Spread the love

Today Booking.com, one of the world’s leading digital travel platforms, is honouring its accommodation partners who consistently deliver great customer experiences with a prestigious Guest Review Award. For the seventh annual edition of the popular awards, 759,845 properties across 219 countries and territories are being given an award, with 3,394 properties receiving awards in Australia.

Based on the share of properties receiving an award in 2018, for the first time ever, Booking.com has revealed the most welcoming places in Australia according to customer reviews.

Most welcoming places in Australia

The top 10 most welcoming destinations in Australia include*:

  1. Bendigo, Victoria (71 winners)
  2. Hervey Bay, Queensland (65 winners)
  3. Halls Gap, Victoria (61 winners)
  4. Ballarat, Victoria (67 winners)
  5. Townsville, Queensland (71 winners)
  6. Hobart, Tasmania (154 winners)
  7. Launceston, Tasmania (70 winners)
  8. Margaret River Town, Western Australia (88 winners)
  9. Warnambool, Victoria (65 winners)
  10. Canberra, ACT (84 winners)

This is especially relevant for nearly two thirds of Aussie travellers  (69%) that say friendly and interesting locals are one of their top considerations when selecting a destination for their next trip.**

When it comes to the most welcoming types of properties, globally the winners were all from the alternative accommodation segment, which highlights the ongoing traveller appreciation for unique stay experiences, including Bed and Breakfasts, ApartHotels, Motels, Apartments and Holiday Homes.***

Apartments and unique places to stay remain firm traveller favourites

For the second year in a row, apartments were the top-awarded accommodation type, making up more than a third (36%) of the award-winning properties globally in 2018. In fact, while hotels came in as the second-awarded accommodation type, nearly three quarters (73%) of all the winning properties are homes, apartments and other unique places to stay, including everything from boats and igloos to homestays and country houses.

The ongoing appreciation and interest from global travellers to experience a wide variety of unique stay experiences is also reflected in recent research by Booking.com which asked 21,000 travelers across 29 countries about their travel habits – this highlighted that more than a third of Aussie travellers (33%) would prefer to stay in a vacation rental (holiday home or apartment) over a hotel in 2019.

In addition, almost 17% said that they would consider listing their own home on a travel accommodation site over the coming year. With over a third of Australians also wanting to stay in an accommodation type they’ve never experienced before in 2019, the consumer demand in this segment is growing.

“No matter the type, size or location of the property, what we see from our customers is that they value a human connection when they travel, whether it’s some extra attention to detail or a truly individualized approach to service,” said Olivier Grémillon, Vice President at Booking.com.

“With these awards, we celebrate and thank all of the amazing accommodation providers who create special travel experiences for our customers on a daily basis.”

A SELECTION OF OUTSTANDING PROPERTIES IN AUSTRALIA RECEIVING A 2018 AWARD

  1. Grand Hotel and Apartments, Townsville, QLD
  2. Avenue Hotel, Canberra, ACT
  3. Hotel Grand Chancellor, Hobart, TAS
  4. Somerset on the Pier, Hobart, TAS
  5. Vintages Accommodation, Margaret River Town, WA
  6. Hervey Bay Colonial Lodge, Hervey Bay, QLD
  7. Salamander Bay Bed and Breakfast, Salamander Bay, NSW
  8. Southview Guest House, Wollongong, NSW
  9. The Playford Adelaide – Mgallery by Sofitel, Adelaide, SA
  10. Best Western Olde Maritime Motor Inn, Warrnambool, VIC