaoa Lodge team after being named Best Motel in New Zealand at the recent Hospitality New Zealand Awards of Excellence.
The award was announced during the gala dinner on the final evening of the Hospitality NZ annual conference last month. For the motel’s owners and management team, the recognition was the result of years of determination and planning.
“Incredibly humbling and at the same time, I felt proud of the team who are there day in and day out ensuring our guests are looked after in the best possible way,” says owner Troy Clarry. “We’ve been striving for this for three years. After twice being runners-up, we agreed on a plan to reach number one – all while making the product and experience even better for our guests.”
This is not the first time the couple behind the motel have been honoured; they won the same award, along with the Supreme Hospitality Award, five years ago. But achieving the accolade again – this time with their management team – was particularly rewarding.
Judges praised the motel’s award application for being thoughtful, genuine, and clearly not written by AI. “We spent a lot of time compiling the material and doing a full 360 review of our operation,” says Troy. “It wasn’t about writing what we thought the judges wanted to hear, but showing what our guests, team, and partners value us for, backed with real examples.”
Troy, who has spent 20 years in large hotels, says this award is proof that small operators can achieve excellence without the resources of big chains. “In hotels, you have more resources and someone else’s money. Here, we’ve done it with what we have – just small, hardworking, humble business operators getting through an extremely difficult business period. Hard work and sweating the details really does pay off.”
The motel’s standout features include personalised touches – every guest for the past 12 years has received a handwritten welcome card, tailored room set-ups based on past visits, and flexibility for special requests. To date, the team has penned more than 36,000 cards.
Strong ties to the Hibiscus Coast community also play a role. The motel works with local businesses to create authentic guest experiences, from golf packages to trips to Tiritiri Matangi Island. Staff are all locally hired, with a “hire a teen” programme launched post-COVID to train and mentor first-time workers. Many of those teens are still part of the team today, now as young adults.
“This award is for our people – both our staff and our community,” says Troy. “Every guest is treated as a VIP, and it’s that consistent care and attention to detail that makes all the difference.”
